Superintendent's Report
'Once you've lost your cause, it's just charity.'
This page contains the Superintendent Report by Rev Keith Garner, available for you to read a particular section or the entire report.
People have always been driven by hopes, dreams and visions of how things might be. A 21st century world demands a 21st century response. We have been given ‘a door of opportunity’ which we must seize. How can Wesley Mission rise to the challenge and join up the dots of a fully-integrated approach to people, which understands needs from the perspective of the Christian faith? I believe this report will help you to see the exciting journey we are about to begin.
Jesus Christ is calling Wesley Mission to declare in Word and Deed our concern for the people of Sydney and beyond. For approaching two hundred years, we have sought in a unique way to represent the very best of a Central Mission opportunity here at the heart of this great city. I am quite certain that the future is a primary challenge that speaks as strongly to us today as it has at any point in our history.
I am sure we are all too aware that organisations come and go – even after they have served their communities with faithfulness over long periods of time. We cannot use the solutions and methods of yesterday at a time of great social change and our challenge is to find appropriate and meaningful ways of declaring the good news of Christ in 2006 and into the future.
Wesley Mission ministers to the vulnerable and marginalised, the sick, the frail, the mentally ill, elderly, disabled, unemployed and lonely. Rarely do people come to us with one simple need which can be easily remedied. This is the starting point for all our thinking about mission and sets the tone for this Annual Report.
People come with a host of needs
People come to Wesley Mission with a host of complex needs and challenges. Behind each homeless and hungry person there is often a story of mental illness, family breakdown or substance abuse. A fear, a frailty or a trauma soon translates to depression, loneliness and unemployment. To deal with only a single aspect of a person’s situation is to risk creating a band-aid charity, which will cause people to return unchanged because we reap only a
harvest of temporary solutions.
Politicians talk of a ‘whole of government’ approach to meeting needs
Governments and the community are looking to service providers who can make a difference in both delivery and outcome. This seems to me to be entirely reasonable to expect and resonates with a Wesley Mission understanding of our mission and ministry.
And with a change in leadership at Wesley Mission it is only proper that our strategic direction is reviewed and set. Some of our partner organisations have chosen to narrow their fields of operation and focus on a smaller number of core services.
We have chosen not to do this and have recognised the need to address the ‘whole needs’ of those who come to us in many areas of the Mission’s life. What we haven’t done is harness the strengths of our diversity in a ‘whole of organisation’ approach.
We need to become more adventurous in finding the linkages between our programmes. And whilst we don’t pretend to have organised ourselves yet to solve the problem, we are dedicated to knitting ourselves together more tightly to minister to the needy with greater effectiveness. Only by dealing with the multiplicity of needs of each individual will we make a lasting impact upon
their lives.
While it is a philosophy that has undergirded much of what we have done for 194 years, it is now time to apply this thinking across the Mission and to articulate it in all of our conversations and throughout our caring practices. We are seeking to begin a process that will take us on a journey together which will help us to give shape to this new approach.
We are calling this new vision of Christian ministry in action: ‘joined-up thinking and practice’.
‘Joined-up thinking and practice’ – our new focus
I invite you to embrace this vision and join me on an adventure of faith, in the sustained hope that God is not yet finished with this world and has spoken a word in Jesus Christ which challenges our selfishness and insularity by a passionate concern for others.
Wesley Mission is uniquely placed to meet a person’s physical, emotional, behavioural and spiritual needs through a matrix of integrated services and programmes – a whole of person approach. And the result?
People not only change by experiencing Wesley Mission’s integrated services but are connected with the broader community through stable employment, secure housing, rewarding relationships and the empowerment that comes from living a fulfilling life.
Jesus himself provided us with a model of care and compassion. Whenever he met someone in need he addressed the causes of their problem and the needs of the whole person.
When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, he addressed her physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual needs. The woman at the well offered Jesus a drink of water. In the conversation that followed he revealed that her deepest need was not simply water – he addressed her spiritual and
emotional emptiness.
We rejoice in our strong Mission congregations which are younger than many and culturally diverse. They remain central to all that we do and we have no intention of becoming merely a welfare organisation. The stories of lives transformed by Jesus Christ are a continuing inspiration to all of us who worship at Wesley Mission.
In this report we introduce you to five people whose stories exemplify the need for holistic and integrated care. We have chosen quite specifically to report our work in a refreshing new format that moves us on from department headings and puts people right at the centre of all we do.
We surveyed our stakeholders for feedback on our annual report and came to understand the majority are looking for a condensed overview of the year’s activities. The report is therefore produced in concise printed form, with full details of all of our programmes and outcomes available online.
Our financial report contains important information which shows the unique features of this past year and helps us to build a base of measurement for the future. Beyond the figures you will recognise the enormity of our work and the tremendous commitment of those who support us.
Wesley Mission works in a social and environmental context and does not operate in isolation. We make an impact not only on lives, but also on the world around us. That calls for a heightened sense of responsibility.
Wesley Mission is looking at the wider picture of sustainability by taking steps to improve our performance in three areas – social, environmental and economic, now and in the future.
Of course Wesley Mission has always made the wellbeing of those we serve a priority, but now we are also in the process of examining our other social and environmental responsibilities. Primarily, our motivation springs from a sense of Christian stewardship, where we are responsible for caring for the
environment around us. A number of years ago, this kind of conversation would be considered almost eccentric – we are now posting its importance in all we do.
A thank-you to those who sustain our work
Finally, I would like to thank our inspirational and dedicated volunteers, donors, members and staff who make our life-changing work possible. When reading this Annual Report you will see the impact they have made upon the thousands of people we had the privilege of serving during the past year.
I conclude with a personal word of appreciation to all who have welcomed Carol and myself into the leadership of this great Mission, following the long and distinguished ministry of Gordon and Beverley Moyes. Wesley Mission has built a worldwide reputation in mission and ministry and I count it a privilege to look into the future and offer a bold and courageous vision. It is
quite certain that this huge responsibility requires a due sense of partnership and a prayerful and loving concern for people.
Thank you for journeying with us.
Warmly yours in Christ,
Rev Keith Garner
Superintendent
.
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