Holy Trinity Avonside

27/09/2025

Homeless Jesus

'The statue depicts Jesus as a homeless person, sleeping on a park bench. His face and hands are obscured, hidden under a blanket, but Crucifixion wounds on his feet reveal his identity. The statue has been described as a "visual translation" of the Gospel of Matthew passage in which Jesus tells his disciples, "as you did it to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to me". The bronze sculpture was intended to be provocative, with its sculptor, Timothy Schmalz commenting, "That's essentially what the sculpture is there to do. It's meant to challenge people."'
[Wikipedia]

The passage in Matthew has become one that is central to the mission we have carried out at Holy Trinity Avonside, but it is just one of the reasons it is the duty and calling of the church to serve the poor and defend the rights of the maginalised.

16/09/2025

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is officially here! 🥳🖤🤍❤️ Whether it's your very first kupu (word) or you're building towards a full kōrero (conversation), you are part of this journey, and you are part of keeping our reo alive.

Here are some easy phrases you can use this week, and we'd love to hear you give it a go! This week is for EVERYONE, no matter what your reo level. Together, we are making te reo Māori heard, spoken, and loved in every corner of Aotearoa 🌿

Kia kaha te reo Māori - give it a go! 💪 ✨

Join us in celebrating the 50th anniversary of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. Check out www.reomaori.co.nz 🔗

Kia Kaha te Reo Māori | Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori

25/08/2025

22/08/2025

Posting on behalf, please consider sharing and supporting.

Made homeless in the middle of winter, Christina and Lorraine want to buy a bus to ensure stability, security and a place to call home.

22/08/2025

Warm fingers on a freezing cold night ... sometimes a little can mean a lot when you are sleeping rough in winter.

We do some really big things for rough sleepers like giving them beds in our emergency shelters or finding them other places to stay. But our Outreach workers also do little things so well. They offer smiles, kind words, respect ... and hand warmers.

Don’t laugh. We have given out 76 hand warmers already this month and the street whanau love them. They use them on cold feet, on kidneys aching from lying on the cold ground, on backs – just wherever a little warmth can help.

A businessman donated us 1500 packets a couple of years ago and we are still working our way through them. Never underestimate the little things! ❤️

21/08/2025

I figured I'd post here, rather than reply the same thing multiple times 😅

For anyone interested in helping out...

We can always use donations of blankets, cuppa soups/noodles, tents if you have any that aren't being used, warm clothing, thermoses, hot water bottles (and more!)

Dropping by and supporting the community Op-Shop is another great way to support the mahi we're doing, proceeds go back into the community—it's open Monday-Friday, 10-2pm and is currently based out of St. Francis Hall at Holy Trinity.

Finding out what's happening in your local area and how you can get involved is another way to support the mahi.

Beyond that, keeping the conversation going is a huge help. We need systemic change if we're going to do more than take a reactive response to a growing crisis, and that means putting pressure on local and national government to step up and commit to supporting community initiatives and social services, implementing policies, and dismantling a system that prioritises profits over people.

21/08/2025

Kia ora koutou,

My name is River Rain and I'm one of the Community Workers at Holy Trinity Avonside. Some of the mahi we do here has gained a fair bit of attention lately, and there are a couple of points I'd like to clarify.

First off, we've had some awesome support from the Council! The abatement notice that has been discussed is currently not being enforced because we are working with the Council towards compliance regarding the use of our land.

I have received confirmation today from our contacts in CCC that people will not be asked to leave our land on Friday the 22nd. This is in line with what we had previously been told.

We're very appreciative of the support we have had from the MPs and professionals working on our behalf, and consider their input and involvement to be invaluable.

We also appreciate the support we have received from members of the community!

Much of the work we do here wouldn't be possible if not for donations of blankets, food and winter clothing we have received from community members. These donations go back into the community to those in need and have helped keep people warm, dry and fed over the winter.

If you would like to further support our mahi, please get in touch, we are always happy to have a kōrero about what's going on and what you can do to help!

Ngā mihi nui,

River Rain(he/him)
Community Worker.

09/07/2025

07/07/2025

Having somewhere to live doesn’t make winter easy. Thousands of people we care for steel themselves to get through winter. They can’t afford to be warm, dry and well fed, and their life becomes a daily struggle to get through.

Take a look at our Housed but Hurting story on our website for a glimpse of what life is like when winter bites. https://www.citymission.org.nz/news/housed-but-still-hurting

13/06/2025

The number trying to get through the cold months without a house will be higher than ever and they will include many people who are not hardened to sleeping out. This is because of a variety of reasons, including a lack of accommodation, the Government’s tighter approach to emergency housing, risi...