Coordinator in place

Our "on the ground" Christchurch Earthquake Response Coordinator is now in place. William Drury-Turnbull, from St Albans Baptist, comes with significant experience in handling these matters.

His role is as a co-ordinator, link person and encourager, working with the local regional team, local church coordinators and our wider Baptist movement. He will build links with the appropriate Government agencies, Council agencies, NGOs and Faith based organizations.

Lindsay Jones will continue to be the Baptist Union contact and part of William’s advisory group.

A local Christchurch team, plus Kelvyn Fairhall from the Baptist Union, has been formed to handle the distribution of appeal monies.

Please now direct your offers of hands-on help to William at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (see needs below). Please continue to send any appeal monies to the BU National Centre.

If you need advice about offering support, contact Lindsay Jones at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 021546379.

Current Needs

• Long-term partnering of church to church
• Financial support
• Teams to give local church ministries a break
• Teams to be ready to assist in places missed by the initial phase of civic help
• Interim pastoral support/relief
• Prayer
• Volunteers - Trevor McGlinchey of the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services has asked for further volunteers to work through the Salvation Army.  Contact him on 04 473 2627 for further information.

Insights

• “Everyone’s nerves are on edge.”

• “We are now moving into the grieving phase…we need to find a new ‘normal.’”

• Peter and Barbara Millichamp have gone from Whangaparaoa to pick up pastoral duties for 4 weeks while Jim Patrick continues his police chaplaincy work.

• Canterbury University Engineering School is relocating to Avonhead church for at least the next 3 months.

• God at work: A woman reconciled to her father who needed to come and stay because his house was damaged.

• Baptist World Aid (BWAid), the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), has granted an initial sum of US$10,000 for earthquake relief in New Zealand.

Prayer items

• Our police chaplains as they support police body identification teams
• Pastors leading funeral services for those killed in the quake
• For the head space to think clearly and make good decision about the future shape and location of our church communities
• The strengthening of relationships formed across the body of Christ 
• For the Christian public voice to be wise and informed
• For good Christian conversations in neighbourhoods, work places and families.

Resources

• http://stevegrahamchch.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-god-is-saying-to-christchurch.html
• Australian Video talks on helping people after disasters: http://nzpsych.blip.tv/posts?view=archive&nsfw=dc
• Massey Papers re helping specific ages and types of people after disasters: http://disasters.massey.ac.nz/factsheet/disaster-stress.htm
• Sermon by Prof John Lennox from Oxford University preaching at Spreydon on "A city in Crisis," directly addressing the question "Why the earthquake?" http://www.spreydon.org.nz
• http://pledge.canterburyearthquake.org.nz – set up by Civil Defence for businesses and NFPs to offer goods or services. There may be business owners among our churches, or people who have such contacts, who have equipment, materials or specialised services they can provide, either short-term or long-term.

Lindsay Jones
on behalf of the Baptist National Leadership Team