Fill a Christmas Star Box for Wellington City Mission
Rev Chris Frazer, Deacon for Social Justice at the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, shares a reflection on the pressures low income families in our community are facing, and a way we can support them this Christmas.
Throughout Christ’s ministry, we see him at work responding to immediate needs, even if at times he is at risk or inconvenienced. Furthermore he undertook his ministry in ways that were not designed to be flashy ‘look at me’ road shows. But rather as it is repeatedly said Jesus would often point out that it was not all about Him but rather the one he serves. When the disciples, James and John, once asked Jesus if they could secure the places of prestige and honour in His kingdom, Jesus surprised them by saying,
“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant…For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,”
Fast forwarding to 2023 and here in Aotearoa NZ, are things any different? The answer is yes and no. Yes in as much as we have a welfare system in place that certainly provides some much needed assistance to many. No, in as much as the plight of those without sufficient income or a safe place to live remains unacceptably high.
For example as of July this year 30,000 people are on the wait list for state housing. New Zealand suffers from one of the highest rates of child poverty in the Western world. According to Statistics New Zealand, at the end of June 2022, 12% of all children (1 in 9) were directly affected by poverty.
How can we, as members of the Anglican Diocese of Wellington, seek to respond? One step, I suggest, is for us to support the Wellington City Mission this coming Christmas. Living in hardship for many families is exacerbated at Christmas. This is where the Star Box Appeal comes in. At the Wellington Cathedral we have six of the star boxes which are waiting to be filled with toys and food for the Mission’s food and toy supermarkets. See below for a list of items that the Mission is seeking.
The supermarkets set up by the Mission give families who are struggling the opportunity to freely shop with dignity for the goods they need the most so that they too can sit down to a meal on Christmas Day and their children can experience the delight of opening up their gifts.
Ways to support the Wellington City Mission’s Star Box Appeal
Donate items (new toys and food) in the boxes at the Wellington Cathedral or Anglican Centre
Request a box to be delivered to your location for filling
Donate directly to the Mission
