| Peter Beck | |
|---|---|
Peter Beck in 2011 |
|
| Born | born c. 1948/1949 Sheffield, England |
| Spouse | Gay Beck |
| Children | three |
| Church | ChristChurch Cathedral |
| Ordained | 1973 |
| Offices held | Vicar at St Matthew in the city (1992–2000) |
| Title | The Very Reverend |
The Very Reverend Peter J. Beck (born 1948/1949 (age 63–64)) has since 2002 been the dean of ChristChurch Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand. Born in England, Beck has been in New Zealand since 1981, and was vicar of St Matthew in the city in Auckland. He knew the late Sir Edmund Hillary from his time in Auckland, is a board member of the Hillary Institute, and spoke at the state funeral of Hillary in 2008. Since the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, Beck has been one of the figureheads of the city.
Beck resigned from his church role in December 2011 to contest a vacancy on Christchurch City Council in a by-election early in 2012.
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Beck was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, in 1948 or 1949.[1] He is a graduate of Oxford University[2] and was ordained as a priest in 1973 in England[3] and emigrated to New Zealand in 1981.[1]
He was vicar of St Matthew in the city in Auckland from 1992 to 2000[4][5] and developed an association with Sir Edmund Hillary and his wife June.[2] His next role was as the director of a retreat centre, Vaughan Park, in Auckland.[3] Since 2002, he has been the dean of ChristChurch Cathedral in Christchurch.[1]
Beck is on the board of the Hillary Institute;[2] the organisation was launched as part of the 50th anniversary visit of Hillary to Antarctica in 2007.[6] Beck was asked by Lady Hillary to speak at the 2008 state funeral of her husband.[7]
Following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, Beck became one of the figureheads of Christchurch.[1][8][9][10] One of his quotes is often cited:[11][12][13][14][15]
The earthquake was not an act of God. The earthquake was the planet doing its thing the way the planet does. For me as a Christian, the act of God is in the love and compassion that people are sharing among each other.
It was feared that up to 22 people would have been killed after the collapse of the tower of the ChristChurch Cathedral in the February earthquake. Beck cried with relief when he was informed on 5 March that nobody had been found in the church.[11]
Gareth Farr composed a memorial piece for the Christchurch earthquake, Nor'West Arch, first performed on 25 September 2011. The title makes reference to a particular Christchurch weather pattern, but is also that part of the ChristChurch Cathedral that received most damage in the earthquake. Beck was part of the performance, reading out an introduction including the quote above.[16][17] The concert was one of the highlights of the 2011 Christchurch Arts Festival.[18]
On Wednesday, 7 December 2011, it was revealed that Beck had resigned from his role with the Anglican church.[19] His notice period is three months.[20] Disagreement between Beck and Bishop Victoria Matthews were cited as his reason for leaving.[19] There was criticism of Matthews being out of touch with the community on the Cathedral's future and calls for her resignation.[19]
Beck is going to contest a 2012 by-election in the Burwood/Pegasus ward for a seat as councillor Christchurch City Council following the resignation of senior councillor Chrissie Williams.[21][22]
Beck is married to Gay and they have three adult children. The Becks own a bach at Lake Clearwater in the Southern Alps, inland from Ashburton.[2]