2026 Perth Easter Reunion
by Anita Staaden
Excitement about Perth’s 2026 Easter Reunion started last November when Meredith and Dennis Carr said they would love to come. Visiting Ministry and two extra fun people!
Then Kristy, Amelie and Craig Woodward said they would love to be cooks again. Problem two solved, and three extra people!
A non member friend but recent regular attendee Tim O kicked things off on Thursday night with icebreakers. From the laughter and deep conversations shared it was clear this was going to be a fun weekend, and it was!
Cyclone Narelle did us a lovely favour by dumping rain on the campground a week earlier and we woke on Friday to green shoots in the campground and neighbouring pasture with a huge mob of kangaroos grazing in the adjacent farmland.
Meredith led our classes, focussing on “Where will the spirit lead today?” and whilst the jingle was slow to catch on, eventually it became an ear worm that would not go away.
An exciting visitor to camp was an echidna! Meredith spotted it and we all went to have a look. This was the first echidna we have seen as a group at Serpentine campgrounds. Rob Thompson saw one a couple of years ago but no one else did. It appears these elusive creatures only manifest to visiting ministry…
We had meaningful worship services led by Meredith, Dennis, Peter Lonsdale, Greg Short and Dione Jacka.
Children’s classes were led by Kristie Woodward, kids craft (painted tiles and foiled Easter egg cards) was led by Anita Staaden, and for the adults, craft was continued work on the Ghost Net REEFormation. At camp this year we made a good start on the bleaching corals. Thanks to everyone who unravelled, cut and stitched rope.
Vienna Staaden organised afternoon recreation, board games which were brought out at every break, and night owls, where participation in board games evolved into deep meaningful discussions. Vienna is also our chief inviter. This year four of her friends attended camp, and one, who has been a regular camper for ten years now, brought his fiancé and her son this year and they all stayed overnight.
A highlight was Friday night’s Winter Olympics. Teams were organised and named, with bonus points for a Book of Mormon inspiration. A flag was made by each team, a chant composed, and each team used crepe paper streamers to create a “costume”. Anita Staaden had devised ten tricky winter Olympic inspired games. There was no snow, but there was some ice: ice hockey involved a foos ball table that came straight out of the freezer, with a ball made of ice! The team chant was repeated and the flag waved every time a team won an event. We have never seen Ross O’Dea, who has Down’s syndrome, so involved in any activity. He was the most enthusiastic flag bearer and medal recipient eve, and was still talking about the Olympics days afterwards.
Our campfire is always popular, and thanks to Cyclone Narelle fire bans had been lifted and we could have a real fire this year. In recent years we had a fake fire projected in the hall and sang in there. The musicians decided this was a better venue, as they could actually see the music, so we sang in the hall with fake fire, then moved outside to toast marshmallows by the real fire.
Sunday morning’s Easter Egg hunt was a big hit as always. The younger adults were just as keen to participate as the children (well almost) and we learned last year not to give the kids a head start. Their agility and enthusiasm was enough of an advantage! The haul of Easter eggs was much more evenly spread as a result.
2026 was the biggest camp we have had for many years, with over 40 participating, including 8 interstate visitors. It was delightful to have Geraldine Berry and Myra Stack as last minute visitors. It was encouraging to have 35 people at Saturday night dinner and 30 at our farewell gathering. Church attendances may be falling but camp attendance is not. We need to look outside our traditional church buildings and at more community friendly ways to share our message.
Everyone left with a smile on their face and lots of stories to tell. Most indicated they would love to come back next year. Why not join us? Mark it on your calendar now: Easter 2027 – Perth Easter Camp, Serpentine WA.
