Kōrero: Pacific churches in New Zealand

The appointment of a gay minister in the Methodist Church of New Zealand in 1999 caused a schism in the Ōtāhuhu Tongan Methodist Church. The minister and most of the congregation seceded from the parent church, believing that the appointment defied church teaching. The breakaway group laid claim to ownership of the church building, and when they were locked out held services beneath a marquee in a neighbouring property, shown here. Eventually the courts determined that the building was owned by the parent church.