He Tatau Pounamu | The Treaty of Waitangi: A Covenant of Reconciliation

Theology/Social issues | Alistair Reese | Karuwhā Trust and Venn Foundation

Dr Alistair Reese is a Pākehā theologian and historian, as well as a farmer in the Bay of Plenty. Reese is passionate about social reconciliation and seeks to strengthen the relationship between Māori and Pākehā. Reese affirms that the Treaty of Waitangi is a covenant of reconciliation. This descriptor elevates the Treaty from a focus on rights to relationship and calls the Church to ‘an ethic of love’. Using Ephesians 2:14 as a framework, Reese affirms that like Jews and Gentiles who became one nation through covenantal union in Christ while still maintaining their original identities, the Treaty invites us into unity as we celebrate diversity. A must-read!