Children and Families - Scripture Union NZ

Every year on the first weekend of June, Viva hosts a weekend of prayer for children around the world. This campaign unites hundreds of thousands of adults and children across more than 40 countries.  The next event takes place on 4-5 June 2022.  This year, the weekend falls on the same weekend as Pentecost. The theme is 'Stronger Together'. The Viva website has a range of resources in different languages, which are free to download.  Here's this year's resource in English.  

  The account of Moses on the Mountain in Exodus 33, is full of drama and suspense. It is a great story to tell with all the generations together. This intergenerational activity includes banners, thunder rolls and flashes of lightning! It really brings the story to life in a way that will involve everyone in your congregation. It also works well for community events, allowing the story to speak for itself. This intergenerational activity takes a bit of preparation, but it is well worth the effort. You will need to download the script from the link below. You will need:  Script Music: The Steward of Gondor ( Youtube clip ) A4 Cards: enough for 1 per 4 people 'I have carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself' 6 grey banners: one suggestion is to sew a length of grey fabric 2metres long by 50cm wide, with a sleeve to hold a length of dowel approx 80cm long. A quick alternative is to wave scarves. Choose blue or grey or black scarves if possible.  6 yellow stre...

  Our first WAY2GO events have just happened. We gathered together kanohi ki te kanohi, face to face, to be inspired, challenged and equipped in our ministry with children. This word cloud shows some of the highlights from our Auckland South East event.  Why not come and join us at one of the 12 other events coming up soon?  Find out more at  www.sunz.org.nz  Resources from the event  

  We have NEW resources available for Lent and Easter this year. Check out our Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday ideas for family and whānau to explore together!  Our full range of Lent and Easter resources can be found here .  

As children flood through your doors, may you feel the love of God flooding in with them.  As your children bring with them their experiences of last year, carrying with them various shades of anxiety,  may you have courage to bring healing and comfort to their worries,  while finding peace for your own.  As you see dirty faces behind masks and empty lunchboxes  may you know that God's heart breaks too. As you hear stories of golden summer fun  Cousins, friends, sleeping out under the stars  May you be filled for gratitude for moments of untarnished joy  and find your own joy reflected in theirs.  Today may you know afresh how important  you are  in the life of just one of these children  who will walk through your door and may you be blessed. Amen

God could have arrived as a zealot, ready to take on the Romans who held the country under the heel of their boot. God could have arrived as a rabbi with many years of training, ready to confront the religious leaders. God could have arrived as a leader, ready to summon the people to follow him. But God didn’t. God chose instead the danger of pregnancy and childbirth, in a time when many babies and mothers died. God chose to be held in the arms of first time parents and their extended family. God relied completely on them all to feed him, clothe him and keep him warm. God chose a poor family from a poor village, where resources were scarce. With the limited time that Jesus walked on earth, he could have spent much more of it as an adult. Think of how many more miracles he could have done if he’d lived longer. Think of how much more he could have said and done. But God chose to enter this world as a baby. God didn’t skip the baby phase or the childhood phase. God went through puberty! ...

Each year we sing, ‘While shepherds watched their flocks by night’, but what do we really know about these early witnesses to the birth of Jesus? What did it mean for them to experience a sky filled with angels and be the ones chosen to hear the good news? This year, our Christmas resource will focus on the shepherds and their rags to riches story. From the rags of the field to the riches of heaven, let us follow their journey and discover it anew for ourselves. How does God visit us in our rags and bring riches beyond our imagination? An intergenerational church service