Wrapping up a Decade of Child-focussed Initiatives

At Conference 2011 Council of Conference invited MCNZ to be creative in responding to the suggested mission goal, “Let the Children Live, Ending child poverty, child abuse and youth suicide in New Zealand”. The following year Council of Conference initiated a 10-year plan to tackle the issues, both inside the church and in the wider community. The goal was to encourage all congregations and agencies within the Methodist Church of New Zealand to get behind this initiative wholeheartedly. We look back at the past decade as the last round of funding in December will conclude the programme.

Over the past 10 years almost $150,000 has been allocated from the Let the Children Live Grant Fund to support activities and projects throughout the motu. Mission Resourcing was delegated by the Connexional Office Administration Division to administer the fund that initially provided for up to 10 grants of up to $500 available every quarter. The $500 grant subsequently increased to $600 for approved applications.

Rev Setaita Veikune, has overseen the grants allocations in her role as Director Mission Resourcing. She has been impressed by the efforts of many although admits to being disappointed by the lack of engagement and involvement from the entire Connexion. “Though much has been done and grants utilised over the years, many quarters have seen only very few applications, resulting in much of the funds allotted untouched. While we celebrate the effort and creativity of (comparatively) a few, the fire is yet to be ignited and passion much desired towards the Mission goal, “Let the Children Live, Ending child poverty, child abuse and youth suicide in New Zealand”. It is not all about money, however I believe that circumstances at the end of the 10-year plan to tackle the issues, show that opportunities for the church to effectively respond to the far cry of children, are left dormant.”

Jaanine Harris, Acting PA to Directors and Office Administrator Mission Resourcing, has been part of the Grant’s allocation team off and on over the past seven years. She has been impressed by the sheer vision that rohe and parishes have had for using the grants to benefit the children in their communities, despite the fact that applications have not always matched the number of grants available. ”The criteria are broad, and we meet every quarter to assess applications from parishes. I have witnessed many amazing projects encompassing the incredible passion and creativity of adults and children as they have worked together, creating intergenerational bonds and other aspects of what it means to truly prosper,” Jaanine says.

Sharing Stories

Over recent years Touchstone has reported on many of the Let the Children Live programmes. The 2018 Ministry Conference report captured the essence of the initiative, and how parishes and participants were finding ways of extending the reach of the funding by promoting events and partnering with other groups and organisations to share resources and expertise. ”This is a good news story! It is heartening to hear of so many and so varied activities being done by parishes large and small across the country to meet the needs of children and young people and their parents. We encourage the recipients of the grants to post photos and reports of their events on their parish, synod and the Connexional websites. Parishes engaging substantially with their local community may wish to investigate the benefits of joining the Methodist Alliance as a source of further advice and expertise.”

Subsequent Conference reports acknowledged the scale and scope of work undertaken by synods, rohe, parishes and fellowships and their commitments and actions supporting the mahi and ethos of the programme. Covid lockdowns impacted the rollout of activities, however many parishes have continued to find creative ways of using grants to provide resources for children, in lieu of using the grants for group outings and activities.

In December this year the Grants committee will meet for the final time to consider applications. Jaanine encourages parishes to get applications in before the final round closes on 1 November. “”There is only one round left. I want to encourage all parishes to dream about the possibilities of helping children to flourish and thrive in their own development and within their communities.” Suggestions include:

• children and teenagers being given the opportunity to attend training and take living histories from older people in a rest home for the local library or their families
• partnering with other churches or community organisations to give young people the opportunity to paint a mural
• encouraging youth to pursue opportunities to develop their creative skills and talents
• provide musical tuition with a view of providing a pop-up choir at Christmas time at the local mall …

As we approach the Bicentennial Conference 2022, a new theme will be chosen to capture energy for a new 10-year project, although the work will continue in addressing the issues of inequality, poverty and abuse as we ensure that our children’s lives are enriched and enhanced by the actions of MCNZ and their partners in mission.

