inform - encourage - unite
InterSections
NEWS
Point Church Family Camp, QLD Eileen Hauber
April 2026 saw us gathering at Bribie Island’s House of Happiness for the Point church family camp. It spanned Friday lunchtime to Sunday lunchtime, with lots of free time between physical food and spiritual food – including a Saturday afternoon game of soccer in which, this year, there were no significant injuries. Larry and Paula Harms visited from the US, and Larry shared a series of lessons from the writings of 1 John.
Our family has attended the Point family camp almost every year since beginning meeting with The Point church in 2000. Now we’re living in Gympie, with adult children living in Brisbane. The Point camp continues to be our family’s annual camp.
One of the great blessings of this camp to our family is the opportunity to reconnect with brothers and sisters in Jesus’ family, to share where we are at on our journeys. We value the reminder that we are not alone, although far from those with whom we share a common faith. We value the advice and encouragement we have received and look forward to sharing updates since conversations at the previous camp.
I consider the camp to also be an opportunity for the Point church to remember the great reach they have had, and those they have influenced. We are not the only family that has moved on from the Point that continues to return year after year.
Remember to keep in contact with those who you once loved in your midst. We continue to need you in our lives.
Eileen Hauber
Fifty-N-Over Retreat 2026 Bob Marks
This year’s annual Fifty-N-Over Retreat, held on the first weekend in May, marked the 42nd gathering for those aged 50 and over. Set against the beautiful backdrop of the Mt Carmel Retreat Centre at Varroville, just south of Sydney, the retreat brought together just under 50 participants from across the east coast of Australia.
This year’s annual Fifty-N-Over Retreat, held on the first weekend in May, marked the 42nd gathering for those aged 50 and over. Set against the beautiful backdrop of the Mt Carmel Retreat Centre at Varroville, just south of Sydney, the retreat brought together just under 50 participants from across the east coast of Australia.
The theme, ‘We Are Family’, focused on both our physical families and the spiritual family of the Lord’s church. Lessons explored brotherly love, mentoring, belonging to God’s household, and caring for one another.
The retreat included enthusiastic singing of favourite hymns and spiritual songs, prayer, personal reflections, games, craft sessions, trivia, early morning exercise, and a final-night 80s dress-up celebration, along with another enjoyable Barbershop Quartet performance.
It was encouraging to welcome some who had been unable to attend last year due to illness, as well as several new faces. Special thanks go to the dedicated board who work throughout the year to organise this very special time of fellowship, encouragement, and inspiration.
Bob Marks, Warringah Church of Christ, NSW
From the 13th to the 15th of March, the Windsor Church of Christ in Sydney hosted its 7th annual Bible lectureship. The theme this year was ‘What the World Needs Now.’ The lectureship had six in-depth lessons from the Bible, and plenty of time for fellowship. The event was especially encouraging for the many young people who attended. The church at Windsor has a very strong and well-connected youth group, and there were several visiting youths and young adults from around the Sydney area.
While the lessons were in-depth, and applicable for anyone, there was certainly a focus on the struggles that are common with young people today. The lessons were on the topics of Truth, Love, Identity, Community, Purpose, and Hope. Each lesson dealt specifically with a problem that exists in the world today, and how God’s word helps us find exactly what we need in a world that is struggling for answers. The choice of speakers also demonstrated Windsor’s attention in appealing to the youth, with no speaker above the age of 35.
On top of the greatly encouraging lessons, Windsor also hosted an evening at ‘The Farm’ which is a chance for the brethren to fellowship with one another and enjoy games and activities, and often some healthy inter-congregational competition. With activities like soccer, volleyball, ping-pong, suction archery, and more, the attendees of the lectureship were given plenty of time to meet with one another and get to know each other better.
Attending the Windsor Church of Christ lectureship was an overwhelmingly positive and encouraging experience.
Andrew Young, Gipps Street Church of Christ, QLD
Windsor Lectures, NSW 2026 Andrew Young
