Our first evening of VBS is in the books, and we are gearing up for night two! It has been four years since we have hosted a “traditional” Vacation Bible School at Saint John’s. While we did offer wonderful alternatives during the COVID years, we were excited to be able to bring it back in person at the church this year.
VBS has been a longstanding daytime tradition at Saint John’s and at many churches during the summer months. Kids gather together for a week with adult and youth volunteers to share in Bible stories, silly games, creative crafts, and opportunities to flex their vocal cords in music. While this format of VBS has proven to be successful at Saint John’s in the past, one thing is certain – we have changed. Our families have changed; our kids’ needs have changed; our schedules and commitments have changed; you have changed. Our old model of a daytime VBS program no longer met the needs of this community, so we shifted to an evening VBS format with dinner included.
Dinners are being provided by different ministry groups of the church – our United Women in Faith, our Men’s Covenant Group, and our Intentional Faith Development Team – and 44 adult and youth volunteers came last night for our first gathering. For many of our volunteers, it is their first time with Saint John’s VBS. This is an intentionally intergenerational event like we have never had before.
As these generations arrived last night, they were transported to a rainforest full of butterflies, flowers, animals, a waterfall, and an underwater cave. Our theme this year, called “Every Living Thing,” is about living in community together with all of creation, while learning how to have compassion for every living thing in it. Our VBS curriculum writers from Illustrated Ministry shared:
Nothing in creation is wholly alone. We are designed to live in communities alongside people who love and support us, as well as within communities of other creatures – such as plants and animals – which we respect, love, care for, and rely on for sustenance. Being in community with one another is a diverse, interconnected, mutually dependent neighborhood that welcomes newcomers. All human communities are in relationship with the land community that includes and exceeds us. God created us with compassion, and we can show that compassion to one another and all of creation. We can define compassion as “I see you’re hurt, I feel you’re hurt, and I help ease your hurt.”
Participants, youth, adults are gathering this week in community. I wonder, how do you know when you need to be in community? What do you need from community? How do you give to our community – both other people and all of creation?
This week we invite you to join us on Sunday, July 30th to celebrate this beautiful intergenerational community and to worship God who created it all. VBS participants will join us at 11:00 am but don’t worry, at 9:00 am we will still share the wonderful ways compassion and community joined together this week at Saint John’s.
