Summer 2016

Small Miracles and In this issue:

a Reality Check Small miracles and

a reality check

Harsh realities
A few years ago I told you about a small Christmas miracle.
An 8 year old boy had asked Father Christmas for a boogie How they helped –
the Christmas Edition
board but when his solo Dad went to buy it he found the cost
was too high. They came to the City Mission Christmas Dinner Mailbox – your letters
where, wonder of wonders, Father Christmas gave him a
boogie board. His astonished father came up and asked me, Prayerpower
‘How did you know?’ I had to admit I didn’t know. We decided
it was a small miracle.
Reach Out is a newsletter for those
This Christmas it happened again. the Christmas Dinner lived up to its who support the Christchurch
reputation and we all came away in the City Mission with their time, their
Another small boy had asked for a warm glow of yet another small miracle.
Helicopter Battleships game, whatever treasure and their prayers.
that is. His parents had searched the But then came the reality check.
shops but nothing seemed to match In mid January the 2015 attempted
his request. But at the City Mission suicide statistics were released. They 276 Hereford Street
Christmas Dinner Santa Claus lived up to showed that in 2015 Canterbury Police PO Box 1032, Christchurch 8140
his reputation and produced a Helicopter responded to 2877 attempted suicides; Phone 365 0635 (24 hours)
Battleships game. Once again a suitably nearly double the totals for Waitemata citymission.org.nz
impressed parent asked me, ‘How did you and Counties/Manakau.
know?’ And once again I had to admit that A division of Anglican Care
I didn’t know; that it was probably a small The Canterbury District Police
Commander said, ‘We’ve got to take Find us on Facebook
miracle.
some notes that the community is still
I’ve got used to small miracles since I hurting after the earthquakes and
came to the Mission. I can’t begin to count people are still crying out for help’.
the number of times I have questioned our Did you know?
ability to keep on going; and the number of It suddenly occurred to me that those
times my doubts have been overwhelmed were just the Police statistics. If It costs over $15,000 a day
by small miracles. we were able to add the attempted
suicides who didn’t call the police we to run the City Mission.
This Christmas past was no exception. could probably at least double those
Almost six hundred and fifty guests
and over 200 volunteers ensured that CONTINUE OVER PAGE
Summer 2016
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
statistics. And if we added those who
have contemplated suicide as the solution
to their problems we could double the
statistics over again.
Inevitably many of the people who have run
out of options end up at the City Mission.
My staff and I have heard it over and over
again: ‘I’m at the end of my tether’, ‘I don’t
know what to do or where to go’, ‘I’ve tried
everything I can think of’ and ‘The Mission
is my last resort’.
So what do we do about it? Justin
Duckworth, the Bishop of Wellington,
answered that question when he spoke at
the Annual Meeting of Anglican Care.
Justin warned against a tendency to
over-professionalise our Social Services.
He said, ‘As agencies and professionals
we are often very concerned with cure.
For example we focus on counseling,
medication, budgeting advice, etc. in our
dealings with people, which – don’t get me
wrong – are all vitally important services.
However, only about 20% of human
HOW THEY HELPED – THE CHRISTMAS EDITION
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas in Christchurch without the City Mission’s Christmas dinner.
And the Mission’s Christmas dinner wouldn’t be at all, without help from Christchurch.
Every year we marvel at the generosity of our city community, and 2015 was no different.
So THANK YOU to all those that gave goodies, gifts, time and service to help.
mental health and well-being is cure, and Please consider becoming a City
about 80% is care’. Mission Volunteer. We have a range of
compassionate opportunities and we will
When we choose our staff for the City
provide any training you might need. We
Mission of course we look for professional
can’t pay you but the life you save may be
qualifications and experience. But we look
your own.
for something else as well. We want to
know that the person we are employing Sandra our Volunteer Coordinator can be
knows the meaning of compassion. reached at (03) 365 0635
But my staff can’t do it on their own and
that’s why our City Mission Volunteer
Force is so important.
All of our Volunteers are trained to do
their jobs but they are not professionals. Michael Gorman,
Their greatest qualification is that they City Missioner
are people of compassion who can give
their time and one-on-one attention to
those who desperately need the company
of another human being. And I want you to
consider being one of these special people.
We have a lot of Volunteers at the Mission.
But some are getting older and some
move on to other places and occupations
and these heroes of compassion need to
be replaced.
 Did you know? It costs over $15,000 a day to run the City Mission.

