Glenquarie Anglican - Break the Cycle No Interest Loan Scheme Inc

The aim of No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) is to provide people living on low incomes in Macquarie Fields and Glenfield with access to affordable credit to purchase whitegoods, selected health appliances, and other items that are essential to quality of life. Car registration and Greenslips are also assisted within the greater Macarthur area as we are the only NILS in this area with permission to loan for these items.

The main sources of funds for the loans are from the National Australia Bank via accreditation with the Good Shepherd and the National NILS network. These funds are recycled as the loans are repaid.

Glenquarie Anglican - Break the Cycle

Break the Cycle Program is about providing effective assistance to people who are in crisis, need or hardship, irrespective of their ethnicity and religious beliefs or any other distinction, within a caring and supportive environment that fosters a sense of self-reliance and reflects the love of Jesus Christ and the doctrine of the Anglican Church.

Assistance provided includes:

· food hampers, gift vouchers, non-perishable food items and items for personal needs;
· vouchers for meat and pharmacy items;
· assistance with utility bills;
· information and referrals to other Agencies and Services; and
· a place where people will be heard and know that someone cares.

CCDP has been contributing to this program for a number of years.

St Johns Anglican Church, Darlinghurst – Rough Edges Community Assistance and Partnership Program

The program’s objective is to provide a support team for people of the Darlinghurst/Kings Cross community.

Activities being undertaken are:
· providing a place of welcome and safety in the Rough Edges Community Centre during the daytime opening hours;
· sharing and listening to peoples’ stories in a respectful and non-judgmental way;
· noticing people’s gifts, resources and strengths and helping them, whenever possible, to better recognize these themselves;
· offering general counseling and working with people to help them identify their own solutions and move towards these;
· administering the resources available to reduce the pressure for those who are experiencing immediate financial and material need; and
· facilitating projects identified by the community to be of benefit for the community.

A Message from the Archbishop of Sydney

I am taking this step of writing to tell you about an urgent situation facing our churches who are seeking to reach out with the love of Christ to our hardest hit communities.

This year’s Archbishop of Sydney’s Winter Appeal has experienced a major shortfall in funds. As a result, we are launching a special ‘End of Winter Catch-Up Appeal.’

Sadly, as winter comes to an end, so might up to twelve vital Community Care Projects that reach out to people devastated by today’s harsh climate – unless faithful supporters like you can provide urgent support.

I think of ministries such as the “Bread of Life” project where St Michael’s Church Surry Hills provides breakfast for scores of hungry people.

Just last month, the new Director of my Community Care and Development Program (CCDP) that incorporates the Winter Appeal, Rev. David Mansfield, shared in the ministry of “Bread of Life”, serving breakfast and leading a bible discussion for those who accepted an invitation to stay on after breakfast for a simple church service.

This ministry, and many others like it, wonderfully captures the compassion of Jesus for needy people and his commitment to their eternal welfare when he declared:

“I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger and he who believes in me shall never thirst (John 6:35).”

This appeal is the lifeblood of twelve Community Care Projects and of our partnership with churches serving some of the most marginalised people in our city.

If you are able to donate, please either phone through your donation on 1800 653 903 or on line at www.abau.org.au.

Yours sincerely
Peter F Jensen
Archbishop of Sydney

Campsie Anglican Church - The Campsie New Settler Project

The aim of this project at St John's the Evangelist at Campsie is to coordinate the migrant support efforts that the church is currently engaged in (ESL classes, migrant support, and outreach into the community). The project seeks to expand and refine those efforts and consequently to strengthen the strategic cross-cultural ministry that this church must focus upon for its future. This future will be that of an international church placed within a multicultural environment.

CCDP has been contributing to this project for many years.

St Michael’s Surry Hills – Bread of Life

The other Sunday David Mansfield, ABAU’s new director, visited the Bread of Life program where he helped serve breakfast to a number of homeless people. Over coffee and baked beans David had time to talk with the volunteers and those who had come for breakfast and fellowship. In some cases David renewed acquaintances from his time working in the city.

After breakfast a simple service was conducted and David led the Bible discussion for those people who stayed on after the breakfast.

CCDP has been supporting this program for a number of years.

Caring for Community Development Project - St Thomas Anglican Church, Auburn

This project provides community service programs in the Auburn area with the emphasis on the Chinese community. The services include:

1. Group Activities - Playgroup for children and their carers, and special activities for the elderly, women and young members of the migrant communities program;
2. Direct Assistance - to new migrant and people with emergency needs to access to various government services, emergency relief and their families in their orientation to the new local community and facility;
3. Provision of knowledge & language acquisition - through programs such as ESL classes, tuition classes, computing classes, information seminars in a caring environment; and
4. Community Development – through linkages with other Chinese Congregations of the Anglican Church in Hornsby, Marrickville & Cabramatta to develop partnerships & programmes for the Chinese community.

