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The Living Wage campaignNewsletter July 2013

5:18). That is an impeccable mandate for linkinghuman work and payment for that work. If, as partof this campaign, those of us who have more arebeing asked to give up something for the sake ofothers, that will give us the chance to find out whatliving in Magnificat-country feels like.

In this issue, WIT presents a number ofperspectives on the Living Wage campaign.Charles Waldegrave from the Hutt Valley FamilyCentre Social Policy Research Unit explains theresearch behind the campaign – why the amountwas set at $18.41 an hour. That’s usefulbackground for all of us, in our discussions withfriends and colleagues. Margaret Maymandiscusses the involvement of the churches in thecampaign, working together and on an equalfooting with unions and a range of other communityorganisations, valued for the theologicalcontribution we are able to make. She describesthis as a unique opportunity for Christian mission –and so it is, for it is a way of making the reign ofGod come closer. Jenny Chalmers explores somemore of the theology that underpins the campaign:the valuing of work, and payment for that work,which we find in Scripture, beginning from thecreation stories. There are social benefitsconcerned with the developing and sustaining ofcommunity (itself a theological imperative) whenpeople work, and economic benefits when peopleare paid for what they do. But they must be paidfairly: when they are society as a whole can gain.

Of course, there will be a cost when a living wage isapplied, and Brian Dawson points out some of theexpenses to churches which seek to pay theirworkers at a higher rate. It is apparent that wemay not all be able to do this immediately, but thecampaign is calling for a commitment to implementa living wage and a firm timeline for this – and notto leave it for the distant future. Brian asks us whatwe really think about this campaign: is it somethingwhich is ‘nice to have’ or an urgent justice issue, achance to live out what Jesus is calling us to in theGospels? Never was the challenge to ‘put ourmoney where our mouths are’ more clearlyarticulated.

Canon Deborah Broome

From the Director and Canon TheologianAs some of us will remember, at Synod last yearwe expressed our concerns about the risinginequality between rich and poor in this country. Arecent book, Inequality: a New Zealand Crisis(2013, edited by Max Rashbrooke withcontributions from a range of people) gives someconcrete data about the growing divide within oursociety. One of the contributors, Karlo Mila, has thisto say: ‘Inequality means watching people close toyou – extended family, community networks,neighbours and friends – who are persistentlystruggling, in challenging circumstances, to try tomaintain their dignity, to keep their householdsafloat, to do their best for their children and to makegood decisions by weighing up the constrainedrange of choices on offer to them.’ (p94) Does thisfeel familiar? Want to do something about it?

Our diocese is currently inviting parishes to engagewith this issue by adopting the Living WageCampaign. It’s an aspirational – and yet practical –means of addressing some of these inequalities.But it’s more than that: it’s also a way to put intoeffect some of the gospel values we hear aboutwhen we come to worship. Jesus tells us, inMatthew (10:10) and in Luke (10:7), that labourersdeserve their food / deserve to be paid. The samethought is repeated in the letter to Timothy (1 Tim

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The research behind the Living WageThursday 14 February saw the launch of theLiving Wage figure of $18.40 an hour as part ofthe on-going campaign for a Living Wage. Itattracted considerable media attention and onthe whole was well received. There werepositive editorials in both The Dominion Post andThe New Zealand Herald.

Peter King and I at the Family Centre SocialPolicy Research Unit (FCSPRU), Anglican SocialServices (Hutt Valley), were commissioned toinvestigate and define a Living Wage for NewZealand1. We had to clarify what the LW neededto be able to afford and calculate an hourly grossfigure that would cover those modest butessential costs. In short, we needed to developan empirical basis for the figure that eventuallyturned out to be $18.40 and a transparentaccount of the modest budget it would pay for.

The definition of the LW adopted by Living WageAotearoa New Zealand is as follows:

A living wage is the income necessary to provideworkers and their families with the basicnecessities of life. A living wage will enableworkers to live with dignity and to participate asactive citizens in society.2

It is the second sentence that distinguishes theLW from the ‘poverty’ or ‘income hardship’threshold. Participation refers to more thansurvival on the basic necessities, because itinvolves the ability to participate socially andeven consider the future like a modest insurancepolicy. It embraces small but important things likebeing able to pay for children to enjoy a schooltrip, having a computer in the home and beingable to mix with friends recreationally, albeitmodestly.

