5 September 2027
Bible readings for today |
CollectE te Atua, te kaha o te hunga whakapono,
whakanuia tō mātou whakapono me te whakawhirinakitanga i roto i tāu Tama i a Īhu Karaiti, kia noho ora ai mātou i roto i tōna wikitōria, i roto pū i a Īhu Karaiti tō mātou Ariki. Āmine. God the strength of all who believe in you, increase our faith and trust in your Son Jesus Christ, that in him we may live victoriously, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. |
Season of Creation
The Season of Creation starts in the first week of September, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends on the first Sunday in October, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. The Season of Creation is an annual celebration of prayer and action to protect creation, and has been gaining traction around the world as something to focus on during September - a particularly good month for the Southern Hemisphere as the days get warmer and new growth gets underway.
Creation care in the BibleA comprehensive survey of Biblical verses from Genesis to Revelation that tell us about ourselves and creation. As a bonus, Leunig made some cartoons to illustrate it.
Kids MinistryKelvin the Kakapo - (Anglican Schools Office)
Ten lessons on caring for creation, including age-appropriate input, activities, stories from around the world and meaningful things you can do together. Companions with Creation (Wellington Anglican Movement) A term’s worth of learning how to better care for God’s beloved creation as individuals, members of a nuclear family, and contributors to a wider community. Season of Creation Resource for children's church and families Some creative creation ideas for children's church and families. Created by Angela Blundell, Children and Family Ministries Anglican Diocese of Auckland
Prayer ideasThese prayer ideas for use with kids could easily be adapted into prayer stations:
Carbon Footprints Plastic Planet Weather series Forest Thanks Climate Change Windmills Great books to check out
Wild Worship - Rachel Summers
A practical guide full of reflection, prayer and activities to help families and church groups experience God in a new way. As a forest school practitioner Rachel Summers wants to "...hold space to allow others to connect with creation" helping people find joy in finding God without walls and ceilings. (Challenging to find in NZ - try PaperPlus, Koorong or Amazon). 
Worship in the Woods (Engage Worship)
An amazing 10 week resource for worshipping outdoors, focusing on trees, light, roots, fungi, leaves, seeds, flowers, fruit, water and birds. Available in ebook format. 
Messy Church goes wild - Lucy Moore
This book encourages Messy Churches to meet God outdoors, love the natural world, experience a sense of awe and wonder there and to be more eco-aware in all we do, both inside and out, as gathered and dispersed church, for the good of the planet. Teaching kids to care for God's creation - Catholic resource offering thirty lessons that will engage children, teachers, and families in the good work of keeping our planet livable and sustainable for coming generations.
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Leaders /Adult Input
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The Faith of a Gentile Woman (Mark 7:24-30)
The gospel reading today tells of two healing miracles. First, Jesus heals the a young girl, and then he heals a man who could not hear or speak.
Jesus heals the woman's daughterWow that was quite a story today. Jesus didn't seem to be treating the woman very well in the first part of the story. How did you feel about it? (pause) It might have been a bit hard to pick up, but the woman and her daughter were from a different town than Jesus. In Jesus' time, people often thought that Jesus had come just for the people of his town, not the rest of the world.
Does that sound like the Jesus you know? (pause)
Well, Jesus did heal the woman's daughter in the end. Some people think that this story was Jesus' way of letting people know that he had come for all people, not just a few. As Christians, we are called to be like Jesus. And just as Jesus healed the daughter in the story even though she was from a different town, we too need to treat everyone the same way and not just be nice to our friends. Quick Questions
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Leaders inputGospel Conversations 2024: It's our favourite controversial Gospel story - the Syro-Phoenician woman's encounter with Jesus. Kelvin provides some vital background to understanding this complex scene, and then Esther, Kelvin, and Mannie explore what's happening and where we find good news.
Gospel Conversations 2021: One of the most uncomfortable passages we encounter in Mark's Gospel is the story of Jesus and the Syrophonecian woman. This week Chris Holmes, Jan Clark and Richard Atiken join Michael to face the challenges of a Jesus who does not always fit our comfortable images of him, and who yet brings hope that is extended to us no matter who we are.
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Jesus Heals the Deaf and Mute Man (Mark 7: 31-36)
All of these games and activities can be used as conversation starters about what it might be like to be Deaf or Mute
Activities
Quick Questions
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Father's Day
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Today is Fathers' day in New Zealand, celebrated on the first Sunday of the month. To help you navigate this day in a sensitive way, check out the Strandz page for more resources and ideas for honouring all the men in your community.
Loving each otherFather's Day, and Mothers Day, can be difficult for many. It can be painful for those who do not have a Dad, for those who have lost a Dad, and for those who have difficult relationships with their fathers or sons. It can be painful for those who wish to be fathers or for those who have lost their partners. For these reasons, and many more, I recommend using these days as celebrations of spiritual parents (anyone), and making gifts for a variety of different people who have had positive impacts in children's lives.
Ideas
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God Loves You CardsWhat you need: Card, assorted bits of coloured paper, magazines etc to decorate with, scissors, glue, felts and crayons.
Preparation: You might like to make a few examples of card designs. There are plenty of ideas on the internet if you are feeling un-creative. Try searching 'making cards' or 'card designs' and see what you can find! What to do: Instruct the children that they can decorate their card anyway they like, and include the message 'God loves you!' in the middle. For younger children you might like to pre-write this in the blank cards. When they have finished, get them to choose who they want to send the card to. It might be someone in the congregation, a neighbour, a teacher etc. Remind them that God's love is for everyone, so perhaps they could give the card to someone they might not normally give a card to. |
Songs
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