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Religious Groups / December 2023

January 2024 | November 2023
    • Weekly Bulletin: Staying connected as a church - 24 December 2023
      • Kia ora St John’s whānau, In this week of Christmas we are celebrating the birth of Christ with three services at St John’s in the City… Sunday 24th December 10am Sunday 24th December 6pm Monday 25th December 10am If you can’t gather in the city, and you want to join the worship service via Zoom, here are the details to access the live-stream: Zoom Meeting ID: 370 260 759 Passcode: worship The link to join the Zoom worship service is below. If using your phone: dial 04 886 0026 (Meeting ID: 370 260 759#, Passcode: 1560107#) This is the link to the printable Service Sheets: Printable Service Sheet - Sunday 24th December 10am Printable Service Sheet - Monday 25th December 10am Link to Zoom Service OTHER THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT… CHRISTMAS EVE FAMILY SERVICE A kids-friendly celebration for everyone …and inviting others along. Starts at 6:00pm and will be finished by 6:30pm CWS CHRISTMAS APPEAL We are dedicating our offering of money on Christmas Day (once again) to Christian World Service (CWS) whose annual appeal is working to Share Food This Christmas. The poorest people are already experiencing the challenges of the climate crisis. Our offerings will help small-scale farmers learn how to grow food and improve their livelihoods in these very challenging times. With the help of our local partners, they will be able to prepare for the more intense natural disasters that come with climate change. There will be special envelopes provided during the Christmas Day service to make a donation; you can put your details on the envelope to receive a receipt from CWS. OFFICE CLOSURE The St John’s Office will close over the holidays starting midday Wednesday 20th December 2023 and reopening the morning of Tuesday 23rd January 2024. During this time there will not be weekly emails, so please check the St John’s Facebook page for any current updates/alerts. The usual Zoom link for joining the services online will continue. NEW YEAR LUNCH Come and celebrate the start of a new year on Sunday 7th January 2024. After the morning service, we would love you to join us for a special New Year Lunch in the St John’s Centre. KOHA : $5 Fellowship, Fun, Delicious Food …...and Ice cream! Hosted by the Building Community Vision Team YOUTH & FAMILIES PASTOR SECONDMENT Next year Hannah North is expanding our ministry to young people by making connections directly with school students. One of our goals for our St John’s ministry with young people is: Build numbers of youth and children attending and being reached by our programmes. To build relational connections with school students and encourage non-churched young people to join in what we do at St John’s, next year Hannah will be at Scots College 10 hours a week working with the Chaplain Rev David Jackson. This secondment is just for 2024, while the Assistant Chaplain Rebecca Wilcox is on 12 months parental leave. Working within a community of over a thousand young people is an expansion of the St John’s youth ministry, and we will find ways for Hannah’s ongoing ministry to be further supported by others. Are you (or someone you know) interested in working part-time with our Youth & Families ministry team? Let us know if you want to know more about this. GIVING ISN’T JUST SOMETHING WE DO AT CHRISTMAS To keep all we do going strong we have budgeted for an overall increase in congregational giving of 10% for the coming year, and asked to discern God’s guidance for our personal/household giving. Giving by regular bank transfer expresses an ongoing commitment to be part of our mission and ministry, and details for setting that up are available on the ‘Donations’ page of the website: https://www.stjohnsinthecity.org.nz/donate If you are already giving regularly, you may want to decide if your giving can change to reflect our goal. We know it is hard times for many, so if you are already giving what you are able, please know it is deeply appreciated. If you are away at Christmas, may God give you safe travels and we look forward to seeing you next year. Wherever we are at Christmas, may our hearts be open to the coming of Christ. Allister
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        • St John's, Willis Street, Te Aro, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6011, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)