In order to calculate a LW, a household unit oftwo adults and two children (2A2C) was chosenbecause this is a common NZ family size and itis the minimum average sized ‘family’ required toensure population replacement. It wasconsidered a LW should at least be sufficient tosupport such a unit. The household is assumedto have two income earners, one working fulltime and the other half time. There are good

grounds for assuming two incomes because in68.5 percent of households with two adults andtwo dependent children, both adults were incomeearners3.

People live in households, but are paid in themarket as individuals regardless of theirhousehold obligations. A living wage really hasto be an individual market wage. Thus theposition adopted in this report is that the LW isset at an hourly rate for a full time market wage,and that it in conjunction with the other adult’shalf time wage is sufficient to provide the level ofafter tax income to meet the household’sreasonable needs.

A LW like other income thresholds needs to bemodest. It is a minimal figure for participating insociety, rather than an average or larger amount.

The following independent data sources wereused to estimate budget items:

· The annual Food Cost Survey carried outby the University of Otago’s Departmentof Human Nutrition was used to estimatea basic weekly food cost for a 2 adult/2children family (2A2C) that would meettheir nutritional needs.

· The Ministry of Business, Innovation andEmployment’s average lower quartilenational rent figures were used toestimate weekly housing costs

· The Statistics New Zealand’s HouseholdEconomic Survey average expenditurefigures for income deciles 1-5 (the lower50 percent of NZ household incomes)were used to estimate the remainingitemised costs apart from childcare.

· 10 hours were allowed for childcare costs,given one adult worked 20 hours a weekand 3 and 4 year olds have access to 20hours free early childhood education.

· Saving through Kiwi Saver at theminimum level of two percent of grossincome was assumed.

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The sum of the costs of the budget itemsprovided a benchmark for the requiredhousehold after tax income that was needed tocover those costs.

Expenditure categories from the independentdata sources

$ Costs

Food 226

Clothing and footwear 18

Actual rentals for housing 275

Household energy 46

Household contents and services 33

Health 14

Transport 121

Communication 29

Recreation and culture 78

Education 37

Miscellaneous goods and services 64

Other expenditure 66

Childcare 31

Weekly 1038

Annually 53,976

Total Gross from 1.5 incomes 57,432

Hourly rate for fulltime worker 18.41

Having identified a necessary level ofdisposable, after tax income, the next step wasto calculate the 1.5 before tax market wages fortwo individuals necessary to provide that after taxhousehold income. The calculation took intoaccount the effects of income tax, Working forFamilies tax credits, Kiwi Saver deductions fromwages, and financial support provided by thestate through childcare support and theAccommodation Supplement. A spreadsheetwas developed to enable gross (before tax)

income levels to be calculated for a range ofdisposable (after tax) income levels.

The calculations showed that a total grossannual income from 1.5 market incomes of$57,432 was required to meet the estimation forthe required household income of $53,976. Thisin turn produced an hourly rate of $18.41 as theabove table demonstrates. In other words, 2adults, one working 40 hours a week and theother working 20 hours each at $18.41 an hour,will, if they are careful, be able to meet theiressential costs and participate modestly insociety without going into debt.

Bishop Justin has taken a lead to promote theLiving Wage in the New Zealand market place asa central part of the Diocesan mission to be“seeking to transform unjust structures ofsociety.”4

This is an aspirational target as opposed to alegal requirement. It is a threshold that ensureswages are sufficient to enable the families ofemployees to participate in society as opposed tojust surviving. It is a modest threshold as thebudget items demonstrate. Increasinglybusinesses like the Warehouse and Councils likeWellington are adopting it. It restores an age oldsense of fairness so clearly stated in the UnitedNations Universal Declaration of Human Rights5:

“Everyone who works has the right to just andfavourable remuneration ensuring for himself andhis family an existence worthy of human dignity”.

