Missioner's Blog

2011-12-13T16:17:00.000-08:00

I am counting down to Christmas and have all the usual adult stresses and tensions. There is not enough time, more work to do than I can cope with and I don’t feel like celebrating. Well at least that was how I felt before I had a skype call from my grand daughters in Australia. They were their usual bouncy selves and so excited about Christmas coming. They had been to buy toys for poor people and food for their local food bank and they were trying to guess what Gran and I had got them. They have a tree with gifts waiting to be opened. I could not stop myself from feeling some of their excitement and joy as they waited to celebrate the birth of “Baby Jesus”. Hannah and Amelia made me stop and think. At Christmas I should be remembering the birth of Christ and all I was doing was getting stressed and grumpy. After our talk I was a changed person. I now want to celebrate with joy and enthusiasm. The birth of Christ changed the world and by acts of kindness we can do the same. Christmas it t0o important for us not to celebrate.
I wish you all peace and love at this time. I wish you time with those you love and I wish that we spare a thought for those who are suffering and lonely.

2011-11-06T18:11:00.000-08:00

Post Earthquake it seemed the celebrations were no longer in order. Since then the World Cup has come and gone and this gave us reason to celebrate. It felt that in the midst of major world financial insecurity there was still some hope and joy. With the coming elections I guess we can celebrate and be glad that we live in a democracy however grim life seems. Thank God the that Christmas is coming. This is a reason to celebrate and at the Mission we are certainly going to do so.
We will have our annual Christmas dinner. Last year over 650 people attended and we had a great time. It is a real thrill to see everyone coming together and enjoying themselves. I hope that people who wish to attend this year will do so.
We will be trying to help people who are finding it difficult to cope financially this year by providing food parcels. Last year we gave out 1800 food parcels to those in need.

Our annual Carol Service will still take place, but of course not in the Cathedral. It will be held on Wednesday 21st December at 7.30pm at St Michael and All Angels in Oxford Tce.
Our various social services will be holding functions for clients to celebrate Christmas and we will be trying to ensure that no one feels left out.

Christmas has become increasingly commercial and expensive and so we are trying to bring it back into line by suggesting inexpensive gift ideas and by encouraging people to realise that the time spent with their children and other family members may be the greatest gift they can give.
We will decorate our reception area and also our chapel and so if you would like to come and see them in December you would be welcome to visit.
Christmas is well worth celebrating. We celebrate the birth of Jesus and the great hope for the world that this event has brought.
At last I am catching the Christmas spirit. I feel like celebrating.

2011-04-12T16:08:00.001-07:00

After the last earthquake we felt shaken but were grateful that people were safe. This time we do not have that consolation. Tragedy has visited us and people died as our beautiful city was torn apart. It is very hard to generate a feeling of hope but of course that is what we must do. The City Mission is located in the city centre and while there were no big buildings to threaten us we were unable to cleanup or use our buildings. In fact two of our buildings, Thorpe house our Social Detoxification building and The Pink palace will most likely have to come down. All our buildings were very badly shaken and glass and furniture was everywhere. Computers fell to the floor and filing cabinets and book cases fell like blocks. Thank God all staff and clients were safe apart from a few bruises and cuts. For some time after the quake we helped people contact those they loved and made sure that they had safe places to go to. In the background was the fear that we may a have lost people we loved. Our first task was to make sure that all our staff were safe and looked after. I then looked for places where we could set up a temporary office and get things going so that we could help those who needed us. By chance I heard of a place and proceeded to make arrangements to move in the next day. It is somewhat ironic that the venue was the Riccarton Club, a place of gambling and alcohol. The Club staff were wonderful to us and we soon got computers set up and managed to get our server and some basic supplies. All of the staff were housed in a large room and this helped us to avoid isolation and to support each other. We then proceeded to set up two food banks and a kitchen. We could not keep the Night Shelter open as it was in the cordon and toilets were a problem. We tried to contact our clients and arranged for hot meals to be distributed to various street corners. Over four days we gave out over 300 meals. We were very keen to re establish our Alcohol and other Drug Services and so looked for places to rent. In the midst of all this work, suffering, damage and anxiety there was a place of great safety and help. It was really not one place but a series of places found in people. Wonderful people from near and far gave us practical and emotional support. As the cordon has been lifted we are now back at the City Mission. We are minus a social detox house and possibly the Women’s Alcohol and Other Drug Centre which have been destroyed and have had to throw out food and goods that were damaged but we are on the go and looking for opportunities to help our mission family. Our work at the City Mission is now really only just beginning. While we have to continue to help those who need us we are also faced with many new people who never thought that they would need us. Redundancies and homelessness are forcing people to put aside their pride and seek help. We are eager to assist and will do so. Our services include a food bank, Men’s Night Shelter, Woman’s Alcohol and other Drug Centre, Women’s Drop in centre, Community Gardens, Budget Service, and Social Work Service. We are determined to get out into the community and find those who need help. We need to listen to their stories, give them practical help and ensure that they are given the help they need. We deal with the most vulnerable people in our sad and damaged city and now our client base has extended to a new group of people.

