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Reveal May 2012

2012-05-16T00:22:42+12:00

Read this month's Reveal, with a focus on leadership integrity, as well as news from the Social Policy Unit.

Read this month's Reveal, with a focus on leadership integrity, as well as news and updates from the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit.

> download the October 2011 edition of Reveal (PDF, 842KB)

Submission to Health Select Committee

2012-05-14T23:48:57+12:00

An inquiry into preventing child abuse and improving children’s health outcomes.

> download Submission to Health Select Committee (PDF, 134KB)

We acknowledge and applaud the Government’s recent series of inquiries and investigations into child welfare in New Zealand. However, we consider the parameters of these current investigations somewhat narrow and confined to issues around violence to, and abuse of, children.

Clearly, we agree with the Government that issues around violence and abuse of children are critical and need to be researched further and discussed by all sectors of our society.

But we again advocate for a broadening of the debate around child welfare and wellbeing to include areas outside of abuse and violence and issues and views that are not widely discussed. We also champion brave, long-term and well thought out policies and programmes in response to these issues.

Art or essay?

2012-05-14T03:18:16+12:00

Congress live streaming

2012-05-11T04:53:02+12:00

General visits Moldova

2012-05-11T04:22:38+12:00

Overstretched and underfunded

2012-05-03T22:51:18+12:00

Alcohol law reform – yeah right

2012-05-03T22:50:49+12:00

Help through hard times

2012-05-03T22:23:15+12:00

Kelvin Westaway has a good friend who helps him through hard times.

I’d like to say that since becoming a follower of Jesus, life is all sweet as and cruisy, but I’m still faced with the same issues and problems that everyone—whether they are followers of Jesus or not—has. However, I now have a good friend to help me through those hard times.

A work colleague once told me that Jesus was just a crutch for those who were too weak-minded to handle the real world. Maybe that’s true, but this seems like a pretty good crutch to me. And unlike that colleague, I don’t need to get drunk each weekend just to ‘get over the week’.

I attended church through my childhood, but when I left home I stopped attending for about 12 years until someone I worked with invited me to an Alpha Course at his church. Through the Alpha Course I came to understand what it meant to be a follower of Christ, and I made a commitment to follow Jesus. Since then, my life, which I had pretty much planned out and had under control, has gone down totally different paths from where I thought it would go.

I was happy being single and living and working in Wellington, and used to vow and declare that I would never want to live in Auckland. So what happened? God introduced me to a beautiful lady with two daughters, and I married into a ready-made family. Then the company I was working for moved to Auckland and I was offered a job there. Katrina and I felt God wanted us to move, so we did.

I’ve been a follower of Christ for a few years now. About a year ago, a series of events led us to believe God was telling us to attend The Salvation Army, so we came along to Glenfield Corps. Not long after, we realised we were both called to make the commitment to become senior soldiers (adult members), with the lifestyle changes that go along with this—so we took that step too.

A recent step of faith was for Katrina to leave her job to apply for the role of corps administrator at Glenfield. While this meant less money for our household, we believed it was something God wanted us to do. As the saying goes, ‘The money is not that great, but the retirement benefits are out of this world.’

As a follower of Jesus, I sometimes face difficult moral issues in the workplace that, if I wasn’t a Christian, I would not even think about. Some of my customers sell products or services that go against what I believe as a Christian and as a Salvationist. For example, alcohol, gambling, adult entertainment, etc. Should I be doing work that is helping those businesses stay in business? I don’t really have an answer to that question at this time.

Being a follower of Christ is not an easy thing in this world. Sometimes I put expectations on myself that can get a bit out of hand. And then when I ‘fail’, I feel stink, as if I have let God down. But Jesus is there to help me and I thank him that he never leaves me.

Anxiety attacks?

2012-05-03T21:57:39+12:00

We all experience anxiety but how can you handle it?

Everyone occasionally experiences anxiety to varying degrees as a result of high stress or the fear of a certain turn of events.

While mild anxiety is normal, when it escalates it can severely hinder our lives. It can also negatively affect those around us, particularly children, partners and workmates.

