PULSE

Church Camps Change lives

I remember attending my first youth camp as a young Christian, and the overwhelming feeling of security and community it gave me.

There were lots of other people my age who liked the same music I did and had similar hassles with their parents (and church) that I did, and also who expressed a whole range of joys and challenges about being someone who followed Jesus as a teenager. The knowledge that I was a part of the bigger family of God that extended beyond my family or the congregation I attended was enveloping. It gave me so much life and distinctly helped shape my understanding of ministry with young people. These kind of camping experiences changed (and saved) my life. This love of gathering and learning saw me attend two NCYCs as a young person (Toowoomba ’91 and Canberra ’93), a plethora of Presbytery camps, a couple of State Youth Congress meetings in Queensland, and as I got older it led me to getting involved in helping run a number of youth camps at a Presbytery and State level. I knew the benefits of coming together with other young Christians and building relationships with them – and the leaders who loved us to bits – and I wanted to be a part of creating some of those ‘mountain top’ experiences for other young people that so radically developed and formed me. The late nights talking with others and learning from them. Gaining a fresh and new understanding of who Jesus was. Engaging in activities with these new friends that stretched and challenged me. Being confronted with new theological takes that I hadn’t come across before and discussing the implications in small groups. Even

having to navigate loving someone who held a different position on Jesus to you. Identifying significant moments where God called me on to greater things…all these things take place at youth camps, and they transform lives. If you spent any time close to the church THESE KIND OF in your youth, I’m sure you know what I’m CAMPING talking about. EXPERIENCES CHANGED AND SAVED MY LIFE I’m fortunate that in my role this passion is channelled into part of PULSE’s approach to resourcing and supporting ministry with young people. Our rite of passage approach offers gathering opportunities for young people in upper primary to attend our annual KID’S CAMP OUT overnight experience, while offering high schoolers who are taking their first steps into youth leadership a safe place to stretch into this ministry. In the upcoming September holidays our first ever camp for high schoolers in grades 7-11 Uniting Youth Camp (UYC) will run at Vision Valley with a bunch of young adult (and older) leaders as we together look at issues of developing our

identity in Christ. Off the back of that we’ll run our first HSC Study Camp at The Collaroy Centre for Year 12s to help them prepare for their HSC/International Baccalaureate exams, again supporting them holistically through community, tutorial groups, practice exams, conversations, and plenty of great coffee. Our Young Adults are welcomed into our annual Retreat Yourself gathering in early February where they can further develop community and engage in the reality of growing as disciples of Jesus Christ: • Being together. • Feeling a part of a something bigger. • Singing songs louder than ever. • Talking about everything and nothing all at once.

• Sharing your struggles with people who understand you. PULSE are committed to working with leaders of young people to develop these events to challenge, grow, and develop them and their faith.

These camps represent a fabulous opportunity for those that fondly remember their youth camping experiences or those who know the difference it makes to stand on the mountain top and see a new glimpse of the Kingdom and how that charges you up to make a difference for Jesus in your world.

PULSE have recently established the Send a Kid to Camp fund which allows donations to come from individuals or congregations to directly support young people to attend these camps. This is a critical partnership opportunity for everyone to participate in ministry with young people—your donation can make a difference in one young person’s life (or many!) by subsidising or even covering their registration fees so they can attend, lifting their eyes and helping them see they are a part of the bigger family of God. PASTOR STEVE MOLKENTIN

YOUNG ADULT MINISTRY LEAD & SENIOR PULSE FIELD OFFICER SEND SOMEONE TO CAMP!

If you know high schoolers who would benefit from attending UYC, get them to register today at: pulse.uca.org.au/uyc. Got some Year 12s in your life? Encourage them to sign up for HSC Study camp at: pulse.uca.org.au/hsc We’d love to have them participate and you know they’ll have a great time.