Early morning workout - The Crusaders came and put up the marquee

Approximately 150 volunteers helped on the day to set up, prepare, Waimairi School collected gifts
cook, serve, entertain and clean up afterwards. Thank you! to be handed out to clients.

Monday Mums brought along a This festively decorated box of goodies was delivered by the children
selection of gifts and food. from SKIDS Selwyn House
We’ve received grants recently from
these Trusts and would like to express
our thanks –Elizabeth Ball Charitable
Trust, Canterbury Masonic Charitable
Trust, Weft Industries Ltd,
St Lazarus Trust, Mainland Foundation,
Christchurch Casinos Charitable Trust,
Jones Foundation and Philip Brown
Charitable Trust.
“Thank you for the
Christmas party
at Christchurch
East School. I am a
poor person and just
wanted to say thanks”
–a
 message left on our
answering machine
Harsh realities
The Mission has many clients
who cope with the harsh
realities of life by using alcohol
or other drugs. They think it’s
going to help, and for a time
maybe it does let them escape,
but eventually reality catches
up again and they come to us
seeking a longterm solution.
In the last ReachOut we highlighted Thorpe
House residential detox service, but Thorpe
House doesn’t work in isolation. Onsite
we also have specialist adult and youth
counsellors, as well as 2 home detox nurses
and a women’s day programme. In the last
couple of years we have started counselling
services in Rangiora. We have always worked
collaboratively with other service providers,
to ensure we are supporting those who are
ready to deal with their addiction in the
environment and with the support that best
suits their individual needs. Late last year
we received a letter from a past client who
was supported in this way:
“I wish to tend my gratitude to your
counsellor Sally, for her help in the
intervention and my early recovery from
My Food Bag coordinated gifts from their subscribers
and delivered them to us to distribute.
alcoholism. I was up to my knees in quicksand
(I mean cheap wine) when Sally found me,
and she was the anchor as I progressed to
Kennedy, Thorpe House and then back home.
I extend to Sally the highest praise. Even in
recovery she warned me to be aware of the
‘honeymoon period.”
I am planning on being alcohol free for the
rest of my life.”
Alcohol free can be tough, especially when all
your social interactions seem to be centred
around ‘having a drink’. So one of the closest
relationships we have is with Elm Tree Lodge
– this service provides a ‘halfway house’
type of accommodation for those who have
gone through the initial treatment, but need
some time to learn to live without their drug
of choice. Elm Tree started as a cooperative
undertaking between several Alcohol and
Other Drug service providers, but economic
factors nearly forced its closure. The Mission
now provides a full time house supervisor
(Peter), while the Elm Tree Lodge Trust
provides the governance. Another recently
received letter highlights how important it is
that we keep this service available...
“As you know I had been suffering from
alcohol and drug addiction for many years.
I graduated from the Bridge Treatment
Centre January 2015. I honestly believe if
I hadn’t spent time at Elm Tree I may not
be sober now.
My time there gave me structure and
normality which helped me in my journey.
Peter you were such a great support,
helping me find accommodation, our one-
on-one chats and morning group.
With your knowledge of addiction, I’m sure
you will be an inspiration for many others
that come to Elm Tree. I will never forget
my time at Elm Tree where I felt safe, had
plenty of laughs, the food was great and
the surroundings made me feel at home.
PS I’m now 16 months sober.”
In 2015 the alcohol and other drug service
has helped over a thousand individual
people on their road to recovery. For many
there will be no looking back but for others
there will be relapses. We will continue to
walk beside these people in their journey
towards recovery.
You are a vital part of each of these
journeys. The financial support you
generously provide towards keeping
these services going is the reason we
can continue to help people to face their
realities and assist them going forward.

