But the call for the Hikoi emerged from the floor of the Anglican synod it was not forewarned, and was unanimously endorsed. The people who were present describe the call as "a spiritual response" to the frustration expressed by so many church social service members who are at the front-line of addressing poverty issues.

These workers were feeling increasingly hopeless about "the intolerable levels of poverty and social breakdown in NZ", and "the pain and dislocation caused by present social policies". In calling for the Hikoi, the first in the church's history, the Bishops are taking perhaps a more traditional role of spiritual leadership that of challenging fellow NZ'ers to look at our values and re-examine the choices we are making as a nation.

The Anglican Church also provides extensive social services through over 100 agencies and programmes. And it estimates that its members provide over a million hours of voluntary community service a week. Over recent years, the church has also passed resolutions, made submissions, sent delegations and signed petitions on the issues of poverty and social breakdown. But, according to the Bishop of Aotearoa, the Rt Revd Whakahuihui Vercoe: "Successive Governments have not heeded these initiatives and the Church is seeing the collapse of a caring society"

"We are awakening our nation to the erosion of our community caused by economic policy in which we have become trapped. There needs to be a rediscovery of human values and God values within our lives. The challenge is to communicate that to the rest of the community and the world ... with our brother and sister churches."

There will be public meetings and hui along the route of the Hikoi, where these stories will also be aired.

Internet bookmark: Details of the Hikoi of Hope can be found on the Anglican website at http://hikoi.anglican.org.nz. Other details can be obtained by phone from 0800 ANGLICAN.

The letter said: " We are also front-line workers on these issues [of unemployment and poverty], and understand and sympathise with the feelings of frustration, hopelessness and anger amongst our colleagues around NZ. Because of this, we feel moved to strongly support this Hikoi initiative [] There won't be any banners of slogans just our personal presence on this march endorsing the message that "enough is enough" and "there has to be a better way"

Oram: "Thanks to the economic reforms, a lot of people are well and truly "outside the tent". The mission of the Hikoi is to make their stories, about their life outside the tent, be heard throughout the country and on the steps of parliament. Thousands will join them along the way or at rallies such as one in Auckland on Saturday September 12th

"This Hikoi of Hope is an initiative of the Anglican Church. But when tens of thousands of people express their very great concern about the state of the nation, please do not credit the Anglican Church. From life-long membership, I can assure you it is incapable of organising anything ... not even a bun fight in a bakery. Those people will march and rally because they have something important to say. I urge you to listen to them

"Yes, it is about human dignity and social justice. But it is also about practicalities. Do you want a tax rate of 20 per cent? I certainly do. But we won't get one until many, many New Zealanders who are liabilities drains on public finances, often for no fault of their own become assets, become people who lead lives fulfilled through employment, health and education. As a nation, we're doing a very poor job on that. It is the greatest failure of government and reform of the last 15 years. We have to stop that rot. Society itself is at risk"

Source _ Briefing papers from the Hikoi of Hope, from the Anglican church; speech by Rod Oram, Editor of the Business Section of the New Zealand Herald to the Auckland Downtown Rotary Club Monday, August 10th, 1998; letters to the editor of the New Zealand Herald; items from the Anglican website at http://hikoi.anglican.org.nz; and [hikoi-news] email list conference.