This article was first published in Touchstone in May 2017.
The Alliance is a new umbrella group for all the Methodist Missions and Parishes that deliver social services across Aotearoa New Zealand. Each Mission and Parish stays independent with their own governing boards, however the Alliance will connect them so they can cooperate and work together on common issues such as children and families, aged care, social justice and housing.
All the missions have their own names (Lifewise in Auckland, Wesley Community Action in Wellington, Methodist City Action in Hamilton, Christchurch Methodist Mission, and Methodist Mission Southern in Dunedin) so most Kiwis don't know that they are connected.
The Missions will keep their own names, however they will start co-branding with the name of the Methodist Alliance Aotearoa (Nga Purapura Weteriana), like Air New Zealand does with the Star Alliance. This co-branding will help to raise the profile of the work Missions and Parishes across the country.
The Alliance will celebrate the work done by its members and create a resource library that its members can use. This will help members support each other, promote best practice, leverage their collective skills, experience, imagination and resources to build a just and inclusive society. The first annual Alliance Forum will be November 3rd and 4th in Christchurch.
During a recent trip to Wellington I visited Trinity Union Parish in Newtown. The Parish hires out its complex to a range of community groups. A Seventh Day Adventist congregation uses Trinity Union's worship area on Saturdays. They fill the church with flowers for their service and leave the flowers for the Trinity congregation on Sunday. Often some of the flowers are then distributed to rest homes and elderly folk who are unable to attend services.
Trinity Union advises other parishes to have a clear set of guidelines for users which sets out conditions of use of their complex. The Parish recently updated these to meet with the changes to the H&S Act and Worksafe practices. The Trinity Union Parish has a strong association with the Newtown Union Health Service, a not for profit community service that provides healthcare to vulnerable people including migrants, low income families, and the unemployed.
I also visited Wesley Community Action who offers a wide range of social services in the Wellington region. These include Cannons Creek Community Pantry and Gardens where people get together to grow fruit and vegetables, learn about gardening, cooking, and healthy eating, and building social skills, confidence and community links.
They can buy a pack of fruit and vegetables for $12 which includes an information sheet on storage, nutrition, how to cook, and recipes. Other resources and programmes available through Wesley Community Action include Good Cents, a practical support and education service that helps people gain more control over their personal finances. Wesley Community Action supports older people through homebased care and a range of care options at Wesleyhaven Retirement Village. It supports young people and families through programmes such as social workers in schools, parenting support, youth mentoring and teen parenting support. Wesley Action Tauira Court Health (WATCH) supports 17 -25 year olds who have come to the attention of the Courts due to alcohol or drug issues. Check the Wesley Community Action website to learn more about how they work with clients so they can gain resilience, strength and self-worth by working in the Wesley Way. http://wesleyca.org.nz/
Ngā mihi nui
Carol Barron, Methodist Alliance National Coordinator, Carol@MethodistAlliance.org.nz
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