MISSION POSTBOX
Dear City Missioner,
I told each of my families that in lieu of
gifts I would make a donation to a charity –
a different one for each family.
All of my grandchildren are adults and
have been loved and cared for in homes
where they lacked nothing.
The enclosed cheque is for my youngest
son and his three daughters to be used
to provide footwear for children starting
another school year.
Thank you for all you do as City Missioner,
your staff and volunteers work so hard to
help families in need.
God’s blessings be on you all, J.B.
I have the blessings of a wonderfully
supportive husband and family, which
is not the experience of so many other
people.
I also am fortunate to have a small income
from 2 rental properties in Rangiora. This
year I decided to halve their Christmas
week rental in the hope of easing the
IN 2015 YOU HELPED US...
Provide over
25,000
Welcome
631
new men and women to
our day programmes for
companionship and support,
as well as support over 2,800
who we’ve seen before.
Did you know? It costs over $15,000 a day to run the City Mission.
terrible financial burden that so many
find themselves in. It saddens me that
Christmas has, for so many, become a
commercial trap, with little consideration
of the real reason for Christmas Day –
Jesus’ birth.
The other half of the weekly rental is
for you to use as you see fit – enclosed a
cheque for $300.
Thank you for all the amazing work you do.
J.R., Blenheim.
I hope you have a blessed and exciting
Christmas day with all your guests – then a
blessed and quiet holiday and that you get
masses of renewed energy for 2016.
With sincere thanks for all the work you do
for Christchurch, and love, J.H, Bishopdale.
My husband and I are sending you a cheque
for $100 instead of giving each other gifts.
I am unable to get to Christchurch before
Christmas so will not be able to contribute
gifts – but you are all in my prayers and I
know that once again the Christmas meal
food parcels
Support
184 1,400
young people to tackle
their addiction
will be a joy and blessing to many people.
May the love and joy of the Lord flood
your hearts, F.G, Cheviot.
Just a line to say thank you for the
“You’re an Angel” card. Simply a winner!
I donated the same amount to the City
Mission and to the Salvation Army (both
organisations 10/10 in my view).
I duly got two official receipts and then
your card which really made my day. I really
felt I was personally involved and you
really appreciated the gift.
So – a Happy New Year and a successful
result in all of your appeals, to continue
your admirable work.
From A Smiling “Angel”, Shirley.
From the bottom of my heart a BIG, BIG
THANK YOU for such a warm welcome.
Thank you for opening the doors of
your home to me. Continue being a
hope and light to others – it is definitely
appreciated!
Love M. (A Women’s Night Shelter client)
Supply over
8,700
bed nights for men and
women seeking emergency
accommodation
Tackle the budgeting
woes of nearly
families

PRAY WITH US
At 1pm on the first Wednesday
of each month we join together
in a service of Holy Communion
in the Mission Chapel in
Hereford Street. Please come
and pray with us for the work
of our Mission.
"A dream doesn’t become reality through magic;
it takes sweat, determination and hard work".
Colin Powell
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle".
Plato
"Go out and preach the gospel and if you must, use words".
St. Francis of Assisi
PRAYER POWER
There are so many things I take for granted.
May I not ignore them today.
Just for today, help me, God, to remember
that my life is a gift, that my health is
a blessing, that this new day is filled
with awesome potential, that I have the
capacity to bring something wholly new
and unique and good into this world.
Just for today, help me, God, to remember
to be kind and patient to the people who
love me, and to those who work with me
too. Teach me to see all the beauty that I
so often ignore, and to listen to the silent
longing of my own soul.
Just for today, help me, God, to remember You.
Let this be a good day, God, full of joy and
love. Amen.
Rabbi Naomi Levy
SUNDAY
We pray for those who are unemployed
and those who are seeking work.
For the many volunteers who support
the work we do.
And for those who give money and goods
to sustain us as we offer hope to those
who have none.
MONDAY
We pray for those who will come seeking
sanctuary from violence and abuse,
especially the women and children who
come to Walsh House and the Women’s
Night Shelter. And for Catherine, the
Women’s Services Supervisor, and the
dedicated staff who work with her.
For our Budget Service and for our
Foodbank Team.
Summer 2016
TUESDAY
We pray for the guests in our Night Shelter,
our Men’s Day Programme and for Phil the
Men’s Services Supervisor, his team, and
the Volunteers who work in the Men’s Day
Programme and cook the meals and work
in the Dining Room.
WEDNESDAY
We pray for those who come seeking the
gift of sobriety and relief from addiction to
drugs and for those who are helping them
to overcome their addictions: Simon, his
team and the Volunteers who assist them.
THURSDAY
We pray for our leaders. For those who hold
the stewardship of care;
Michael, the City Missioner;
For the members of the Divisional
Committee;
For our Management, Finance,
Administration and Support Staff;
And for the Volunteers who help with the
office work and fundraising.
FRIDAY
We pray for those who rely on our Great
Opportunity Shops for clothing, bedding and
furniture - and for those who serve them:
For Sally, her team across all the stores,
our Relievers, and the Volunteers who work
in the shops.
And for those who provide the clothing,
Furniture and household goods.
SATURDAY
We pray for those who otherwise will have
no one to pray for them:
For the forgotten elderly, living on their own.
For those who will come to the Mission for
medical care and for health advice.
For young people living on the streets.