He emigrated to New Zealand in 1981 with his New Zealand-born wife and their three children. Here he developed an association with Sir
Edmund Hillary and his wife June. Beck was asked by Lady Hillary to speak at the 2008 state funeral of her husband.
Dean of Christchurch Following the
September earthquake Beck was invited to become the patron of CanCERN, a network of community groups advocating a stronger voice for local communities. Following the February
2011 Christchurch earthquake, Beck made himself available to the media, and was widely quoted, with one in particular often cited: 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. celebration at the US Embassy in
Wellington 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 an introduction including the quotation above. The concert was one of the highlights of the 2011 Christchurch Arts Festival.
Resignation On 7 December 2011, it was revealed that Beck had resigned as dean. Disagreement between Beck and Bishop
Victoria Matthews was cited as his reason for leaving.
Dean of Taranaki In May 2016 Beck became
Dean of
Taranaki, a position he held for two years. ==Personal life==