TE RARANGA AND THE INTERCHURCH FORUM Te Raranga We’re a coordinated network of around 300 churches, representing more than 37,000 people in the greater Christchurch area. Our network emerged organically in the immediate aftermath of the earthquakes when a number of denominational and local church-appointed earthquake coordinators began to meet fortnightly to discuss emerging trends and to look for ways in which they could collaborate. Te Raranga is the banner that our Churches Forum operates under. It also provides a vehicle for collaborative projects and initiatives to take place across the city. The Interchurch Forum (or Canterbury Post-EQ Churches Forum) meets monthly and has provided a remarkable context within which to share information and resources. Our membership includes representatives from the Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Methodist and Presbyterian churches, the Salvation Army, a range of independent churches and government agencies. We’ve been supported by several Christian non-governmental organisations including World Vision, TEAR Fund and Christian World Service. Representatives of our Forum have been invited to engage with the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) as part of the Community Wellbeing Planners Group, the Psychosocial Committee, the Build Ready community facility programme and to discuss pastoral supports that could be provided to residents throughout greater Christchurch. We’ve also collaborated with Christchurch City Council and the Ministry of Social Development. In this way, Te Raranga has become a “go-to” organisation for government and NGO engagement with churches and faith-based social services agencies in Christchurch. http://raranga.org.nz/