2011-02-08T14:38:00.001-08:00

A happy, if somewhat belated, New Year to you all. I have just returned from a wonderful holiday. I had a great time with members of my family and I now feel refreshed and ready for the year to come. It is going to be a busy and positive year.
I can’t believe how quickly the new building is coming along. The basement is almost finished and the site is a real hive of activity. We are putting in a new computer client recording system and this has meant a great deal of work for our systems manager and other staff. In December our foodbank coordinator saw 869 people and gave out in excess of 2,300 food parcels. The demand on our services is still ensuring that we all work really hard so that we can help those in need.
A staff member who is leaving us told me that she really loved the commitment of the people she worked with and had a happy time while working at the City Mission. This makes me very glad. What more can we want than to work hard at something we enjoy, helping people, in the company of supportive, caring colleagues .

2010-12-20T18:24:00.001-08:00

I am thinking at this Christmas time about what makes people happy. Some look for it in material things. Some look for happiness in physical pleasure. Some hope to find it in intellectual pursuits, while others look to fitness and keeping the body beautiful. A certain degree of happiness or at least satisfaction can be found in these things but Christmas reminds us where true happiness lies. I think it is found in the God who became man and who was born into humble surroundings over 2000 thousand years ago.
I think that it is somewhat ironic that we humans have turned Christmas into such a complicated event and yet a part of me is glad at the fuss, for such a wonderful time absolutely needs to be celebrated. We have had a hard time of things this year. The economy is in a mess, there have been natural disasters in Pakistan and Haiti. We have been rocked by our own earthquake, the West Coast has been torn apart first by a horrific plane crash at Franz Joseph and then by the tragic mine disaster. Lives were lost with the sinking of a fishing boat off our waters a few days ago. There is no joy to be found in any of this. And then along comes Christmas.
We may be tired, we may be sad but I think we must celebrate. This for me, it is the time to remember the true meaning of Christmas. What a wonderful mystery to tell our children and those we love.
Happy Christmas to all. I hope that you find true happiness.

2010-10-06T19:06:00.001-07:00

While the physical shakes seem to be getting less and less and I can’t wait until they are over. I think that we will have the mental shakes for some time. We have experienced a very traumatic event and we are reacting in different ways and at different times. Many people I know are feeling tired and irritable and are feeling “low grade” depression or sadness. It seems to come out of nowhere and often does not last but it is difficult while we are living it. I have had lots of advice about how to help people deal with their pain, uncertainly, fear and anger and it is all good stuff. Counselling, exercise, a holiday, talking with friends, the list is endless and is good advice as we work our way back to some sort of pre quake condition. The trick seems to be to find what works for you and that gives you hope for the future.
My main source of help is to talk about the quake with others. This weekend I had friends from out of town to stay and at the risk of boring them I spoke, almost nonstop about the quake. I told them where I was, how strong the quakes were, how I felt and the effect the quake had on me. I insisted showing them where buildings were taken down and the ruins of other buildings. The more I spoke the more I seemed to want to say to ensure that my friends knew what it was like for me. I was lucky as my home suffered no damage and Mission property was largely untouched but I still had the need to talk about my experience.
I know that it is now time to get on with life and start rebuilding but those of us who have experienced the earthquake have a bond. We were united in hardship and remain united in a common experience. As a city we behaved well. We endured the great earthquake of 2010 and we survived.

