Touchstone November 2007

Food or fuel? World faces growing hunger
By Paul Titus
Along with climate change, peak oil, and terrorism the high cost of food is now squarely on the menu of global concerns, and church groups are among those raising their voices for the problem to be addressed. Read more...

Presbyterian leaders dismayed about police terror raids
On the heels of the police’s anti-terrorism raids last month, the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ) raised its concerns about their impact on the affected communities and on Maori-Pakeha relations. Read more...

Letter to New Zealand from Methodism’s man in Rome
Dear Friends,
It is now well over a year since I left Auckland for the city of Rome to serve as a Methodist representative to the Vatican, an initiative sponsored by the British Conference and the European Methodist Council. Read more...

New thinking, new initiatives needed to meet ministry shortcomings
By Paul Titus
At Methodist Conference 2008 the Church will ordain four new presbyters and farewell nine who retire. This ratio has become the norm in recent years. The numbers are indicative of a trend that has seen many parishes share or go without a presbyter for periods of time, and in some cases permanently. Read more...

Complacency has no part in future Pasifika ministry
While Tongan, Samoan, and Fijian congregations in the Methodist Church of New Zealand do not have declining numbers and ageing congregations like their Pakeha counterparts, they must do some serious thinking if they are to avoid a similar fate. This is the opinion of director of Tauiwi Pasifika ministry Rev Aso Samoa Saleupolu. Read more...

Presbyterians retools ministry training to meet needs of changing church
By Julia Stuart
A rapidly-changing cultural landscape has led to a major re-think of the future of ministry among New Zealand’s Presbyterians. Read more...

Tongan women’s camp mix of serious and light-hearted
‘Jesus is my saviour’ was the theme for the Tongan synod of the Methodist Women’s Fellowship camp held during in the last weekend in September in Ponsonby. Read more...