MAKE A DONATION

If you’d like to make a donation to PULSE’s SEND A KID TO CAMP program, use the details below to deposit your gift: BSB: 634 634 Account: 100 046 230

PROF. ANNE PATTEL-GRAY

REV. DR GARRY DEVERELL

REV. MARK KICKETT

NAOMI WOLFE

The conference is a joint initiative of the Uniting Church Synod of NSW and the ACT, United Theological College, Uniting Mission and Education, and Newtown Mission. SATURDAY 22 OCTOBER WESLEY CONFERENCE CENTRE Walking Together

The theme Walking Together: How can the Church embrace First Peoples’ Theology in a post-colonial Australia comes at an important time as Prime Minister Antony Albanese has outlined plans to enshrine a First Nations Voice into the constitution. The First Peoples’ Theological Conference takes place on Saturday 22 October at the Wesley Conference Centre.

Professor Anne Pattel-Grey, Rev. Mark Kickett, Rev. Dr Garry Deverell and Naomi Wolfe are the keynote speakers. Prof. Anne Pattel-Grey is the Head of World Vision Australia First Nations Programs. She holds a PhD from Sydney University. Prof. Pattel-Grey is deeply committed to the advancement of Aboriginal people and to reconciliation between Aboriginal and nonAboriginal Australians. She has over thirty years in senior management experience and has pioneered a number of first throughout her career.

Prof. Pattel-Grey previously told Crosslight: “My own people say to me, how can you remain in the church after everything it has done to you and I say, ‘I don’t go to church to worship people, I go to worship to be with my creator’, and that is what makes the difference. It’s about my faith and my relationship with God and that love of God has never wavered.”

Rev. Dr Mark Kickett is the National Interim Chair of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC). A Noongar man from south west WA, Rev. Mark Kickett was ordained a minister in the Baptist Church in the 1990s. His ministry has taken him from Brisbane to Perth, Broken Hill and Kalparrin near Murray Bridge in South Australia.

Rev. Kickett has long had a passion for empowering young Aboriginal people to grow their faith and leadership. From 2016, he served as the State Development Officer for UAICC in SA, and in April 2020 was appointed UAICC National Interim Chair. Rev. Dr Garry Deverell is a trawloolway man from northern lutruwita/Tasmania who currently lives in Naarm/Melbourne, where he is a founding Lecturer and Research Fellow in the School of Indigenous Studies at the University of Divinity. Rev. Dr Deverell is the author of two theological books, The Bonds of Freedom (Wipf & Stock, 2008) and Gondwana Theology (Morning Star, 2018). He has contributed prolifically to publications, radio programs, documentaries, and podcasts on the interface between Indigenous and colonial religious cultures. Naomi Wolfe is a trawloolway woman, and Lecturer of Indigenous Studies NAIITS, an Indigenous learning community. Naomi encourages a collaborative learning between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff and students at the University to break down barriers destroy stereotypes and to cultivate new relationships based on respect. She has a professional and personal interest in Indigenous cross cultural training. Moderator of the Uniting Church Synod of NSW and ACT, Rev. Simon Hansford said that the conference is another step for the Uniting Church in demonstrating how it is walking together with First Nations people. “One of the challenges both for our church, and our community is how we pay attention, how we listen,” Rev. Hansford said. “Our faith is founded on a God who speaks, who calls to each of us – in love, and creativity and hope. Once we hear God’s voice, we are called to heed the voices of others; those who are pushed to the edges, relegated to injustice or poverty, whose voices have been silenced or diminished.”

“One of the urgent reasons for this conference is to listen to our first nations, heeding voices both ancient and immediate. It will help our community offer justice, and find healing; We will pay attention to the stories of our oldest voices, as we have been invited by the Uluru Statement from the Heart.”

“We will seek forgiveness, because that lies at the heart of every relationship of hope. We are here as the Church because our faith in Jesus, God’s spoken Word, calls us here.” “In this conference we will take another step on this vital journey of finding our shared way together.” JONATHAN FOYE