    • Ngā Kōrero - Latest Stories from DCM
      • Ngā Kōrero - Latest Stories from DCM Lives and smiles transformed at the DCM Dental Service communities where whānau are housed, connected, valued and thriving About Us Contact Lives and smiles transformed at the DCM Dental Service DCM’s emergency dental service has been operating since March 2016 – and is the only dental service of its kind outside of hospital emergency departments in New Zealand. Over 800 individuals have had their lives and smiles transformed thanks to the expertise of DCM’s volunteer dentists, led by Dr. Sophie McKenna, our lead dentist. Volunteer dentist Dr. Sophie McKenna leads DCM’s Dental Service. (Source: 1News.) Sophie’s father was a dentist, and she worked with him as a dental assistant during the school holidays. By the age of 17, she had decided that dentistry was a good path for her. Marrying Andrew, a fellow dentist, and working in different practices in the Wellington area, the two were able to share work and parenting responsibilities. Sophie first heard about DCM at a New Zealand Dental Association branch meeting, putting her name forward as a volunteer. “DCM was a surprise to me,” says Sophie. “I didn’t expect to receive so much pleasure from helping the whānau with their dental care. “When I first began volunteering, our son was dealing with significant health challenges, and I was at a low point. To come into DCM and see good people working hard to improve themselves from their very low points, with the support of DCM staff, was humbling and put my own woes into perspective.” Sophie explains that many of the people coming to DCM’s Dental Service need fillings, periodontal work, and extractions. “They often come to us with broken and missing teeth. When you are experiencing homelessness, living from crisis to crisis, oral health care may fall lower on the priority list, especially due to the expense. “But the big key to DCM’s success is not that treatment is free – but that DCM makes marginalised people feel so welcome when they come here. They don’t feel judged – and that includes when they sit in our dental chair.” Sophie treats Ngata during an emergency dental session at DCM. (Source: 1News.) “I’ll say, ‘what’s the most important thing that I can help you with today?’ And they look astonished,” says Sophie. “They are normally told to lie back, open up, and then a health professional gives them a carefully worded lecture about what isn’t being done, how disastrous things are. “And that’s not we’re here for. We’re here to make them feel better.” We know that poor oral health has been linked to gingivitis, oral infection, heart disease and strokes. But additionally, aesthetic issues can affect your ability to eat and speak – with a huge cost to your self-esteem. DCM Manahautū (Director) Stephen Turnock says that most of the people DCM works with have missing or decayed teeth, and the feelings of shame around this can take a toll. “When someone is continually looking at the ground, and not wanting to smile or feeling whakamā, then that creates more barriers.” This is why in 2023, we have begun creating dental impressions (diagnostic models or moulds) on-site at DCM and fitting whānau with partial plates – often of upper teeth. Sophie has been joined in this initiative by her husband, Andrew, who is no longer able to practice dentistry on his own due to an injury. Still wanting to support DCM, Andrew is able to assist Sophie in various ways. Sophie shares how life-changing their work has already been. Toko before and after. Toko was someone with missing incisors – the most visible teeth in the upper mouth. Sophie and Andrew created a mould and fitted him with replacement teeth. “Toko was exceptionally happy with the partial plate, and his ‘after’ smile filled the room!” says Sophie. Another person whose smile has been transformed is Lisa. Lisa has experienced homelessness, including rough sleeping, before she was housed through DCM’s Aro Mai Housing First service. From there, she was able to focus on her wellbeing, including her oral healthcare. Lisa before and after. Sophie had to encourage Lisa to do a ‘before’ photo while smiling so we could compare the results. “Now she can’t stop smiling!” Sophie says. When DCM first met Simon, he had little to smile about. DCM Outreach workers Ngaire and Hazel approached him on the street in Kilbirnie, where he says he was at his lowest ebb. “DCM saved my life, literally” Simon explains. “If there’s a God, it was great timing on all fronts.” Simon also survived the Loafers Lodge fire. On the tragic night, he knocked on people’s doors, urging them to evacuate, while managing to escape with his phone and wallet, and the clothes on his back. After a move into transitional housing, Simon was able to concentrate on other pressing matters, including agonising dental pain. He popped into DCM one day, and met Ali Janes, who coordinates our dental clinic. Ali got Simon in to see Sophie and Andrew, who extracted the problem teeth. “You could really see the difference it had made for him, which was awesome,” says Ali. “He left pain free and basically floated out of here!” Simon was left with very few teeth, but Sophie and Andrew supported him through the life-changing process of getting a full denture. “I’m still learning to smile properly, which is something I haven’t done for a long time,” Simon explains. “But – I can almost look in the mirror again. “When I needed DCM the most, you guys have always been there. Now I’m trying to pay it forward.” Simon popped into DCM to show us his new smile. DCM’s new initiative creating replacement teeth for whānau has been supported by a $5,000 community grant from the New Zealand Dental Association. “My vision for DCM’s Dental Service is that we are able to expand our services a little,” says Sophie. “Ideally, we would like to offer more opportunities to replace teeth that have previously been extracted, as we’ve been doing with the grant this year. “Currently, relief of pain is great, but what can we do to support our lovely people and lift them up even more? It is obvious from the beaming smiles of Toko, Lisa and others that restoring their smile boosts their sense of worth. Society inadvertently judges those with missing teeth. “When someone’s smile is restored and they feel and look good, they project a confidence and positivity that is difficult to measure. It is infused in their posture, their willingness to engage with others – and we see that their approach to issues that challenge them is altered for the better. “It’s a no-brainer to try to help with this more.” We mihi to Sophie and Andrew McKenna for their passion and professional expertise as they help to transform the lives and smiles of our whānau. Can you help support DCM’s Dental Service this Christmas? DCM is grateful to all those dentists who, like Sophie and Andrew, give their time to allow us to provide emergency dental care to the most marginalised people in Wellington. We would also like to thank the NZDA for their community grant, the St. John’s in the City Carter Fund for a grant toward a new dental chair for our service, and the Bowen Hospital Trust for their on-going support. But DCM’s Dental Service is primarily funded by YOU, the people of Wellington. If you would like to support the most marginalised people in our city – like Toko, Lisa, and Simon this Christmas – please click below and consider donating toward our appeal. Or, if you know a dentist or dental assistant who would like to learn more about working at the DCM Dental Service, we would love to hear from them! Support DCM's Dental Service Copyright © 2023 DCM. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: DCM PO Box 6133 Marion Sq Wellington, Wellington 6011 New Zealand Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.
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        • Loafers Lodge, 160, Adelaide Road, Newtown, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6021, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)


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