2010-09-26T13:30:00.000-07:00

I hope that you have escaped the earthquake damage that many of our fellow citizens have experienced. At the City Mission we are doing all that we can to help those badly affected by this act of nature.
Clearly this disruption has consumed most of our energy over the last few weeks. On the morning it struck I visited the Night Shelter and Thorpe House at 5:30 a.m. to see how staff and clients were getting on. On a superficial look there did not seem much damage. I was then given a very large quantity of bread from “Breads of Europe” and spent the rest of the day with my wife taking this around the hard hit areas and offering it to those affected by the quake. I also arranged for some to go the Anglican Aged Care and to the Community of the Sacred Name. The rest we took to the Civil Emergency Centres. The priority was then to ensure that all our staff were well and so I started the telephone tree to have them all contacted. The priority was then to ensure that all our buildings were safe to be in. Brian and Colin were very generous with their time and did an inspection and then Bill Hopkins also carried out an engineer’s inspection for us. A big thanks is due to them. I decided that for the next two days we will deal with emergencies. Some staff could not come in but by the end of the first week everyone was back again and hard at work. I have offered counselling to any staff who feel the need for this and Relationship Services will provide this for no cost.
Over time I have kept staff informed of any advice that has come my way both for themselves and for their clients. The City Mission owned buildings are all intact. The rented shop at Colombo Street was not so lucky and may have to be demolished. We are not sure if we will be able to rescue any stock or we may have to write it off. Our archives are also there and may not be able to be retrieved. The vicarage at Governors Bay will also need repair due to chimney damage. At Thorpe House a chimney had to be taken down to ensure safety but apart from that there does not appear to be any damage apart from a laptop computer which fell and broke. The Foodbank is working in cooperation with the Methodist Mission Foodbank as their premises are unsafe and may have to be demolished. We have been given a great deal of damaged goods and this has placed a strain on our storage capacity and person power but we have accepted everything offered. The number of food parcels we have given out has about doubled. We have scaled back the numbers at Thorpe House until some work can be done to ensure complete safety for staff and clients. All the other services are operating but it is not quite work as usual for staff members are expected to help out where there is a need even if it is outside their usual sphere of work. It is my view that our work is only just beginning. I think the quake will bring about redundancies and business failure which in turn will place a demand on our services. People are still caught up in the adrenaline of the event but this will soon go and depression, overcrowding, depression and stress will set in. All in all we have managed well. The staff have been hard working and committed, the volunteers have worked over and above what could have been expected and the community are supportive as we continue to help those in need.

2010-07-25T17:57:00.000-07:00

You may be thinking that I have been on a blog holiday as it has been so long since I wrote. Actually I have just returned from a few days off. I spent them with two of the grandchildren. We played games, travelled, read books and went on outings and now I am exhausted. I had forgotten how tiring it is to look after little children. I had also almost forgotten how much of a joy it is.
Getting away from work gave me a chance to look at the Mission from a distance and to see if there were things that needed to change or be developed. Recently I have sent out a survey to many people who closely support the work that the Mission does. I have asked them how we can improve communication with them and also gain a better picture of who supports us. I am really looking forward to hearing their suggestions. We need to keep looking at ways to improve the services that we offer and how we communicate with each other. If you have any thoughts about this I would like to hear from you.
We have taken a big step forward this week with regard to the redevelopment of the City Mission. We have received building consent and so now we can go to tender. Watch this space.

2010-04-12T19:51:00.001-07:00

Life has been very busy at the Mission since my last blog. The detailed drawings have been finalised and been submitted to the Christchurch City Council for Building Consent. We hope to have the application granted sometime in May. The next step after that is to go out to tender. This is very exciting and marks another major step in us getting the new building that the Mission needs. Lots of money still needs to be raised and we are also busy doing this. We are now well over half way towards our target.
All of our services are feeling the pressure with expanding demands placed on them. I feel so proud of the way that the staff are coping with this. Recently we had a series of articles about the City Mission appear in the Press. You can read these on the website. We were able to allow the reporter access to our services as we have absolute confidence in the work that is done at the Mission.
We have had some illness among staff at the Mission and we would be grateful for your prayers for those staff and their families who are unwell.
Easter is now over and I hope that you all had a great time. Yesterday I went to Wellington to meet with the City Missioners from Auckland and Wellington. It is great that while we work in different areas we all have the interests of the poor at heart and strive for social justice. After the meeting, I was able to visit some of the family and catch up with what the grandchildren are doing.

