November 2015
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MARCH 2008 NOVEMBER 2015 W Church people can join other volunteers to help refugees start a new life in New Zealand. Volunteers help refugees By Sophie Parish make NZ home ending a helping hand arrive into New Zealand, they receive is very special.” the church at that time and asked after WWII. to a refugee make a new are placed at the Red Cross This year Rachel says the if we could help the family find “We would like to see the life in New Zealand can resettlement programme in greatest need is for refugee accommodation. New Zealand quota for refugee be a rewarding Auckland. support volunteers, who help “Our whole church came assistance increased. We have a extension of the There they go through six refugees during their transition together to find furniture, successful resettlement program Methodist tradition of weeks of orientation to help them to living in their new home and bedding and home supplies to mission. integrate into Kiwi life, culture community. help the refugees they and we think that as a country LEach year 750 refugees arrive and language. Qualified Red efugee resettlement volunteers volunteered to support. It helped we have the capacity to do in New Zealand and over the Cross social workers, case attend a training course through them but it was also a way to more.” next two years an additional 600 workers and trained volunteers the Red Cross in their pull the church people together,” In the next six months the Syrian refugees will be help with this initial transition. region, and are often paired Robin says. New Zealand government will welcomed here. Most arrive After the six week with another volunteer to Parish steward Margaret make a decision about the current without the basics of life but the orientation, refugee families are R help families during the Ziegler visited the family and refugee response and whether chance for a peaceful life away then placed in communities in first three to six months in taught the parents and five they will increase the refugee from war and persecution is an Auckland, Manawatu, Nelson, New Zealand. children English. answered prayer. Waikato and Wellington. Some of the tasks volunteers “The congregation followed quota. Volunteers play a big part in Red Cross national do include helping families enrol the family through the years as You can support increasing helping refugees find their feet programme development their children into schools, going they moved around the the New Zealand refugee quota and settle into life in Aotearoa, manager says Rachel O'Connor grocery shopping with them, Manurewa community. Eight by contacting your local MPs or and churches may want to says one of the most rewarding showing them the local libraries years ago the family had saved you can help to raise awareness consider how they could parts of working with refugees and playgrounds, and just being enough to buy the Manurewa about New Zealand's role in contribute to this effort. is that you get to see people at a friendly face in their new parsonage. They said they helping address the global The Red Cross is the primary the start of their new life. country. wanted to live in a place refugee crisis. provider for refugee resettlement “I remember dropping off Manurewa Methodist dedicated to God,” Robin says. To become a resettlement in New Zealand. When refugees one family to their first home parishioner Robin Ziegler had When asked about the current and pulling onto the drive way. the opportunity to assist a Syrian crisis affecting Syrians fleeing volunteer contact your local Red The father got out of the car and refugee family resettle here in to Europe for survival, Rachel Cross branch by visiting pointed to the house and asked 1990s. says the humanitarian disaster www.redcross.org.nz or phoning INSIDE who lived there? The thanks you The Red Cross approached has displaced more people than 0800 7332 7677. UCANZ FORUM - PAGES 3, 8 SEISMIC SHAKEUP - PAGE 11 CYF REVIEW - PAGES 6, 7 2 TOUCHSTONE • NOVEMBER 2015 NEWS Christian World Service - Small change makes big change By Gillian Southey way the economy works to address the The highlight of Christian World widespread damage human activity is doing Service's 70th anniversary celebrations to the planet. last month was a lecture by Rod Oram in The loss of biodiversity, climate change, Christchurch's Transitional Cathedral increasingly rapacious habits of banks, and St Matthew's in the City, Auckland. record numbers of refugees, practices such Both gatherings were attended by long- as Volkswagen's deliberate falsification of term supporters of CWS and others emissions and other crises are all leading interested in Rod Oram's reflections on the to the world's sixth extinction, he said. challenges the global community faces. The way forward is to focus on As the audience mingled before the restoring relationships with each other and proceedings, there were