Sunday Blessings. ‘Less talk, more do’
Sunday Blessings has captured the imagination and commitment of three of our Presbyterian whānau: Saint Kentigern Boys’ and Girls’ Schools and Somervell and Kohimarama Presbyterian Churches Auckland.
The Birth of Sunday Blessings
Sunday Blessings was founded in 2018 by Laurie McLeod, Audrey Van Ryn and Danielle LeGallais. Its focus is providing for the community and developing relationships with a diverse range of community groups in order to alleviate hunger for the un-homed community in Auckland City. It grew from a conviction that no one living in Auckland City should have to search through a rubbish bin for food. While a number of social service providers offered breakfast and/or lunch to people in the city, there was a lack of options for free dinner meals.
Sunday Blessings makes use of rescued food to offer to their un-homed friends, along with meals provided by churches, schools and community groups. Since 2018 Sunday Blessings has co-ordinated over 170,000 meals for their unhoused community.
Growing the Impact of Sunday Blessings
Other community groups also support Sunday Blessings’ gatherings eg Māori wardens, Orange Sky Laundry (free mobile laundry and shower service) https://orangesky.org.nz/ , a free barber service, Koha Apparel (now known as Common Equal) https://commonequal.com/ and the Auckland Street Choir. Regular donations of food come from Bluebells Cakery, Woolworths, Onehunga High School and TLC.
Saint Kentigern Boys’ and Girls’ Schools and Pre-school, Somervell and Kohimarama Presbyterian Churches are three organisations in the Presbyterian whānau who have been actively supporting Sunday Blessings for a number of years now.
"Less Talk, More Do" – The Heart of Community Support
In June 2021 Fiona Crummey, an elder at Somervell, heard about Sunday Blessings through Danielle, one of its founders. She went along to help one evening and felt that it was something the Somervell church community could play an active role in. Somervell are now committed to preparing and serving meals at Sunday Blessings on the last Sunday of each month. Ten volunteers are needed each month, with Kohimarama Presbyterian Church boosting the numbers of Somervell volunteers on a regular basis.
Sometimes food is prepared by Somervell volunteers beforehand, depending on what has been donated that week. Other times the volunteers gather at Ellen Melville Centre in Freyberg Place, Auckland CBD where donated and rescued food is prepared and packaged into individual packages and then offered to anyone who would like a meal. In August 2024 the Somervell/Kohimarama team served 192 meals.
Those who are not able to physically assist at Sunday Blessings, help in other ways. Until recently a Somervell member baked and iced sweet treats which were added to the food packages. Others donate money which is used to purchase containers and the extra food needed.
Photos above: Volunteers from Somervell and Kohimarama Presbyterian Churches.
Innovative Approaches to Meal Service
A few years ago Rev Reuben Hardie, Saint Kentigern Chaplain, who had been co-ordinating the schools’ support of Sunday Blessings, had a conversation with a colleague whose family had been enjoying using a portable hangi. Reuben thought this could be a great meal option for Sunday Blessings’ friends and the school invested in two portable hangi cookers.
The Hangi for the Homeless cookers provide a nutritious, delicious meal for up to 200 people at Sunday Blessings once a month. It is a streamlined operation which involves volunteer teams of students, parents and staff: one group prepares the food (provided by Saint Kentigern) on a Friday afternoon, one group parcels the food up into individual servings, someone sets up and oversees the hangi cooking during Sunday and a third team unpacks the hangi, takes the food to Sunday Blessings and helps to serve the meal.
It’s all overseen by Patsy Hindson, Saint Kentigern Boys’ School Technology Teacher and Project Coordinator. You can see Reuben, Patsy and the Saint Kentigern teams in action in this short video: https://youtu.be/HpDXDEhcu-Q
Volunteers from Saint Kentigern Boys’ and Girls’ Schools, with the portable hangi.
Resources:
Sunday Blessings web-site: www.sundayblessings.co.nz
Orange Sky Laundry: https://orangesky.org.nz/
Common Equal: https://commonequal.com/