2010-02-08T12:20:00.001-08:00

Christmas at the Mission was absolutely wonderful and you, the community, showed once again that you cared. Before Christmas I was very worried, as donations of food for the Christmas dinner were not coming in the way we hoped they would. Once word about the shortage of food got out through the media this all changed and donations flooded in. The Christmas lunch was really great and we fed over 700 people.
My own family had the most wonderful holiday with all the children and grandchildren. We swam when weather allowed, read lots of books and played games, went for walks, talked a lot and had lovely things to eat. It was a joy to be together. I realized just how lucky we are. We have done nothing to have such good fortune and many others are not so fortunate. It seems to me that such good fortune carries with it an obligation and a responsibility to help others. My wonderful holiday has made me really aware of this.
Many of us take holidays for granted. They are what keep us going during the cold winter months or at times when we are feeling absolutely swamped by all the work that we have to do. A lot of people who come to the City Mission have never had a holiday and cannot organize or afford one. 19% of children in New Zealand are living in poverty. They cannot afford to do the things that the rest of us take for granted. Holidays may seem a small thing, a luxury. In New Zealand not having holidays leads to alienation and denies children a wonderful childhood experience with their families. Holidays may not be essential for keeping children alive but they are essential for feeding their souls. Do we want New Zealand children to just exist or do we want them to thrive?
I do not feel guilty about having a wonderful holiday and I work hard for it. Guilt is not a very productive emotion and can be somewhat self indulgent. However I think I do have to be aware of and do something for those who never get away to relax and enjoy their time with those they love.

2009-12-15T11:40:00.000-08:00

I have been very naughty letting so much time go by since my last blog and I am sorry. I don’t know where the time goes. Everyone is busy and we all seem to be doing more and more. It is hard to slow down and notice and enjoy the lives that we are leading. My time has been taken up with the new building and things are progressing very well in this direction. We are in the intensive planning stage and while this is fun and a challenge it is also very scary.
Not all of us are lucky enough to be able to enjoy life and Christmas time can bring many unhappy memories to the forefront of our minds. Christmas can also be a time when people think that they have to get into debt to give gifts to those they love. I was very conscious of this when I was asked to write a Christmas greeting to some of our clients. I came up with the following:
Christmas is a time for giving thanks to those who have been good to us throughout the year. While we traditionally give gifts to each other this is not necessary. What is necessary is that we are kind to one another. At this time of year, as I think of you all, I am full with gratitude at your goodness and admiration for your strength. Life is not always easy and yet you keep on keeping on. You relate to the staff and to each other and your kindness can help others.
We may never know the results of our acts of kindness but our smiles may have encouraged someone who felt that the world was against them. Our friendly hello may have brought light into another’s life. Our concern for others may have enabled them to carry on. At the very least our positive attitude will have helped us and made us stronger.
Many people who come to the Mission find Christmas very difficult. It brings up painful memories and so it is our task to hope out hope for them and try and work with them to help things get better.
On another note I want to say how wonderful the response has been from the public to the Mission. We are getting people to give money, food, time and good wishes. As Christmas day approaches we have a great sponsorship for the tent from Eaton, the Crusaders are helping put up the tent and are also supplying vegetables, the Mayor has contributed a private gift to the celebration and the staff are being their usual wonderful selves, bringing everything together.
Happy Christmas to everyone who reads my page. May you have a peaceful Christmas and a great New Year.

2009-10-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

The other day I was interviewed by three young girls from one of the local primary schools. They were doing a project on people who use the services of the City Mission. One of their questions was “What causes poverty?” This question really stopped me in my tracks because I really don’t know.

The effects of poverty are really clear. We know that if there is not enough money to pay for the basics of life then people will not be well housed, they will be cold and they will not have enough to eat. We know that because of poverty children miss out on being able to avail themselves of education because they are too hungry, too unsupported or ill-equipped to learn. We know that poverty means that good food is often not available and good health is placed at risk. Increasingly we also see that those who are poor have no sense of ownership in their community and often have a feeling of exclusion and low self-worth.

That an individual person lives in poverty is largely about luck. If you are born into a poor family then your chances of being able to break out of poverty are not great. A few people do manage to do it and while this is a credit to them, it perpetuates the dream that anyone can do so. Many people cannot because of the hand fate has dealt them. It seems to me that if you are poor, with a mental illness, no family support or education and little encouragement, then the chance of being able to make a meaningful change in life is as remote as winning lotto.

