Steve Maina
Steve Maina | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Nelson | |
| Church | Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia |
| Diocese | Nelson |
| In office | 2019–present |
| Predecessor | Richard Ellena |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | December 2003 (diaconate) December 2004 (priesthood) |
| Consecration | 31 August 2019 by Philip Richardson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1970 (age 54–55) |
Stephen Maina Mwangi (born 1970) is a Kenya-born New Zealand Anglican bishop. He has been the bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Nelson since 2019.
Early life, education and career
Maina was born in Kenya in 1970 and is the son and grandson of Anglican priests. He was raised in the church and experienced a personal conversion at age 14. Maina received a BA in sociology and religious studies from Egerton University in Njoro, Kenya, then an MDiv from Nairobi's Evangelical Graduate School of Theology. He was a pastor and church planter at the non-denominational Nairobi Chapel until 2003, when he was ordained in the Anglican Church of Kenya.[1] After his ordination, Maina was general secretary of Church Army Africa.[1] In this capacity, he spoke to the New Zealand Church Missionary Society in 2006 and became aware of the challenges of work in a secular environment compared to the more religious culture of Kenya.[2] He became more closely connected with New Zealand and in 2009 joined the NZCMS as national director and immigrated to New Zealand with his wife Watiri, an Anglican deacon,[3] and their two young daughters. Since immigrating, the Mainas have become New Zealand citizens.[1]
Episcopacy
In March 2019, Maina was elected the 11th bishop of Nelson, a historically evangelical diocese on the South Island.[2] He was consecrated and installed on 31 August 2019 at Christ Church Cathedral.[3] At the time of his election, he said that his "heart has always been to see the church in New Zealand passionate about mission, so, this is really an extension of what I've been doing in CMS. . . . My reasons for considering the Nelson role were seeing, first of all, the challenges that Western Christianity is facing in the 21st century: challenges from secularism, individualism, materialism and consumerism; we have a society which is 'pushing God out.'"[1]
Views
Maina describes himself as an evangelical and emphasizes his personal conversion and "discover[y of] God's grace in Jesus." He also emphasizes the importance of biblical literacy and individual devotional practice.[1] He has also called on the church to serve as "God's agent for social transformation" in an environment where "[i]n New Zealand, we look to government and community organisations to fix challenges around mental health and well-being. . . . It feels like we as church have checked out from our responsibility to bring social transformation."[1] In September 2020, Maina joined a coalition of other Christian leaders calling on voters to vote no in the ultimately successful 2020 New Zealand euthanasia referendum.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "New Bishop of Nelson announced". Anglican Taonga. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 O'Connell, Tim (12 March 2019). "'Kenyan Kiwi' named bishop-elect for Nelson Anglican Diocese". Nelson Mail. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Clarke-Morris, Julanne (1 September 2019). "Nelson celebrates Bishop Steve". Anglican Taonga. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ↑ "Religious leaders urge NZ 'Vote No'". Anglican Taonga. 19 September 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
