Uniting for a fabulous outcome

Art was great fun

Last week you read about the wonderful Super Camp held at Nyngan. (If you only have the version without pictures please go back and look again at the beaut photos which I have now fixed) and this week I thought I would add to the story.

Helen from Knox Boys school shares some quality time with Alex from Weilmoringle Public school

The week was one of those magic weeks where everyone comes away buzzing with excitement. The kids, staff and volunteers all had the biggest smiles on their faces.

Socialisation was very important for the kids from very isolated communities

Also important for Staff

But for me one of the biggest thrills came from seeing the various arms of the Uniting Church all working together to add their different skills to the Super Camp. The Uniting Church has seven schools and three of them sent staff and senior students to help with activities at the camp. They particularly focused on activities that the tiny schools find hard to do. Among other things being able to play team sports is a big thrill when you come from a school with less than 10 students of all ages.

Having a big kid to play with is extra special!

The NSW/ACT Synod of the Uniting Church also participated by sending Bradon French, Next Generation Worker, to run the evening activities. Not only did the kids have great fun but they also learnt a little more about Christianity.

One of the evening activities with Bradon in the background

In the past a lot of the catering for the camp was done by staff from the small schools. Can you imagine running activities during the day, organising food for over 150, doing evening activities and then bedding down for the night on the floor of a pavilion with your students. It was a herculean effort. So this year it was wonderful that two Uniting Church congregations were able to help with the food so staff didn't have to do it. Eight volunteers from Gordon congregation travelled out to do breakfasts and dinners, and the local congregation at Nyngan did morning teas and lunches. Not only was all the food fabulous but the volunteers all managed to have a good time while doing it and kept smiling. One meal was also catered by the local Nyngan Rotary Club which was also wonderful.

Gordon and Nyngan volunteers managed to find a time to meet one another and to sit down for a cuppa in a very busy schedule.

It is not often that it is possible to bring so many arms of the church together on a project. Yet when we think about it the Uniting Church is very diverse and has a lot to offer in so many areas. This was a great example of the various parts acting as the "one body" and being the people of God in a rural setting. But it was by no means one-sided as those from Sydney keep telling me how much they also got out of the project, especially for their students.

Making sherbet ensured we kept everyone's blood sugar well up!

The challenge for us now is to build on the outcomes for the camp to develop long-term partnerships.

Thank you to everyone from both sides of the sandstone curtain who worked so hard to make this a huge success.

Exploring music and drama

Somehow the science slime was everywhere!