Vacation Bible School
When I was encouraged to attend “Vacation Bible School” as a young child, the entire idea was quite confusing for me. Why would you go to school and call it a vacation? Why do I have to take a Bible vacation, can’t I take a beach vacation? And why on earth would I spend my summer vacation at school? Needless to say, when I attended my very first VBS I was both thrilled it wasn’t like school, and pleasantly surprised by the fun I had singing, playing games, crafting, and learning more about Jesus. Until VBS I had only learned more about my faith in Sunday School, a much different atmosphere than VBS.
All Saints’ has had a long-standing tradition of putting on some outstanding VBS weeks for the kids in our community. My own children last attended VBS here in 2018, and some of their clever little crafts are still sit perched on their bookshelves. It is a time that they look fondly on, and for all the best reasons. They became closer with their church community, took formative leaps of faith-learning, and experienced time at church that was more free, messy, and up their alley of tastes! I also remember their times in VBS fondly because, in all honesty, Me-the-mom got a break!
Encouraging kids to attend vacation bible schools allows them to come together in a structured social environment that helps them reconnect with folks they may have not seen regularly during the summer. VBS friends are bonds that are created that can endure from season to season, church event to church event, and can spill over into their academic lives at school and school-cohorts.
This will be All Saints’ first VBS since everyone’s lives changed and our community was rocked by the pandemic in 2020. We’ve crawled back into what we remember as “normal” life, but our younger children do not have a memory of what that looks like, feels like, and is. Community is crucial to development. It develops a sense of self in relationship to others, it reminds us we are part of a shared experience much bigger than our own nucleus, and in the VBS setting it cultivates a faith-based network that will encourage our young believers as they lean into what it means to be a beloved child of God.
All kids ages 2 years old through 5th grade are invited to All Saints’ VBS weekend, August 4-5! Click here to find out more!