This article was first published in eMessenger in August 2019.
The newest member of the Methodist Alliance is Chartwell Cooperating Church which is a blend of Methodists, Anglicans and Presbyterians in Chartwell, Hamilton. Its vision is “To know and share God’s love - Kia mau, kia uru te aroha o te Atua.”
Chartwell is a busy and active parish with the premises being used by a wide variety of community groups as well as church-based events and ministries. When I visited recently the Toy Library was open with a huge range of toys, both large and small, available for borrowing by parents and caregivers. This service is funded by grants and membership fees. Membership for the Kidz Korner Toy Library has grown steadily and is nearly at 100 members.
Chartwell also offers many other social services, including:
OSCAR before and after school care every weekday during school terms from 7.30am-9am and 2.30pm-5.30pm for five to 13 year olds. The programme is MSD approved and parents can access the Work & Income subsidy which helps families pay for this care.
Chartwell is providing a holiday programme on four days between 9am – 4pm during these school holidays which features team challenges, a movie day, cardboard challenges and Winter Olympics!
Volunteers from Chartwell Church are essential to the success of Mainly Music – a music and movement group for pre-schoolers and their parents/caregivers which is held on Friday mornings. Children learn about colours and numbers, express their imagination and develop social skills. Parents/caregivers enjoy the opportunity to focus on their children and find peer support.
Free family movie nights are held regularly, where you take your own takeaways and get a free ice-cream at the movie. They even do gluten free and diary free options!
Chartwell offers a mentoring programme for young people where the teenagers are matched with a mentor. An intentional relationship is formed where the mentor encourages, inspires and enables the young person to develop skills and to challenge themselves. Mentors believe in the ability of young people to transform the church, communities and society. You can read more about the “Transformers & All Stars – Leaders in Training” in Chartwell’s bi-monthly magazine “Charter” https://www.chartwellchurch.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Jun-2019-Jul-2019-compressed.pdf
Chartwell also has a focus on older people and are implementing their strategic plan for older persons. They aim to have four workshops a year and these have covered the pros and cons of retirement villages, identification and prevention of elder abuse and enduring powers of attorney. Chartwell also offers specific programmes for older people including lunches every Wednesday during the winter months, Chartwell Gold Club and the Selwyn Centre on Thursdays throughout the year. All these programmes provide opportunities for older people to build resilience and make social connection, which prevents loneliness and social isolation. The church premises are also used for U3A, Dementia Waikato, Essential Tremor Group, indoor bowls, Friendship Club, Probus, Steady As you Go and Tai Chi – ACC falls prevention. Chartwell’s website provides links to local resources in the community.
The Selwyn Centre is a weekly get-together for the over 65s. Selwyn Centres are supported by the Anglican Church in parishes nationwide. They provide companionship, fun, help and support for people over 65 years who may be living alone or have limited opportunities to get out and about. Selwyn Centres are supported by, and run in partnership with, the Selwyn Foundation[1] with guidelines, manual and seed funding. Volunteers from the congregation and the community help with activities and to prepare morning tea. The programme includes social games, gentle exercise, morning tea, guest speakers, craft, etc. Occasional outings are also organised. This is the second year of the programme which has been an outstanding success. The programme meets the physical, intellectual and social needs of older people in the parish and the community. They have held cooking classes in association with Age Concern which, as well as creating easy to prepare tasty cheap meals which everyone enjoyed eating, also included how to understand food labels. Connections are made with existing community networks and Chartwell reports that there have been unexpected community connections made too. For instance, two final year occupational therapy students from Wintec undertook a community project to create a resource to assist older people to remain safe and as independent as possible in their homes.
The Chartwell Gold Club is an independent group that meets on the second Wednesday afternoon of the month at 1.00pm in the church hall. It is aimed at over 60s but anyone who would like fellowship, fun, outings, entertainment and education is welcome to come along.
Chartwell Cooperating Church provides food for the Hamilton Combined Christian Foodbank, which is also supported by Methodist City Action – the Methodist Mission in Hamilton, which is also a member of the Methodist Alliance.
All these social services are provided to the community as well as the usual Sunday services and children’s ministry with Ignite for Years 1-6 and Connect for Years 7-13. There is something for everyone: an evening youth group called YACC (Youth at Chartwell Church), monthly Messy Church, Girls’ Brigade, Parish Family Groups, Women’s Fellowship Groups, Men’s Group, an extensive library and an annual church fair which is famous in Hamilton and beyond.
Carol Barron, Methodist Alliance National Coordinator
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