After any kind of illness, everyone’s pathway back to wellness is their own. ‘Recovery’ from mental distress or disorders will look different for different people. Gradual changes begin to help a person improve their health and wellbeing, step by step.

Over the last year, the snowy Anglican parish of Ohakune has been home to the St James hall-turned-retreat-lodge, dreamt up by Chris Casey with a nudge from Bishop Justin Duckworth. The lodge was commissioned at last year’s Synod in September, intending to be used primarily by friends of the Anglican church – large family gatherings and youth programmes.

With the fast-paced nature of tertiary study for students, university chaplaincies have the chance to encourage a practice of rest and stillness. The Wellington Massey Chaplaincy recently ran its Unplugged Silent Retreat for the third year in a row, at the Home of Compassion Retreat Centre in Island Bay. Their first retreat was held at Ngatiawa River Monastery as an initiative headed by Ian Cook, chaplain at the time, but they took the opportunity to hold it more locally over the last couple of years.

Hi, I’m Amanda, I’m 38 and I worship with the Anglican church plant in the suburb of Brooklyn, Wellington. I had a really ‘wholesome’ upbringing, with lots of time outside on bikes and playing on invented obstacle courses in the backyard. Nevertheless, by the time I was around 8 years old, I was a very anxious child and my internal world had started to become somewhat dark.

Ask St Luke’s Vicar Harry Newton how the rural Greytown parish managed to thrive over lockdown and he’ll say, “we just tried random stuff”. His main question during lockdown was “how do you produce content that’s helpful for other people?”

The experience of mental distress can be very difficult for the person experiencing it first-hand, and for all those supporting them. As Christians, we are called to follow the way of Jesus, who walked alongside those in distress. However, without having appropriate boundaries when supporting others, we can become stressed or even burnt out ourselves.

Well, here we are again in Level 2. Does anyone else feel, frankly, just over it? This time, it seems a bit harder to get going and to feel motivated about making any plans when we know they potentially might go out the door again. We were lulled into a bit of a false sense of security I think, and this recent outbreak is a reminder that changing alert levels will likely be our reality for at least another year living in the face of Covid-19.

So, when it’s hard to make plans, what then are we to do?

Earlier this month, a group of eight congregants from Blueprint Church and St Tom’s, Newtown had the opportunity to take part in a haerenga ki te Tairāwhiti at Rauru Marae in Ruatoria, Gisborne, the tūrangawaewae (standing ground) of Ngāti Porou.

As an encouraging show of global faith during lockdown, Barbara Russell, Lyn O’Fee and Russell Lyon report back on a Zoom Feast Day their Pohangina parish was invited to for churches named after St Mary Magdalene.

In article three of our Mental Health series, we discussed the three Biblical values of Respect, Compassion and Hope. These are foundational values that Jesus modelled when walking alongside people in distress and are an example for us to follow when supporting others. How does this look practically within our wider society, our churches, and within our communities and whānau?

Changes are afoot in our Anglican Youth Movement (AYM) whānau. Luke and Amilie Paynter, who currently lead AYM team, have announced their intention to step down from the role.

In a time where the rhythms of ordinary life had been emptied out, the national lockdown left space for those wanting to go on a deeper journey with God. Reverend Paul McIntosh of St Anne’s Northland-Wilton ran an online Alpha course for the duration of the lockdown period.

St Mark’s Carterton has had booming success with a series of parish ‘pub’ quizzes, beginning during lockdown.

While they were confined to their homes, each Saturday evening parishioners of St Mark’s met together via Zoom to take part in a social quiz.

There have been some big myths about mental illness around for a long time. Many living with a mental health condition tell stories of stigma and discrimination from others, even in churches. So let’s learn what’s true and what’s not. When we know better, we can do better.

As Election Day nears, how might we use our voting privilege to love our neighbours? Are the policies and parties we support going to help or hinder those who are struggling to flourish? How might we, Christ's body, stand up for the last, the lost and the least in our democratic process?