New Anglican bishop ordained

The church's essential mission is to "proclaim the Kingdom of God", the Right Rev Dr Kelvin Wright, the newly ordained Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin, says.

Dr Wright, who previously spent 11 years as vicar of St John's, Rosyn, was ordained the ninth bishop of the diocese in a ceremony attended by more than 400 people who almost filled St Paul's Cathedral on Saturday afternoon.

Some travelled from various parts of the North Island to attend and one person came from the Middle East.

"We have to proclaim the Kingdom of God," Dr Wright said after being formally ordained as bishop.

"All of us are loved by God and accepted by God."

That simple truth had huge implications which many people still found hard to accept, he said.

He knew there were expectations for him to "get more people in church" and to "repair the lack of money in the Church".

"Money and people are problems that will disappear if you ignore them, "If we get on with the business of proclaiming the gospel, the rest takes care of itself."

He earlier paid tribute to several of his predecessors as bishop, and acknowledged the careful and thorough work done by his immediate predecessor, Bishop George Connor, who retired late last year.

Bishop Penny Jamieson had earlier undertaken "pioneering work" and had shown "enormous amounts of courage and integrity".

He also thanked everyone who had contributed to the impressive episcopal ordination service.

The magnificent outward show of the service was like "the froth on the top of a cup of cappuccino", but underneath was "something real". Proclaiming the Kingdom of God was "the dark coffee" below.

His wife, Clemency, was given a floral tribute during the service and also welcomed to her new role in the diocese.

Dr Wright was born in Timaru and raised in Dunedin, Lower Hutt and Christchurch, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1980.

He has a degree in theology from the University of Otago and a Doctorate of Ministry from the San Francisco Theological Seminary.