1

Welcome to the

Knapdale- Waikaka Presbyterian Church

Parish Profile 2018

‘Helping people to know Jesus Christ in all his fullness’

2

Index

1. Who we are. 2. Our Vision for the future. 3. Our current Services. 4. Organisational Groups within the Church. 5. Church Buildings and Finance. 6. Our Communities and Schools. 7. Appendices: Last two years Financial statements & A.G.M. reports;

Newsletters; Code of Ethics; current list of Managers & Elders and specific terms of call.

1. Who we are.

1.1 Knapdale and Waikaka Presbyterian Church Statistics

Each Sunday the Church family comes together to worship from different rural

districts. Currently three Church Buildings, in different districts, are used for

our combined service.

Our church family includes families with children, single and retired or semi-

retired with a fairly even male to female ratio. We are mainly from European

descent and most have a current or past association with the farming industry.

Current membership is 38 with Sunday services of 25-40 people including

children.

There are in total 190-200 homes under our pastoral care.

Year

Average Attendance

Adults Youth Children

2017 30 1 4 2016 32 0 4

2015 27 2 8

3

1.2 Members Profile

Not all members are from Presbyterian backgrounds but there is genuine

Christian love and fellowship evident. We see ourselves as caring, supportive,

prayerful, and hospitable and are keen to keep up our friendly, family

atmosphere, providing fellowship through the generations.

Knapdale Waikaka Parish individually and collectively believe:

In the Trinity being the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. We

recognise them as having separate identities but are one God, our God.

That each member of our congregation is a child of God and has an

equal and unique position in our Church family.

The importance of scripture to everyday life. We believe that scripture

teaches and encourages us. It enables us to hear God’s voice in our

lives.

That the Fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit are relevant to

Christian and Church living.

That prayer is essential for influencing our lives, our world and missions

within New Zealand and overseas.

1.3 History

In 1881 a strong movement of the Holy Spirit was apparent in this Knapdale

community. It has become known as The Revival, and was led by James Dickie

who farmed the land opposite the former Willowbank school. Because of this

phenomenon the residents of Knapdale raised funds and built a manse on the

corner of Knapdale and Gerken roads, in the hopes of gaining a settled

minister.

After the due processes had been performed permission was eventually given

for the ‘Call’ process to begin, and it was agreed to call William Wright, an exit

student from Knox College. Mr Wright was from farming stock and was well

accepted by the parishioners, and was ordained and inducted in the Knapdale

woolshed on February 21st 1883.

Within a short time plans were being made to erect churches in the

parish. Knapdale was opened in 1884, Otama in 1885, in June that year

Waikaka Valley, in March 1886 North Chatton church was opened and in 1929

4

the Wendon Valley Church opened. It was a tribute to the parish that within a

period of 15 months four churches were opened all debt free.

During the ministry of Rev. Peter Ramsey (1889 – 1902) there were several big

changes. In 1894 the Waikaka Valley congregation separated off to form their

own parish, and in 1899 the Waikaka parish came into being. A manse was

erected near the North Chatton church. Later, in 1911 the Waikaka church was

built in the township, and the manse was shifted to the section just above the

church. On 6th November 1963 the Knapdale and Waikaka parishes

amalgamated resulting in today’s Knapdale/Waikaka parish.

About this time a Christian Endeavour Society was formed and a group of

young people regularly met for Bible study and fellowship. Mission outreach

has been a part of our parish since its inception and down through the years

many missionaries have been supported by the church and some members

have also been overseas involved in active missionary service. The parish

continues to be involved in Camp Columba activities.

The original Knapdale parish consisted of churches at Otama and Mandeville as

well as at Knapdale. Mandeville church closed in 2004 and in 2010 the Otama

church underwent an extension and upgrade. Discussions are underway to

close the Knapdale church as it is still the original building and only used on the

months with five Sundays. The original Waikaka parish held church services at

Waikaka, Greenvale school, North Chatton and Wendon Valley. Today

fortnightly services are held at the Waikaka Church.

