Celebrating Mātāriki

Parish Steward and Children’s Ministry leader Kerry Upson likens the events to a “family dinner at home, only bigger.” Despite there being few children that regularly attend church services – children come occasionally with their grandparent’s – the parish has a commitment to develop outreach and support the many young families living in the adjoining suburbs. The themed family fun nights attract a good turnout, including the congregation, Girls’ Brigade members and families on the parish contact list.

The fun nights were initiated with the help of Let the Children Live grants, and evolved alongside a long-running annual Festival of Christmas Trees event where community groups are invited to decorate trees. The tree display is open to the public and attracts more than 2,000 people annually to visit and to share in the Christmas Story.

Kerry says, “We have been doing theme nights two to four times a year for the past six years. This year’s event is being held a little early on 14 June. We are also holding a separate Mātāriki Night for our Girls’ Brigade families on 27 June.”

Rev Freddy de Alwis and the worship and ministry team draw on resources from the Ministry of Education for the story telling component of the Mātāriki evening. In recent years the events have included cup-cake decorating, craftmaking, a shared meal, games, and stories.

Kerry says they focus on using the resources available to the parish. “Keeping the event simple uses the skills available with the people we have in our parish. I guess that you could say that we celebrate the whakawhanaungatanga aspects of Mātāriki.”