For further information go to http://www.livingwagenz.org.nz/

Charles WaldegraveFamily Centre Social Policy Research Unit

1 King, P. and Waldegrave, C. (2012) Report of anInvestigation into Defining a Living Wage for NewZealand, Wellington: The Living Wage Campaign2 http://www.livingwagenz.org.nz/3 Statistics New Zealand Household Labour ForceSurvey (HLFS) June 20124 The mission of the Church, The Constitution of theAnglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand andPolynesia5 Article 23 (1948)

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Since it was launched in May last year, the LivingWage Campaign has generated a new publicconversation in Aotearoa. A living wage is theincome necessary to provide workers and theirfamilies with the basic necessities of life. A LivingWage will enable workers to live with dignity andto participate as active citizens in society.

Living Wage Wellington was launched lastOctober, and in February this year the campaignannounced that $18.40 per hour as the level ofthe Living Wage for New Zealand (based onindependent research untaken by the FamilyCentre Social Policy Research Unit). Last monththe Wellington network successfully lobbied theCity Council which has agreed, in principle, tobecome a living wage employer. This will make adifference in the lives of thousands ofWellingtonians, affecting not just those directlyemployed by the Council, but also thoseemployed by contractors.

The Living Wage campaign is not seeking a newlegislated minimum wage. It is inspirational,inviting employers who can afford to pay it to doso immediately and those who cannot to worktowards paying it. It will function rather like theFair Trade Movement as businesses will beaccredited as Living Wage Employers and ableto advertise as such. At the moment you canchoose to buy Fair Trade bananas knowing thatthe overseas producer receives a fair price.Wouldn’t you also like to buy bananas at asupermarket that pays its kiwi workers a fairwage?

Apart from being another worthy social justicecampaign, what does this have to do withchurches? I believe that it provides a uniqueopportunity for Christian mission because theorganisers of the campaign have beencommitted to inclusion of faith communities asequal partners, along with unions and othercommunity organisations. Having been part ofthe campaign since its inception, I have beendelighted to be part of a broad social justicemovement that values the involvement of faith

communities, not just because of our numericalinfluence, but because of our theologicalcontribution.

The definition of a living wage, with its referenceto dignity, is a theological claim. The mostpersuasive argument for a living wage from aChristian point of view is the belief that we are allmade in the image of God, that each personcontains within them a spark of the holy.Therefore, people and their work have a dignitythat makes the labour market substantiallydifferent from the purchase of other goods. Theprice of a person’s labour should not bedetermined solely by the market. God did notcreate us for competition but for generosity andcommunity.

In John’s gospel, Jesus is recorded as sayingthat “I have come that you might have life, andhave it abundantly.” (John 10:10b). Abundant lifemeans more than physical life. It means fullnessof life.

If your remuneration is so low that you have towork two jobs to feed and house your family, youare not experiencing abundant life. In our church-operated rest homes, there are care workerswho arrive for the morning shift having comedirectly from the night shift at another rest home.The implications for their health and family lifeare horrific, not to mention the effects ofexhaustion on their ability to do their work. At themoment the church social service agencies thatrun our aged care facilities cannot afford to pay aliving wage because they are underfunded bygovernment. Working with them, we can use theinfluence of the churches as providers andadvocates, to change this situation.

Working for a society where people who workearn enough to live with dignity and thepossibility of full participation, is an aspect of thecommon good which is valued by everyone whois involved in the Living Wage Campaign. Formany Christians, this commitment to public lifeand to social well-being is at the heart of our

Living Wage and the churches

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understanding of the gospel. We follow the wayof Jesus who transgressed social boundariesand was persecuted because of his critique ofthe social and religious systems of his day thatmade the poor poorer and at constant risk ofbecoming socially expendable. Like us, he livedin a time when much of the wealth wasconcentrated in the hands of a few. For thosewho follow him, we are inspired by the vision ofthe reign of God where there is enough for all.

