By Amanda Wells
This time last year, the dozen people who gathered to worship at the Presbyterian church in Renwick, Malborough, were wondering how much longer they would endure.
The small congregation, all women bar one, were growing older but continued to pray that God would reveal their purpose.
Part of the Wairau Presbyterian Parish, Renwick was the first Presbyterian church in Marlborough and celebrated its 150th jubilee in 2007.
Congregation member Ruth Newman says the congregation had become smaller and smaller over the years.
“Twenty or 30 years ago, the Sunday school was our life blood”. Then the numbers of children faded away, eventually leaving “just a remnant hanging on”, with sometimes as few as six people at worship.
This was in the context of significant growth in the region, which is at the heart of the Marlborough wine area. Renwick is 11km out of Blenheim on the road to Nelson and has a growing population of about 1800.
Elder June Evans says the congregation continued to pray about its role in the community, and particularly prayed that more men would join, but “several times during the last five years, we’re said ‘do we carry on here?’”.
One Sunday last June, when the person on duty for morning tea had brought eight biscuits as usual, their prayers received a totally unexpected answer.
Waiting on the doorstep of the church were 19 men from Vanuatu.
These men were working on vineyards in the area as part of the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme, which allows the horticulture and viticulture industries to bring in temporary workers from Pacific Island countries.
The Rev Ken Williams, who till the end of last year was minister of the Wairau Presbyterian Parish, says the Renwick congregation “embraced these guys so warmly right from day one”.
“It’s a great example of a local congregation recognising a change and meeting the needs that are put before them.”
While the first group of ni-Van was farewelled at the end of their five-month RSE stint, by then another group of 30 had arrived, in a trend that looks set to continue as long as the RSE scheme remains in operation.
“Our catering skills have improved!” June says. “What’s happening over this year has just been so exciting. It’s an answer to prayer that we would never have imagined.”
Ken says the Renwick congregation have adapted their style of worship, and the new enlarged congregation has worked together to spring clean the church, revitalise its garden and ensure the ni-Van visitors played a part in services.
“They’re not just attending; it’s become their church.”
The farewelling of the first group from Vanuatu saw more than 70 people at their final service and over 100 gathered for the subsequent picnic and barbeque.
When one of the ni-Van men died suddenly from heart problems late last year, the church was a focal point for grief and support, holding a large thanksgiving service.
June says generally about 40 people now gather for worship every Sunday, with the ni-Van group providing a bracket of songs.
June says about half the visitors are comfortable with English, while the other half understand but are less confident speaking.
And not all the ni-Van workers are men – at one stage five ni-Van women, also RSE workers, were part of the church community.
The Renwick locals have attempted to show the visitors around the wider region, June says. “We’ve taken car loads on trips into the surrounding area, including to the snow in winter.”
“It’s a tremendous culture shock for them coming here,” she says, with daily life presenting significant differences.
June tells the story of how one local invited some departing Vanuatu men for dinner at her house. They were intrigued to watch her using the kitchen appliances, and commented that while their rental house had a dishwasher and microwave, they had never realised their purpose.
So now the church offers specific help and advice to any newcomers who want it. “We ask how we can help them,” June says.
In the beginning, the church supplied a lot of warm clothing, she says, but employers are now doing a better job and the visitors are better prepared.
Ruth, who spent five weeks in Vanuatu on a mission trip in 1980, says the ni-Van visitors have not been shy to ask the locals some challenging questions about their church. “They said, ‘Where are the men? Where are the youth? Where are the children?’ They can’t understand it because they are still very much based in the family.”
She says there is hope that the changes at the church will provide an outreach into the Renwick community. The church’s revitalisation “would be very hard not to notice”, with lunches on the lawn and “much more coming and going”,
Ruth says.
“There’s an urgency to make sure what we learn about this translates to the men close to home.”
Positive developments include locals coming along to recent events and providing practical help, she says, and the congregation continues to pray for guidance.
“We’re willing to be surprised by God’s plans.”
Ken, who has recently taken up a two-year position at Talua Ministry Training Centre in Vanuatu, says Renwick’s example shows the huge impact that a small congregation can have.
“They’re meeting a very specific need of a sector of their community who are a long, long way from home and finding life quite difficult.”