PARTNERSHIP - THE BEST PART OF THE JOB.

- IN THIS ISSUE -

All about partnership, 2025 resources & St Barnabas wins agriculture prize.

Kia ora tātou,

I had the privilege of flying the Anglican Missions flag at a media roundtable focussing on the Emergency Alliance, which we are a proud founding member. The Emergency Alliance, which currently consists of 8 agencies, met with news reporters to demonstrate how working together to help people in emergencies is not only commendable, but logical. By sharing skills and resources, these agencies can more effectively respond to crises. Instead of eight different emergency appeals, they have one.

Even though Emergency Alliance is new to Aotearoa New Zealand, the approach has been very successful in other countries, and it’s exactly what people expect.

This got me thinking again about partnership, which is something you hear a lot about from us at Anglican Missions. That's not just because we like the sound of a broken record, but because we truly and sincerely mean it: partnership is the best way to do things.

There are skills that we have, and skills that the local church and communities have. It's not only commendable, but logical for us to fill each other's gaps!

We saw a great example of this in action recently at Holy Trinity Church in Fitzroy, New Plymouth. Rev. Rodney Dunlop organised a concert fundraiser for our Water for All programmme. More than 200 people attended, and over $3000 was raised to help vulnerable people in Fiji access safe water.

The local church, working in the local community isn't something we can easily do from an office space in Wellington! Installing water tanks, drip irrigation, community gardens and safe water access isn't something a local church can do easily overseas!

The Greek word “koinonia,” which means “partnership and/or fellowship,” is used 19 times in the New Testament. I don't think that's a coincidence. I think partnership is a profound gospel truth. As we approach this advent season, remember that God sent Jesus to be born, to grow up, to learn and to live amongst us. His supernatural partnered with our natural. And now, we get to continue in that partnership to this day, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

We truly appreciate your unwavering support—both through your prayers and financial contributions. Remember to sign up for your 2025 Partners in Prayer Journal! It's a great way to keep connected to our work. If you, like Rodney and his team at Holy Trinity Church, have any fundraising ideas, please don’t hesitate to share them with us. We’ll do our best to help you out.

Michael Hartfield

National Director

2025 Partners in Prayer and Wall Planners.

Our 2024 edition of Partners in Prayer. 2025 is filled with exciting new projects and places to pray into!

2025 is closing in quickly! To help you get ready for the new year, we're now taking orders for the 2025 edition of Partners in Prayer and our annual wall planner.

These free resources are an excellent way to stay connected to Anglican Missions. Partners in Prayer outlines some of the work we're doing alongside the church, and gives you a new set of prayer prompts and topics for each day of the month. Neat!

Fill out the link below to order your copy and guarantee delivery before Christmas!

Sign up for your resources now!

St Barnabas community garden wins national award.

St Barnabas parish has won an award for their innovative vegetable garden.

As part of the Tonga volcano and tsunami response, Anglican Missions has been helping various parishes establish community gardens. Sustainable agriculture goes a long way in helping communities to bounce back, not only practically through food, but economically - being able to produce and sell vegetables is hugely beneficial for these communities.

St. Barnabas is one of these parishes, and their vegetable garden project utilises some innovative technologies, including drip irrigation systems and "Biogas" (which converts the methane from decomposing organic matter into useable natural gas).

In fact, the garden has won a second place award for best looking garden and yield for size in the Central District!

This has been the second rotation of vegetables which has been maintained by the Church Sunday School and Youth where yield is distributed to the community elderly and homes near the patch as well as the church community.

The drip irrigation system has made maintaining the vegetable garden a much easier job, especially for children who are learning about growing food. Well done St Barnabas!