John Bluck

John William Bluck (born 22 July 1943) was the 14th Anglican Bishop of Waiapu[1] from 2002 until 2008. From 1990 to 2002 he was the eleventh Dean of ChristChurch Cathedral; until he was ordained to the episcopate on 17 August 2002.[2]

The Most Reverend John Bluck
John William Bluck
Diocese	Anglican Diocese of Waiapu
In office	2002–2008
Predecessor	Murray Mills
Successor	David Rice
Other posts	Dean of ChristChurch Cathedral (1990–2002)
Orders
Ordination	1971 (as priest) 17 August 2002 (as bishop) by Bishop Paul Reeves
Personal details
Birth name	John William Bluck
Born	22 July 1943 Napier, New Zealand
Nationality	New Zealander
Denomination	Anglican
Occupation	Anglican bishop
Profession	Cleric, author
Alma mater	University of Canterbury

Early life and education

Bluck was born in Napier in 1943, the eldest son of Edgar and Alice Bluck.[3] Bluck spent his childhood in Nuhaka. He is a maternal nephew of two other New Zealand Anglican Bishops, Edward Norman and Peter Mann, bishops of Wellington and Dunedin, respectively. He boarded at Napier Boys’ High School, and at the age of 18 studied English literature and theology at the University of Canterbury. Bluck was offered a place at the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts but finished most of his studies at Harvard Divinity School. While studying in the United States, Bluck was a reporter for The Pilot, Boston’s Catholic Newspaper.

Ordained ministry

Bluck was ordained as a priest in 1971[4] by Bishop Paul Reeves and began his ministry at Holy Trinity, Gisborne.[5] He soon moved to Wellington to tutor journalism at Wellington Polytechnic, as well as being the institution's chaplain.[6] Bluck soon moved to Auckland and was editor of The New Zealand Methodist.

Later he was Director of Communications at the World Council of Churches then Professor of Pastoral Theology and Communication at Knox Theological Seminary.

In 1990, Bluck was invited to be the Dean of ChristChurch Cathedral by Bishop David Coles, which he accepted. Bluck held this position until 2002 where he became the 14th Anglican Bishop of Waiapu.

Bluck resigned his See in 2008.[7][8]

Retired life

Bluck is now an author.[9] He creates podcasts for Radio New Zealand[6] and writes articles and opinion pieces for them and other New Zealand media companies.

Publications

Authorship

• Taranaki's Cathedral (13 January 2010)[10]
• Wai Karekare = Turbulent Waters: The Anglican Bicultural Journey, 1814 - 2014 (1 January 2012)[11]

• Seeking the Centre (1 January 2019)[12]

Forewords

• Honest to Goodness (12 March 2019)[13]

References

1. "Anglican Diocese of Waiapu". Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
2. ACANZP Lectionary, 2019 (p. 146)
3. "Anglican Taonga". Archived from the original on 24 September 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
4. Crockford's Clerical Directory London, Church House 1975 ISBN 0-19-200008-X
5. Who's Who 2008: London, A & C Black, 2008 ISBN 978-0-7136-8555-8
6. "John Bluck writes". RNZ. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
7. "Bishop could lead diocese on his own". 5 September 2005 – via www.nzherald.co.nz.
8. "Bishop and the turbulent priest". Stuff.
9. Amongst others he wrote Everyday Ecumenism, 1987; Christian Communication Reconsidered, 1989; Canberra Takeaways, 1991; Long, White and Cloudy, 1998; Waking Up in Strange Places, 1999; Killing Us Softly, 2001; The Giveaway God, 2001 > British Library web site accessed 21:38 GMT 12 January 2010.
10. "Taranaki's Cathedral by John Bluck - ISBN: 9780473188092". www.wheelers.co.nz. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
11. "Wai Karekare = Turbulent Waters : The Anglican Bicultural Journey, 1814 - 2014 by John Bluck - ISBN: 9780908675012". www.wheelers.co.nz. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
12. "Seeking the Centre by John Bluck - ISBN: 9780473475031 (NZ / SP Author Self Published)". www.wheelers.co.nz. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
13. "Honest To Goodness by Martin Prozesky - ISBN: 9781532665370 (Resource Publications (CA))". www.wheelers.co.nz. Retrieved 18 August 2020.

External links

John Bluck writes, RNZ