Palmerston North Methodist Social Services was opened in 1963 as the results of conversations between Mervyn Hancock, the then Manawatu District Child Welfare Officer, and the Rev George Goodman, Minister of the Trinity Methodist Church, who identified needs of families and individuals that were not being met by either statutory or voluntary institutions. They wondered if there was a role for the Methodist Church to meet some of these needs. This idea was supported by George Baber, who at the time was farming near Sanson.

George’s theological position was that “God is for everyone, no-one is excluded, and that every offering of Christian commitment should always be without strings”, and this sat well with the thoughts of Mervyn Hancock and George Goodman. On the 11th of August 1963 George Baber was appointed the first Director of the newly formed Social Service organisation.

Although Palmerston North Methodist Social Services has a high level of independence from the Methodist Church, our underlying Philosophy comes from the foundations of the Methodist ethos.

The Methodist Movement was formed by John Wesley (1703 - 1791). Wesley was an Anglican cleric who had become increasingly concerned that the Church was out of touch with the needs of the poor and marginalized.

In the Methodist ethos, the ‘Word’ and the ‘Deed’ have always been linked together in the underlying belief that, “actions speak louder than words.”

The Methodist Church has always been involved in social justice issues beginning with those concerns topical in the 1800’s such as prison reform and the abolition of slavery. This social justice work continues today in Palmerston North Methodist Social Services.

The first Wesleyan Missionaries came to Aotearoa, New Zealand in 1822, and later in 1840 Missionaries played an important role in facilitating the signing of the Te Tireti o Waitangi. This early partnership with Moari is important in shaping the work of PNMSS today.

Palmerston North Methodist Social Services is an agile, community centered provider, positively impacting our clients and our environment through the provision of best practice professional Education, Counselling and Social Services and Upcycle/Retail Services.

We work with people as a driving force for positive transformative change that enhances the wellbeing of the community and the environment.

We are committed to biculturalism, relying on Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the foundation and resource to shape our work at a strategic and operational level. We also respect and acknowledge the diverse communities that we operate in.

Our aspirational values are:

• Diversity: Our work recognises that different communities require different approaches
• Transparency: We build relationships based on transparency and our belief in our clients’ abilities;
• Power sharing: We acknowledge the power we have in our role and work to shift power to clients;
• Solution focused: We focus more on what’s working;
• Courage: We are as courageous as the people we work with;
• Feedback friendly: We get on-going feedback to guide the relationship and journey. We encourage and act on feedback;
• Expertise: We acknowledge that people know most about their lives and what could work for them. We encourage the people we work alongside to take the lead, and work on the change that matters most to them;
• Best practice: We want to do our best and are keen to learn by sharing what works and being open to new ideas. We commit to growing our skills.

For more information, visit Palmerston North Methodist Social Services - Home (pnmss.nz) or click on the button below to donate.

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