George Augustus Selwyn 		April 11
Bishop of New Zealand
Selwyn provided remarkable leadership for the church in New Zealand during the twenty-six years of his episcopate. His most enduring contribution was the first constitution of the Anglican Church in New Zealand.
George Augustus Selwyn was born in 1809 and was educated at Eton and St John’s College, Cambridge. He made friends there with many who were to prove extremely helpful in promoting his work in New Zealand. He was ordained deacon in 1833 and priest a year later and served as a curate at Windsor, a task he combined with tutoring duties at Eton. In 1839 he married Sarah Richardson. The Church of England was entering a period of turmoil over its place in the state and its role in national affairs. Selwyn developed high ideals of the autonomy of the church and of its responsibilities in society, especially in the field of education.
George Selwyn was appointed the first bishop of New Zealand when his brother William declined the position. He was consecrated bishop in October 1841. Selwyn saw that his role as a bishop was to lead the mission of the church. On arrival in New Zealand in 1842 he brought his exceptional energies to bear on organising the church. He made several strenuous tours of his vast diocese on foot, horseback, by canoe and ship. From 1847 he included the islands of Melanesia in his journeys.
Selwyn’s enthusiasm for education found expression in St John’s College. His vision encompassed a veritable educational empire, from pre-school to tertiary education for Maori and pakeha. The vision was clearly romantic and over-ambitious, though Selwyn’s dynamism made parts of the scheme work for a few years. The college was established first at the Church Missionary Society station at Waimate, but was moved to Auckland in 1844.
Selwyn had learned sufficient Maori on the voyage out to New Zealand to preach and converse a little in Maori on arrival. He shared the strengths and limitations of the nineteenth century humanitarian view of indigenous races. He had a deep affection for the Maori people and a strong sense of their worth and equality, though the equality meant the inculcation of “civilised” habits and traditions. In the conflicts of the 1860s, his commitment to justice for the Maori people in Taranaki infuriated many of the European settlers, but, equally, his acting as chaplain to the British troops lost him some Maori support.
Selwyn was a vigorous and forceful leader of the church, and occasionally this led to tensions between him and some of his clergy, particularly the members of the Church Missionary Society, who were responsible to their own organisation as well as to Selwyn. Nevertheless, Selwyn worked with his clergy and called two synods to approve common policies for the church. With the establishment of other dioceses in New Zealand (Christchurch, 1856; Wellington, Nelson, and Waiapu, 1858), Selwyn’s diocesan work was confined to the Diocese of Auckland.
The most significant legacy of Selwyn to the church in New Zealand was its constitution. The Church of England with its state connections had no model to offer for church government, and Selwyn drew up a constitution on the lines of the episcopal churches in Scotland and America. Selwyn fostered support for his constitution in New Zealand. In its final form, as agreed to in 1857, it provided a basis for synodical government in three houses (bishops, clergy, laity) meeting in one chamber. The provision of a separate house of laity was a significant development in the role of the laity in church government.
In 1867, while at the first Lambeth Conference, Selwyn reluctantly agreed to become bishop of Lichfield and moved there in 1868. He died at Lichfield in 1878. His grave is in the cathedral close, with a memorial inside the cathedral. His wife Sarah, who had patiently accompanied him to New Zealand and joined whole-heartedly in his work, died in 1907.
For Liturgical Use
George Augustus Selwyn was born in 1809 and was appointed the first bishop of New Zealand in 1841. He brought to his task enormous energy in visitations of his huge diocese, which included the islands of Melanesia. He also devoted considerable efforts to the work of education for Maori and pakeha. His most enduring contribution, however, was the drawing up of the Anglican Church’s first constitution for its synodical government. In 1868 he became bishop of Lichfield and died there in 1878.
Sentence
Truly your law stands firm; holiness O Lord adorns your house for ever. 	Psalm 93:5
Collects
Almighty God,
you called George Augustus Selwyn
to be bishop of the church in New Zealand
and to lay a firm foundation for its life;
grant that, building on his labours
and encouraged by his gifts of heart, hand and mind,
we too may extend your kingdom,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus, Jewish Saviour,
served by George, 
the English bishop in Aotearoa;
give us grace
to build on his foundations.
Psalms	16	126
Readings
Isaiah 49:1-6,13		Light to the nations
1 Corinthians 3:7-13	Building the church
John 4:31-38		Sowing and reaping
Post Communion Sentence
Jesus said, “Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit.”	John 15:5