The work of the Missions continues to be upheld by work of volunteers and the support of Parishes. This Connexionalism is at the heart of being Methodist and all Methodist organisations.

In 1885 the Helping Hand Mission was established in Auckland by the Pitt Street Methodist Church. Sister Blakely was appointed to work with the families living in hardship in the inner city. An East Street Mission was also established with Deaconesses providing help and support to those in need.

In 1927 Conference combined these two missions and established the Auckland Methodist Mission and appointed Rev Scrimgeour as Missioner, who was 24 years old at the time. Rev Everil Orr was the Superintendent from 1933 and established the children’s health camp at Campbell’s Bay.

Methodist Mission Northern & the Aotea Chapel circa 1970 — Image by: Heather Fraser

In 1892 the Helping Hand Mission was established in Dunedin, which later became the Bath Street Mission. Deaconesses and volunteers visited the sick and undertook work with street kids. In 1900, William Sinclair is recorded as the Superintendent at the Dunedin Central Mission.

In 1931 Rev Leslie Neale was appointed Superintendent and the Mission had a base in the Octagon. They organised annual children’s health camps and Rev Neale made his first broadcast of the Radio Church of the Helping Hand in 1934.

In Wellington, a Wesleyan Day School for children was opened in 1846 and over had 146 students throughout that year. In 1903 a shop and cottage was purchased and turned into the Tory Street Mission which was supported by a deaconess and volunteers from Wesley Church.

In 1909 Conference agreed to establish the Wellington Central Mission and in 1910 Rev E O Blamires was appointed Convenor of the Mission. In 1947 the Wesley Church Trust and leaders resolved to develop social services in the Wellington region. In 1949, the Wesley Trust proposal to establish an eventide home was approved by Conference and work was started on 150 acres of land in Naenae that was donated. By 1955, the first residents moved into the newly built Wesleyhaven.

In 1914 a South Island Methodist Orphanage and Children’s Home was established in Christchurch with capacity for 30 children. By 1930 72 children were being cared for. Local churches provided harvest thanksgiving food and gifts for Christmas and birthdays.

The Christchurch Central Mission was founded in 1939 by Rev Gardner Miller, and in 1950 Rev Falkingham was appointed as Superintendent.In 1951 the Mission provided firewood for the elderly, as the 1951 coal miners’ strike impacted on the community. 6,000 sacks of firewood were delivered and blankets, clothing, footwear and funds were also made available to people in need. In 1952 the Mission separated from the parish and became an independent entity.

In Hamilton, the Methodist Centre was opened in 1962 and was situated behind St Paul’s Church in London Street. A new presbytery team at St Paul’s promoted a more deliberate social service and the Hamilton Methodist Social Services Trust was established in 1983. Services provided included relationship counselling, social work supervision, community development, fostering links between churches, food parcels, foster care, work with Birthright, helping establish a hostel for at risk girls, advocacy for beneficiaries, and computer classes. In 1990, the Hamilton Methodist Social Services became independent of the Hamilton Parish but still worked closely with it.

Palmerston North Methodist Social Services Trust (PNMSS) started in 1963 as an extension of the local church in response to perceptions of gaps in the existing welfare services. Three founders were Rev George Goodman, Minister at Trinity Church and Chairman of the District, Merv Hancock, a member of the parish and the Manawatu District Child Welfare Officer, and George Baber, a lay Methodist with experience of statutory and voluntary welfare services, who was the first Director.

PNMSS organised holiday foster homes for children from Homeleigh, the children’s home in Masterton, over the summer holidays. Children were placed in homes of the church members. Christmas hampers for families and elderly people associated with PNMSS was started in 1967 and this grew with a strong public ownership of the scheme.

In 1974 Bertha Zurcher introduced an intensive in-home support for families under stress as an alternative to placing children in foster care. This was much like the Mana Whānau programme offered by Lifewise and Wesley Community Action today.

Siaola is the Vahefonua Tonga Methodist Mission which provides services designed and delivered by Tongans for the Tongan community and uses a Tongan framework to evaluate their work. Siaola was established in 2006 and provided education and training expos. They now provide a wide range of services including prevention of family violence, financial literacy, and health programme.

Sinoti Samoa first reported to Conference with other social services in 2010 when a new committee was established to look at social issues challenging the Samoan community. Sinoti Samoa provided workshops to prevent family violence in 2011 in response to an identified need in the Samoan community and in 2013 these workshops were expanded to include anger management and suicide prevention.

A newly structured mission was rebranded in 2014 as Puna’oa o le Soifua Manuia it promotes healthy eating, establishing vegetable gardens, teaches CPR, and encourages parishes to be prepared for natural disasters with survival kits.

Our Methodist Missions were established by a Parish in response to a recognised need in their local community. The early Missions were heavily reliant on volunteers and Deaconesses. Today, our Missions still benefit from the work of volunteers and support from local Parishes - this is connexionalism in action.

Connexionalism is at the heart of being Methodist and at the heart of all Methodist organisations. It is fundamental to how we understand our Church and how we relate to each other. The essence of being connexional is the sense of belonging, mutuality and interdependence. Our connexionalism empowers and enables us to respond collectively to national issues like the housing crisis. Our connexionalism enables us to easily share our knowledge, skills, resources to undertake the Church’s mission and to work towards a just and inclusive society in which all people flourish.

If you would like more information about how you can support your local Methodist Missions, check out their websites or contact me.

Carol Barron, National Coordinator

03 375 0512 | 027 561 9164 | Carol@MethodistAlliance.org.nz

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