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First regional mission advisor appointed

By Gillian Vine

'I’m enjoying it very much,' Bruce Fraser says of his work to advance the mission goals of the Synod of Otago and Southland.

Mr Fraser’s role as mission advisor sees him working with congregations and their leaders in Otago and Southland to help them develop a sense of mission, including how church and community can connect.

Since starting in July, Mr Fraser has worked with five parishes in the Southland Presbytery, two in Mataura, and one in North Otago, Clutha and Central Otago.

Asked for an appraisal of his work, Mr Fraser says, “it’s early days but the feedback I’m getting is positive. “There’s a growing appreciation of the challenges parishes face.”

To help them in mission appraisals, he has developed a 30-point questionnaire covering areas like the parish, its history and how it connects with the community.

“It’s not just ticking the boxes. It’s a thinking thing and possibly six questions are covered in a two-hour meeting. “One congregation said, ‘they’re hard questions but they’re the right questions’ and that was pleasing.

“We have to do fundamental changing of people’s perspective of the world view and [my role is to] help that process,” Mr Fraser says. “My prime concern is to help the followers of Jesus … discover what God wants of them today.”

The mission advisor role is only the second position – the other is that of Synod clerk – that the Synod has fully funded since it was set up in the 1850s.

Mr Fraser comes to it with wide parish experience, including working as lay supply in the South Otago parish of Stirling-Kaitangata. “I went [there] for three months and stayed for five years,” he says.

The responsibilities of Synod mission advisor do not include crisis management, which should be addressed by the Presbytery or the minister’s supervisor initially; nor do they include formal links with the School of Ministry or other national bodies, as this is one of the tasks of national mission enabler the Rev John Daniel, with whom Mr Fraser has a close liaison.

“It’s very much a case of slotting in with what John Daniel does [and] helping parishes work out priorities,” Synod Clerk Heather McKenzie says.

“In view of the very new nature of the national mission enabler position, and also the Synod tasks already in progress, it is planned that this regional appointment will initially be until the end of 2006,” she says