Sunday 19 November is World Day for Prevention of Abuse and Violence Against Children. The worldwide phenomenon of violence and abuse against children and young people can include sexual abuse, child trafficking, child marriage, forced labour and sex tourism. In this article Brian Saipe, Child Rescue New Zealand CEO, discusses the work of a charitable organisation making connections with interdenominational NZ churches and mission organisations to share their vision to end the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children in our lifetime.

Book Heaven Second-hand Bookshop began almost by accident and is now surpassing all expectations, generating excellent income and providing a valuable community service.

Recently MCNZ representatives joined key personnel involved in the redevelopment to celebrate the completion of the third stage of a five-stage development at Everill Orr Village.

On 10 September the Pitt Street Methodist English-speaking congregation marked Green Sunday. The service included three hymns with a creation focus written by New Zealanders; a talk about the place and importance of bees in our world; and linked the Lectionary reading from

Members of the Wellington Methodist Charitable and Educational Endowments Trust were delighted to meet with the incredible young leaders of The Voyage, and their equally amazing youth workers from Wesley Community Action - Fred Ama and Alisa Tatupu.

Although many Te Hāhi whānau have taken time to understand and put into action some changes to make a difference, in this space and time, the Methodist Church of New Zealand, Te Hāhi Weteriana o Aotearoa must see the bigger picture, and understand the effects of Climate Change specifically with regards to the Pasifika nations.

Linda Hall (Correspondence Secretary for the NZ Lay Preachers’ Association) facilitated the August gathering at St Paul’s Remuera. TeRito Peyroux-Semu, Vice President of Te Hahi Weteriana, was the special guest and Doreen Sunman led devotions with a reading from Romans, which refers to the church as the body of Christ, and a prayer.

On 11 September, a historic partnership was unveiled, marking a momentous milestone in the ongoing revitalisation of te reo Māori and the reach of Te Paipera Tapu (the Māori Bible). Bible Society New Zealand and Te Wānanga Ihorangi have joined forces to create the Māori Audio Bible, a visionary project aimed at recording the complete Māori Bible in audio format.

Green Grants Pūtea Tiaki Taiao was launched at Conference 2022 as the Methodist Church of New Zealand’s grass roots response to global warming. The first funding round saw more than $155,000 distributed across five applications for four entities.

John Thornley hosts a weekly half-hour radio programme from Wesley Broadway, Palmerston North, in partnership with local radio station Manawatu People’s Radio. This article looks at two recording projects he has recently produced: ‘Fifteen Singable Hymns’ and the ‘Six Hymns’ series.

The earth’s climate is changing – there can be no doubt about it. We may debate about how much is due to human activity but we only have to watch the news about massive raging fires and extreme temperatures, huge downpours of rain followed by heavy flooding, frequent violent hurricanes and severe drought, all happening with either greater frequency or higher intensity, or both.

In August Rev Peter Taylor, President MCNZ, attended the Methodist Conference in Fiji. He reports on the event.

Trudy Downes, MCNZ Carer and Civil Defence Volunteer Newbie, shares relevant learnings from her recent participation in Civil Defence workshops.

I welcome feedback on content included in Touchstone

Mission Resourcing administers the Ministries Development Grant fund for the purpose of growing the mission of our church.

To the editor,

To the editor,

One of the criticisms of preachers from a number of people I’ve heard lately is, ‘They always/only preach that God loves us’. This is not because these people don’t believe in the importance of God’s love – for them it seems rather to be a reflection on what they consider the shallowness of the preacher’s theology.

This month at Tamahere we’ve been celebrating the Season of Creation. So far we’ve enjoyed a special service to welcome spring, an outdoor communion service and a Creation Walk to the local Tamahere Cultural Reserve. The latter gave us a chance to clean up our neighbourhood by picking up rubbish on the way.

Mt 21:23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

On 1 September the historical signing of Te Ruruku Pūtakerongo Taranaki Maunga Collective redress deed between Crown and ngā iwi o Taranaki was held at Owae marae, Waitara.

Our regular cartoon that seeks to find the funny side of faith.

The old adage is true and it is happening to more and more of us. The number of older people aged 65+ is set to increase markedly.

AI is covered by existing laws, including the Privacy Act, the Human Rights Act, the Fair Trading Act, the Harmful Digital Communications Act, among others, and obligations under te Tiriti o Waitangi apply.

The journey is never ending. There is always going to be growth, improvement, adversity; you just are to take it all in and do what is right, continue to grow, continue to live in the moment.

In September we celebrated the Month of the Season of Creation and thanked God for the wonderful world He has given us to care for. On Sunday, 24 September the Parish Climate Justice group at St John’s in Hamilton East had a special service. We dressed up in green and brought plants and flowers for people to take home and care for. It was a very special day and everyone is waiting excitedly for their little plants to grow.

Past Lives is a visually compelling meditation on departure and distance. The opening scene occurs in a New York bar. Two Koreans talk late through the night, watched by a silent American.

Author: Charles Prouse Publisher: Hachette, Australia, 2023. 83 pages Reviewer: Terry Wall

Author: James Lovelock with Brian Appleyard Publisher: Penguin, 2019, MIT, 2020. Reviewer: Adrian Skelton.

Maori Political Struggle in the Liberal Era 1891-1912 (328 pages)

At the end of August Christian World Service welcomed Rev Dr Tim Pratt as its new National Director.

Christian World Service has joined a new coalition calling for an end to free carbon credits as part of its commitment to climate justice.

On Sunday 27 August, Sinoti Samoa Auckland district held a district Youth Rally, involving all the six churches preparing and presenting performances to the other youth as well as parents, family and friends who joined us for the event.

Methodist missionaries on Choiseul from 1904 encountered many customs that bemused and annoyed them. Among these were the various practices of witchcraft and sorcery.

Joseph Horner Fletcher 1823-1890