Recap of VBS 2023
Dear Friends in Christ,
Just over two weeks ago we had 100 children in preschool through 5th grade participate in our summer Vacation Bible School program. Twenty- seven incredible youth volunteers and countless, dedicated adult volunteers helped to make the week a great success. Our VBS experience is an invitation for all of us to reflect on how God is reaching out to us and moving our hearts.
I want to share with you some of the many simple stories of this year’s Stellar VBS program. These stories are wonderful examples of how God reveals himself to “little ones” who have hearts open and ready to receive him (Matthew 11:25). Through each story, we can see how the children, youth volunteers, and adult volunteers all encountered God and in turn shared their encounter with others.
After the first day of VBS, one parent shared that during that evening’s swim lessons, her three-year-old son was asking friends “were you baptized today?!” His question sparked some interesting conversations! Their VBS group had talked about baptism that morning and it clearly stuck with him. He wasn’t scared to share what he learned with others!
An adult volunteer shared how she altered her plans throughout the week because she found that all of the kids, no matter their ages, were so drawn to the baptismal font. She allowed them to spend time by the font each day asking questions and began or ended each session in prayer at the font.
On day two we learned that “When people don’t get along... Shine Jesus’ Light.” We heard a fun story that two older siblings were not exactly getting along at home the previous evening, and their younger brother excitedly shouted out to remind them all that “When people don’t get along... Shine Jesus’ Light!”
A handful of parents who had youth volunteering reached out to share how their son or daughter really enjoyed working with younger kids. These youth volunteers even called VBS participants that they got to know by name. I was particularly inspired when a middle school youth volunteer came right over to my son Friday morning immediately to ask him how his baseball game had gone the previous evening. My son absolutely lit up, eager to share that his team had won! I was so amazed that a youth volunteer had taken enough interest to know Francis played baseball, had a game, and remembered to ask him about it. Our youth volunteers really made an intentional effort to get to know the kids they were serving!
Another adult volunteer shared that the Sunday after VBS, during Community Sunday, she was surprised to see that children who participated in VBS recognized her and said hello to her. She shared this was a part of volunteering for VBS that she hadn’t expected or anticipated but was so happy to have made connections with children from the parish.
These are just a few small examples of how the love of God was revealed
throughout Vacation Bible School. All of them reveal a different experience,
but in each one we can see how an encounter with God encouraged people
to reach out and bring God to those around them. I want to again thank all of the volunteers who made these beautiful experiences possible by giving of their time and talent at VBS!