Mission’s Life-Line Service Inaugurated

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30482, 2 July 1964, Page 18

Mission ’s Life-Line Service Inaugurated

“No matter how wide the services the State provides, there will always be a need for personal help,” the Minister of Finance (Mr Lake) said in inaugurating the Methodist Central Mission’s Life-line service.

The Life-line telephone emergency service will operate from 9 a.m. te midnight each day. Until now, it has been working only during .the mission's office hours. The emergency servlet is run in conjunction with a continuous recorded prayer and message service. “Life-line is intended to help to cope with the problems of dur intensivelyorganised twentieth-century soceity,” Mr Lake said. "The problems it deals with will be mainly of a mental, nervous, or emotional origin. As the Minister charged with finding £245m a year for social services, I whole-heartedly welcome the opportunity to take my part in initiating such a service. “This magnificent effort offers the greatest possible proof that money isn’t everything. Human sympathy and Christian industry can often do very much more than financial aid.” • The superintendent of the mission (the Rev. W. E. Falkingham) said that Life-line was an expression of the second great commandment of Jesus Christ, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” In one sense, Life-line would

be a referred agency, Mr Falkingham said. Callers would often be referred to other organisations and to specialists in various fields. “Who will ring Life-line, asked Mr Falkingham. To judge by calls already received. users would include persons facing personal or family crisis, potential suicides, alcoholics, the lonely, the guilty, persons with marriage problems, and tne emotionally disturbed. Life-line Telephone

In addition to the counsellors, there would be trouble teams and a “caring division: The trouble teams, members of which had special training, would go out only where danger to life was involved, or where immediate help seemed essential. The earing division would, where necessary, follow up initial counselling by giving further help, usually for about three months. The division existed so far only in nucleus, but more helpers were being trained.

The prayer and message telephone ministry was very evidently fulfilling a need, Mr Falkingham added. Since electronic counters were attached to the answering machines on April 17, about 33,500 calls had been received. The personal aid telephone number is 32-370, and the prayer and message number is 42-299. The Mayor (Mr G. Manning) said he was delighted the mission was using techniques of

the twentieth century in its new service. The telephone could be both private and personal, and the system could easily be extended as the demapd grew. “I am appalled at the needs which this service is meeting, however,” Mr Manning added. “Why do so many come to require assistance?

“Many find our way of life very hard to adjust to,” he said. “It is, really, marvellous that our community is as stable as it is. “The Church is one of the organisations which brings us into some kind of unity. In nearly all other aspects of life, we seem to be struggling one against another. There is no sentiment in business, they say, and overseas, men are fighting one another. The tempo of life is increasing: there are the ravages of the motor-car, for example. The disjointedness of community life must have its casualties. “At school we are taught to love our neighbour as ourselves, to do good to those who hate you, and so on; but in life, what becomes of the principles of childhood? Many, unfortunately, fall by the wayside in the terrible adjustment they are called on to make.” The chairman of the North Canterbury Methodist district (the Rev. H. C. Matthews) led in dedicating the new service.

Oven Fire.—An oven fire yesterday in the home of Mr J. W. Reid, 43 Kirkwood avenue, caused considerable smoke but little damage. Firemen from the Sockburn and Headquarters stations answered the call at 1.11 p.m.