Social service, social justice or a matter of faith? : the Palmerston North Methodist Social Service Centre 1963-2000 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History, Massey University

Abstract

The Manawatu Methodist Social Service Centre ... was created as a means of Christian outreach by providing skilled counselling services and practical help to people in any type of need...without any regard to religious affiliation or profession. ...The aim is to give service in the community as widely as possible, therefore we seek FRIENDS from every part of the community, who will give support to the work. 'Friends of the Social Service Centre' pamphlet, MSSC. 1969 The Methodist Social Service Centre has been seeking, and making, friends in the Palmerston North area for over forty years. Its reasons for doing so, its actions and their consequences, are at the core of this study, which argues that a process of mutual benefit has resulted from the ways in which the Centre has chosen to present itself to its community of users and supporters. The Methodist Social Service Centre (MSSC) was established in 1963 as a formal extension of the pastoral and welfare work of the Methodist Church in Palmerston North, as its founders considered that government and other voluntary agencies were not meeting the demand for family-based services in the city. In following decades the MSSC has broadened its range of services to the surrounding community in response to changing societal needs and the increasingly professional basis of welfare provision. Its staff has a strong history of involvement with many other community-based agencies, and the Centre has been active in helping to establish and support other groups working in the city and region. Throughout changes of style in leadership of the Centre, changes in the programmes and social work avenues pursued and changes not of their own making in the wider community, the Centre's staff have maintained a strong sense of who they are and the values they deem important in their work. The Centre has consciously remained relatively small and has generally avoided large-scale capital developments, preferring to focus on flexibility of service to meet changing welfare needs and demands. This ethos has provided staff and management committees with not only the base to continue and develop their work, but with a platform to develop and foster community initiatives and strong links with other welfare and government agencies. Perhaps more importantly, it can be argued that it has resulted in a wide acceptance of the centre as an important part of the wider Palmerston North community.