2011 Annual Report - St John's in the City

Edna Carter Fund
The Church was left a bequest by Edna Carter,
a parishioner who had a particular interest in
helping women at Arohata Prison. The Outreach
Committee is looking at ways it can assist the
rehabilitation and reintegration of women prisoners
back into the community. The committee is
concerned that it has been able to find no useful
research or programmes to assist women prisoners
and parolees and the committee is looking at how it
might initiate activities that would be of benefit.
Bequests Administered
St John’s has been left two bequests, one from Joan
Andrews and one from Noel Woods. This year
grants were made to Presbyterian Support Central
and Downtown Community Ministry to support
programmes for people in great need in the City.
Discussion and Dialogue on Ethical or Public Interest
Matters
The committee’s terms of reference require it
to provide opportunity for discussion, debate
and dialogue on ethical or public interest issues,
including organising fora and seminars. Prof.
Jonathan Boston is leading this. The first forum,
Exclusion and Embrace: Prisoner Rehabilitation,
Reintegration and Reconciliation, organised by
Jonathan Boston in June in the Conference Centre,
was a great success with over 170 people attending.
(About 30 were St John’s members.) The three
speakers, Prof. Chris Marshall, Kim Workman, and
Assoc. Prof. Julian Buchanan addressed the issues in
different ways and provided challenging information.
The audience was attentive and sympathetic. It is
expected two or three forums on various topics will
be held each year.
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St John’s Outreach Partnerships and Relationships
St John’s has a very close relationship with the Boys
and Girls Institute as it appoints the members of the
BGI Board of Management. It contracts with the
BGI to provide a Christian education programme
for its youth group (the Christian Education
Committee manage this) and gives a grant towards
the salary costs. BGI rents offices in Troup House,
owned by St John’s.
St John’s is a member of Downtown Community
Ministry and is represented on DCM’s Board by
Richard Read. The DCM food bank is supported.
Rev Lane was President of Victoria House, which
provides accommodation for University students.
This role alternates between St John’s and the
Anglican Church who were partners in establishing
Victoria House, originally for women students. Two
parishioners are members of the Board of Everton
Hall student residence.
We have links with Queen Margaret and Scots
Colleges which were founded by St John’s.
We have joint services on an annual basis with St
Peters Anglican Church and St Mary of the Angels.
We have contacts with Presbyterian Support Central,
and have had members on the Board. St John’s
founded PSC.
And there are many other contacts that members
of the congregation have with organisations that
provide assistance and outreach in our community.
Ailsa Salt and John Atkinson
Co-convenors