17 February 2005: The new SCMA website is being launched tonight. New and updated information will be available at http://www.scm.org.nz/home/ from this time. Please direct any questions to webmaster@scm.org.nz.
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17 February 2005: The new SCMA website is being launched tonight. New and updated information will be available at http://www.scm.org.nz/home/ from this time. Please direct any questions to webmaster@scm.org.nz. |
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SCM UPDATE
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| Women: | Fiona McLaughlin and Hilary Mather |
| Men: | David May and Tim Gordan |
| Movement Animators: | Jemma Allen and Mary McLaughlin |
| Senior Friends Liaison: | Arana Casey |
| Tau Iwi: | Quentin Duthie and Andrew Coyle |
| Worship and Theology: | Tim Hurd (New position) |
| Human Rights and Solidarity: | Rebecca Oliver |
| Communications: | vacant (position under review) |
... was appointed by the AGM as well. It consists of:
| Region | Representative | Proxies: |
|---|---|---|
| Auckland | Gail Laurier | Marie Carnel |
| Waikato | Warwick Kelly | Tim Gordan |
| Wellington | Daniel List | Angela Emmett |
| Canterbury | Sonia Petrie | Ellen Murray |
| Otago | Amanda Clarke | Emmeline Taptiklis |
| Convenor: | Kiersten Larsen | |
| Treasurer: | Quentin Duthie | |
| National Administrator: | Martin Dickson |
| SCMA Trust Representative: | Emmeline Taptiklis |
| Nairn St Property Manager: | Richard Davis |
This appointment is pending. Interested people please contact the NCG, who will appoint someone in August. The person may get to go to the Conference of Churches in Aotearoa New Zealand National Forum, 26-28 September in New Plymouth. The Committee will coordinate plans for joint events with Youth from Churches. A good way to let them know there is more than fundamentalism out there!
One year goals included publicity material, information in schools, and access to non-university tertiary institutions. See the Minutes for details and suggestions of what each unit can do! Grab the inspiration!
Will be available soon at each unit. These give the details of what happened at the AGM. Please read them and be informed about how SCM has come to the decisions it has. It is really important for everyone to know about previous discussions for consensus to be able to operate well in the Movement. Also the minutes of the last two NCG meetings (which the National Administrator was not present for the whole of) will be available soon.
The AGM made decisions so a Trust can be set up to look after the assets of SCMA and give it the income. A Trust Deed was agreed to, as well as a proposal for having Patrons who endorse the Trust and increase the feeling of "ownership" by Senior Friends in all regions. Suggestions of Patrons and Trustees can be given to the Trust Working Group - contact Quentin or Jemma. The AGM appointed Emmeline as our Trust Rep. Many thanks to the Trust Working Group for the excellent work done over the last few years to try and achieve this long- term security for SCM Aotearoa! Queries about, or registration of interest in the Trust can be sent to the National Office. We encourage all Senior Friends to contact us and get on to our new Senior Friends Register so we can keep you informed about this and the life of SCMA generally.
Quentin Duthie, the SCMA Treasurer has produced a pamphlet outlining how people can give a regular tithe to SCM. You will find information and a automatic payment form with this SCM Update.
Had a retreat at Piha on the West Coast. They also had a time of Movement Meditation - dancing as a form of prayer, which was amazing. They have had a planning meeting for the semester. Coming up is a Senior Friends dinner with a theme of journeying through SCM.
Canterbury were involved in a demonstration when the Government Minister Peter McArdle came to sell the benefits of Workfare to leaders of charities at the Red Cross building in Christchurch. The protest involved a lot of noise, and the slogans "Real Work, Real Wages!" and "Blame the System, Not the Victim!" Overseas evidence demonstrates Workfare schemes don't lead to real jobs in public or private sectors. What is needed is a fairer, equitable and supportive economy that promotes real jobs, which give people a real future. It is no good blaming the victims of a failed economy.
SCM Otago is in the midst of a Poverty Campaign, which is drawing some "reaction from uptight geeks on campus". Otago reports: "We stick up posters every week with the heading "Don't Believe the Hype" followed with some glam phrase like "The free market enslaves", "Poverty in NZ is real", "NZ's poor are desperate", "The economic recovery is a lie" and then lots of stats about poverty in Aotearoa. We even got fancy and put in some tables (statistical, not furniture). Next week we are going to run a petition stall in the Union for a poverty petition circulated by CORSO, and on Wed 30 July we will have a free lunch in the Commerce Dept. Tim and Mary were interviewed about SCM and the campaign last Saturday on CORSO's radio show."
