Peter Norman: Community-minded minister and once a Montana wine maker

October 11th, 2011
By David Armstrong

To some old-time Methodists, a pastor who enjoys and is extremely knowledgeable about wine may seem an improbable fit, but St Andrew's Church minister Peter Norman has found a rich life through his involvement in both activities.

Rev Peter Norman is open and affable, slightly shy but a big man in stature and faith. And his faith is expressed through a wide range of community activities he's heavily involved in which aim to build a stronger town and provide services for some of our less fortunate citizens.

Peter has lived most of his 58 years in Gisborne. His father was an accountant who hoped Peter would follow that profession, and he did for a short spell at Inland Revenue, including a night-school class, before deciding it was not for him.

Besides, Gisborne being a major surfing city, Peter was more interested in following that pastime (along with an enjoyment of rugby) and travelled the North Island and then Australia for three years, riding the waves and working whenever he ran out of money.

Approaching his 23rd birthday, he got a job at a winery mainly shovelling grape skins out of vats, but this lowly activity aroused for him an interest in the wine industry, and particularly the technical side of wine making. He ended up staying at that Montana winery for 21 years.

"It was a time when the wine industry was growing exponentially in this country," he says. "I was fortunate to working in the industry at the time because I was able to rise up quickly through the ranks. I was leading hand, then supervisor, assistant manager and then switched over to the technical side of things and became a trainee wine maker."

Eventually, by the time he left Montana, he was wine maker in charge of Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and some of the red production.

Ask Peter what sorts of week-to-week activities are involved in being a major wine maker and you quickly discover that the job has many facets that all interact with each other. Larger scale wine companies rely on consistency of product, so the decision making when designing and refining wines are is not random or of the winemaker's fancy, but very much market-driven - what the marketing department believes people will want and buy.

Various blends had to fit into price ranges - budget through to top shelf. The quality of fruit along with wine making techniques determined which would sell where. This affected a multitude of decisions based on tasting in the vineyards, laboratory analysis and tasting during the fermentation - including which clones on which rootstock to grow for which market, when and how to pick the harvest, what containers to use, how to deal with year-on-year fluctuations.

"It's quite a long and complicated process, based on lots of tastings at various stages, and I guess the key to it is having a good palate," he says in summary.

"It's an evolving industry, and that's what makes wine making so interesting, because no two years are the same. When I left, Pinot Gris was not even on the horizon but now it's one of the flavours of the month. Chardonnay was huge when I was there, and now they're pulling Chardonnay vines out."

Surfing and rugby remained his two sporting interests. He played premiere grade rugby in Gisborne until he was 38, steadily moving from the wing into the lock forward position as he got "older and slower".

Meanwhile, Peter's interest in Christianity and matters of the spirit were also evolving. Baptised into the Methodist church, he attended Sunday School in his early youth, but then lost interest and motivation. He came back into a Pentecostal church in his early 20s when some of his surfing mates caught the 60s/70s wave of charismatic renewal movements.

"I had a dream one night. I can't remember anything else about the dream, but the one image that sticks with me was of me sitting in the gutter dressed in rags, and it came to me that if I continued on with the sort of lifestyle I was leading, that's where I was going to end up - physically or spiritually or whatever. A friend of mine invited me to go to church so I went."

Peter had a couple of "profound spiritual experiences" there, in one of which he ended up on the floor at the front of the church feeling "a profound sense of peace, which I'd never experienced before nor since, but it was very real to me," he says.

But after a time the hype of the Pentecostal services - speaking in tongues, waving arms about - proved not enough for Peter. "I began to feel there must be more than this, there must be something much deeper. I became quite bored with it and left."

After quite a break, well into his 30s, it was back at the church at which he'd gone to Sunday School, which was by then the Union Methodist/Presbyterian church. It was here that a leader encouraged him to become more involved by taking services and preaching, and then to take it a step further.

Early in his wine career, Peter had married Lynnette and they had five children, three of whom are now living in Motueka also. Peter left Montana in 1997 and had a "gap year"; then when Peter was 46, the whole family upped sticks and went to the non-denominational Bible College of New Zealand (now Laidlaw College) in Auckland.

"When I began preaching, I used to like using the biblical languages, the Greek and the Hebrew, so I decided to get serious about that and get training."

Peter liked the intellectual side of it and the challenges it provided to his thinking. "One of the reasons I became bored with the Pentecostal church was that you were told that to be a Christian you had to think within certain prescribed parameters. What attracted me to Bible College was that I was encouraged to think for myself, and to explore.

"I'm an ideas person, but I have difficulty in following them through," he adds candidly. His five years at the college challenged his faith. "They throw all these different perspectives at you and you have to work your way through them. My faith now is founded on a set of beliefs. Those beliefs change but my faith remains.

"I struggled for while until I came to grips with a theology that fitted well with me. That continues on now. I'd describe my theology as pretty fluid."

When he graduated Peter did a masters degree in theological studies and decided to become a candidate for the Methodist church, applying for ministries within that church. This involved a further three years of study at Trinity College, which included some Arts studies mainly in sociology.

"I often think if I had my time over I would have done degrees in disciplines other than theology," he grins. "I found the sociology studies prepared me for ministry better than the theological work."

Think about what eight years of study means for a man in his 40s and with a family of five. "Study had a huge impact on the family," he agrees. "From being a wine maker on a good salary to having a student allowance - and a student loan which I'm still paying off - was very hard. Everyone had to make sacrifices. I certainly know what it's like to live on a limited budget."

Peter and Lynnette came to Motueka in 2008. They'd hoped to get one of three Auckland postings because that was their home. Motueka was top of 'other places', and when their fourth choice came up - St Andrew's Uniting Church beside the Police station - they were pretty happy.

"It's been a great experience. We couldn't have asked for a better first placement. The church people have been so supportive and helpful, and the community at large - I really enjoy working with the people of this community."

One thing that impresses many people in town is the way in which Peter has taken on several responsible secular positions in the community. He chairs the trust which runs the busy Family Service Centre, chairs the collaboration of agencies meetings, is on the committee of the Short Term Accommodation Trust (night shelter) and is a community representative at restorative justice conferences. He says he learns a lot about what's happening in the community through these sorts of groups.

Compared with what he has experienced in his past, Motueka has a great sense of community, Peter says. "Just look at the number of community events and the people involved in organising them."

In his own time, Peter enjoys reading non-fiction - anything on current affairs in the church, science, spirituality, politics, sociology and anything to do with community. "All those things are connected. I like to keep up with innovative ideas."

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