The artist who made this beautiful korowai, Jean, has added the following whakataukī:
Ehara taku toa, he takitaki, he toa takitini.
My success should not be bestowed onto me alone, as it was the success of a collective and all connections that were made, to get us where we are today.
The name Te Whāriki means woven mat and is used as a metaphor to reflect the many aspects of our Interserve identity, purpose and values. It has woven together our values of Dependence on God, Community, Oneness in Christ, Integrity, Wholistic, Partnership and Servanthood.
The gift itself, represents our deep commitment to journeying with our Māori brothers and sisters, learning from and with them as we recognised our unique heritage as New Zealanders between tangata whenua and pākeha.
The weaving of multiculturalism within Interserve happens through the coming together of different and vibrant cultures and denominations working together as the global Christian church. In Te Ao Māori, this coming together of people, communities and cultures is called Hono.
Interserve has and continues to pay careful attention to each individual strand, recognising the importance in the whole; as only then can we be successful in our mission to transform lives and communities through encounter with Jesus Christ.
