For a number of years PresCare, a partnership between the PCANZ and Presbyterian Support, have looked for ways in which our shared faith and commitment can respond to the needs and nurture the wellbeing of children and families in Aotearoa New Zealand.

One of the ways we have done this is through Praying for Children week where we offer resources to the PCANZ in order to help the church to reflect on and hold children before God in prayer.

The 2023 Praying for Children resources have the theme of Growing our Children, drawing on the images of gardens and growth to reflect on and pray for children’s life in our midst, in celebration, in lament, in hopefulness and in gratitude. We hope that you will encourage your congregation to join with us in Praying for Children this year.

All of the resources for Praying for Children week can be found on the blog: https://nzprayingforchildren.org
The week begins on Sunday August 20th and you can find resources for a full worship service focussing on the theme of Growing our Children on the blog. Each day during the week that follows there will be a new post with the theme for the day, accompanied by an image and a prayer.

We have created a bookmark, which lists the theme for each day during Praying for Children week. The QR code on the bookmark will take you to the blog. The bookmarks are available in English, te reo Māori, Samoan and Korean. We hope you can distribute these bookmarks to your congregation for them to take home and make use of during Praying for Children week.

Bookmarks are included with this letter and further copies can be downloaded from the blog and printed if needed. We would be happy to courier bulk copies of the bookmark to your congregation. Just get in touch with us using the email addresses below.

These resources have been created by a team comprising Anne Overton, Melanie Te Au and Rev Sharon Ross Ensor (Presbyterian Support Northern) and Karo Wilson (Presbyterian Children and Family Ministry). We are very grateful to Presbyterian Development Society for a generous grant which has made production of these resources possible.

We would love to hear how you have made use of these resources or to hear any feedback you might have to help us to continue to develop and improve them. anne.overton@psn.org.nz or sharon.rossensor@psn.org.nz