9 till 5 Faith

12 Apr 2010

Working out how to be salt and light in your average kiwi work place can be challenging. Anglican Life caught up with three Christian working professionals about how faith impacts their life and relationships at work.

Fiona & Karl Summerfield, owners of Summerfields Foods, Ilam

St Tim’s - Burnside-Harewood

“Starting a new business is a big leap of faith so our faith has been central

to us praying about it and including God in all our plans. Our Parish has been very supportive of our venture. Sometimes it can feel like you being involved in business you are doing an activity worth less than other things. One of the most encouraging things that I've heard was a guy at conference that said everyone is involved in fulltime ministry and some people do that within the church. The church should try not to work people too hard in the extra curricular sense – so workers have opportunities to dial down, relax and just be with God.”

Mark Lewthwaite, Mechanical and Acoustic Engineer

St Augustine’s - Cashmere

“I don't particularly find it a challenge being a Christian in my workplace for a few different reasons: I think we all respect each others right to decide our own values, and there are several other Christians in the work place. I like to think that Jesus would have been a craftsman of the highest standard and that his customers would have been satisfied with the value of his product and service. Churches should encourage people to have a life outside it. I think that too often churches focuses too much on activities within there walls, which while valuable in their own right, can have the result of drawing us out of real relationships with real non believers in the real world.”

Hannah van Tuil, Speech Language Therapist

St Saviours – Sydenham/Beckenham

“I think it is often a challenge to live a life that is clearly distinctive as a follower of Jesus, but I hope my faith influences my attitude to my work and how I interact with people. I try to work hard, knowing I’m actually working for God, from little things like trying to make sure I don’t slack off even when it’s quiet, to showing respect to others and being willing to serve them and help them out - all in the hope to promote Christ and his gospel. We need our churches to encourage and teach us about what being a Christian means for our whole lives, not just one aspect of our life.”