As people of faith, our task is not simply to offercharity to those who do not have the resourcesthey need to survive. We must also examine thecauses of poverty and injustice and engage inchanging social policy and practices.

Doing God’s work in the world is challenging forchurches as our rolls decline and our resourcesare limited. It seems to me that the word of Godto us in these times is that we do not have tolabour alone. There are partners in the world whoshare our concerns for justice and compassion,individuals and organisations who are seeking toengage with faith communities and actuallyvaluing what we have to offer the conversation.The Living Wage Campaign is one example.

For some church people, this can make usnervous. I have heard comments about thecampaign such as “we don’t want to be political,or be seen to be aligned with the unions.” Isuggest that this is a false distinction that ignoresthe fact that many low paid workers are bothmembers of our churches and members ofunions. This is especially true of Maori andPasifika church members. To be faithfulChristians committed to the common good, weneed to risk getting our hands dirty andmuddying our reputations by hanging out withthose who disturb the comfortable. Christian faithhas a rather strong precedent in these matters!And I am interested to learn that unions arerecognising that the old confrontational methodsare not the best way to achieve social change.

I am also enjoying the opportunity for Christianunity that the campaign has provided. It is trulyecumenical in an era when many churches have

retreated into denominational silos. When ourdelegation attended the City Council to presentour case, there were Anglicans, Catholics,Presbyterians, Methodists, Quakers, SalvationArmy and a number of Pacific churchesrepresented. The Living Wage Campaign hasenabled me to cross some Christian boundariesand work positively with clergy with whom Idisagree on some other social issues (and theywith me). We are reminded that the gospel ofjustice and love that we share is stronger thanour differences.

And so we add our voices to the campaign, andwe intend to walk to the talk in terms of our ownemployment practices, and to call thoseorganisations associated with the churches suchas social services agencies, aged care facilities,and schools to join us. We hope to bring togetherpeople across the political divides and enableconversations where the voices of all can beheard and understood.

The prophet Isaiah speaks about God’s vision fora world where God’s people will not “buildanother inhabit; they shall not plant and anothereat: for like the days of a tree shall the days ofmy people be, and my chosen shall long enjoythe work of their hands. They shall not labour invain.” (Is 65)

Surely this is still God’s vision for all peopletoday.

The Living Wage Campaign has just completed aresource for parishes entitled ‘Living Wage: AGospel Imperative’. It can be downloaded fromwww.livingwage.org.nz.

It addresses the biblical perspective, the NewZealand situation, and the economic impact of aliving wage. The Wellington Network meetsmonthly and welcomes anyone who is interestedto come along. For more information contact:minister@standrews.org.nz.

Rev Dr Margaret MaymanSt Andrew’s on The TerracePresbyterian Church, Wellington

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No matter what the paper and television andcommentators tell us about unemployment andpeople who receive the dole, work is a basichuman activity. Work is particular to people,only people are capable of work, and onlypeople work.

People enjoy working; whether it be farminganimals, or growing crops or creating ormanufacturing goods, or driving vehicles orordering information or caring for others and soon. People obtain a sense of purpose andsatisfaction from their work which is impossibleto replicate anywhere else, and work gives usa natural cycle of creativity and rest.

Work, whatever it is we do, gives us a sense ofcontributing to our community, our widersociety and gives us a sense of self esteemand place in the community.

Work, in short, is a normal, natural humanactivity.

When we read in the first chapter of Genesisthat man is to subdue the earth, we know thatthis work refers to all the resources that arecontained in the visible world and placed atpeople’s disposal. So in the world of the Bible,there is a close relationship between themystery of creation and people’s work. Thisidea is the starting point of a theology of work.However, it is clear that the developing andutilising of the resources of the earth, andindeed the universe, for the benefit of people,can only be carried out by people, and onlythrough people’s labour.

From the beginning of human beings, there’sbeen a link between work and the ownership ofresources, for the only means that people havefor utilising the resources of the earth, whichwill serve themselves and others, is work. Andto be able through work to make theseresources bear fruit, people have to takeownership of, and stewardship of, small partsof the various riches of nature: those beneaththe ground, those in the sea, on land or in

space. As well as this someone in thehousehold needs to gather, hunt and cook thefood, care for the young and keep the livingspace tidy. People do all this through work, andfor work.

