The church has much to offer today's community, says interim minister of the Upper Clutha Parish, Dr Jim Symons.

During the many years of his ministry the retired American pastor has worked in a variety of situations including the chaplaincy of a University for poor students, grew one of the first integrated churches during the Martin Luther King era, started a church from scratch in a new university town and counselled grief stricken staff and students after the tragedy at Columbine High School, which was located in his parish.

Coming to New Zealand was never meant to be a holiday for Dr Symons who takes his interim pastorate very seriously indeed. A vacant church needs to be walked through a time of transition in preparation for a new minister, he says. He first encouraged the congregation to develop a statement of its core purpose. Then he identified four areas of ministry (worship, education, caring and outreach) for members to consider and established task forces in each of these areas to brainstorm new ideas and action them.

Dr Symons believes the church has much to offer Wanaka's wider community. "The town is growing fast," he says. "The questions people ask about the values they affirm as a community and the dreams they have for themselves, offer a window of opportunity to put in place good values for the future. The church, with its understanding of what makes a community, has much to contribute in terms of working out goals and setting values that will last into the future."