About Us

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A friendly group engaged in worship

Bream Bay Anglicans are a happy, friendly group. We warmly welcome new joiners and visitors to our midst. If you are reading this, why not join us! The life of the church invariably centres on our Sunday service – a happy time when we come together in worship. Afterwards we always enjoy a cup of tea or coffee, one of Annette’s date scones, conversation and a catch-up. With three churches our ministry spans the Bream Bay area.

Our regular Sunday service generally takes about an hour and is traditional in style. It begins at 9.30 and is typically held at St. Paul’s (Ruakākā) or St. Peter’s (Waipu). When there is a fifth Sunday in a month, the service would usually be held at our mission for seafarers, St. Nicholas at Marsden Point, but it is currently being renovated so please check the website to find out where the service will take place.

Te Reo is a feature of all services – especially the service on the third Sunday of each month.

Check our service calendar here to find out where services will be held on forthcoming dates.

To find out about our regular groups and special events, see our News & Events page.

 

Our leadership

We are lead by our Vicar, Mark Henrickson.

Mark is supported by a wide array of lay leaders.

Mark Henrickson was appointed priest-in-charge of the Anglican Bream Bay Mission District from 1 March 2023. He serves 0.4 FTE in the role and is usually available Thursdays through Sunday mornings. Ordained priest in the Anglican Communion in 1981, he has served in full-time, part-time and unpaid roles. Mark is also a registered social worker, and taught social work at Massey University, Auckland, for over 20 years. He has published extensively on diversity and inclusion, ageing, marginalised communities, and the history of social work.

Mark lives in Ruakākā and can often be seen walking his Siberian husky Alex at dawn on the beach. He is enthusiastic about the future of the Anglican Church in Bream Bay. He is especially interested in developing alliances with community groups, mana and tangata whenua in the rohe.

We invite all who may seek closer involvement with the Anglican Church in Bream Bay to get in touch with us. Please see our Contact Us page. 

 

History of Bream Bay, and the Anglican Church in Bream Bay

Settlement in Bream Bay

Bream Bay was so named by Captain James Cook in 1769 when his crew caught over 100 ‘bream’, which were probably snapper. The Maori name was Whanga-A-Tamure.

Māori presence in the area goes back to the canoes Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi and Ruakaramea, captained by Manaia.  Over time, the area has been occupied by several iwi including Ngāti Awa, Ngaitahuhu, Ngāpuhi, Ngātiwai and Ngāti Whātua.  Today, “our place” sits within the rohe of those iwi: Ngāpuhi, Ngātiwai and Ngāti Whātua. Patuharakeke (of Takahiwai) have been in continuous settlement and are among our congregation today.

The Musket Wars (1807-1840) led by Ngāpuhi chief Hongi Hika, wrought major changes on the area leading up to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, by which time the area was in the control of Ngāpuhi allies Te Parahwau and Patuharakeke.

The early 19th century saw several visits by missionaries Weslayan Samuel Leigh and Anglicans, Samuel Marsden and William Colenso.  James Busby accompanied Colenso on his 1839 trip and negotiated the purchase of several large blocks of land including Ruakaka (Dec 1839) and Waipu (Jan 1840).  Busby’s purchases were later denied by the Old Land Claims Commission and the Crown then purchased the same blocks in 1854 to make land available for the recently arrived Nova Scotian immigrants. They settled in Waipu.

These days the pattern of settlement is still very evident in the make up of the local population. Maori – language and people – are of course central to the mission of the Anglican Church of Aotearoa. Our prayer book presents our service in Te Reo and English. In Bream Bay our third service in each month is conducted, in significant part, in Te Reo.

While the Anglican church in Bream Bay began in Waipu, in the 1970s it grew to encompass Ruakaka and Marsden Point.

The Anglican church in Waipu

When Anglicans first settled in Waipu in the 1920s, services were held at the Waipu Public Hall, and, after that burned down, they met in the Braigh School.

At that time the Reverend Ranald McDonald, vicar at Paparoa, used to ride over the Brenderwyns on horseback and stay the night. In 1926 Mr James Johnson Wood built “Old St. Peter’s”, as we think of it now. It was a handsome building in the neo-gothic style still to be observed in ‘Selwyn churches’ in Auckland. The construction was financed by the Rev McDonald’s aunt, Mrs Fanny Charlotte Henry, who is commemorated by a plaque within St. Peter’s today.

On 16 November 1969 the new St. Peter’s Church at Waipu was dedicated by the Rt Revd Eric Gowing with an attendance of 194 people and the first Priest-in-Charge was the Revd J Fisher.  In 2023 Mark Henrickson succeeded Richard Hancock.

The Anglican church in Ruakākā

It was during the late 1970s that efforts were made to establish a worship centre at Ruakākā as well as Waipu with services being held at Camellia Avenue Hall. A monthly mid-week service was also held at the home of Mrs Helen Harnett, One Tree Point. With the Refinery extension and the construction of Marsden B power station in the mid-80s, the power station village began to grow. Eventually a first service was held in February 1993 at the St. Paul’s Church centre. A presence had begun in Ruakākā which continues to this day.

The Mission to Seafarers (Marsden Point)

The current St. Nicholas Chapel at the Mission for Seamen opened on 18 February 2006. It is right next to the location of the first centre established in 1975.

With the development of Northport, shipping has greatly increased. In excess of 300 overseas ships now berth at Marsden Point annually and thousands of seamen and women use the Centre’s facilities. The altar and lectern of the Chapel of St Nicholas were originally from the HMS Black Prince.

St. Nicholas Chapel at the Mission for Seamen, Marsden Point.

Links

Anglican church (now)

https://www.anglican.org.nz/

Anglican church (history)

https://teara.govt.nz/en/anglican-church

Bream Bay (history)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bream_Bay

Waipu museum (Often commended as one of NZ’s best ‘small museums’)

https://www.waipumuseum.co.nz