Top photo caption: Youngsters take part in a program inside one of the huts.
By Mary Stadnyk, Associate Editor
Many young Catholics connect summertime with taking trips to the beach, hanging out with friends, staying up late and sleeping in.
But another place where they can find fun is at Vacation Bible School in their parish communities. These programs give youngsters a chance to learn more about their Catholic faith through activities such as skits, songs, Bible stories, science experiments and outdoor water play.
“There are a lot of children in the parish, and they are the future of the parish, and I want them to enjoy the parish,” said Father Joe Noche, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Hainesport, where a Vacation Bible School convened the week of July 27.
“The children come to church and their religious education classes, but having something like VBS, they can see that going to church can be fun while learning about their faith,” Father Noche said.
“Vacation Bible School is a wonderful opportunity to build community at the parish level; it plants seeds of faith in our youngest community members along with the teen and adult volunteers,” said Denise Contino, diocesan executive director of Pastoral Life and Mission and director of the Department of Catechesis. “This week reaches families beyond the regular programming of Catholic Schools and Religious Education programs to provide them an opportunity to encounter Christ and grow in their faith.”
About 55 children, ranging from preschool through fifth grade, participated in this year’s VBS at Our Lady Queen of Peace, organized by VBS Coordinator Christine Pinto and some 30 adult and teenage volunteers. That VBS centered on the theme “Rainforest Falls: Exploring the Nature of God,” Pinto said. She described how, to add to the children’s experience, the parish center was transformed into a rainforest setting, decorated with palm trees, brightly colored flowers, animals like frogs and an alligator, and four large makeshift huts where different activities were held.
Pinto noted that most of the attending youngsters are enrolled in the parish religious education program, and VBS “supplements what they learn throughout the school year.” She added that although churches of varying Christian faith traditions hold their own Vacation Bible Schools, the Catholic version has a “strong Catholic identity,” incorporating Catholic tradition and elements from the Catechism.
VBS can also serve as a form of evangelization, Pinto said, since some children brought friends who are not Catholic or don’t go to church.
Participant Caden Howell enjoyed his first VBS experience, saying what he liked most was learning to “know Jesus better” and how “Jesus was a really good shepherd.”
“We’re the lambs and he’s our shepherd,” Caden said. “Vacation Bible School was good because we got to learn about Jesus in a fun way.”
