Initially, parishioners were very generous with gifts to the church that helped them to be financially sound. Although at times finance has been a challenge, parishioners have always supported the funds needed to build and maintain the churches across the parish. This has occurred through things such as concerts, fairs, giving campaigns, pew rents and through major donors such as the Lilly Brown Trust.
All Saints’, however, has not just been giving to their own needs but also giving to others. Even as early as 1878 they came to the aid of the Wesleyans to help pay off their debt. In 1938 the parish helped to initiate and support a Hospital Chaplain. By 1944 it was ‘famed for its missionary giving’. By 1958 the parish led the Diocese in its missionary giving having given 1330 pounds, the largest amount in the country. This continued on and in 1974 $5000 was given.
During the Centenary, the church raised a total of $2,000 and a further $10,000 was donated by the Vestry to go towards a classroon for St John’s School at Wailoku in Fiji, for accomodation at the Russell Kemp Home in Titahi Bay, the Bishops’ Discretionary Fund and a water supply for Hombolo Farm and Leprosarium in Tanzania.
Support during Natural Disaters and War
All Saints’ was always prepared to help others and respond to those impacted by natural disasters. For example, in 1942 they sent funds to St Matthew’s Masterton to help rebuild their church that had been damaged in an earthquake. Another example, was when All Saints’ helped to support refugees from Napier after the earthquake there. They provided accomodation, tents, food and money to help with the rebuild. During WWII the church supported the Military Affairs Committee to put up tents in camps and on the Front. A Patriotic shop was also established and the Ladies Guild and Mother’s Union made socks for soldiers on the Front. More recently a collection was taken up for a church in Nelson that was greatly affected by flooding.
Jesus once said that the poor will always be with you and as a church All Saints has sought to provide help where needed. For example, in 1896 several families recieved gifts and food at Christmas and often the parish churches gave away goods collected at their harvest festivals. The needs of the poor were especailly felt during the Great Depression and in 1930s a parish wardrobe was developed where people who needed them could come and collect donated clothes for free. The Ladies’ Guild and the Mother’s Union helped to clean and repair the clothes.
1n 1974 a simiar need was responded to by a group know as “Outreach” that established the Bargain Shoppe which helped to raise funds for parish outreach programmes particularly for the elderly and children at the same time as provide cheap clothing and housewhold goods. Joy Dalzell has very fond memories of her days with the Bargain Shoppe saying it was such a happy place. It was always well supported. In 1992 there were 48 helpers rostered on for helping with sorting on a Thursday and selling on a Tuesday and Friday. Unfortunately, it all came to an end when the hall was burnt down. A letter was recieved from one of the youngsters responsible who was very apologetic and was seeking to turn his life around.
Parishioners still seek to help those less well off through giving to the foodbank and helping to support the homeless partnering with City Mission. In particular, boxes of food and goodies are given out at Christmas as well as other times to those in need. For many years Christams Day lunches have been hosted for all those who may be on their own at Christmas.
Working with refugees
In 1895 an interest in foreign mission was stimulated by the establishment of the St Barnabas Association. Work among the New Zealand Chinese was also fostered in the early 1900s despite societal dislike of the Chinese immigrants. In 1922 night classes were held for Chinese to learn English and about Christianity using the New Testament as a basic for their teaching. In February 2017 a number of parishioners attended a rally to support upping the refugee intake in the city. A number of parishioners still help teaching English to refugees through the parishes partnership with City Mission.
Some of the ways that All Saints reached out to help was through making a stand on social needs. This took the form of the establishment of the White Cross League in 1918 which promoted social purity and decency and support for the Temperance League. On another occassion Vestry took a stance against playing cricket on Good Friday. Over the years parishioners have spoken out on other societal topics and taken part in such activities as the Hikoi of Hope in 1998 where people marched to highlight and seek action on issues of unemployment, housing, health and poverty.
s.
In the 1880s night classes were also provided for young men and women to help them improve their lot. The young men were taught basic skills which provided them with opportunities to read books and magazines while the woman were taught needlework and singing.
There was always a focus on the religious teaching for the children and youth that was generally undertaken through church activities in the form of Sunday Schools and Bible classes. In the early 1900s’ when it was declared that New Zealand’s Schools would be compulsory and secular, All Saints’ became heavily involved in the Bible-in-Schools League. This focus on children and youth has continued today with very active Childrens’ Church and Youth Groups and until recently there were a number of people involved in Bible-in-Schools. Mainly Music currently runs and is a great way to connect with caregivers and their toddlers.
Alpha courses
The Alpha Course was developed by the Church of England as a teaching resource about the Christian Faith. All Saints’ was one of the first to run Alpha courses in New Zealand starting in 1994/5. These then ran quarterly for 12 years attracting many from non-church backgrounds Over this time many came to faith and joined this parish as well as other churches some even went on to join the Anglican clergy. Alpha continues to be offered within the parish.
Marriage and relationships courses
All Saints’ has a long history of supporting marriage and relationships. They have and continue to offer marriage preparation through the Alpha pre-marriage course and the Prepare Enrich programme. Many couples have also benefitted from the Alpha Marraige Course that seeks to strengthen and enrich couples relationsionships. In the past they have also offered Alpha Parenting courses and some parishioners have been involved in supporting people through Divorce Care.
All Saints’ has always been active in supports for Overseas Mission through both organisations such as Christian Missionary Society and Anglican Mission Board which All Saints’ often supports through their Advent and Easter campaigns. One of our prominent parishioners was the chair of CMS for a while. All Saints’ have also supported individual missionaries that have often come form the parish such as the Jolls and Robyn Appleby.
Another important way that All Saints’ engages in Mission is through support of our partners. These include City Mission whose offices are on the All Saints site, Across and most recently Launch. Click on their links to find out more about these organisations.