SCOPE
|
Welcome to our Strandz Community of Practice for Everyone
Our Scope groups bring together amazing children and families ministry leaders from across the country, and gather them around a shared topic and focus. As we head into our 6th year of Scope, we have seen how these relationships have strengthened our national leadership network, sparking new ideas and ministry opportunities within the local church. Scope groups are safe spaces to deconstruct ideas and concepts, reconstruct them with fresh eyes, and look for where the Holy Spirit is at work both in ourselves, others, and in our local ministries. |
SCOPE groups are communities of practice for children and families ministry leaders in the Anglican Dioceses of New Zealand
|
Registrations for Scope 2026 have closed
Our Scope participants have been notified of their enrolment, and we kick off soon.
If you have missed out and would like to express your interest in joining Scope in the future, please email us below.
If you have missed out and would like to express your interest in joining Scope in the future, please email us below.
What's in a Scope session?Our sessions are informal and interactive, and follow a similar rhythm and pattern each time. They include welcome, prayer, feedback from previous weeks, and then a time to discuss and reflect on a topic from the book we are reading. We want Scope to be really practical, so we are always looking for ways to contextualise and apply the things we are learning.
Scope groups meet roughly fortnightly on Zoom. Each session is 90mins long, and this year they are facilitated by a range of experienced ministry leaders. |
|
Who's it for?
Scope is open to leaders within the Anglican Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia who have a passion and heart to minister with children and families. We love to introduce you to like minded leaders from across the church.
Each participant will receive a Scope parcel in the post, prior to the community of practice starting, which will include:
* If you have access to the book through your diocesan library or the Kinder Library, or can hunt down a copy, that will help us keep our costs down,
Each participant will receive a Scope parcel in the post, prior to the community of practice starting, which will include:
- The book we will be reading*
- A reflective journal to process the session in.
- And some other Strandz goodies that will make your Scope adventure fun.
* If you have access to the book through your diocesan library or the Kinder Library, or can hunt down a copy, that will help us keep our costs down,
How much does it cost?
We would encourage your local church to support you attending the retreat, as they benefit from your professional development and reflective practice.To attend the retreat in Wellington, we ask participants outside of Wellington Diocese to cover their flights to the capital city - and we'll cover your accommodation. For those within the Wellington Diocese, we ask for you to cover the cost of your accommodation at the Home of Compassion ($200). All meals are covered by us. If finances are a barrier to you attending, please email us.
Scope groups for 2026
Scope groups begin in Term 2, starting the week of 20 April 2026. Meeting fortnightly on Zoom, the Scope groups will come together for a shared retreat in Wellington 21-23 August. More details are being finalised at the moment, and will appear here soon...
Children's Ministry and the Spiritual Child offers reflective chapters from the wisdom and research of some of the leading thinkers in the field of children's spirituality, around the theme of best practices of ministry in both personal and community settings. We'll be looking at themes around the inner life of a child, spiritual nurture at home, intergenerational spirituality in an all-age church, and coming alongside children in challenging contexts.
Who would suit this group? This group is great for anyone wanting to dig into the foundations of children's ministry, and unpack some of the spiritual foundations of why we do what we do. |
Liturgy of the ordinary considers how we can become aware of God's presence in surprising ways in the overlooked moments and routines of our day. How do we embrace the sacred in the ordinary and the ordinary in the sacred?
Framed around one typical day, this book explores life through the lens of liturgy―small practices and habits that form us. In each chapter, Tish Harrison Warren considers a common daily experience―making the bed, brushing her teeth, losing her keys. Drawing from the diversity of her life as a campus minister, Anglican priest, friend, wife, and mother, Warren opens up a practical theology of the everyday. Each activity is related to a spiritual practice as well as an aspect of our Sunday worship. Who would suit this group? When our days seem to big and full, this group would suit leaders who are wondering how our mustard seed of faith can be nurtured in the everyday rhythms of life. |
Imagining All Generations is a collection of ideas to help us remember our identity as the generational people of God. This volume features a range of authors from around the world, providing fresh theological reflection, innovative practical wisdom, and a unified call for all churches to move into a more intergenerational future by answering some key questions:
Who would suit this group? This book would suit someone who is wondering how to support all generations in their church to flourish in their faith. How can we do this well? |
Scope Retreat
We gather in Wellington for a final retreat weekend, held at the Home of Compassion. The retreat will take place on the weekend 21-23 August 2026. It is a wonderful time to share, connect with one another in person, hear stories from other Scope groups, and wrap up our Scope journey together.
|
|
|