CCDP has been contributing funds to this project for a number of years.

Winter Appeal 2009

Your gifts to the Archbishop’s Winter Appeal enable parishes in the Diocese to show the love of Jesus by impacting on the lives of people in desperate situations.

There are currently 16 projects being funded by the CCDP in partnership with local parishes in places like Redfern on the edge of the city, Macquarie Fields in suburban Sydney and Nowra in regional NSW.

One example of the type of help your financial support makes possible is the Break The Cycle No Interest Loans Scheme (BTCNILS) run by the Glenquarie Anglican Parish in the south-western suburbs of Macquarie Fields and Glenfield.

The BTCNILS program began after it was realised that many people in the community were unable to access affordable credit for basic white goods and other necessities.

By enabling people to purchase essential goods, BTCNILS contributes to their self-esteem and quality of life.

Goods are also purchased from local businesses thus strengthening the ties between the local parish, BTCNILS and the community.

Your donation is vital. Without support these programs cannot continue. With the monies raised through the Archbishop’s Winter Appeal we can continue to support parishes to demonstrate Jesus’ love in their community.

To donate please phone 1800 653 903 or on line at http://www.abau.org.au/

New Director Appointed

The Rev David Mansfield has been appointed as the new director. Starting May 11, David says heading up the Unit takes his passion for evangelism to a new level.

"My role is to lift the profile of the Archbishop's Appeals Unit so that the Diocese can see the Archbishop's priories to stand alongside our brothers and sisters in the development world and in Sydney as they seek to reach their neighbours and communities for Christ." Mr Mansfield was an itinerant evangelist and director of the diocesan Department of Evangelism for 11 years and then was rector of York Street.

Claymore and Macquarie Fields: Legal Counselling and Referral Centres

Claymore and Macquarie Fields are listed as some of the poorest postcode areas in Sydney, and there is a high level of financial stress currently being experienced. The Coordinator of Legal Counselling and Referral Centres, Prue Gregory is assisted by solicitors from Minter Ellison, Marsdens and Fosters who volunteer at the centres. The work includes court appearances, representations to government agencies, legal advice and providing referrals to other agencies. The work is partly funded through CCDP.

St John’s Darlinghurst - Rough Edges Community Assistance and Partnership Program (CAPP)

CCDP has been funding CAPP for a number of years. The program funds a support team for people of the Darlinghurst/Kings Cross community as they work toward solutions to the stresses of their lives.

The team works towards the aim by:

• providing a place of welcome and safety in the Rough Edges Community Centre during the daytime opening hours
• sharing and listening to peoples’ stories in a respectful and non-judgmental way
• noticing people’s gifts, resources and strengths and helping them, whenever possible, to better recognize these themselves
• offering general counselling
• through “Emergency to Sustainability Counselling,” working with people to help them identify their own solutions and move towards these
• responding to the community’s expressed needs by:
  - referring to other St John’s services, to Anglicare Emergency Relief which will soon be situated at St John’s and to other external agencies;
  - administering the resources available to us in such a way as to reduce the pressure for those who are experiencing immediate financial and material need; and
  - facilitating projects identified by the community to be of benefit for the community.
• receiving from all members of the community their contributions to the program with acknowledgment and gratitude.

It is our hope and prayer that as the Holy Spirit empowers us to follow the example of Jesus, our clients will themselves begin to know him better and choose to enter into relationship with him themselves.

Welcome

The Archbishop’s Community Care & Development Program (CCDP) was established in 1934 as Christians sought to respond to the very real needs they saw around them during and after the Great Depression. The fund was known for many years as The Archbishop’s Winter Appeal.

Today, CCDP works in partnership with seventeen parishes in greater metropolitan Sydney who are reaching out to show the love of Jesus in word and in action to those living on the margins in their communities.

In response to God’s Word which calls us to show practical love and support to those in need, CCDP seeks to facilitate parish and diocesan outreach to those who suffer the effects of poverty and marginalisation.

Whilst providing some support for projects offering welfare and emergency relief, CCDP encourages projects towards adopting a community development approach in their programs. This is a process of partnering with people in the community over the long-term and encouraging their participation at all levels of the program as they work together for lasting change.

Partner churches supported by CCDP are showing the power of Jesus’ transforming love in practical ways that build bridges for new relationships and a future of hope.

Donations to the Archbishop’s Community Care and Development Program are tax-deductible.