Jonathan Hunt, a Senior Friend, got SCMers a lunch courtesy of the Queen of New Zealand, at parliament. Other Senior Friends in Parliament, Jennette Fitsimmons and Michael Cullen talked to us too. Jonathan arranged for us to have a conducted tour of the buildings and observe the sitting of the House.
...had a forum on Myers Briggs led by Hugh McCafferty, and are planning to do the CWS Jubilee 2000 series on debt with Senior Friends starting on the 4th of August. They plan to set aside one lunchtime a week when SCMers can eat their lunch together [rather than talk all the time], say grace and have some sort of communal life. They also hope to start a weekly liturgy for SCMers and Senior Friends.
The SCMs in the South Island are ganging together for a joint retreat at Pleasant Valley Camp (North of Dunedin) from 15th August to 17 August. The vision of it is a time for SCMers to get away together and spend quality time; making and affirming friendships, having time to explore personal spirituality, learning about some Christian spiritual traditions and using the writings of Julian of Norwich for stimulation. The timetable includes: Dawn Worship in the Grove, Some Ways to Pray from Christian traditions. Who is Julian?, The Luxury of Silence (A three hour Silent Retreat), then mulled wine and fairy stories around the fire. All welcome!
...in Melbourne over New Year. It begins 27 December and runs until 2 January followed by a four day direction and business meeting. It is a great chance to meet more glam SCMers and pick up lots of whizzy ideas for your activity in SCM Aotearoa. Hopefully a group of SCMAers will be able to travel over cheaply, perhaps by pooling costs. Please register your interest if you want be part of an organised group so we can work out costs, book soon and send out brochures. Write to Quentin, SCM Auckland, c/-AUSA, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland. Email: scm@auckland.ac.nz.
During the National Conference, SCMers visited the Prostitutes Collective in Wellington. Prostitution itself is technically legal, but it is almost impossible to work as a prostitute without breaking some law or another, whereas the customers do not have to break a law. We learnt how the present "turn a blind eye" approach sets sex workers up for police harassment. Local SCM groups may like to look at how they can encourage legalisation.
Has sent us her new address: Julanne Morris, Kyoei Mansion 301, Konpukuji 49-17, Tomioka-cho, Anan-shi, Japan 774. I'm sure she'd appreciate a postcard!
The Annual General Meeting of SCMA decided to continue the National Administrator Position at 20 hours per week for the next year. The Meeting deferred the decision on whom to employ to the National Coordinating Group. The NCG decided at its meeting on the 27th July to re-offer the position to Martin.
The NCG has happily agreed that SCM Otago will run the next Leadership Programme in January 1998. So pencil it in your diary if you are a new SCMer! This will be for you! Ngozi Everts wrote a funding application to the WSCF Region's Movement Animator funding Programme so hopefully we will have funds for it from that source. She has also written a final report for the January 1997 MAP. Thanks for all the work! SCM Auckland has kindly offered to run the 1998 National Conference.
The position is being advertised, if you are interested please contact the National Office urgently - applications need to be in Hong Kong by the 31st of August.
Please note the new National Office address, phone number and email. The Office is now at the Christian World Service Office, 165 Lichfield St, ChCh City.
If you haven't paid your local administrator yet, please do, so we can keep posting stuff directly to your address.
Did you like that traditional SCM song? Copy at each unit.
"The debt burden of developing countries will feature high on the agenda of next year's Lambeth Conference (the world-wide gathering of Anglican bishops. A number of bishops expressed exasperation with what they saw as a Western preoccupation with sexual matters. "We're not interested in who sleeps with whom; for many of my people the question is whether they are going to sleep at all." Good videos, from Christian World Service, on the debt crisis can be accessed through the National Office.
The Presbyterian Church USA has removed its anti-gay legislation put in last year. The Anglican Bishops of Canada have retained their 1970's anti-gay legislation. The Uniting Church in Australia has left its present legislation in place which allows for "safe" presbyteries, but does not prevent discrimination in others. In Germany, the Synod of the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Landeskirch has voted to allow gay and lesbian partnership blessings. Meanwhile at home, the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand is going ahead with its referendum on anti-gay legislation passed in Assembly last year. But it is not circulating the actual legal amendments which look like something from the Third Reich! At least some of the proposed legislation would be illegal under the Human Rights Act 1993 (according to advice from the HRC).
The latest issue of the national Women's Newsletter is out now.
Praxis the WSCF Asia-Pacific Newsletter - No 1 1997 issue is at your unit now. Ecustics from CCANZ and Christian World Service Update should be too - read about North Korea, East Timor
...is compiled by the National Administrator of SCM Aotearoa. Your contributions, news and information are welcome! Submission date is the 25th of each month.
Artwork © Julanne Morris and SCMA
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