1.4 Current Church Situation

Knapdale Waikaka has had periods without an interim and permanent minister

and in those times the Elders have encouraged the use of our Church family’s

gifts and abilities. Our Church believes that each individual is an important part

of the body of Christ and should be encouraged to grow in and use their gifts

and abilities for the functioning of Christ’s body in Ministry. We are committed

to our Church functioning as a body with everyone contributing. It is important

that Elders and Church Ministry leadership continue this committment.

These gifts and abilities include:

Small group leading such as house groups, women’s fellowship, the

managers.

5

Sunday Service involvements such as the childrens talk, worship leading,

playing instruments, welcoming, financial management, childrens

ministry, foodbank collecting, teaching and ministry.

Community involvements such as Bible in Schools, After school clubs,

chapel services, gypsey day food packages and the holding of

Community services.

A strong individual and Church involvement in Mission- Camp Columba

locally, support of individuals in Ministry within New Zealand and

Overseas. Several members are part of a large Waidale Missionary trust.

Other local commitments to Presbytery work and local Christian services

such as Manna bookshop using administrative gifting.

General Church tasks such as hospitality with morning tea after Church,

church cleaning and lawns, flower arrangements, Manse care, church

newsletter and pastoral visits.

Church Members are involved working in paid employment or self employed

or volunteering in Foodbank, Hospice shop, Red Cross, Meals on Wheels, Lions,

Bible in schools, Full gospel, Missionary groups, Waidale, Camp Columba,

Search & Rescue, Bible Study Groups, Women's Group, Rest home/chapel

involvement, International Christian Businessmen, Manna Bookshop, School

leadership roles, Aglow, Christian Business group, Boys Brigade, Scouts, Home

groups, Medical work, Nursing, Veterinary, Farming groups, Community

welcome visits and food packages, Federated Farmers, Motocross, 4 wheel

drive group, Prayer groups, Car maintenance, children’s work, support of youth

and encouragement of their staff members.

1.5 Ministry and the Recent Past

While writing this parish profile we are being ministered to by the Rev Doug

Stevenson, a retired Baptist Minister appointed by the Southern Presbytery to

engage with us in Transitional Ministry. Prior to Doug the Rev Alistair Smailes

also provided us with ‘Stated Supply’ Ministry for six months. These ministers

have been invaluable as we have been recovering from the resignation of the

Rev Marty Van’t Wout. We believe we have learnt and are learning from this

time, and are ready to settle into a long-term ministry that enables us in our

own ministries and giftings.

6

When Marty left us the Presbytery set up a Commission and one of the results

of this has been a re-shaping of the Session. It was previously a very large

Session and is now much smaller, and we hope more effective.

1.6 List of Previous Ministers: -

Rev Cliff Dunn 1964 – 74 Retired

Rev Tom Wilson 1975 – 81 Retired

Rev Neil McDonald 1983 – 89 1st parish. Went to parish in Australia

Rev Owen Rogers 1991 – 99 1st parish. Called to Huntly parish

David Duthie. Lay appointed ministry 2000 – 02

Rev Alan and Marion Kerr 2004 – 2008. Retired

Various interim ministers

Rev Marty van’t Wout. December 2011 – March 2014.

2. Our Vision for the future.

We see the following points as important:

Desire to see growth in our spiritual lives, as individuals and as a

church family.

Seeking to grow in the use of our spiritual gifts.

A desire for effective “friendship evangelism” in our community

The need to work with the minister as a team and therefore we offer

our support through prayer, hospitality and friendship.

Our expectations of a minister are:

A visionary leader who would be a partner with us in any new

opportunities for the gospel, encouraging the use of our diverse

spiritual gifts.

Preach relevantly from the scriptures and encourage a prayer

ministry.

