Campbelltown Uniting Church

Mr TARZIA (Hartley) (15:29): Today I rise to speak about the Campbelltown Uniting Church Adult Fellowship Group, a wonderful group of people, and I commend them for the fantastic and valuable work they do in the community in giving many people not only more meaning in their life but also fellowship and a sense of community and company. The group does selfless things in the community in several walks of life and they have several activities. Tonight, in fact, I have the pleasure of hosting the Adult Fellowship Group in parliament, and I look forward to catching up with them and seeing what the latest is from their organisation tonight.

I would like to thank for their contribution many members of the group, including but not limited to, Dianne Figg, Elizabeth Maier, Michael Moran, Bev O'Shaughnessy, Warren Pengilly (I do not think he is any relation to the member for Finniss, but who knows?), Eunice Uren, Phil Warren, David Figg, Lynn McEwing, David Munro, Michelle Page, Ian Reddy, Alison Warren, Veronica Hellams, Janice Marshall, Janet Munro, Gail Pengilly, Dianne Strike, Margaret Warren, as well as all the others who participate in the group. It is a fantastic organisation, the Campbelltown Uniting Church, which the Adult Fellowship Group derives from.

The Campbelltown Uniting Church is more than just a church. They engage in a lot of mission work. The Adult Fellowship Group meets, I believe, on the first Wednesday of the month and in the evening on the fourth Wednesday of the month. They have many activities, including guest speakers and several outings. The church itself does an array of activities. For example, they have a Tuesday evening walking program. I believe they walk on Tuesday evenings in the summer. Obviously that provides a fantastic opportunity for their members to keep fit and active and also to have a chat in informal fashion. There is also Quilters Uniting, a group of very talented people, mainly ladies, who get together and make quilts. Every year I have the pleasure of attending one of the fetes at the church to see the magnificent work that they do, and I commend them for it.

Furthermore, they have a type of drop-in centre called a drop-in place where everyone is welcome. They have it on Thursdays and I believe they have a morning tea at 10:30 and then a lunch at 12, and basically you go there, give a donation of an amount you can afford, and then you are able to join in the craft, indoor bowls and make new friends. It is a wonderful activity. People from all walks of life are welcome to go there, and it is fantastic that so many in our community do.

It is not only our older citizens who are drawn into this community at the church because they also have a youth group, which is part of Eastern Youth. I believe that young people from five eastern suburb churches meet together for social activities, food and worship. Obviously when a lot of young people are experiencing troubles in their life, this youth group certainly provides an avenue for them to talk to an adult, to talk to someone they trust, and voice any concerns that they may have.

They also conduct a range of other activities, including a garage sale. They also have a craft fair which is held in November, from memory, usually over a couple of days. You see many stalls, crafts, cakes, plants, bric-a-brac, afternoon teas, a sausage sizzle, face painting and more. It is also a great opportunity to do your Christmas shopping, and there is also the quilt display as I mentioned. Usually the proceeds of this activity do not only assist the church but they also assist many great causes. Whenever there has been a natural disaster appeal or a domestic violence appeal, this church and this fellowship group is one of the first in the community to put its hand in its pocket to make sure that they assist people in need. So, I commend the Adult Fellowship Group. I look forward to meeting them again tonight, and I also commend the church for the wonderful community work that it does.

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