many comments between us and the planet. It is imperative as people recognised old CWS Christmas that we work with nature, not against it. Appeal posters. The events culminated in Drawing on economist Kate Raworth's a collection to assist Syrian refugees in radical revisioning of economics, Rod Jordan and Lebanon. spoke of the need to build a safe and just CWS national director Pauline McKay space for humanity under the welcomed people to the event and environmental ceiling. The solution to highlighted the organisation's early history, issues that are increasingly global is to its transition from relief work to community focus on the local. CWS director Pauline McKay addresses the audience at the Transitional development, and the way its work Change will come from strong Cathedral in Christchurch. Seated (from left) are David Tombs and Rod Oram. addresses unjust structures and poverty. communities where individuals are valued, that CWS has been doing for the last 70 funds to help war torn Greece in the name Pauline cited the Sustainable helped and encouraged. years and that will be needed for a long of the National Council of Churches.. Development Goals agreed at this year's Quoting scientist Gus Speth, he argued time to come. Money raised helped four relief teams United Nations General Summit as an for a spiritual and cultural transformation The future agenda needs to be inspiring organised by CORSO. important benchmark. She said CWS's to deal with what he called the and it needs to be faithful in all senses of The anniversary celebrations included work is more important than ever given environmental problems of selfishness, the word. The care of creation unites people videoed messages of congratulations and the complex problems of inequality, greed and apathy. Rod touched on Pope across all faiths. thanks from CWS partners around the conflict and insecurity. Francis's latest Encyclical Laudato Si and Rod argued for small, incremental steps world. Sparks in the Stubble its unequivocal argument for a reorienting to rebalance the ecosystem to support more The video culminated in a message of In his talks Rod aimed to ignite action of human life. life. His faith in the ability of people to congratulations from Helen Clark, now for social change. He took inspiration from The need for radical transformation in make big change from small change was head of the United Nations Development US Episcopal Church bishop Katharine the way we live together within the matched by the sense of urgency for action. Programme. Helen strongly affirmed Jefferts Schori as he encouraged Christians ecosystem is urgent. First Appeal CWS's pioneering work and encouraged to be “sparks in the stubble” and clear Churches too need to learn to work The first CWS Christmas Appeal was us to work together to address the drivers away the old growth and regenerate the together more effectively. Inspiration and launched by Archbishop West Watson in of poverty. world. strength will be found as we learn from a letter to the Christchurch Press on 15 “Hasn't CWS proven to be on the right He argued for a radical revision of the one another. In many ways this is the work December 1945. The letter appealed for side of history?” she asked. Ecumenical dialogue bears fruit The New Zealand Anglican, with each other to express more other faiths,” Philip says. National Church Leaders, a much Catholic and Methodist Churches visibly the unity willed by Christ Former Methodist president more diverse group with a number have agreed to form an for his church; and Rev John Roberts served as a of smaller and more conservative ecumenical trust to pursue closer 3) Working together towards facilitator during the eight years churches. ties and share understandings. our common mission of worship, of dialogue that has led to the It was decided that The National Dialogue for witness, and service in the world. formation of the NDCU. representatives of the churches in Christian Unity (NDCU) will hold Anglican archbishop Most Rev John says the Methodist the dialogue should be responsible its inaugural annual forum in Philip Randerson says forming the Church initiated the dialogue after to their own national church Wellington on 25 February 2016, NDCU gives hope that dialogue the demise of the Conference of structures, and that the NDCU as followed by a service of will lead to formal ecumenical Churches in Aotearoa New a whole was accountable to the John Roberts celebration at the Sacred Heart collaboration among the churches Zealand in 2005. structures and courts of the Cathedral at 5:00 pm. and other groups in society that In 2007, Methodist Conference participating churches. The aim of the group is to want to see progress on issues that agreed that then president Rev September 2011 the group decided explore the significance of Jesus' are a concern of all New Brian Turner would convene a to move beyond dialogue and form prayer for unity and truth by: Zealanders.