Highlights from the Motu

Thank you from St Austell’s Uniting Congregation

Our children’s corner was an accumulation of donated toys, books and furniture. Over time, it also became a joint storage space for bits and pieces that had no other place in our church building. Our aim was to create a more organised and intentional space, safe and suitable for children.

This is an ongoing project that will eventually include:

o murals that incorporate our church mission statement, church cultures/multi-ethnicity and Bible verses for children;

o wall displays to showcase what our children are doing and samples of their work;

o information about our volunteers who work with children;

o signage and trails leading from each entrance door of church so visitors know where to find the children’s space.

The ultimate goal is to make children (existing members and newcomers) feel more welcome, valued and important in our church community, as in God’s kingdom. Thanks to your kind donation, we have been able to get this project launched! With a lot of thought, planning and prayer, we hope to add to this space and develop it over time.

Caption: The children’s corner at St Austell’s Uniting Church, New Lyn transformed with the help of a Let the Children Live grant.

Include Before and After images

Thank you from Wesley children in Manawatu-Rangitikei Parish

A Mission Resourcing grant from the ‘Let the Children Live’ fund has enabled us to purchase a moveable trolley, intended to give easy access to resources for use in children’s Christian education activities. This parish covers several sites and congregations in Feilding, Marton, Ashhurst, Bunnythorpe, and Pohangina, as well as Wesley Broadway in Palmerston North which is in partnership with the Palmerston North Tongan Parish. Flexible resources, such as this activities trolley, are wonderful assets and this one will be well used.

Captions:

Wesley children during Sunday morning worship.

The trolley that has been purchased.

Thank you from Palmerston North Tongan Methodist Parish

Thank you for your help with our Easter Camp this year. We spent Easter weekend at the Ashurst Community Centre. This fantastic facility housed our children, youth, youth leaders and caregivers. There was a volleyball court that ran almost 24-hours a day and a massive kitchen was ideal for cooking and also a night of baking for the kids. The location of the facility meant it was easily accessed by our members who could not stay at the site.

Caption. The photo shows majority of our children and youth with the bags of food in hand that they delivered to the homeless in our community.

Thank you from Te Atatu Union Church

Four boys from our Te Atatu Union Church youth group represented us at the Te Atatu Peninsula Library 'Reading for Enjoyment' event. They gave out free Milos and also gave out free children's Bible Story Books, which we bought with $187.00 of the grant we received from 'Let the Children Live'. We had positive feed-back on how friendly and welcoming the boys were, and the books were very popular. The boys said many people engaged with them.

Thank you for enabling us to do this. We will donate the rest of the money to the local primary school to help children who can't afford camp fees and other activities at their school.

Caption: Three of the four boys who manned the desk at the Te Atatu Peninsula Library 'Reading for Enjoyment' event.

Thank you from Malvern Co-operating Parish, Darfield

Praise the Lord for answering our prayers! The weather was perfect to host our first Children's Day celebration and service that involved 46 children and 82 adults. The Sunday School Children's Praise Orchestra and leaders led the service based on Mark 10:13-16. Dress code was a sense of fun or your favourite colour.

Activities included stargazing with a real telescope, candy floss, a bouncy castle, sausage sizzle, morning tea, arts and crafts, decorating goodie bags, egg and spoon races, face-painting and playing musical instruments that were gifted last year by Mission Resourcing. Children from all over the Malvern District brought their parents and families to enjoy each other's company on the church grounds. Cherish our children.

Captions: Lyn Sopoaga wears a pink wig at Children’s Day Celebrations in Darfield last year.

Face-painting was a popular activity.

Thank you from St Paul’s Putaruru

For the past several years, Mary Addison, Children and Families coordinator from St Paul’s Putaruru, has gathered local vulnerable families together for an annual outing paid for by a Let The Children Live grant. Children and their whanau have participated in visits to the zoo, Mount Maunganui and more recently to the Tokoroa indoor pools. With the support of a Tokoroa charity called Halo, Mary is now supporting many of these children and their families with grocery items donated to the food charity on a regular - but random - basis. A highlight of the drop-offs is the chance to engage in pastoral chat with the Messy Church families.