Starting a rural chaplaincy is one way to take church to the people. It’s a case of needs must: churches have to adapt to meet their congregation’s needs. When Reverend Barb Walker first heard about this new way of “doing church” and saw an opportunity to set up a rural chaplaincy in Southland, she knew Read more
Against a background of ongoing legal matters, Bishop Steve Lowe, the apostolic administrator of the Hamilton Diocese, is accused of not being pastoral enough in his response to a victim of clergy abuse. The Waikato Times reports a woman from within the Hamilton Catholic diocese saying that in a meeting with Lowe, she told him Read more
In about the same time span as three new priests were ordained for Dunedin diocese, four priests of the diocese have died within weeks of each other. The first was Fr Tom Keyes (94 ) on May 10. His death was followed by that of Fr Vincent Smith (91) on June 9. Both priests died Read more
New Zealand’s not-for-profit (NFP) sector’s cybersecurity isn’t anything like good enough, a newly-released report says. Grant Thornton New Zealand’s latest Not-for-Profit report says charities are particularly vulnerable to phishing attempts and ransomware attacks. The report states that these attacks are all over the economic sector and show no signs of abating. Report findings The Not-for-Profit Read more
Children in state care still need better support when the state sends them home. An Independent Children’s Monitor report, Returning Home From Care, looks at experiences and practices when children and young people’s parents care for them while in state custody. Report findings As at 30 June 2022, 627 children and young people in care Read more
A church community’s firewood donations were really helping out families in Dunedin. They made the difference between being warm at home and feeling Dunedin’s cold bite. That was before last week, when thieves stole the log-splitter used to make the firewood donations possible. Dunedin City Baptist Church caretaker Malcolm Cowan says thieves cut through the Read more
For 60 years a stained glass window in Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church in Methven has been the view the priest saw during Mass. It would be seen by the congregation as they entered and departed the church. Up until recently the design has been painted on, but over time the colours faded Read more
Religious groups who say restrictions on gatherings during Covid-19 breached their right to worship are continuing their legal battle against the Government. Free To Be Church Trust, on behalf of several religious groups, say restrictions under the red traffic light setting during the pandemic, and the Government’s failure to review them sooner, was a breach Read more
Financial compensation is just a starting point for a survivor of abuse at the Marylands School – he is calling for more. Darryl Smith suffered at the hands of the John of God Brothers in Australia and New Zealand. He has already undergone a redress settlement process in Australia and received compensation from the Queensland Read more