The Abbey 2025 wrapped up at El Rancho in Waikanae last weekend after drawing around 300 youth workers and young adults from across Aotearoa. The national hui – shaped by all three tikanga of our Anglican Church – was practical, prayerful and hopeful, with the theme “God restoring a broken world”.
Kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending broken pottery with lacquer dusted in gold, gave the theme a strong visual form. Kintsugi doesn’t hide damage – it honours it. Each fracture becomes part of the vessel’s story. A hands-on kintsugi workshop led by our youth enabler, Brad Wood, anchored this idea, with even kintsugi-themed nail painting on offer for a bit of playful resonance.
“It went really well, God was really present and I'm really grateful for that,” said Lorna Gray, the national youth facilitator for Tikanga Pākehā.
As the Nelson Anglican Diocese, we contributed in full force through parts of the teaching throughout the weekend. Spanky Moore, our pioneering ministry developer, brought the message in the main sessions. Jason Shaw, our social services enabler, offered a practical workshop on where to start with social justice. Marzi van der Mark from Victory led guided meditations, Jude Saxon from Bishopdale College explored the ministry of welcome, and Georgia Armstrong from St Barnabas drew on years of 24/7 Youth experience to equip leaders for work in schools. I joined the line-up too – alongside my husband, Sam, who leads youth at All Saints – for a workshop on creativity.
Lorna noticed that depth, noting that our diocese has “real calibre long term leaders”. She didn’t want that gifting to sit idle.
Of course, we were only a small part of the big picture. “It's really important to me that the entire country has room for contribution in some way,” Lorna Gray said. She pointed to the mix of involvement across the country, including Bible readings led by Wellington and Te Upoko o te Ika, keynote speaker Keri-Ann Hokianga from Te Tai Tokerau, tech support from Auckland, worship and children’s programme from Christchurch, hosting and hospitality from Taranaki and Waikato, and behind-the-scenes work from the Priory crew – a team made up of people from across Aotearoa.
For Lorna, this balance matters: “If we're going to have a nationwide event it's got to be held up by the nation.”
Lorna also emphasised how important it is to celebrate our bi-cultural journey, and our relationship as three tikanga. She was delighted to welcome Eli Tapine, her new equivalent in Tikanga Māori, and Alokoulu Ulukivaiola, the same in Tikanga Polynesia. “We were so pleased to have them as part of it all.”
Sami Smart, the national youth administrator who works behind the scenes to make the Abbey happen (“a rockstar – phenomenal”, according to Lorna), reflected: “There were definitely some hiccups at times but it was really cool seeing the teams working together… The workshops were amazing, and the keynote speakers were so relevant for where we're at as a country in 2025.”
On Sunday, Archbishop Justin Duckworth drew the room to the passage in 2 Corinthians on treasure in jars of clay, and noted that Corinthian pottery was known for breaking easily. Rather than throwing them away, he said, people often repurposed the broken vessels as lamps – fragile, cracked, but carrying light.
Cracks and splinters are all part of the journey towards restoration. As leaders return to their youth ministries this week, that picture of kintsugi will travel with them.
The Abbey will return on 31 July - 2 August 2026. Mark the dates!
Visit the Anglican Youth website for more information and upcoming events.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
The Abbey 2025 wrapped up at El Rancho in Waikanae last weekend after drawing around 300 youth workers and young adults from across Aotearoa. The national hui – shaped by all three tikanga of our Anglican Church – was practical, prayerful and hopeful, with the theme “God restoring a broken world”.
Kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending broken pottery with lacquer dusted in gold, gave the theme a strong visual form. Kintsugi doesn’t hide damage – it honours it. Each fracture becomes part of the vessel’s story. A hands-on kintsugi workshop led by our youth enabler, Brad Wood, anchored this idea, with even kintsugi-themed nail painting on offer for a bit of playful resonance.
“It went really well, God was really present and I'm really grateful for that,” said Lorna Gray, the national youth facilitator for Tikanga Pākehā.
As the Nelson Anglican Diocese, we contributed in full force through parts of the teaching throughout the weekend. Spanky Moore, our pioneering ministry developer, brought the message in the main sessions. Jason Shaw, our social services enabler, offered a practical workshop on where to start with social justice. Marzi van der Mark from Victory led guided meditations, Jude Saxon from Bishopdale College explored the ministry of welcome, and Georgia Armstrong from St Barnabas drew on years of 24/7 Youth experience to equip leaders for work in schools. I joined the line-up too – alongside my husband, Sam, who leads youth at All Saints – for a workshop on creativity.
Lorna noticed that depth, noting that our diocese has “real calibre long term leaders”. She didn’t want that gifting to sit idle.
Of course, we were only a small part of the big picture. “It's really important to me that the entire country has room for contribution in some way,” Lorna Gray said. She pointed to the mix of involvement across the country, including Bible readings led by Wellington and Te Upoko o te Ika, keynote speaker Keri-Ann Hokianga from Te Tai Tokerau, tech support from Auckland, worship and children’s programme from Christchurch, hosting and hospitality from Taranaki and Waikato, and behind-the-scenes work from the Priory crew – a team made up of people from across Aotearoa.
For Lorna, this balance matters: “If we're going to have a nationwide event it's got to be held up by the nation.”
Lorna also emphasised how important it is to celebrate our bi-cultural journey, and our relationship as three tikanga. She was delighted to welcome Eli Tapine, her new equivalent in Tikanga Māori, and Alokoulu Ulukivaiola, the same in Tikanga Polynesia. “We were so pleased to have them as part of it all.”
Sami Smart, the national youth administrator who works behind the scenes to make the Abbey happen (“a rockstar – phenomenal”, according to Lorna), reflected: “There were definitely some hiccups at times but it was really cool seeing the teams working together… The workshops were amazing, and the keynote speakers were so relevant for where we're at as a country in 2025.”
On Sunday, Archbishop Justin Duckworth drew the room to the passage in 2 Corinthians on treasure in jars of clay, and noted that Corinthian pottery was known for breaking easily. Rather than throwing them away, he said, people often repurposed the broken vessels as lamps – fragile, cracked, but carrying light.
Cracks and splinters are all part of the journey towards restoration. As leaders return to their youth ministries this week, that picture of kintsugi will travel with them.
The Abbey will return on 31 July - 2 August 2026. Mark the dates!
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
