Night Sky & Torchlight
Matariki mā Puanga - Celebrating together
June - Contentment
This month in our Virtual Prayer Room our prayers are about contentment. In Aoteraoa New Zealand we will shortly start the celebration of Matariki. This year Matariki begins on 7th of June and ends on 13th of July. The public holiday celebration will be held on Friday 20th June. When the star cluster Matariki rises in the winter sky, in the Māori calendar, it marks the beginning of the new year. Matariki has historically been a time for whānau to come together to acknowledge the year that has been and make preparations and plans for the year ahead. It’s a time of remembrance and reflection, gratitude and hope. Our prayers throughout June will be suitable for Matariki celebrations as well as fitting with this month’s theme of contentment. For those subscribers who are based in other parts of the world, our June prayers will be adaptable to your own places and seasons.
Each week, two prayers will be shared on the following Matariki themes:
1 June - Matariki mā Puanga - Celebrating together - Inclusion & embracing diversity and celebrating Matariki together
8 June - Matariki Hunga Nui - Remembrance - Honouring those we have lost since the last rising of Matariki.
15 June - Matariki Ahunga Nui - Celebrating the Present - Gathering together to give thanks for what we have.
22 June - Matariki Manako Nui - Looking to the Future - Looking forward to the promise of a new year.
You can read our full year 2025 Virtual Prayer room in this post.
Paid subscribers have access to all previous posts. The first post of each month is free to all, and the rest of the series for each month is behind our paywall.
Matariki mā Puanga
In 2025, the theme for Matariki is Matariki mā Puanga - Celebrating together.
The following extract comes from the official Matariki website and explains more about the Matariki theme this year:
Matariki mā Puanga means Matariki (Pleiades) and Puanga (Rigel) and this phrase acknowledges the relationship between these stars. Both Matariki and Puanga rise in the eastern sky before the sun during the winter period, however some tribes and regions of the country look to Puanga instead of Matariki as the main marker of the New Year.
While the stars that mark the beginning of the New Year may vary in some regions the themes that underpin the ceremony and celebration are the same. We acknowledge our past, celebrate the present and look forward to a bright and prosperous future. The phrase Matariki mā Puanga is essentially a reminder that regardless of our different backgrounds, origins, and practices we use this celebration to come together and share the many unique elements that shape our identity.
The 2025 theme of Matariki mā Puanga is all about inclusion, embracing diversity and celebrating Matariki together
Matariki and Puanga are stars that sit in the night sky together to signal the start ofthe Māori new year for different iwi.
Matariki mā Puanga acknowledges and embraces the different traditions, stars and tikanga around celebrating the Māori New Year, recognising the regional variations
We can all connect to the core values of Matariki and Puanga and embrace the diverse ways for marking the new year
Mātauranga (traditional knowledge) is not held by one person in one place – it is held by many people across the motu. We can all play a part in learning and sharing mātauranga so that regional Matariki or Puanga traditions thrive for generations.
The Puanganui website shares kōrero tuku iho (traditional stories) about Puanga from the perspective of Te Taiuru – the iwi of Taranaki, Whanganui and Rangitīkei.
The contentment of inclusivity
Celebrating together with others is a beautiful way of exploring and enjoying the richness of diversity of other people’s experiences. Embracing another persons viewpoint or perspective invites us to grow deeper in our understanding of God’s people everywhere. There is contentment to be found in being seen and understood. To exclude others on the basis of some form of difference creates so much damage and is so unneccessary. God does not elevate any person above others, and cares for all people everywhere. The pathway to inclusivity isn’t easy but it brings so much contentment to those who are included and those who offer inclusivity. Conversely, to exclude others on the basis of being different to ourselves causes harm to both us and to those we exclude. As followers of Jesus we should be leading the charge of inclusivity.
Bible Passage
God, investigate my life;
get all the facts firsthand.
I’m an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
then up ahead and you’re there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
I can’t take it all in!
Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.
Let’s begin in prayer
Our two prayers today pick up some of the imagery of the night sky and the place of inclusivity in our faith practices.
Night Sky Prayer
Wear clothes suitable for the season and head outdoors to look at the night sky. Try to get away from artificial light so you have a clear view of the stars. Look upwards. Spend a few minutes being absorbed in the experience. When you’re ready reflect on the enormity of God’s love for our world, and the inclusivity of God’s love that crosses all boundaries and divides. Pray for compassion for those you know, including yourself, who are excluded in any way. Pray for yourself that you would be someone who strives to love those in the world as God loves everyone.
You’ll need:
A night sky with not too many clouds
Hints for individuals: Head outdoors when it’s a clear starry night
Hints for groups: Introduce this prayer as one your gathered group can pray when they’re in their own space on a starry night.
Torchlight Prayer
Lighting our pathway forward provides direction. A torchlight or flashlight doesn’t provide enough light for a wide view. Instead, it’s focussed and it leads us very directly right in front of where we’re walking. We might move our flashlight around us, seeking to see what is beyond our sight, but the light can’t reveal too much. Go outside on a dark night and let your torchlight guide your path. As you shine your torch and illuminate a very clear direction immediately in front of you, offer your worries and concerns to God about your own life direction. Invite God to help you diffuse the worries that are big and beyond your control. Invite God to work with you on what is immediately in front of you. Find contentment in being free to contemplate only what you can see, rather than all that worries you.
You’ll need:
Torch/flashlight
Dark night sky
Hints for individuals: You don’t need to go far for this prayer. Sit on your front doorstep and shine your torch on your path or driveway.
Hints for groups: This is likely to be another take home prayer, unless you’re planning a night time gathering. Hand out cards in the shape of a flashlight for people to pray this prayer in their own time.
All Scripture quotations are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.