Be prepared to participate in the life of the communities that our

parish covers and communicate effectively and compassionately

amongst people of all ages, undertaking pastoral visits as required.

7

Encourage, guide and if necessary take an active role in the various

groups that operate within the parish. This would include teaching

Bible in Schools if required.

If married we would appreciate and support their spouse being

involved with us in the parish and community.

2.1 To be addressed in the future.

- Potential sale of the Knapdale church

- Full funding for a minister past 5-6 years

- The future of the Waikaka and Otama buildings:

o maintenance, renovation or removal

- Generational change and Revival in the community

- The place of the church in the rural community

3. Our current Church Services.

Services are held each Sunday at Waikaka at 10 am on the first and third

Sunday of the month and at Otama on the second and forth week. If there is a

fifth Sunday then the service is held at Knapdale.

Alternative winter and lambing time services are held at 11am from May to

October.

Before each service there is a time of prayer which is well attended. Prayer is

held for the services and those taking part, our missionaries and Ministry for

each other.

Each service includes ministry and teaching to our children

Knapdale Waikaka Presbyterian Church services have a traditional format with

an emphasis on worship and teaching. Modern and Traditional worship music;

open prayer times and involvement of our children are all included in our

services. Prophecies, words of encouragements and ministry to others can be

part of our services.

Members of the congregation participate in many aspects of the service from

welcoming , notices, birthdays, celebrations, praying and scripture reading and

lay preaching. We have a strong desire for spiritual growth and revival and are

keen to continue to build relationships with people in our communities, and to

see them come to faith in Christ.

8

In the last 8 years we have added speaker systems into Waikaka and Otama

churches which include mixers, microphones and the ability to amplify electric

instruments. Otama church runs a fixed TV for media rather than the data

projector and has everything permanently installed while the Waikaka setup

uses a data projector and is designed to be moved so that it can be used for

community events or church at other locations. With these setups it has

allowed worship to be done via MP4s, as there are less musicians in our

current congregation compared with a decade ago. We still have violins,

piano, drums and guitar which we rotate around each week with MP4s

depending on what songs are required for a service and what people can play.

In the last 3-5 years we have had a designated worship leader choosing and

leading the worship each week, with an overseeing coordinator organising the

roster. Each worship leader brings with them their own style and playing

preferences for the songs picked that service, ranging from more traditional

piano led hymns to the latest contemporary songs led by acoustic guitar.

Despite our differences, the overall vision of the team is to achieve continuity

and aims to assist the congregation’s connection with the Holy Spirit.

Communication and service information is provided to the congregation with a

weekly newsletter. This is emailed and a printout is provided for those

requesting it.

4. Organisational Groups within the Church.

4.1 Session

We meet monthly with Devotions, Business and Prayer. Currently there are 4 active elders and 7 previous elders who are involved in the parish. Active eldership is by election and is 3 years on plus can continue for a further 3 years then 1 year off. The are elected on with 80% vote of the congregation. Session has responsibility for the organizing of chapel services in four resthomes in Gore every 2 months. Elders take responsibility for the Childrens ministry, Mission, Newsletters and Service leadership. 4.2 Managers

The managers meet bi-monthly and the chairperson, secretary and treasurer

are elected yearly at the Church Annual General Meeting. The managers

9

oversee the financial and building matters of the parish, including the stock

trading and crop schemes.

The Knapdale Waikaka Presbyterian Board of Managers consists of:

Session members who have an interest in Church property

management,

The Session Clerk formally representing the Eldership and responsible

for providing a report from Session

Elected Church members who are keen to maintain and update Church

property. Currently there are 8 managers.

Because of the diversity of having 3 Church properties and the Manse, the

Board of Managers assigns responsibilities to those members, either an elder

or manager, living near the individual properties. At quarterly meetings they

report on their local responsibilities. Significant decisions are made by the full

group based on annual accounts and the budget.

Having a good representation of Elders on Managers has enabled good

communication between the two boards and the role of governance and

management has and continues to work very successfully with harmony and

respect.

