‘Looking back at our beginnings 150 years ago has enabled us to look more confidently to the future. We offer these two public forums – one on youth and one on faith as a contribution to the future of Nelson in two critical areas. I hope you can join us and work with us.’
Bishop Richard Ellena – Bishop of Nelson.
First Forum – Youth – March 31st, 2009
Who would have thought that two stutterers would have made such an impact at our first public forum on youth? But they did! Addressing the question of ‘What builds resilience, belonging and hope in our young people?’ Ian Grant and Judge Andrew Becroft informed and stimulated the audience to understand and do better for our young people. Listed below are some of the key action points that emerged throughout the evening.
- Continue to overcome the 'silo mentality' in youth agencies and encourage them to work more collaboratively and flexibly. Strengthen and support the work of Nelson Tasman Connections in creating a safety net for young people.
- Develop further youth mentoring capacity by strengthening and supporting the mentoring programmes offered by agencies in the region. ie ‘Big Brothers Big Sisters’, Presbyterian Support, the Salvation Army, the New Hub etc.
- Identify and develop new multi-disciplinary youth support projects with an shared funding base.
- Develop a community based, multi-disciplinary, justice programme in the Nelson region involving ‘supervision with activity.’
- Support and strengthen programmes aimed at keeping young people in sport and other meaningful activities.
- Develop further parenting support capacity in the region ie ‘Parents Inc’ and ‘Mothers raising boys.’
- Support more community based youth workers walking alongside targeted youth.
- Develop a more effective partnership between the churches and other community agencies.
Other outcomes from the forum include;
- Communicate and promote the action points as a way forward for our community. Write to the Mayor and NCC to inform them of the findings of the Forum.
- Publish a summary of the forum in the next Live Nelson
- The Nelson Safer Community Council is using the momentum created by the Forum to work on improving the resiliency of our community. A public meeting is being planned. Contact Ingrid Beach for more information on 546 0368.
- The Youth Collective is making a submission in the NCC annual planning process using the Forum action points as a basis.
If you’d like a copy of the DVD that was filmed during the evening please contact the Anglican Centre anita@nelsonanglican.org.nz. Cost is $10 to cover the cost of production.
Second Forum – Faith – April 8th, 2009
The second forum on Faith and the Future was led by Greg Fleming (Maxium Institute) and Rt Rev Victoria Matthews of the Christchurch Diocese. We were urged to offer a humble witness to Christ and engage confidently within our communities as Christians - after all our Christian faith has made a significant contribution to the world especially in areas such as education, health, science and social reform. We were told that the Christian faith offers an overarching explanation of life which is coherent and rational. It has answers to the big, perplexing issues of life. It is therefore important to engage with people at this ‘world view’ level and seek to identify the deep presuppositions that drive beliefs and behaviour.
Over 200 attended this 150th event which was held in our Cathedral. In the second half there was lively discussion ably led by Rev Dr Andrew Burgess.
If you’d like a copy of the DVD that was filmed during the evening please contact the Anglican Centre anita@nelsonanglican.org.nz. Cost is $10 to cover the cost of production.
