John William Bluck (born 22 July 1943) is a New Zealand author and an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

clergyman who served as the 14th

Bishop of Waiapu from 2002 until 2008. From 1990 to 2002 he was the eleventh Dean of

ChristChurch Cathedral ChristChurch Cathedral, also called Christ Church Cathedral and (rarely) Cathedral Church of Christ, is a deconsecrated Anglican cathedral in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was built between 1864 and 1904 in the centre of the city, ...

; until he was ordained to the episcopate on 17 August 2002.ACANZP Lectionary, 2019
(p. 146)

Early life and education

Bluck was born in

Napier Napier may refer to: People * Napier (surname), including a list of people with that name * Napier baronets, five baronetcies and lists of the title holders Given name * Napier Shaw (1854–1945), British meteorologist * Napier Waller (1893–19 ...

in 1943, the eldest son of Edgar and Alice Bluck. Bluck spent his childhood in Nūhaka. He is a maternal nephew of two other New Zealand Anglican Bishops, Edward Norman and

Peter Mann Peter Travis Mann (born 7 September 1970) is a former Australian rules footballer. who played a total of 118 matches in the AFL for the North Melbourne and Fremantle Football Clubs. Peter is currently residing in Perth. Claremont and North M ...

, 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 The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

. 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 Crockford's Clerical Directory London, Church House 1975 by Bishop Paul Reeves and began his ministry at Holy Trinity, Gisborne. He soon moved to Wellington to tutor journalism at Wellington Polytechnic, as well as being the institution's chaplain. Bluck soon moved to Auckland and was

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

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 Knox Theological Seminary is an independent, evangelical seminary in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, founded in 1989 by D. James Kennedy. The school offers ministry training at its residential facility in Fort Lauderdale and through its internet camp ...

. 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 See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

in 2008.

Retired life

Bluck is now an author. He creates podcasts for

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...

and writes articles and opinion pieces for them and other New Zealand media companies.

Publications

Authorship

* ''Taranaki's Cathedral'' (13 January 2010) * ''Wai Karekare = Turbulent Waters: The Anglican Bicultural Journey, 1814 - 2014'' (1 January 2012) * ''Seeking the Centre'' (1 January 2019) * ''Becoming Pākehā.'' (Auckland: HarperCollins, 2022).

Forewords

* ''Honest to Goodness'' (12 March 2019)

References

External links

''John Bluck writes'', RNZ
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bluck, John 1943 births People from Napier, New Zealand University of Canterbury alumni Deans of Christchurch Anglican bishops of Waiapu 21st-century Anglican bishops in New Zealand Living people