Expressions of charity and action towads justice: Faith-based welfare provision in urban New Zealand.

Source: (2008) Urban Studies. 45(10): pg. 2117-2141.

Christian churches have long been involved in responding to social need in New Zealand
cities. Since the formation of city missions in the late 19th century, their engagements
have variously encompassed emergency relief, social housing, orphanages and residential
aged care. In recent years, the churches and their affi liated social service operations
have also sought to intervene in the political and social processes that contribute to
disadvantage in New Zealand. The article analyses this movement towards a more
explicit concern for social justice, with specifi c reference to developments among a
set of Christian social service organisations in the city of Christchurch between 1999
and 2006. Alongside transformations in local services, national lobbying to highlight
the situation of disadvantaged social groups has been an important element of
this transition. The analysis offers insights into the place of faith-based welfare
organisations within socio-political settings that might be characterised as ‘third way’
or ‘after neo-liberalism’.