Peace is here, peace is there, peace is everywhere.
Peace is here, peace is there, peace inside your body.
I came back inside after lunch on the third day of the Young Peacemakers club to do some cleaning up. Hidden behind the lectern, singing to herself and strumming away on an old beat up guitar was one of the little six year olds singing the above song that she had created for herself.
This week, we tried our very first Young Peacemakers Holiday Program out of the new Tiona Chapel, and we already have people popping it in their diaries for next year.
Staffed with Leanne, Wendy and myself, we met with 7, 9, then 10 kids over a 3 day program to learn about peace for me, peace for we (yes we know this is grammatically incorrect, but when asked, the kids preferred the rhyme over correct grammar), and peace for all. Piggybacking on some of the kids who have been meeting monthly for Sunday Fundays with the Green Cathedral Ministries, we also had kids traveling in from Sydney, Newcastle and Canberra. Some were local while others camped at Tiona or stayed with family in town. All had so much fun and were glad they came. While not a camp, we did full days of fun and activities.
Each day as we learned about peace, we did so with songs and worship, crafts and stories, questions and games…and everything involved stickers. There were also scavenger hunts, a zoo escape with puzzles, building spaghetti and marshmallow structures, and building actual huts and drift wood structures on the beach. There was a Willie wagtail named Willie, and a very cheeky kookaburra that would steal slice from afternoon tea. There was mini golf, hide and seek, and lots of chalk. There was teamwork and developing relationships with new people and strengthening friendships that have been made at other events and camps. There was lots of laughter, joy, and fun. At times we had to put our new peacemaking skills to the test, but that is living in community.
July School Holidays 2026 - pop it in your diary.
Kass Unger
