Page 7 - Matthew Mark News Today

Christchurch streets are said to be rife with synthetic cannabis, made of a hodgepodge of poisons 15 April 2021 A Coroners ruled the substance contributed to the death of a Christchurch mental health inpatient in 2018. City Missioner Matthew Mark says synthetics users are still walking through the missions doors - but the batches in the community are higher-risk. He says the widely-available substance is manufactured from hideous ingredients - including rat bait, antifreeze and cleaning flui...

“Covid has definitely taken a toll on families who are already struggling to make ends meet as many of them are now faced with redundancy, reduced hours or income. “We know of families who overnight found themselves in a situation where they had to ask for help, something they’d never done before.” Kirk Hargreaves/Stuff Going back to school costs between $500 and $1000 per child, which is often beyond the reach of low-income families, Variety CEO Susan Glasgow says. (File photo) Kiwi...

CHRIS SKELTON/Stuff George Stewart enjoying his lunch. Alongside the lunch and desert, those who came down to the Linwood Rugby Club were treated to live music and presents from Santa. George Stewart, an entertainer now in his 80s, was very impressed. “Id been invited to a friend’s place, but I thought I’d like to hear some music,” he said. CHRIS SKELTON/Stuff The Dyer family with takeaway food and their presents. “I know a lot of people here and it’s lovely to meet [and see] the...

Hundreds of people gathered at four Auckland locations for a Christmas lunch sponsored by City Mission today. Aucklander Karl Sylva with his 5-year-old god daughter Xea enjoy City Missions Christmas lunch at Freemans Bay, Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Liu Chen City Missioner Chris Farrelly said they decided not to do one big lunch - which last year was attended by 2000 people - out of Covid-19 concerns. Eight hundred people were expected this year at Freemans Bay Community Centre, Nandos on Queen Str...

Christchurch City Mission has been inundated by people the week before Christmas, causing traffic issues. EDITORIAL: If you’re looking for a symbol of how much more stressful Christmas is for some families in 2020 than in previous years, look no further than the current traffic jams in Christchurch. Busy traffic and queues near the Christchurch City Missions Hereford St headquarters forced the city council to make the street one-way until Christmas Eve. Traffic chaos was caused by high deman...

Christchurch City Mission struggling under Christmas pressure 21 Dec, 2020 06:17 PM 2 minutes to read NZ Herald By: Kim Moodie The Christchurch City Mission is facing unprecedented demand for food parcels from desperate families facing a tough Christmas. It is appealing for donations of food and money as the missions food supply rapidly dwindles in the face of overwhelming need. CEO Matthew Mark said the weekly demand had already shot up 200 per cent on last year. "In the first hour just today ...

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/STUFF The Christchurch City Missions Christmas lunch attracts over a thousand visitors each year. (Video first published December 2019). Christmas lunch will still be served at the Christchurch City Mission this year despite Auckland cancelling its event. The Auckland City Mission announced last Wednesday that its big Christmas lunch would be canned due to concerns about potential community transmission of Covid-19. About 1600 people attended the lunch last year. Five separ...