People’s work is the vehicle which brings theminto relationship with others. Even people whowork at seemingly solitary occupations likefarming have times when they come together,for example at the saleyards. In work placesand places like saleyards, there are commonunderstandings of how things are, a feeling ofcompanionship, whether it be a boom or bustyear. Often when firms close down, theworkers speak not only of their sense ofworthlessness now that the job they had donefor many years had disappeared, but also oftheir sadness at not seeing the people theyhad worked with for so long. Often they speakabout their ‘family’ being torn apart.

However, all of these ideas seem secondarywhen we remind ourselves that we get paid forworking, and for some that seems like the mainreason we work. In the Christian idea of work,that which is paid for cannot be separated fromthe work that is done; so, in no way can labourbe opposed to capital or capital opposed tolabour. In other words, labour and capital worktogether to produce benefits for the community.In the same way, Christian thought holds thatthe people behind these concepts, the ownersand the workers, work together to achieve thesame ends.

The short story at the beginning of Matthew,chapter twenty gives us an indication of howworkers should be paid for the work they do.This story has two main parts, the hiring of theworkers and the payment of the workers. Thehouseholder goes to the marketplace at dawn,the third hour, the sixth hour, the ninth and theeleventh hours, looking for workers for hisvineyard. When the workers come to be paid,at the end of the day (see Leviticus 19:13),they are paid the same amount of money, no

A theology of work and payment for work

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matter how long they have worked. Thepayment in this story is an average day’swage, a just amount, the amount required topay the rent and put food on the table, withperhaps a little bit left over.

Perhaps Matthew’s householder was the firstperson to pay a living wage, the definition ofwhich is:

A living wage is the income necessaryto provide workers and their familieswith the basic necessities of life. A livingwage will enable workers to live withdignity and to participate as activecitizens in society.

The Family Centre ‘Report of an Investigationinto defining a living wage for New Zealand’speaks of a living wage meaning ‘more thanjust survival on the basic necessities of life,

because it involves the ability to participatesocially and even consider the future like amodest insurance policy. A living wage wouldcover small and important things like beingable to pay for children to enjoy a school trip,having a computer in the home and being ableto mix with friends recreationally.’

The end paragraph of Pope John Paul II’srevised encyclical Laborem Exercens (OnHuman Work) says that ‘The Christian wholistens to the word of the living God, unitingwork with prayer, knows the place that workhas not only in earthly progress, but also in thedevelopment of the kingdom of God, to whichwe are all called through the power of the HolySpirit and through the word of the Gospel’. Sobe it.

Reverend Jenny Chalmers

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What will it cost? It’s probably the first questionmost people ask about the Living Wage. Onecould argue that this is a result of our consumer-based culture that threatens to make church justanother product, lined up on a shelf, trying to sellitself to the wary buyers passing by, but thequestion will still be asked.

Let’s be clear, the Living Wage campaign offersthe Church a wonderful opportunity to be part ofsomething big, bold and world-changing, but yes,there are costs. Precisely what they are isimpossible to quantify because we simply don’tknow what every ministry unit is paying or howmany people would be affected, but the simplereality is if someone who works for you and ispaid a wage currently earns less than $18.40 perhour you will need to fund the difference, andprobably a little more as well.

At this point you may already be moving on towhatever the next issue might be, but it shouldbe noted that at the heart of the Living Wagecampaign is a voice of realism thatacknowledges this won’t and can’t happeneverywhere overnight (although in some places itcan). What’s being called for is a commitmentand a clear and realistic timeline towardsimplementation. With that in mind, the Churchfaces several layers of cost (financial andotherwise) and these will differ depending onwhich part of the Church we’re focused on.

ParishesFor the average parish the financial cost willdepend on how many people it employs, bothdirectly and indirectly. And the indirectly isimportant. If you contract a company to cleanyour gutters, mow your lawns or fix your roofthen that those employees too should bereceiving a Living Wage. As the bill payer theparish can exert pressure to make that happen,including refusing to use companies not payingtheir staff appropriately.