But what causes poverty? Some individuals appear to have a good start in life and do not use the opportunities they have. They either do not see the opportunities or chose to waste them. Other people do not have the opportunities, education, energy or motivation to do things that may improve their lot in life. I think that poverty is not caused so much by individuals but by systems. Poverty is a worldwide problem and a political one.

It was a great question that the girls asked. No one person has all the answers. What do you think?
Cheers,
Michael

2009-08-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

It seems that a very large part of my life is taken up with raising money for the City Mission. Because we want to rebuild most of the Mission we have two fundraising areas to cover. Firstly to raise 10.5 million dollars for capital purposes (rebuilding) and secondly raising in excess of 3.2 million dollars each year for operational (day to day) expenses. That is a lot of money and clearly I can’t do this alone. Many people are involved in helping the Mission. Office people, factory workers and people from many different walks of life give us money and they often have creative ways of raising funds. Some firms subsidise, dollar for dollar, money given to the Mission by their staff while others put on concerts and other functions and donate the money they raise to us. Over and above this the Mission needs to actively collect money and food and we need to work alongside professional fundraisers.
The City Mission is lucky in that it has the services of Compton Fundraising Consultants. They are as committed to the Mission as we are and some of them have worked for us in the past. Over the last few days I have been hearing tales of other agencies paying large sums of money to make money. Michael Laws' column in the Sunday Star Times talks of some agencies being charged exorbitant rates. I am so grateful that we have such a loyal, hard working and - dare I say it - cheap team helping us. They have been working with us for years and charge us a very modest amount, nowhere near that quoted by Michael Laws.
Money that is given to the City Mission is a sacred trust. We are under an obligation to spend it wisely and well for the benefit of our clients. We do need to spend some money on fundraising but we need to spend as much money as possible on helping those who need us.

Winter

2009-06-14T16:44:00.000-07:00

We are very busy here at the Mission and the demand for our services is growing. Thank God we are still being well supported.

Even though the last few days have been fine I am sick of the cold. It seems to be that after a beautiful summer we are now having awful weather. I can’t remember being this cold for a long while. If this is the case for me then just imagine what it is like for people who have no homes or who live in cold, damp and uninsulated houses. For many people on low incomes just keeping warm is a daily struggle. What choices can they make? Will they try and heat the children’s rooms or, as one Christchurch family did, all move into to one room together. Will they spend money on power or will they get into to debt with the power companies and not pay their bill so that they can meet their other needs, food and rent for example? Will they risk their health by not using heating at all? Being poor means that one’s health is also at risk. This in turn leads to absenteeism at school and work. In turn this leads to more poverty and a lack of opportunities in later life.

Despite the economic upheaval that we are going through, people in a country like New Zealand must have basic human rights which include food, shelter and love. Food gives us internal warmth, shelter gives us external warmth and love surrounds us. I think this is not a matter of charity but of justice.

2009-06-01T18:26:00.000-07:00

You may have read in the paper about the City Mission having a plan to undertake a major redevelopment of the Mission. The following are the reasons why we want to do this.

· Condition and age of the buildings
Many of the buildings at the Mission are well over a hundred years old. We had to demolish a building last year as it was no longer structurally safe.

· Expense of keeping buildings up to standard
Most of our buildings are showing signs of needing costly upkeep if they are to remain safe. We do have a couple of heritage buildings that, while not our core business, we will continue to maintain and preserve.

· Cost of heating old buildings
Many of the old buildings are not well insulated and heating costs are a major factor. Our power bill is going up 30% this year after a price freeze of three years.

· Difficulty of providing technical support in old buildings
The old buildings, scattered around are not wired for computers or depend on radio links which cause a great deal of trouble. The server room is subject to temperature variations and while we have a portable air conditioning unit this is a makeshift solution.

· Lack of, or limitations on, facilities
Most of the services are working out of buildings that are too small for the current need. This in turn places limitations of the services that we are able to provide. Over crowing places stress on both staff and clients.

· Safety factors
Staff are working in many buildings in the Mission and often work in isolation. This is not safe given the type of clients who use our services. An example of this is that on some afternoons there is only one staff in the building that holds reception. Staff need to work in closer proximity to each other and in many cases need to be able to see each other. We have alarm systems but these are not adequate. It is not safe to have people, who are often incapacitated sleeping upstairs. This is a risk should fire happen. I have highlighted the safety factor as this is really my main concern.