4.3 Church Groups.

Home groups

We have 3 home groups around the district.

Friday nights- Wendon Valley

Morning Group- Knapdale

Wednesday night- Waikaka Womens Fellowship

Womens Fellowship meets monthly with an average attendance of eight

women. Their focus is on supporting missionaries in prayer with using catering

as their way of fundraising. ‘Gypsy Day’ – when cows and families move to new

farms, is a time when food parcels and welcome packs are organised and

passed onto any new families in the area.

10

Bible in Schools

This is provided at Otama, Knapdale and Waikaka primary schools with nearly

all children participating. It is the main outreach to children that the parish has.

We provide resources for this and co-ordinate teachers, some of who come

from other churches in the area.

Missions

Both local and overseas missions are an important focus for many in the

parish. Some members are supporters of the Waidale Missionary Trust which is

a large livestock raising scheme that supports NZ para-church organisations

and overseas mission through finance and prayer.

We have a mission elder who keeps us informed through our newsletter about

the missionaries we support. We encourage missionary participation in our

services wherever possible.

5. Church Buildings and Finance. The parish has three churches and associated buildings. There is continuing

discussion on the viability of continuing to use all of them.

Manse

The Manse is situated at 16 Dungannon Street in Waikaka and was built in

2008. It is brick and roughcast with 4 Bedrooms, new (2017) diesel burner for

heating, 2 bathrooms with heaters and 2 electric panel heaters. Section is 2185

m² (with 800m² fenced off to paddock) and includes an attached garage.

11

Waikaka Church

Waikaka Church and Sunday School Hall are located on the edge of the

township. The church seats 120 people and there is an adjacent church hall

with toilets.

Otama Church

Otama Church seats 100 people and includes two side rooms, full kitchen

facilities and toilets. It is located beside the public hall and across the road

from the local primary school. Renovations were completed in 2010.

12

Knapdale Church

Knapdale Church was built in 1884 and it seats 70 people and is effectively

heated by a potbelly stove and has rooms for Sunday school use. A detached

prefab provides another sunny classroom. The future of these buildings are

under discussion.

Finance.

Financial statements for the past two years are included in the appendices.

Income supports the work of the church comes from several sources.

Offerings

WYMOK ( Waikaka Mandeville Otama Knapdale) is a scheme for

people to support the work of the church through donation of

livestock for sale.

Crops – cash crops are donated to the Church

Womens Fellowship

Managers are responsible for operating the crop and WYMOK schemes. When

there has been a need for extra income to cover building maintenance or other

costs this has generally been met by an increase in giving and or special appeal.

13

6. Our Communities and Schools.

6.1 What does it mean to live in a Rural Community ?

Our parish comprises three communities each with its own uniqueness. The

area has a largely rural population traditionally based on sheep, beef, dairy and

cropping.

There are many and varied advantages and challenges living in our rural

community which include:

Appreciate that work hours can be late in the night with early starts

especially during the harvest time, lambing and calving.

We do work alongside each other and help out with time and equipment

when challenges arrive

The weather can be a challenge when extreme patterns are occuring , so

an understanding of farming pressures is helpful with conversation and

pastoral care.

Our community is many and varied , churched and non churched.

Often we have new arrivals which usually arrive in the form of dairy

sharemilkers, workers and their families. They sometimes only stay a

short time depending on contracts. We also have some in our

community who have small lifestyle blocks ( therefore live in the district

but work in towns)

Farms are generally getting bigger and not employing as many staff and

using rural contractors.

In our community we travel to our three churches – usually no further

than 30 minutes.

Some in our community are already attending churches outside of our

parish.

Our Church districts are small pockets of several small specific

communities that come together and help each other out. We don’t

necessarily know what happens in anothers ‘small pocket’.

These are some of the smaller communities in our parish – Otama,

Greenvale, Waikaka Valley, Maitland, Knapdale, Wendon Valley,

Mandeville, Waikaka, Chatton and Otama Valley.