Anxiety shows itself in four ways:

Physical: an aroused nervous system (eg, a racing heart or upset tummy).
Emotional: distress, anger, moodiness.
Behaviour: restlessness, rage, irrational activities (eg, checking things compulsively).
Mental: non-constructive, clouded and/or pessimistic thinking.

So, if I’m experiencing these sorts of symptoms, what can I do about it?

Interpretation: It is often not so much the event itself that is the problem but our interpretation of it—we can blow things out of proportion easily. Take time to acknowledge the situation for what it is. Write your thoughts down if that helps.

Brainstorm and Strategise: Now that we know exactly what the problem is, think creatively of ways for overcoming it. Talk to trusted friends and mentors, or read a book on the topic to plan steps for seeing the issue resolved.

Breathe: Take control of your physical reactions with this exercise: breathe in through your nose, counting ‘in, two, three’, and then out through your mouth, ‘relax, two, three’ (repeat for a minute or two).

Take Thoughts Captive: Replace anxious thoughts with positive messages. Keep Bible verses on hand (memorised and/or stuck to the fridge) that you can speak and meditate on.

Pray: 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to ‘Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.’ Try it!

Make Lifestyle Changes: Reduce (or remove) caffeine and alcohol intake, as these alter moods. Also prioritise exercise and other recreational activities (eg, time with friends and family). Finally, take command of your schedule through time management and learning to say ‘no’ to un-necessaries.

Choose fair

2012-05-02T22:21:03+12:00

Well, as this year’s Fair Trade Fortnight launches, I suppose ‘Are we there yet?’ isn’t a bad question to ask.

Are we there yet?! It’s one of those irritating, naggy questions children ask on long road trips. Sometimes it comes just one suburb from home.

Well, as this year’s Fair Trade Fortnight launches, I suppose ‘Are we there yet?’ isn’t a bad question to ask.

The Salvation Army signed up to a ‘Fair Trade policy’ back in September 2006. Like a lot of important policy changes, this one took a while to shift good intentions into practice, but as the years have sped by, Fair Trade has become a stronger governing principle in the decisions we make as an organisation. It certainly seems to be influencing the personal shopping decisions of individual Salvationists, which is great to see!

My hope is that we’re not stepping back from this journey. We need to keep on choosing ‘fair’ when we shop. And we need to keep on agitating those who sell, by asking, ‘Do you stock Fair Trade products?’ And, if they don’t, by making it clear that we prefer companies that do offer Fair Trade options.

By now, most of us hopefully know that when we buy Fair Trade, we can be confident that as much of the profits as possible go direct to the workers and their families in poorer countries instead of being siphoned off to line the pockets of the rich (and often off-shore) owners. And that means we’re helping people access good things that most of us take for granted, like health services and education. Now that’s fair, wouldn’t you say?

There are lots of things in life the average punter doesn’t have much power over, even in a democratic country like New Zealand. For instance, I’m pretty hot under the collar at the moment that the Government seems to be essentially selling legislation changes by letting Sky City build a convention centre in exchange for 500 more pokie machines at their Auckland casino. That doesn’t seem either fair or right to me!

And that’s part of the attraction of Fair Trade—it’s essentially a fair and democratic system that puts power in the purchaser’s wallet.

Salvation Army social justice advocate Chris Frazer writes compellingly about buying power in a recent paper on child exploitation (‘Scanning for Integrity’, online here).

Chris says, ‘While, at present, many children have no choice but to help produce many of the goods that fill our supermarket shelves and shopping malls, consumers do have the option. The power is within our wallet, to push for positive, life-giving change by choosing products guaranteed not to have been produced in exploitative circumstances.’

Are we ‘there yet’ with Fair Trade? No, we’re not. But we will be if we keep moving in the right direction, and if we invite more people along for the ride. Fair Trade Fortnight, from 5-20 May, is a great opportunity to do just that.

Choose fair and spread the word about the life-changing difference Fair Trade is making for farmers, workers, families and communities in developing countries.

By Christina Tyson (abridged from War Cry 5 May 2012 p3)

For great ideas about how to make the most of Fair Trade Fortnight, head online to www.fairtrade.org.nz.