We are a local community church in partnership with Anglican and Presbyterian churches. We seek to follow Jesus, live faithfully and share the love of Christ with others in the beautiful Mackenzie District of New Zealand’s South Island.
Throughout our beautiful Mackenzie country there are several places where we gather to worship as a community of faith – St Columba and St Stephen’s in Fairlie and the timeless Church of the Good Shepherd in Lake Takapō (Tekapo).*
* Takapō is the original Māori name for the Lake, a naming that appears to have been evident in the name of the village’s original guest house, Takapo House.
Our Faith and our History
The Mackenzie Community Church is an ecumenical community committed to living, working and sharing the love of Christ in the Mackenzie District. The corporate life of our community is expressed through our congregational gatherings, home fellowships and other groups that meet together for prayer, food, study, conversation and worship.
The Mackenzie Community Church exists in historic continuity with The Mackenzie Cooperating Parish that was established in 1972 as a cooperative venture between local Anglican and Presbyterian Churches. We share in a significant history of ecumenical partnership in the Mackenzie Region that includes the planning and building of The Church of the Good Shepherd, which was completed in 1935 as an ecumenical place of worship supported by members of various mainline denominations.
The Mackenzie Community Church is located within the geographical area of the Mackenzie and includes the townships of Lake Tekapo and Fairlie. This is where we connect and live out our relationship with God and neighbours. St Columba and St Stephen’s in Fairlie and The Church of the Good Shepherd in Lake Tekapo are worship places where our community gather for public worship.
We embrace a Christian faith and practice that is in continuity with all that is good and life giving in both Anglican and Presbyterian traditions. We welcome the renewing work of the Holy Spirit in our own community and in the life of the wider church as Jesus Christ leads his people into deeper unity, genuine community life and faithful mission. These values are expressed in our life together through our commitment to Scripture, the sacraments of Baptism and Communion, and the continuing presence and empowering of the Holy Spirit. Put in theological terms, we seek to be Biblical, Sacramental and Charismatic.
As an ecumenical community we have committed to partnership with both the Anglican Church in Aotearoa-New Zealand and Polynesia / Te Hahi Mihinare ki Aotearoa ki Niu Tireni, ki Nga Moutere o Te Moana Nui a Kiwa and the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa-New Zealand. We share in their mission to:
- proclaim the good news of the Kingdom.
- teach, baptise and nurture new believers.
- respond to human needs by loving service.
- seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation.
- strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.
The Mackenzie Community Church affirms that in this church, as essential to its life, there will be found:
- the Word of God in the Holy Scriptures as the supreme rule of faith and life.
- the historic faith of the Church as expressed in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.
- faithful preaching of the Gospel.
- the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion instituted by Jesus Christ.
- an ordained and lay ministry acknowledged by the whole church.
- a life ordered by the Holy Spirit in worship, discipline, humble service, living fellowship and outward mission.