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Minutes of the General Assembly 2012
find the right tune for a hymn. She was a very capable organist and pianist, and was in
great demand as an accompanist. Any choir she joined had a very reliable alto voice
when Betty sang with them.
As a young woman, Betty attended the Seddon Memorial Technical College and was
adept at shorthand. When she retired from her 45 years working as a secretary at W.E.
Lewisham (Merchants), her skills were quickly snapped up by St James, where she
became the church secretary. Meetings were faithfully recorded, and any disputes
about what might have been said were quickly unravelled when she referred to her
shorthand notebook.
Betty was a great cook and an invitation to her home in Mt Albert was an invitation to
partake of a feast. She is remembered by St James as the one who came with several
baskets of food to any occasion where food was to be consumed.
Betty’s life was full of music and whenever there was a possibility to get involved, she
loved her Scottish dancing. Her life in retirement was busy with Mt Albert Ladies
Probus Club, North Shore Harmony Club, volunteer driver for the Foundation for the
Blind, and assisting with the Selwyn Singers Choir at Selwyn Village.
When St James was sold in 1994, Betty’s loyalty to the small congregation that
remained was superb. She followed the congregation to four different inner-city
locations over 12 years and never wavered in her belief that St James had a place in
the city. She wanted to see the continuation of the inner city social justice work and
robust proclamation of the Gospel for the city.
Memories of Betty all gel in one word – loyalty. Loyalty to family, loyalty to friends,
loyalty to St James, loyalty to her God. Betty gave her life to service of others. She
was a loved and respected person and one who is greatly missed by the congregation
of St James.
Ka wheturangi koe,
moe mai i te meoenga roa,
takoto mai i runga te Rangimarie
A te Karaiti.
You are a star in heaven,
sleep the long sleep,
lie in the peace of Christ.
We give thanks for the life of Elizabeth Jean Robinson.
Rodgers, Reverend Blair Steen
15 October 1933 – 17 April 2011
Blair was born and educated in Oamaru before attending Teachers Training College in
Dunedin and embarking on a teaching career in primary schools, mainly around Otago
and Southland. In the latter part of his teaching career, he was head teacher in Central
Southland. At this time, his call to ministry grew stronger while he was exercising a lay
supply period in Browns and Hedgehope.
He attended the University of Otago prior to entering the Theological Hall in 1969. He
was ordained into the pastoral charge of Waikouaiti in 1972, following his marriage to
Lorna in the same year. These two new beginnings were a blessing to both Blair and
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