Ian and I had a rare night out last night. We were invited to a black tie dinner hosted by the New Zealand Leadership Trust. Getting into our usual black tie outfits was a bit of a challenge for both of us but cumberbands and large shawls work wonders.
The theme of the dinner was diversity in leadership. They had several high profile speakers including the Prime Minister Helen Clark. The highlight though was the music. They had a band called Many Hands which was a fusion of very diverse music - bagpipes, african drums, asian string instruments and the usual guitars and keyboards. Their music was fabulous and complimented some traditional Maori music. The final performance was by a group of about 8 15-year-old female Hip Hop dancers. They were amazing!
The last speaker was John Allen who was a barrister, solicitor and host of other things but now is CEO of New Zealand Post. He talked about how NZ must embrace the diverse cultures that are enriched the community. He discussed the battle against fundamentalism and intolerance and quoted Salmon Rushdie who said that in order to fight fundamentalism you must know what you believe in - because the fundamentalists believe we believe in nothing. Mr Allen then talked about the important values for NZ including looking out for the weak and vulnerable of society. It occurred to me how sad it is that the Christian Church is more often viewed as intolerant and fundamentalist rather than a caring body of people who should embody those values of compassion, acceptance and grace.
Today has been a dark and wet morning so far. We are planning to view a couple of houses later then an afternoon nap may be in order.
No comments:
Post a Comment