JourneyOnline
OVER 250 high school students and youth leaders from more than 50 Uniting Churches around Queensland celebrated a long weekend of discipleship training and fun at Summer Madness in January.
Coordinator Tom Kerr said the biennial event had attendees from St George to Far North Queensland, Toowoomba to Gladstone and was a great success where young people had their faith rekindled or found for the first time.
“The Uniting Church in Queensland can do great things when we pull together as a team.”
Summer Madness visitors included Uniting Church President Rev Alistair Macrae and Queensland Synod Moderator Rev Bruce Johnson.
For the young people from Weipa and the Western Cape, Summer Madness was the pinnacle of a larger journey.
Thirteen young people visited Uluru prior to joining the rest of their group at Summer Madness.
Michelle Cook said it was a chance to learn what life is like outside their communities.
“They get to meet Christian kids from other places and know that being part of a church is not just about Napranum or Mapoon,” she said.
The trip was made possible with airfares provided by the Western Cape Communities Co-existence Agreement.
Alstan Sigai from Weipa said his highlights were the trip to Uluru and the worship at Summer Madness which was led by the Glebe Rd and Newlife Robina worship bands.
“It really opened up my heart to God and my faith was stronger,” he said. “We won the air guitar competition and after that we gained our confidence.”
Joyce Waia, also from Weipa, said the trip had helped her be more confident in herself and her faith. “I’ve never gone this far in my life,” she said. “Since my dad died we stopped going to church a bit but now I’m not going to give up.”
Iesha Woodley, 13, said back at home in Old Mapoon there aren’t many people her age who go to church. “I like how we got to meet new people and make friends.”
Ina Savo, 14 from Napranum, also enjoyed visiting Uluru, despite getting bitten by a centipede during a bug infestation of their camp.
She also said she learnt how to “talk about God”.
Rev David Kim said the Brisbane Korean congregation, Crossways, have hosted their friends from Weipa twice and looked forward to paying them a visit later this year.
“By spending time together that proves that we are indeed brothers and sisters,” he said.
Michelle Cook said the Western Cape group had been “blown away by the hospitality of the Korean congregation”.
Photo : Members of the Crossways Korean congregation and young people from the Western Cape of Queensland enjoy time together at Southbank after Summer Madness. Photo by Mardi Lumsden
