Community & Business
14 July, 2025
A whale of a time at KidsGames
The 11th annual school holiday program ‘KidsGames’ was held between 1st and 3rd July at the Pittsworth Uniting Church with a record breaking attendance of 74 children.
“Every year the preparations are mammoth but it’s worth it to see so many children participating in the program,” organiser Karen Pomerenke said.
“I couldn’t have done it without my co-director, Leah Moore.”
Over the duration of three days, the children participated in a number of outdoor games, crafts and small group discussions.
The program was circus themed, and the organisers (or perhaps ‘ringmasters’ is the correct term in this case) highlighted distinct parallels between classic circus acts like lion tamers and Bible stories such as Daniel in the lion’s den, Jonah and the whale, and the supernaturally strong man Samson.
Ms Pomerenke said the sessions culminated in the most miraculous Bible story of all time - the resurrection of Jesus.
The program was made possible with the volunteering efforts of 18 adult leaders from the Toowoomba Region, a good portion of them district chaplains.
Fifteen junior leaders supported the groups, one of which was Anastazia Kingsford who has been attending KidsGames since she was in Prep.
Now in high school, Anastazia still makes time every June/July holidays to volunteer with the program as a leader.
Donations from families and the local churches provided the leaders with complimentary lunches throughout the duration of the program.
On Thursday (3 July), a number of entertaining acts were performed by members of the community.
Jason Beattie, former Chaplain at the high school, showcased his dexterity with a juggling act.
This was not a new skill he had recently acquired - Mr Beattie used to juggle professionally but with knives.
Dancers from Chenyl’s Academy of Dance captivated their audience with a back-bending acrobatic performance and the use of a balancing beam.
Ten arcade style games and sideshow alley entertainments such as the laughing clowns, balloon bursts and frog toss, were designed by Janice Reed.
Ms Pomerenke has been spearheading the program since its inception in 2014, at which time she was the Chaplain at Mt Tyson State School and Southbrook Central State School.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Ms Pomerenke left her position as Chaplain, and has since stepped into the volunteer role of a Religious Instruction (RI) teacher at Southbrook Central State School.
She also supports Ms Moore who is the RI coordinator and teacher at Brookstead and Pittsworth State Schools.
Ms Pomerenke said her passion for teaching children about Jesus, and the overwhelming support of volunteers, has been the driving force behind KidsGames’ success.
KidsGames is operated under Scripture Union, a not-for-profit organisation that works alongside churches and communities to give children opportunities to discover God.
While Ms Pomerenke is still debriefing with her volunteers after the week’s success, she said plans are already underway to do it all again next year.
