Welcome Home - Pastor's Pen for 9th August 2026

Recently, the minister of foreign affairs in our coalition government told a fellow member of parliament, Green MP, Lawrence Xu-Nan '“Go back to your own country. That’s where they lie like a flat fish, but they don’t lie like that here, all right? This is called a democracy,” he said. He has since doubled down on his comments, saying Xu-Nan “can’t even speak the language properly”.' (NZ Herald 31/7/2026) This has made the news around the world. Stronger leadership would have dismissed him from his role by now.

The member told to 'go home' to China has lived in New Zealand for 32 years. It's disappointing that we have politicians with significant responsibilities in government who resort to stoking the worst human instincts of racism, sexism and even violence every time an election comes around. The two Asian colleagues I have had coffee with this week, were both acutely aware of the negative rhetoric.

The demographic information in our Revitalise final report indicates that 50% of the people in our Forrest Hill neighbourhood are Asian. As my parents and grandparents did in the 1970s, they too want to find a better life and education for their children in a free and pleasant country.

We have a role at Forrest Hill Presbyterian Church to push back on the bigotry and xenophobia, because our vision is; A Place to Belong to the Family of God. The parable of the sheep and the goats told by Jesus in Matthew 25, specifically mandates the welcome and care of the stranger. God's mission field has come to our door, our table is open to the newcomer. I leave the words of a man of faith, Sir Dave Dobbyn with you, from his iconic song Welcome Home , as a kind of benediction:

So welcome home

See I've made a space for you now

Welcome home

From the bottom of our hearts

Welcome home

From the bottom of our hearts