In terms of direct employees, most parishes willhave a maximum of one or two (excludingclergy). There is no agreed pay rate for parishstaff in our Church, so each parish will need towork out the costs for itself. The calculations aresimple; if your Parish Secretary or Youth Workeris currently on $15 per hour that will need to

change to $18.40, an extra $3.40 per hour plusadded costs such as Kiwisaver etc. Let’s say theextra cost is $4 per hour. Over a forty hour weekthat $4 is significant, and we shouldn’t pretendotherwise. There is a cost, and yes, parishes willhave to make some choices about that.

Social ServicesThis will be the area where implementing theLiving Wage will be toughest. Those working withthe very young and very old have always beenamong our worst paid employees, and theseoperations also engage significant numbers oflow-paid contractors. Government funding iscrucial for these services and it’s no secret thatit’s inadequate. Given that further funding fromthat source is unlikely, there are some toughchoices to be made.

The reality is, underfunded or not, many of theseoperations do still make money, especially in thecase of aged care services that includeretirement village facilities. Traditionally church-based operations have put any surpluses intoother social services and / or growing theexisting facility. The Living Wage campaignchallenges this approach. It argues that the firstpriority for any surplus must be ensuringemployees have a Living Wage, which it must beacknowledged may well mean that anotherworthwhile project doesn’t happen.

Here lies another stark reality; if the Churchnationally is to maintain the level of socialservices currently offered whilst stillimplementing a Living Wage for all, the cost willbe millions of dollars. It is beyond unrealistic toexpect government to pick up the total cost, soperhaps the churches themselves need to stepup; there are some hard conversations to be hadhere.

DioceseObviously all the above is true at a diocesanlevel also. The potentially greater cost for adiocese, however, is in terms of its relationshipswith local ministry units.

The Wellington position thus far has been one ofgentle encouragement. We think you should dothis, but we’re not going to force the point. Fair

The Living Wage – an opportunity that costs

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enough, no one likes conflict and not everyoneagrees with the Living Wage argument. But dowe? Do we think the Living Wage is a theory thathas merit which might be helpfully adopted byparishes, much like keeping water in the font andwearing name badges on Sunday mornings? Ordo we see this as an urgent matter of justice witha clear gospel mandate?

Dioceses have generally not shied away frommaking financial commitments compulsory. Wehave minimum stipends, a set parish levy andcompulsory insurance. Why not a compulsoryLiving Wage for all parish staff? Because somedon’t agree with it? Because some won’t like it?Because some potentially can’t afford it? Arethose good enough reasons?

IndividualsAt the end of the day it will not be that difficult formost parishes to implement a Living Wage,indeed some are there already. The greaterchallenge is to say this is a responsibility for theChurch and not just the parish. The people whosit in our pews are that Church. This authorwould suggest that a Vestry decision toimplement the Living Wage should include acommitment from each member to work towardsthe same in the various other bodies that she or

he is involved in. If we want to change the world,we have to start with ourselves.

Now about thoseopportunities …Aside from simply doing what is right the LivingWage Campaign gives the Church theopportunity to be involved in something biggerthan itself. One of the great dangers our Churchfaces is isolating itself from others workingtowards the same goals. The Church did notinvent the Living Wage, and nor is it the primarybody working towards it in this country. LivingWage Aotearoa is a nationwide group with localgroups in various centres made up of unions,employers, social agencies, individuals and faithgroups, all working together to advocate,encourage and educate people on the need for aLiving Wage. If we choose to work alone, well, atleast a few parishioners will be challenged. Butwhat if we were to work together? If we takebeing missional seriously, and if we believe ourcalling is to be the Body of Christ in the world,this is an opportunity to do just that.

Reverend Brian Dawson

Brian is Vicar of St Peter’s on Willis in central Wellington. StPeter’s has committed to the Living Wage and joined theWellington arm of Living Wage Aotearoa.

