Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand

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The Office has moved

A big ‘Thank you’ to the members of the St Heliers Presbyterian Church and Community Centre for their warm welcome and generous offer to accommodate the GMO. My hope is that they will assist me to answer the Office’s Critical Question for 2004: "What does it mean to be a congregation engaged in Global Mission?" Or more colloquially "What does a Global Mission congregation look like?"

Staff on the move

Auckland: Another reason for the move was the need for a bigger office to accommodate our new part-time staff. Rev Paul Kim our Asian Liaison Officer, has joined the GMO as the North East Asia and Indonesia Advisor. Emily Prentice has taken up the ‘People & Projects’ portfolio. These appointments, whilst very part-time will greatly enhance our ability to serve you. Lori Hill continues her outstanding work as Communications Manager.

Israel Palestine: By the time you read this, Glenn Barclay will have already completed her first term in Israel Palestine and will be in Belfast for some well earned R&R. Glenn hopes to return to IP in March if she can obtain another visa. Please read Glenn’s diary on www.presbyterian.org.nz/globalmission Please pray for Glenn and all the EAPPI staff. One of Glenn’s EAPPI colleagues, an Anglican clergyman from England, died in Bethlehem the day before he was due to leave. It is thought that the

stress of his time in IP was a major contributing factor to his heart attack at only 46 years of age.

Vanuatu: Roy Pearson and family are ‘up and running’ in Vanuatu as the Project Officer for the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu. Roy’s presence will greatly enhance our friendship. Rev Neal Whimp returns to Talua Ministry Training Centre to ‘pilot’ a ‘Guest Lecturer’ programme. He will be accompanied by his son John who will undertake much needed mechanical maintenance.

Zambia: Andrew Johnston who met Nelson Mandela last year, arrived in Lusaka to spend a year as a volunteer worker at an orphanage for the children of AIDS victims. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), life expectancy in Africa has fallen by 20 years in the past decade to below 40. This is in stark contrast to 80.6 years in much of the developed world. With 3000 AIDS related deaths per week in Zimbabwe, town councils are having to open up vast new grave yards.

So a big ‘Thank you’ to Glenn, Andrew, Roy; Neal; John and all the many others who faithfully serve the marginalized, weak and hurting on our behalf, in the name of Jesus. We can’t all go, but we can support those who do. We certainly have the capacity to send many more too.

Quik Gifts

Have you considered holding a fund raising drive in your Parish to sponsor a small project in whole or in part? Some of the ‘Quik Gift’ ideas include:

 

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Tyres for the bike at Navota Farm - $500.00

Water pump for Onesua College - $1500

Mallison Kotali Scholarship (Pharmacy Student from the Solomons studying at Otago - $2800)

Theological Student Scholarships - $5000 each

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Nursing initiatives in Vanuatu

Trisha Bennett who was born in Vanuatu during her mother’s time of service as a nurse, will hopefully return as a volunteer to serve at the National Hospital in Port Vila for three months. This will pave the way for greater medical support for Vanuatu. We know of other Presbyterian medical staff who are currently serving in this way ‘under their own steam’ and we hope to offer a more coordinated approach in the future.

Rev Yong-Hwan Kim, a long standing friend of Vanuatu has secured land from the government in Vila and raised substantial funding from congregations in Seoul to fund the building of a nursing school. Rev Kim has asked me to ‘put the call out’ for volunteers who would be willing to serve as Nursing Tutors. If you are at all interested, please contact the GMO.

Global warming kills 150,000 a year

As Kiwi’s flock to the beach during the summer, it is hard to believe that warmer climates have brought about a noticeable increase in malnutrition and disease. The WHO reports that the spread of diarrhoeal diseases in unclean water and food speeds up the hotter it gets along with diseases spread by rats and insects. In Africa, global warming is being blamed for malaria carrying mosquitoes being found in mountainous areas for the first time. In Europe this summer, 25,482 people died in a severe heatwave. Take a look at the Climate Change Project website at www.4million.org.nz and start to challenge your congregation to be part of the solution.

Doing "evangelism" by being present

Sojourners, www.sojo.net is a US based website that seeks to comment on "faith, politics and culture" from a Christian perspective. They posted this story by Jennica Jardine who recently spent four months working as a volunteer with street kids in Rio de Janeiro. She writes:

"It is midnight and I am sitting on a dirty, beat-up blanket beside a graffiti-filled wall. The smell of paint thinner and urine sting my nose. I am sitting in the midst of a dozen or more children and one little girl just told me that her mother turned her back on her. She looked at me with indignant eyes that pierced my soul with their hardness, and she broke my heart because I could do nothing.

With all my heart I want to do something for this little girl. After all, I am an American, I am a planner, I have an advanced degree - surely I can do something. It is almost certain that when I leave in December, these kids will still be roaming the streets of Rio, sleeping on the sidewalks, running from the police. Does that mean that my presence here is irrelevant? I believe the answer is ‘No!’. I hold onto hope that even though I may not see these kids leave the streets, perhaps just for a few months these kids can escape the sting of poverty.

‘How?’ you ask? The opposite of poverty is community, being present with one another, even when there is nothing to say or do - especially when there is nothing to say or do. ..As I sit with these kids, I confess my desire to fix their lives with a "four-step plan" or give them all the money I have. Instead, I enter into their suffering and pain; I hold them close and whisper prayers of blessing over their lives. I pray to God, the King of the broken and the humble, that he would quickly come and continue to reveal himself in their precious lives until that day. I find Jessica’s insights profound and have great congruency with the words of Jesus, ‘I will be with you always’. A Theology of Presence. Now that’s good mission.

And from our 'life across the ditch' files

An article in the January ‘Unlimited’ magazine states that Australians are much wealthier than New Zealanders because of their attitude. Despite the numerous advantages in NZ, Christchurch businessman Les Taylor states "It’s as if they get up in the morning and tell themselves how good they are’. What is your attitude like in the morning – particularly when it comes to Global Mission?