· Expectations of funding providers
Increasingly we are getting indications from funding groups that they expect better amenities that we are able to provide. While this has not yet affected our funding it is an issue we need to be proactive about if we wish to continue to provide some of our services. An example of this is our Thorpe House Detox house.

· Expectation of client group
As happened in the field of aged care near the end of last century community expectations have grown and what was acceptable is now being questioned and in many cases being rejected. The old charity model carried with it the expectation that the poor would be grateful for whatever help they could get. Now, with an increase in human rights and also with the development of the concept of social justice, what was once acceptable is now longer necessarily good enough.

· Ability to attract and keep staff
As numbers of unemployed decreases it is more and more difficult to get and keep good staff. Part of retaining staff is to provide good working conditions. While the Mission will attract people because they are committed to the work they do they still have an expectation that they will work in good surroundings and have the equipment they need to do the tasks required.

· Lack of storage space for foodbank and furniture shop
This has long been a problem for the Mission and many stopgap measures have been tried. Furniture has to be left out in the elements due to lack of storage and this leads to the perception that we do not need or value the donations we receive. The foodbank is under strain as at times we get large donations of end of line or nearly at the “use by date” food and we need to be able to store such goods.
On a smaller level most of the services do not have adequate storage for supplies and records.

· Inability to expend on or provide new services.
The Mission is constantly looking at its services and at community needs. We have identified so that we consider the Mission could meet and that would have a natural synergy with the rest of the work that the Mission does.

Clients of the Mission deserve to have quality services offered in the best possible way and in the best possible facilities. While there is no wish to be opulent or wasteful there is a strong desire to provide help and assistance in a manner that promotes respect for the individual, encourages good behaviour and treats all with dignity.

The trick for us now is how to keep all our services going while we undertake this major re development. We still must have the resources to keep everything operating while we also need new money for our capital expense.
There is a lot of work ahead of us but I firmly believe that it is worth the effort.

The Mission has a proud history working with the poor and oppressed for over 100 years. It has been part of and has the support and encouragement of Anglican Care for over 60 years and has gained help and donations from the people of Canterbury.
The Mission has the infrastructure, the experience and expertise to promote, provide and develop services for those who need them.

Let me know what you think

Michael

Update from Michael

2009-05-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

There has been a bit of a gap between e-mails and I am sorry for this. My explanation is twofold.
(1) I have just had a new wee granddaughter her name is Imogen and she is a darling. It was wonderful to see her a week after her birth at Easter time. It really gives a new meaning to the idea of new life.
(2) I have had a bad cold and so took a few days in bed.
The above does not excuse however and I will try and be better in the future.
We are worried here about the number of food parcels we are giving out. The number of people waiting for help each morning is growing and we are trying to fill the need. We are currently giving out about 45 parcels each week day. This comes to 225 parcels a week.
Our supplies are getting low but good things happen. The Heavy Metal society at Canterbury University is holding a “gig’ and entry is by way of a can of food donated to the City Mission. In general students are not a rich group of people but it is great that they have the time, energy and goodness to think of other people.
I have been asked to speak briefly at the Human Rights Film Festival on 21 May at the Regent Theatre at 6:30 pm. The theme of the two films is about homelessness and would be well worth seeing.
Well until next time Cheers,
Michael

Thoughts about Christmas

2009-03-10T19:53:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe how quickly the year is going by. There are only four weeks until Easter and it seems that we are still cleaning up after the Christmas rush. Christmas can be a very stressful time for people and many who are poor can feel very left out of the celebrations. At the Mission we have a big Christmas lunch for those who wish to come. Over 650 did so and told us they had a good time. Some people say that we should just give food to those in need and let them make their own feast while others think that it is condescending of us to provide a lunch at all. I would like to know what you think.

An interesting development with our Alcohol and Drug Service it an increase in the number of young people and their families making referrals. In the past it has often been school counsellors and other authority figures who have made referrals. We don’t know why there has been a change. Have you any ideas?

It would be good to hear from you. Until next week,
Michael

Christchurch City Mission - 2009

2009-02-06T18:19:00.000-08:00

Hi,

Doing a Blog is a new project for me and I am very much looking forward to it. It is important that the City Mission and its supporters have good communication with each other and I am also excited to be able to tell you about the great work that we do.

Each week I will update what we have been up to and also have some discussion about issues that concern you and us.

Warm regards,
Michael.