With summer right around the corner, our parishioners are hard at work preparing for this year’s Vacation Bible School (VBS) program. Every year at Immaculate Conception, stewards give of their time and talents to present VBS for the children of our community.
“Vacation Bible School is a fun-filled program designed to educate children about God,” says Barb Schoen, the main organizer for this year’s program. “This year’s theme is ‘Stellar.’ Kids will be launched into a cosmic quest where they’ll have a blast shining Jesus’ light to the world. ‘Stellar’ rockets kids on an out-of-this-world adventure that’s light years of faith-building fun.”
VBS takes place at Immaculate Conception on June 12-16, from 8:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. The price is $25 per child or a maximum of $65 per family.
Barb has been involved in VBS since her college-age children were part of the program years ago. She enjoys seeing how excited the participating kids are each year, especially with regard to the theme and music.
“We haven’t done a space theme for as long as I have been volunteering, so I think they are really going to love the way we transform the gym and classrooms to look like outer space,” she says. “It is so rewarding to create an atmosphere where the kids really have fun, all while learning about Jesus.”
A typical day at VBS opens with an assembly, which includes a prayer and a short video. Throughout the day, the children visit various stations featuring activities tailored around a specific Bible message and story. These stations include Bible Stories, Crafts, Music, Outdoor Games, and Snacks.
The day wraps up with a closing assembly where the children share what they have learned, then sing and dance to the song of the day. At the end of the week, family members are invited to attend the closing ceremony and enjoy a meal with the participants and the volunteers.
Erin O’Bryan is currently looking forward to her third year of assisting with the program.
“This is such an important ministry for the kids,” she says. “For my own girls, they look forward to it all year and it’s the first big summer activity they do. What more perfect way could there be to start the summer on the right foot than spending a week celebrating their faith?”
As Erin points out, VBS helps strengthen the children in their faith and relationship with Jesus in many ways.
“They get to experience their faith as pure joy and have a special time and place all to themselves,” she says.
The VBS team is always looking for teen and adult helpers. A mandatory meeting will take place the week before VBS and, ideally, helpers will be available to assist with the entire week of VBS. Adult helpers are required to be VIRTUS trained.
Registration forms for VBS are available in the parish office or online at immaculate.net.
For more information on VBS, or to help out with this year’s program, contact Barb Schoen at barb.schoen@outlook.com or 440-622-0721.
