Children and Families - Scripture Union NZ

The Christmas season is one of those times of the year when families head along to church either for the first time or as part of a yearly tradition. Some come to sing carols, others see it as important for their children to know the Christmas story, and others come because it’s what their family has done every year for as long as they can remember. These families may not attend church at any other time.  There are a growing number of people in our communities who know very little about the events surrounding Jesus’ birth. While we may have heard the story over and over to the point of complacency, for them it is new and fresh and intriguing.  As we plan for the variety of services and activities that run during Advent, it is good to make sure that we take these things into consideration. For that new family who has walked through the door for the first time:  · Will they feel welcome in our church?  · Will they be able to celebrate together as a family

www.bibleproject.com This is a two part service outline, exploring the book of Proverbs with all generations,  and this question:  What is wisdom and what does a wise person look like?  We look at wisdom as seen in action, through the whole range of gifts that God has given us, and examine what it means to ‘fear the Lord’. As Lady Wisdom says, “listen up!” Here is what you need: Week One: - Service Outline  - PowerPoint  - Proverbs overview sheet (like image above) - 3 signs  Week Two: - Service Outline - PowerPoint - 7 Proverbs for Acting or Water Leak Proverb - La Luna Pixar Film  Additional links for more info: The Bible Project: This service is based on the wonderful content at The Bible Project. You can check out their YouTube channel and their website: YouTube Website Lost Sheep: Check out Lost Sheep for some great illustrations of the Proverbs: LostSheep

  5 November On the 5th Nov 1881 government troops marched on the peaceful settlement of Parihaka, Taranaki.  The events that happened at Parihaka are an important part of our New Zealand history, but they are not very well known.  They tell a story of peaceful resistance and belief in a God of peace, not violence.  This story is so important that Gandhi and Martin Luther King referred to it as helping them to make their peaceful stand against injustice. It is a story our children should know.  5th of Nov is known as Parihaka Day.   Programme: I have written a one-off programme to be used with children to explore the events of Parihaka. It is approximately 30mins in length. This programme focuses on the value of Community and Participation, Porihanga . It focuses particularly on PEACE, Rangimarie, and what it means to be peace makers.   * Activity ideas  * Story telling ideas and a script to use * Discovery questions.  If you would like a copy

We live in very busy times, with lots of things on the go. It is no different for our children. Where do we find God? God of course is present with us in all our busyness, but we also need to stop and give God our undivided attention. Let's explore how to press STOP at the end of the day. How do we help children to stop and spend time with God? It’s certainly not easy! We asked some children for their ideas, our team contributed their favourite tips, and we have included a couple of simple suggestions. Because no one has time for complicated! Feeling inadequate? Stonehouse and May in their book, Listening to Children on the Spiritual Journey , interviewed parents about their night-time rituals. What did they do at the end of the day to help their children meet with God?  They discovered that for some parents this time was precious, and they spoke of being humbled and amazed at the depth and sincerity of their children’s prayers. But other parents spoke

8-14 Sept: It's  Māori   language week! What a great reminder that we live in a country with three official languages;  Māori , English and NZ sign language. It also provides a reminder to consider how our programmes and our conversations reflect this diversity. Here are just a couple of simple suggestions and resources to help you this week and beyond. Check out: Te Wiki o te Teo  Māori Te Taura Whiri i te Reo  Māori : Maori Language Commission:  The Māori Language Commission  has a great collection of resources for you to download and use. There are fabulous posters and phrasebooks available. Why not print them off and display them around your church? The importance of correctly pronouncing  Māori  words: This YouTube clip has been around for a while, but it's great! If you haven't seen it, it is worth a watch. Click here to check it out.  " My name is Finnian Galbraith and I am a year 11 student at Kāpiti College. I wrote this speech initially

Matariki is now officially celebrated as a public holiday in Aotearoa, New Zealand. The dates shift every year, depending on the rising of the Matariki cluster of stars. Māori New Year is celebrated when Matariki appears again in the sky. Matariki is a cluster of stars that is also known as the Pleiades and can be seen from late May or early June. There is much to understand and experience about Matariki. We suggest that you spend time learning and talking with tangata whenua as part of the process. Be sensitive to the complexity of some of the discussions, what children are learning at school, and the humility needed in this conversation. Please contact us to talk further about this. Here are some good places to start that journey: - Te Papa : a range of educational resources, including this free downloadable activity book. - Here's how to find Matariki in the sky! Youtube clip. - Learning about the stars from the Auckland Stardome . '...Nāna nei i hanga a Aketura, a Tautoru,

This is a beautiful Matariki waiata! Talk with your children about waiata they know, as they will be learning them at school. Invite your children to teach you these songs and sing them together. 

Pentecost Sunday is the 23rd of May.  Pentecost Sunday is a great opportunity to get creative, to be joyful and to learn a little church history!    In preparing for an intergenerational service for Pentecost Sunday, I  made a rather inspiring discovery, Holy Spirit Holes! In the ceilings of some cathedrals are these holes, trapdoors actually. During the celebration of Pentecost, live doves and red rose petals were dropped through these holes to swoop and fall on the congregation below.  Imagine the drama of it all!  So, I created a service to explore this idea. There are no live doves involved so don't worry about terrifying your church or the clean up job required for all that bird poo.  All you need is here:  Holy Spirit Holes

This service explores the event of Easter Friday using coloured ribbons and branches to create 'Mercy Trees'. This service is a guided meditation on Jesus’ journey to the cross, woven together with music and scripture readings. This service is one hour long and suitable for all ages. Click here to download the script. Powerpoint for the service  Media clips used during this service: The Story of the Three Trees Good Friday: The Story Chpt 26 **Please note that some of the scenes in this clip may be  too intense for young children. You may need to plan carefully to show only certain parts of it.  The Mercy Tree - Lacey Sturm 

'The Colours of Sunday' is an intergenerational service that uses colour to describe the events of Easter Sunday. Colours convey emotions, and help us to engage emotionally with the events of Easter, in ways that stay with us long after the service: · Purple:  darkness – a dark purple or blue for the dark sky at the time of Jesus’ death · White:   the linen that Jesus’ body was wrapped in · Gold:  the colour of dawn and the colour of the angels · Grey:   the colour of the road to Emmaus · Orange:  the colour of fire - Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us? Luke 24 Here are all the resources you need to run your own service. If you use this material, we would love to hear how it goes. What worked well for your church? Any tweaks or suggestions?  Click on these links to download everything you need: - The service outline - A colouring page: ( option 1 , option 2 :les