Divine intervention

Most are seeking help as the recession bites deep, MERVYN DYKES learns.

He was the kind of man you'd pass in the street without a second glance a good, solid, salt-of-the-earth type who'd always been able to support his family with his skills.

Now he sits slumped in a chair in a church office, looking down at his clenched workingman's hands. The events of the last few weeks have stripped him of pride. There are tears in his eyes.

When he first lost his job, he didn't worry too much. There was always work for those prepared to go after it.

But, somehow, during the good years he'd crossed the invisible line between youth and age.

Prospective employers told him he was "over-qualified" for the job, or that his experience "didn't quite match their requirements".

His minister broke the awkward silence.

"You have helped others in the past," he says. "Now it is time to let them help you."

The man is typical of many now coming to their church or any church seeking help. They are good people, honest people, caught out for the first time as the recession bites deeper into the economy.

Yes, there are ratbags who "try it on" around the churches too, but they are being outnumbered as "ordinary" people find themselves in strife.

People like the director of Methodist Social Services, Michelle Grey, get to see many of them.

"We need help," she says. "During the last 12 months the usage of the Foodbank has been up on corresponding period in the previous year by 20 to 69 per cent each month. On top of that, all our services are over-subscribed."

Among those most hard-pressed are budgeting services and workshops for people suffering from anxiety and depression. Out of these services flowed social work support.

The Methodist Good Will Stores a significant source of funding for the other services report usage is up, but donations are down.

"We are in desperate need of donations of furniture, clothing and household items," Ms Grey says. "I am concerned that we might run out of stock."

May and June are traditionally the months of greatest demand for the goods the stores provide as people try to cope with winter.

Salvation Army Corps officer and director of social services Captain Allan Bateman says while he has no precise figures he has noticed an increased attendance at church services.

"People know that in difficult times the churches stand ready to offer a message of hope and stability."

In other aspects of his work he had noticed a strong demand for the goods offered by the church's Family Store, but a decrease in donations.

"We can measure it by the number of times the truck goes out to collect things," he says. "While there is a good supply of clothing, stocks of furniture are down. If we don't get more donations of furniture soon we won't be able to meet the demand."

The Salvation Army shares Foodbank premises with the Methodist Church and Mr Bateman says their need for stocks is as great as that reported by Ms Grey.

John Hornblow, assistant priest at All Saint's Anglican Church, says he thinks it's too soon to attribute any increased attendance to the effects of a recession. He believes a return to traditional forms of worship was under way long before times got tougher.

"The last Easter procession was the largest ever held, with more than 500 people parading through the city behind the cross."

He believes the resurgence is a gradual one which has been happening during the last five to 10 years. People who before had not been prepared to acknowledge the spiritual side of their lives were now doing so.

"A key word is perhaps `authenticity'. They are attending church now because they have made a positive decision to do so and not just because their parents did."

Pamela Tankersley, of St David's Church in Terrace End, recently ended her term as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church, a role that saw her visiting congregations throughout New Zealand. Her observation is that while the recession might not have caused a direct increase in attendance at services, there has been greater contact with the church.

"We no longer use Sunday meeting statistics as a measure of our health," she says. "We look at the whole community face of the church.

"For example, attendance at our community education classes in such things as cooking, budgeting, sewing and crafts has increased enormously," Very Rev Tankersley says.

A pre-school play group is booming and not just as a baby-sitting service, because parents have to attend with their children.

In recent months there has also been a three-fold membership increase in the Friends of St David's, a social group that meets regularly for tea and talks.

Similar sentiments were expressed by St Patrick's Parish priest Father Brian Walsh , who is based at the Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Palmerston North.

"Yes we have been impacted by the recession, but it is not so much in church attendance as in people requiring support and help. The St Vincent de Paul Society is getting increasing calls from people requiring food parcels and household items.

"We have put out a pamphlet listing all the agencies available to help people in case there are some who are not sure where to go, or might be embarrassed about approaching someone official like myself."

Father Brian says the requests for help have been increasing steadily since last Christmas.

At the Life Church in Featherson St, Palmerston North, pastor Ralph Sutherland reports attendance is up, "but not markedly."

However, despite the difficult economic times there has been a significant increase in offerings.

"We had a bit of a downturn last year," he says. "The first six months of last year were a tougher time economically for us. We had to do a bit of staff restructuring, but by June and July we began to recover.

"We've noticed a marked difference in all departments of the church this year. There's a positive atmosphere and our meetings and gatherings have been quite well attended.

Philippa Williamson, a staff member at the Crossroads Bible Centre in Church St says one of the areas that was particularly busy now was the free budgeting service provided by the church.

"We are even getting referrals from other budgeting places."

Bishop Brigham Anderson from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Palmerston North says he has noticed no increase in the number of people coming to church on Sundays.

However, there has been a significant rise in those seeking help, mostly with food and rent.

"It started just after January."

Those in already marginal situations were the worst affected, but some of the others did not seem to be prepared to "make do", or cut back in the recession, but wanted to maintain their present lifestyles.

The way things are, that's something they can't do.

- © Fairfax NZ News