A BRIEF HISTORY IN NORTHLAND, August 1945, the first Maori Postal Sunday School lessons were posted to Maori children. Mr Arnot Edwards typed and duplicated these on an ancient flat-bed duplicator. About the same time and unknown to the Northland folk, Miss Elsie Severinsen (who became Mrs Elias Kerr) commenced her own lessons for Maori children in the Rangitikei district. Interest grew rapidly, and in 1946 the Postal Sunday School Mission in Auckland kindly sold their lessons at a low cost to those who wanted them in the Maori field. In 1948 Mr and Mrs Arnot Edwards were appointed as full-time superintendents, a position they held until their resignation in 1964. MPA then developed its own syllabus. Because the roll had increased to something over 2000 and branches numbered 15 it was considered that Dargaville was too far away from the centre of operations. Accordingly, in 1950 Wanganui was chosen as a suitable centre in which to establish HQ. In 1955 the small, antiquated printing press was exchanged for a Heidelberg platen press which was purchased by interested Assemblies in Christchurch and donated to MPSS. That machine is still in operation, having been subsequently sold to another printer in Wanganui. Mr and Mrs Ken Forster were appointed as superintendents in 1964, and sought to build upon the foundation laid by Arnot and Ruth Edwards. They continued as super-intendents until early 1970 when Mr and Mrs Fred Fox, who had been serving the Lord as field directors for MPSS (later changed to MPA – Maori
Postal Aotearoa) in Northland, were appointed as superintendents. In 1974 a further step forward was taken with the purchase of a secondhand Solna 124 offset printing press. 1976 saw the commendation of Graham and Evelyn Batson by the Foxton Assembly. They moved to Wanganui to assist in the work at HQ and took over as superintendents on the resignation of Mr Fox in 1982. At that time, there were around 7500 children receiving lessons. In 1977 came the opening of the new HQ office and printing works in Lowther Street, Wanganui. Also added to the plant at that time was a graphics art camera for film work associated with offset printing, an Intertype typesetting machine and other ancillary equipment which made MPA fully independent for all printing requirements until the advent of greatly increased colour work some years later. In 1980 the Solna offset press was replaced with a brand new Dominant 514 which handled most of the offset work for the next 20 years, when it too was replaced by a new Ryobi 520X in December of 1999. Shortly after purchasing the Ryobi a Horizon finishing unit to collate, stitch and trim magazines and calendars, etc. was added. It was then becoming obvious that our building was becoming somewhat cramped for space and, after examining various alternatives, in 2002 we purchased the house at the rear of the existing HQ building. For about nine years this then became the new Maori Postal Aotearoa office with the original
building being used solely for printing purposes. With the assistance of Mobile Missionary Maintenance both buildings were upgraded and new concrete laid between the buildings for easier access. In 2005 we added to the plant an image setter, allowing us to produce all our own film work for offset which was a decided advantage cost wise and for convenience. This made MPA fully independent for all printing operations once again for the next two years until, because of the rising cost of overheads, the printing section was sold and the services of a larger printing works was engaged to produce the lessons and magazines. Smaller printing requirements are printed on laser printers in-house. This is now proving to be more cost effective. The office was then moved back to the original building and the house rented from MPA by a local housing trust for short term accommodation.
Present HQ Staff Not only has there been changes in technology over the years, but there have been changes in leaders and HQ staff. Earlier this year (2017) Malachi and Charmaine Williams joined Evelyn and Graham Batson and are learning the routine in order to be able to run HQ in the near future. Being the elder daughter of Graham and Evelyn, Charmaine has been brought up with the work of MPA since about the age of two when the family shifted to Wanganui from Foxton Beach to become involved in the work. Malachi has an engineering background and is also well acquainted with current computer technology. They are paid a minimum wage from the MPA general fund.
What is MPA? Maori Postal Aotearoa is a Trust originally incorporated under the Charitable Trusts Act, 1957. It functions as a Bible correspondence school and Gospel literature outreach to families throughout Aotearoa and elsewhere and is sponsored by Christian Brethren Assemblies. The Trust produces Christian literature that is available to all groups and
individuals who can use it effectively in propagating the Christian message. All property and equipment are owned by the Trust.
What do we do? • We print and distribute five grades of Bible lessons to mainly Maori children each month. Lessons and magazines are sent in bulk to our leaders in the field who contact the families by post or personal visitation. • We have a range of adult lessons with more indepth study material under the heading of “Te Kupu Whakaora” (The Living Word). A catalogue is available. • We publish 5000 copies of a full-colour magazine, “Tupu Whakarangi” (“Growing Heavenward”) approximately every four months. It contains testimonies and relevant Biblical articles and is available to all who can use quantities. • We print and publish Bible Text Posters and other Gospel literature including attractive tracts. • We have a range of colouring pictures for preschoolers with a short Bible text in Maori and a small English translation. • We publish and dispatch 25,000 Gospel calendars each year. The calendar was first printed as a means of furthering our Gospel outreach in 1989 and 5000 copies were printed that year. The next year we printed 8000. Its popularity
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continued to increase until we were printing 15,000. When it reached over 20,000 it became more cost effective to have the job printed commercially. We regularly send Gospel literature to homes, schools, prisons and other organizations. We have a website www.maoripostal.co.nz. Please check us out.
Field Workers Throughout the country there are a number of field workers or branch leaders commended by their local assemblies/churches who are responsible for the work in their areas. They receive lessons, magazines and other material in bulk from HQ and arrange the distribution, collection and marking of lessons. Leaders are encouraged to have as much personal contact with families as possible. They are free to arrange picnics, bar-b-ques, camps, prizegivings, camps and other activities as they are able to do so. (A Leaders’ Manual is available from HQ setting out the responsibilities and requirements of a branch leader). Over the years we have had leaders in most parts of the country, from North Cape to the Bluff, including the Chatham Islands, but
in recent years many of those older generation people have passed on or have become physically unable to take an active part in the work. Now there is a real need for younger people to get involved as leaders and to help distribute MPA literature as widely as possible. If you feel this is a work the Lord would have you do or would like further information, please contact HQ in Whanganui. A leaders’ conference is held annually, usually in March, to which any interested in the ministry of MPA are welcome to attend. The conference provides good opportunity to learn about the work of MPA and how to become involved. Contact HQ for further information or a registration brochure. The photo on the previous page shows those attending the conference in 2017. The photo below is of those attending the 1993 conference. Many of those shown here have now passed on to be with the Lord and in most cases have not been replaced.
How is it Financed? Financial support comes from Assemblies/Churches, individuals, Trusts and legacies. All gifts addressed to MPA are paid into the general account and are used for printing costs, stationery, postage, maintenance and other associated expenses. Where appropriate, tax exempt receipts are issued.
Contact us for –
BIBLE LESSONS “TE KUPU WHAKAORA” Bible Studies ENROLMENT BROCHURES BIBLE TEXT POSTERS LEADERS’ MANUAL STATEMENT OF FAITH CALENDARS “TUPU WHAKARANGI” magazines TRACTS CATALOGUES (Samples available)
All correspondence should be addressed to – Maori Postal Aotearoa PO Box 10 – Ph (06) 343-7957 – Whanganui Email: info.maoripostal@gmail.com.
www.maoripostal.co.nz. For direct debit, our bank account details are: -WESTPAC MPA 030791-0401491-00