Tēpu Mō Tātou – A table for everybody
Nurturing Community and Resilience
Led by its Community Minister Rev Dr Bruce Hamill since 2016, Island Bay Presbyterian Church (IBPC) in Wellington, have developed friendships and connections with the residents of two local high-density Council Housing complexes in a project called “Tēpu Mō Tātou – A table for everybody.”
The relationships developed by Bruce and a team of volunteers helped to nurture community support and resilience, strengthen food security and lessen dependence on addictions amongst residents in the complexes. Over time it led to better mental health outcomes, a greater sense of community, and less interactions with police or ambulance staff.
A Setback Becomes a Turning Point
Granville Flats, Wellington
The two communities were flourishing, meaningful community and social cohesion was developing. A house church called Nourish had also emerged attended by residents and church people. Unfortunately, in 2023 one of the flat complexes was slated for demolition by the Council with the residents being moved out by mid-year to other social housing.
Island Bay Presbyterian Church saw this as an opportunity to pause and take stock, to review the vision of Tēpu Mō Tātou and see what might be possible next.
Expanding the Vision
Bruce was commissioned to take a geographically wider support and research role, to follow the friends from the housing complex as they were dispersed, support them in settling in to their new homes, and to assess whether the work of Tēpu Mō Tātou could be replicated in their new communities. He also researched what other workers and groups were already active in supporting social housing and whether other local congregations could be drawn into connection. The Justice-Compassion Trust of Aotearoa NZ was pleased to be able to provide funding in support of Bruce’s work.
““We’re not just sharing meals—we’re building lives, building community, and creating places where people feel they matter.””
Creating Local Connections
Nearly a year on and Bruce’s work has pivoted to include two new Council flat complexes in the South Wellington area. These are not as local to the church as the previous complex, but all are within a five minute drive from the suburb where most of the church volunteers live. Being local is seen as key to this work, with residents and team members crossing paths at bus stops, the supermarket, and cafes. This gives space for further acts of hospitality and support such as driving lessons etc. It also enhances a wider sense of connectivity and belonging for what can be a very marginalised group of people.
The Heart of the Work: Hospitality and Support
Bruce and his team of up to 25 volunteers, drawn from tenants themselves as well as members of IBPC and supportive neighbours, continue to offer food security, pastoral care, community meals, up-skilling, festival events, vocational support and a welcoming and accessible worshipping community.
Looking Ahead: A Research-Driven Future
Bruce has also developed a new partnership with He Kainga Oranga, the University of Otago housing research unit. They want to quantify the benefits of community spaces/rooms in social housing – something which Wellington City Council always included in its social housing complexes but which Kainga Ora does sometimes omit in new developments. Tēpu Mō Tātou operates from within these community spaces and sees them as having an immense impact on residents’ wellbeing.
Bruce is working with He Kainga Oranga on this 5-year project tracking what Tēpu Mō Tātou does and the associated benefits, with the hope that it will provide the data to bring about a shift in policy relating to providing community spaces in social housing across NZ.
Resources:
You can contact Bruce at: dbhamill1@gmail.com
Incarnational Mission: Being with the world. Samuel Wells, 2018. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Stanley Hauerwas Remember the Poor: The Work of Charity and the Worship of God - ABC Religion & Ethics 2016
Coming Home: Discipleship, Ecology and Everyday Economics. Jonathan Cornford. 2019. Wipf and Stock.