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The baby who came to disturb us
By Rev Dr Bonnie Robinson MNZM, NZCCSS Council member
The first time I was old enough to be allowed to go to the Christmas midnight service was a formative moment for me. The minister of my church (who just happened to be my father), as part of a reasonably traditional Christmas Eve service (carols, candles, all that), had shown a short 8mm film provided by an aid agency about various famines, wars, and places of acute poverty.
This did not go down well with some of the people visiting church that evening. One gentleman bailed my father up after the service saying something like “How dare you disturb me and my family at Christmas with those horrible images.” I think my father replied something along the lines of “Having read the Christmas story, how dare I not?”
It is wonderful to celebrate Christmas, to be happy and appreciative of the good lives we can live. But that is not the purpose of the story. Born not into wealth and power, but into a humble working family, born unacceptably to what might easily have been a rejected unwed mother. Persecuted and chased into refugee status upon his birth. This is a God who in being with us, is going to disrupt what it means to be powerful, to bring peace, and to be faithful.
How dare we then, not disturb? Disturb those systems, policies, practices and attitudes that in our time and place, provide the horrible images of poverty, violence, and alienation.
But because at Christmas we have a meeting place between God and humanity, we can do this with hope. Hope that the way things are is not how they have to be. Hope that violence can end, that food can be for all, that governments can change, and that justice is real. Because God at Christmas crept in beside us; we disturb and we hope and we act.
“When the world was dark
And the city was quiet
You came.
You crept in beside us
Do the same this Christmas, O God
Do the same this Christmas”
(excerpt from Cloth for the Cradle – Iona Community)
Proudly supporting our members in 2025
As we look back on 2025, the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS) wants to recognise and acknowledge all of our member organisations across Aotearoa who have continued to serve their communities. You are the heart and soul of our work. In 2025, we are really proud to have supported our members and the wider community by:
- Hosting in-person and online events such as our Aged Care Post-Budget Panel and Welfare To Work hui with I.D.E.A.
- Providing community feedback through 21 government submissions, including the Electoral Amendment Bill and the Delivering for Pacific Communities Strategy
- Sharing our work on understanding 5-12 year olds to support parents, caregivers and kaimahi working with this age group
- Consulting with experts, service providers and older people themselves on what poverty means for those aged over 65
- Being invited into the exclusive Budget 2025 lock-up, giving us an opportunity to share Budget initiatives with our members
- Developing a new organisational strategy, with the support of AraHina, that will guide our work for the next 10 years.
As we finish up for 2025, we want to share our Annual Report highlighting our achievements for the last year and our intentions for the future.
To our member organisations, to our funders, to our partners and collaborators, to the people we’ve connected with throughout the year and to all our newsletter readers, Meri Kirihimete me te Hape Nū Ia from all of us here at NZCCSS!
here we are having successfully escaped our Escape Room just in the nick of time!
From left: Alicia, Katie, Mel, Karen and Rachel.
NZCCSS featured on Collaborative Voices
Big thanks to Community Networks Aotearoa (CNA) for featuring NZCCSS on their Collaborative Voices programme earlier this year. In this episode, Patrick speaks with Alicia Sudden, Kaiwhakahaere Matua (Chief Executive Officer) at NZCCSS. They discuss the current state of wellbeing across the motu and highlight the important mahi of NZCCSS in supporting and strengthening social services throughout Aotearoa. Listen here.
Exploring Middle Childhood webinar
NZCCSS Senior Policy Analyst Melanie Wilson will be presenting this webinar at 12 (midday) on Wednesday 21 January exploring our middle childhood report – Te Kōrero mō ngā Tamariki.
The webinar will explore key aspects of growth in the middle years, and showcase initiatives from our membership that are making a real difference for tamariki and whānau. Register and find out more here.
State of the Nation 2026 report
The Salvation Army’s Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit will be launching its State of the Nation Report on 11 February 2026. This annual report provides a clear evidence-informed overview of wellbeing and social issues in Aotearoa. We look forward to hearing more on our progress as a nation.
Mana Āki| Dignity for All report
The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) recently released their Mana Āki – Dignity for All report highlighting flaws in the current welfare system.
Receiving more than 10,000 enquiries between November 2023 and May 2025, CAB drew on the real-life experiences of the people they support. These include the negative impact of recent policy changes on people’s ability to access support, such as benefit sanctions, changes to emergency housing criteria and a reduction in funding for social services.
Additionally, CAB propose a number of actional insights, many of which are echoed in the asks of other social service organisations, such as increasing benefit levels and the number of social houses. CAB also call for increased resourcing for Work and Income to allow for consistent case management, improved timeliness of appointments and to ensure clients are followed up and their needs are met.
Gerontology Conference 2025
December started with Kaitātari Kaupapa Here Matua, Rachel Mackay, presenting the progress on the Older Persons Poverty Monitor at the New Zealand Association of Gerontology conference in Ōtepoti.
The theme of the conference was “Ageing Together” and featured innovation, insight, and inspiration from across the worlds of research, community support, aged care, and life course wellbeing. With the first afternoon taking place at Ōtākou Marae, and presentations from a large number of Māori researchers, the clear commitment to honouring Te Tiriti and supporting all kaumatua to age well was clear.
As well as Rachel, NZCCSS member organisation Presbyterian Support Central presented their work on creating a low-sedation, resident-centred dementia environment at their Cashmere Heights home. Clinical Director Mikaela Shannon also shared an academic poster on quality assurance in medication management.
We were able to connect and reconnect with so many of our colleagues across the gerontological sector. It was not only an inspiring and engaging conference, but a fantastic touchpoint as we head into the summer period.
Dear Children campaign
The Children’s Commissioner, Dr Claire Achmad, has launched a new campaign – Dear Children – to raise awareness of the role that everyone plays in ensuring children’s right to safety is upheld in Aotearoa. The campaign features a letter to the nation’s children which people are invited to sign in support of this kaupapa. NZCCSS CEO Alicia Sudden attended the launch of this campaign on Monday 8 December. We encourage you to check out this campaign and consider how you might share it within your own networks.
NZCCSS Christmas shutdown period
Our office will close for the Christmas break at the end of the day on Friday 19 December 2025,
and will reopen on Monday 12 January 2026.
Thank you for your support throughout the year, and we look forward to connecting again in 2026.
And the angels said, “Praise God in the highest heaven! Peace on earth and loving mercy towards all people!”Luke 2:14
(Worldwide English Translation)
