John Richard Randerson (born 1940) is a New Zealand Anglican cleric who served as

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland Holy Trinity Cathedral is an Anglican place of worship situated in Parnell, a residential suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is the 'mother church' of the Anglican Diocese of Auckland and the cathedral of the Bishop of Auckland. The current ...

from 2000 to 2007. He was also

Vicar-General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

, from 1999, and

Assistant Bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan) bishops – in which case they ...

of the

Anglican Diocese of Auckland The Diocese of Auckland is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The Diocese covers the area stretching from North Cape down to the Waikato River, across the Hauraki Plains ...

in the

Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia ( mi, Te Hāhi Mihinare ki Aotearoa ki Niu Tīreni, ki Ngā Moutere o te Moana Nui a Kiwa; formerly the Church of the Province of New Zealand) is a province of the Anglican Communion serv ...

from 2002.

Early life and education

Randerson was born in

Takapuna Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is situated at the beginning of a south-east-facing peninsula forming the northern side of the Waitematā Harbour. While very small in terms of population, it ...

in 1940. He received degrees of BA and MA(Hons) (1961) and BD (1964) from the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

, STM (1969) from the Union Theological Seminary,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and DMin (1987) from the

San Francisco Theological Seminary The San Francisco Theological Seminary (SFTS) is a seminary in San Anselmo, California with historic ties to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). SFTS became embedded in a new Graduate School of Theology of the University of Redlands in 2019. It was ...

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

Career

Randerson was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in 1964, and ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1965; he was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on 21 December 1994,ACANZP Lectionary, 2019
(p. 146) and served as Assistant Bishop of

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

and

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

in the Diocese of Canberra, 1994–1999, in the

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, of the

Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the R ...

. On his leaving to return to New Zealand,

Brendan Smyth Brendan Smyth O.Praem (8 June 1927 – 22 August 1997) was a Catholic priest from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who became notorious as a child molester, using his position in the Catholic Church to obtain access to his victims. During a period ...

, the ACT Minister for Urban Services, made a Speech of Commendation in the Legislative Assembly describing Bishop Randerson's contribution to the State. He has written two publications about Christianity and market-based economic ideology; ''Christian Ethics and the New Zealand Economy'' published in 1987, and ''Hearts and Minds: a place for people in a market economy'' published in 1992. A third book, ''A Word in Season: Reflections on spirituality, faith and ethics'', was published in 2008. Randerson has contributed to the development of government policy in New Zealand. He was a member of the Royal Commission on

Genetic Modification Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...

, from 2000 to 2001. He was among a group of church leaders who supported the 2007 repeal of Section 59 of the Crimes Act, the section of the act that allowed New Zealand parents and guardians to use force against children in certain circumstances. In 2011 he served as Deputy Chair on New Zealand's Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology, also known as 'ACART'. In 2007 he attracted controversy for expressing concern for the well-being of patients in a proposed health workers' strike. He also attracted controversy for stating that as he did not believe God's existence could be scientifically proved, he could be considered an agnostic from a scientific perspective. His comments were interpreted in some quarters as an admission that he himself doubted the existence of God.

Personal life

Randerson is married with three children, including the playwright

Jo Randerson Joanna Ruth Randerson (born 1973) is a New Zealand writer, director and performer. She is the founder and artistic director of Barbarian Productions, a Wellington-based theatre production company. Biography Randerson was born in Auckland, New Ze ...

. His brother, Tony Randerson, is a judge to the

Court of Appeal of New Zealand The Court of Appeal of New Zealand is the principal intermediate appellate court of New Zealand. It is also the final appellate court for a number of matters. In practice, most appeals are resolved at this intermediate appellate level, rather t ...

Honours and awards

In the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours, Randerson was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

, for services to the community.

References

External links

Response to a National Radio interview with Richard Dawkins
audio interview with Kim Hill, '' National Radio (New Zealand)'', 16 December 2006 (Note: Links also to the

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ath ...

interview and other unrelated media)
Column in which Randerson describes himself as, in some senses, an agnostic

* ttp://www.holy-trinity.org.nz/134.php Holy Trinity Cathedral biography
ACT Hansard Speech by Brendan Smyth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Randerson, Richard 1940 births Anglican bishops of Auckland 20th-century Anglican bishops in Australia Assistant bishops in the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit Living people University of Otago alumni Deans of Auckland People from Takapuna