Murray Edridge Wellington City Missioner
Murray Edridge is the twelfth Wellington City Missioner, a position he took up in 2018. He comes from Wainuiomata but now lives in Whitby.
Last night he gave us an insight into the work of the Wellington City Mission and his own part in it. Murray is the first layperson to hold the position and has a varied background in commercial life, NGOs, and public service, which he has used to good effect.
89% of Wellingtonians think the city is a great place to live, but for many others, life is a struggle. The City Mission has been working since 1904 in the greater Wellington area, to help those ‘left behind'. The vision is to empower them, transform their lives, and give them fullness of life. The Mission supports 400 people on a daily basis.
The underlying issues facing the Mission nowadays are homelessness and growing inequality. The Mission sets out to provide housing (especially transitional as opposed to emergency housing) and to mitigate associated problems such as isolation and addiction. The ‘left behind’ don’t have the same choices the rest of us do but can be encouraged to form communities of interest, which empowers them.
The Mission is leading a cooperative effort to provide 83 apartments for the homeless, and another development is underway. Funding comes from Government and donations from high net worth individuals.
A ‘social supermarket’ is operating, too, which, unlike a foodbank, gives clients choice in their food needs and thus affords them dignity and respect. The supermarket has been supported by public contributions and corporate players.
Murray stressed the Mission’s principle, which is to value people for who they are and encourage them to engage with others to give meaning to their lives. The Mission is clearly an innovative organisation with a strong and admirable sense of direction.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.9% Summer
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36.6% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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