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Human rights: a biblical Christian approachFriday 2 August12.30 pm – 1.30 pmLoaves & Fishes, Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, Molesworth St,Thorndon, Wellington

Lecture will start at 12.30pm, but you are welcome to arrive from12 noon to eat. BYO lunch: soup & rolls, tea & coffee will beoffered.

Vinoth is from Sri Lanka, and is currently Secretary for Dialogueand Social Engagement, International Fellowship of EvangelicalStudents.

His work includes promoting a dialogical and integral Christianengagement with the university in various parts of the world, aswell as helping Christian graduates engage theologically with thesocial, ideological and political challenges they face in theirnational contexts.

He blogs at http://vinothramachandra.wordpress.com.

Public lecture: visiting theologianVinoth Ramachandra

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A One-Day Seminar

Saturday 10 August, 9.30 4.00pm

Mercy Conference Centre, Guilford Tce, Wellington

Was Bette Midler right?

Dr Chris Duthie-Jung

Monday to Sunday: being God's fellow workers seven days a week Caroline Jewkes

Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea: the print media commentates religion Rev Jenny Chalmers

Job / Jeremiah: faith in the face of misfortune

Rev Deborah Broome & Br Kieran Fenn FMS

Registration: Pre-conference - waged: $35.00 unwaged: $15.00

On the day - waged: $40.00 unwaged: $20.00

Morning & afternoon tea provided.

Lunch BYO or nearby cafes.

Further information:

Website: www.wellingtontheology.org.nz

Email: chairman@wellingtontheology.org.nz

Phone: 04 9745384

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The WIT Library has recently purchased some ofthe key books on the Diploma of AnglicanStudies booklist for the first semester – forexample, Invitation to the Bible by StephenBarton. (This will also be useful for the secondsemester, especially for any new studentsjoining the diploma community.)

They are shelved in the reference section of thelibrary, to the left of the folding doors, and areidentified by a red dot on the spine of the book.

These are Reference books for use in the libraryonly. The library is open daily during office hours

Diploma of Anglican StudiesApplications for 2nd semester close on 16 August.

(unless otherwise occupied). The Librarian isusually present during the second half of theafternoon on Tuesday, Wednesday andThursday.

Note that the WIT Library is a subscriptionlibrary, with an annual membership fee. Forthose doing the Diploma of Anglican Studiesthis is now included in the payment you maketo the diocese for the course.

Membership Forms are available in thelibrary.

Contact detailsThe Wellington Library is located based on the first floor of the Anglican Centre, 18 Eccleston Hill (offHil l Street), Thorndon, Well ington. Contact Director Deborah Broome at 04 4759085 ordebroome@paradise.net.nz. Or contact Librarian John McCaul at 04 4718599 orWITLibrary@wn.ang.org.nz .The Palmerston North Library is located at St. Peter’s Church, 229 RuahineSt, Palmerston North. Correspondence should be addressed to the WIT Council, c/o the AnglicanCentre.

Wellington Institute of Theology is on Facebook! Go here and click ‘like’.www.facebook.com/pages/Wellington-Institute-of-Theology-WIT/120352341320496

The Diocese of Wellington partners with StJohn’s Theological College, Auckland, in thelocal delivery of Anglican Studies Diplomas.Semester 2 papers are New TestamentExegesis and Biculturalism (20 credits).New students are invited to join forSemester 2.

Each semester’s programme begins with oneresidential, weekend, block course andconcludes with a similar event; both on amarae (venue to be advised). They will runfrom 6.00 pm Friday night to 5.00 pm Sundaynight. Between these two, there will be

fortnightly evening sessions offered inWellington (Tuesday evenings, from 10September) or Palmerston North (Thursdayevenings, from 12 September 5.00 pm – 9.00pm, including dinner). Participants are requiredto attend all sessions.

There is also an option to audit the diplomawithin the diocese: this will involve attendanceand participation in tutorials and at both weekendintensives, but not the sending of writtenassignments to St John’s Theological College.

Details on how to enrol are in the ThursdayBulletin and on the diocesan website.

News from the WIT Library