The Abbey is a national annual Anglican conference for youth leaders and young adults from across the motu to gather, pray, worship, learn and reimagine together.

This year's theme is 'Loving God, Loving Others'

How do we share the love of God in a world that is hurting? For those we meet we get to be an expression of His love. As followers of Jesus we are living examples of being His hands and feet. How's that going!??

This Abbey we will be exploring how to encounter God and walk with Him in a way that means His love overflows from us into the world crying out around us.

Join us as we hear from some amazing speakers, choose from a line up of insightful workshops and connect with others doing the mahi from around the motu.

Watch below promo video for The Abbey 2024!

Keynote speakers

Dallas Harema

He uri te taha o tōku pāpā nō Ngāpuhi nui tonuKo Ngāti Kaharau, Ngāti Hau ki Ōmanaia ōku hapūKo Harema Reihana tōku whāmereKo Dallas Neihana Te Waipounamu Harema tōku ingoa

Dallas’ whakapapa on his Mother’s side is rooted in Perthshire, Scotland
and in Te Tai Tokerau/Northland, Aotearoa on his Father’s side. Although
He and his wife Lucy Pearl live in Ōtautahi and they have 3 tamariki Bear,
Woo and Pipi.

Dallas was first introduced to the Christian faith as an 11-year-old on a
summer camp. This camp was the first conscious seed that God planted in his heart which came to fruition when he met Jesus for the first time as a 19 years old.

Dallas affectionately calls himself a ‘mongrel’ and is involved in a bunch of ‘serious stuff’ in the corporate, government and business sectors which helps to pay the mortgage.

He and Lucy are very passionate about the body of Jesus being holistically healthy and whole. They long to co-create spaces where people are real about their inner worlds. Their conviction is that once we can take some fig leaves off and get honest about what we carry (good, “bad” and ugly), we open ourselves up (more) to Jesus and his transformative truth, grace and love.

At the moment, Dallas and Lucy co-lead a kaupapa called ‘Whakapuāwai’
(to cause to flourish, bloom, thrive) which aims to help people be formed in emotional and relational intelligence, and integrate all parts of who they are into how they follow and become like Jesus.

Rev. Lorna Gray

Lorna is someone who loves Jesus and can't imagine doing life without God. She sees the potential in young people and wants the best for them, which includes Jesus. She has spent her life looking for ways to connect young people with God and help them on their journey with Him.

Lorna thinks there are 3 things built into her foundation that hold her up:

1. Lorna loves her whanau and loving them and walking well with them will always be one of the most important things in her life.

2. Our churches have the opportunity to be like a whanau for all ages . For many young people there is a serious room for growth before our churches feel like whānau for them. In Ephesians, the church is called the Bride of Christ. There is work to be done before we are as beautiful as a Bride. Lorna wants to be part of those pulling up their sleeves to do the mahi.

3. Jesus showed us how to live and love others well. Today we get to be His expression of love to others, His hands and feet that others encounter, so let's get living, loving and serving in a way that reflects Him