14

6.2 Waikaka

Waikaka township has a population of 100 . It has a garage, hotel, transport

company , community hall with a gym, sports complex with double squash

courts, scout den, playgroup (who have recently occupied the Sunday School

hall), and the volunteer fire brigade. There are a number of sporting options

available. The primary school is year 1-8, has 4 teachers and a roll of 50

students. As well as our own church there is an active Catholic and closed

Anglican church in the township. We have a combined service each Christmas

with all denominations and a co-operative spirit exists. A local committee runs

the annual Anzac day service at the community hall and is well attended. Quiz

nights are held fortnightly at the hotel in the winter to raise funds for various

groups. There is a branch of the Masonic Lodge in Waikaka.

The township has a nine-hole golf course and Indoor bowls are played in the

community hall. Both the Maitland and Greenvale districts have dog trial

clubs.

6.3 Knapdale

Knapdale has the church, a 3 teacher yr1-8 primary school with a roll of 40 and

a community hall. It is the nearest community to Gore.

6.4 Otama

Otama has a yr1-8 primary school with 12 students. Adjacent to the church is a

community hall with excellent facilities which are used by the school, weddings

and family celebrations. A shearing contractor operates from a base in the

area.

6.5 Education

As mentioned the three primary schools within the parish all provide education

for new entrants through to Y8 . They are all well resourced and provide a

focal point for their communities. There is a high level of parental involement

in each school. Waikaka, Knapdale and Otama along with the neighbouring

schools of Pukerau and Te Tipua, form the Waikaka Combined District and

meet together for athletic sports, cross country, swimming sports and music

festivals on an annual basis.

There is an intermediate school in Gore and secondary education is available at

Blue Mountain College, Tapanui (Yrs7-13), Gore High School, Gore (Yrs9-13) or

St Peters College, Gore (Yrs 7-13)

15

All intermediate and secondary schools are well serviced by bus runs from

Waikaka.

The Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) has a campus in Gore and the

Dunedin College of Education has a campus in Invercargill. Otago University

and Otago Polytechnic and the Dunedin College of Education are two hours

drive away in Dunedin.

6.6 Gore

Gore has a town and surrounding country population of 11,000 people and is

the service centre for Eastern Southland. It is 30km from Waikaka and 66 km

north of Invercargill.

With Gore being two hours drive or less from Dunedin, Queenstown, Te Anau,

Manapouri, Central Otago and Stewart Island it is an ideal location for people

interested in the outdoors.

There are two Presbyterian churches in the town and most other

denominations are represented.

The town has a wide range of shops and business many reflecting the

agriculture region in which it is situated. Health services are provided through

GPs, midwives, physiotherapists, a counselling centre, visiting specialists and a

20 bed hospital. There are several homes and retirement villages for the

elderly .

Operatic and repertory societies have a strong following in Gore along with the

country music club that hosts the Golden Guitar competitons each Queens

Birthday weekend. It has a library, movie theatre, art gallery, museum and a

number of service clubs.

For those interested in sporting activities there is a swimming pool , iceskating

rink, gym and 4 court indoor sports facility. Gore has an 18 hole golf course and

the best brown trout fishing in the local rivers. There are many walking tracks

in the area and Fiordland National Park not far away for the serious

tramper/walker.

16

Session Members:

Active Supportive

Jim Weir ( Session Clerk) Elinor Collins

Judi Dennis Ross Johnston

Lynne Hall Cynthia McLeod

John Gardyne Bob Miller

Merle Miller

Geoff Nicholson

Glenys Weir

Managers Current Chairperson: Hamish Mackay

Managers: Steve Dennis, Hugh Gardyne, Peter Gardyne, Micky Hall, Bruce

McLeod, David Smith, Mike Solari

Secretary: Judi Dennis

Treasurer: Joanne Gardyne