Fun, faith and fellowship as President joins with faith communities for family camp

This article was originally published by Crosslight in the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania.

By Rev Deacon Jeanne Beale

The build up to this year’s family camp has been quite a journey …

Uniting Faith and Families Faith Community (affectionately known as UFF), is a recognised faith community of the Uniting Church, first established in 2011 to bring together isolated young families connected to congregations across Victoria. One of the key activities of UFF was an annual camp, a camp that celebrated the gifts of all who came, and it quickly became a treasured event.

Covid-19 halted the 2020, 2021 and 2022 camps, and the faith community sought a stabilising path and put out a request through their auspice Presbytery: Port Phillip West (PPW) for a congregation which might enter into partnership with UFF and support the leadership. The congregation of St Albans-St Andrews in St Albans Park, Geelong embraced the idea and a Memorandum of Understanding was drawn up. The congregation and faith community prepared a profile and called me to guide them into the future together.

The induction in September 2023 was a grand celebration of hope and future aspirations, before enthusiasm was shattered by the announcement that the Synod was divesting its camp sites and that camp venue Adekate was to close. However, Adekate’s new owners were keen, once renovations were done, to welcome UFF to return.

In March 2024, Adekate was not yet ready, so UFF decided to join the PPW and Western Victoria presbyteries combined family camp at Halls Gap. The UFF cohort had lost its spark and very few joined the camp. Questions over the future of UFF were tossed about and it was decided to rekindle bringing families together over a camp. Many of the previous UFF campers had grown beyond a ‘family camp’, but enough remained to want to share the precious experience with the wider Church.

The search for a date at Adekate landed on October 2025. A grant requested and received from the Synod’s ‘Camping Fund’ meant that fees for the camp could be kept at a minimum and a discretionary donation from the congregation meant that those experiencing financial hardship could also be supported to attend.

On a whim, an invitation was made to the President of the Uniting Church, Rev Charissa Suli, inviting her to consider coming along. Charissa embraced the idea and enrolled herself and young son to join the camp.

Supported by the Synod’s eLM (equipping Leadership for Mission) team, flyers were produced and circulated, and the invitation was opened up to the whole Synod of Victoria and Tasmania. Enrolments began to trickle in and the UFF leadership team set into preparation mode: checklists were made, rosters prepared and basic groceries purchased.

In the week leading up to the camp, late cancellations were evened out by late enrolments, and 42 individuals attended the camp, most for the weekend, with six day visitors on the Saturday. People came from many layers of connection with the Uniting Church, members from a variety of congregations, families who consider this faith community their church, and some who do not attend worship with any church congregation at all. The camp theme was ‘Woven together in God’s inclusive tapestry of Grace’.

Friday afternoon/evening arrivals

Once room allocation was sorted, shared dinner was intermingled with board and card games, and preparation for morning worship: young and old participating in music, liturgy, plays, acknowledgement and prayers. Unfortunately, high winds prevented the lighting of a campfire, so marshmallows were eaten un-toasted. And a torch-light mystery walk was led by one of the dads.

Saturday

The arrival of the remaining campers and our six day visitors. After sharing breakfast, we all wandered over to the recreation hall for worship and to commence weaving our camp tapestry, 42 campers sharing in the full delights of all-age worship: a heartfelt acknowledgement of country from an 11-year-old, songs from previous camps and one new, all with updated language to reflect our theme of inclusion. All wove a ribbon, string or other item into the camp tapestry … that we reflect God’s beauty when we are woven together in love. A puppet play was held addressing: “when did you realise that you were loved by God?”, followed by an open invitation for anyone to share their own experience of receiving God’s Grace.

Our worship set the tone for a great weekend of inclusion and sharing together; toddler and pensioner zip-lining in tandem, safety ropes held and pulled by new friends to raise others to new heights, conquering challenges together and then challenging each other in the Gaga pit.

Precious time was spent engaging with Charissa and discussing inclusion and exclusion experiences within the church, and ways God’s threads of love weave us together in new ways. An example was shared of a grandmother who took old moth-eaten jumpers, unravelled them, and knitted them into new items of clothing: we need to take the threads of who we are as a Church and create new garments.

There was a giant slingshot, more Gaga pit, card games and nature walks, all coming back together for a barbecue dinner, followed by the now famous UFF camp concert: an evening of fun, joyous and spontaneous acts, that exemplified the safe space of encouragement and inclusion woven into all present. It truly was a celebration of individual gifts that enriched the whole community.

Sunday

Breakfast was followed by a morning devotion and reflection from the President, then back outside to have a go at “The leap of faith” where individuals scaled new heights, with the physical support of a team and the cheering support of all present. Every effort was celebrated. Back to the dining area for lunch and final preparations for our concluding shared camp worship.

For one mum of three, who stopped going to church ‘because it got too hard trying to keep the kids quiet’, holding a church camp enables all present, toddlers to retirees, to participate in worship as they have been included and valued in the life of the camp.

Packing up was the final all-camp event, the leftover food made me think of the disciples collecting the 12 baskets of leftovers in the feeding of the 5000 story, food gathered into bags and distributed to take home. Final goodbyes to old and new found friends, and a ‘see you next year’ echoing across the air.