Vacation Bible School
16/06/15 05:24
We are off and running! Vacation Bible School 2015 has completed its first of five nights of food, games, crafts, stories and songs for children. One of the interesting things from my point of view is how quickly children go from being participants to being the teen helpers. I know that is simply a function of my age, but it seems like just yesterday that the teens were toddlers.
The theme for VBS at our church this summer is “Stories Jesus Told.” For several years now, we have been developing our own curricula for our VBS program. As denominational funding for education has been shrinking the quality of the commercially produced resources has been steadily declining. The appeal to popular themes, cartoon characters and entertainment has resulted in a series of resources with connections to the Bile and the traditions of the church obscured. It seems as if having fun is the only point of some of the programs. Others seek so hard to grab on to popular themes that they forget that the purpose of the program is educational - this is about passing the faith from one generation to another.
Admittedly, we in the church have been doing a poor job of faith formation for some time now, resulting in generations who are not deeply rooted in the church. Vacation Bible School is, for many families, a program for children whose parents don’t participate in the church.
Still, we are given the gift of five nights with 2 1/2 hours per night of contact with the children. Of course many of the children don’t really participate all five nights. Soccer and baseball games and family activities all interrupt the flow. We’ve learned to design programs that allow children to come and go - not because we believe it is the best way to provide education - but because we are resigned to the reality of the lives of today’s children.
Last night’s story, aptly chosen in my opinion, is the parable of the great dinner, reported in Luke 14. You probably are familiar with the outlines of the story. A person holds a dinner and sends out invitations, and the excuses start to roll in. One invitee has a new piece of land he wants to inspect, another has new oxen that demand his attention, a third just got married. Upon hearing the excuses the person holding the dinner invites those who have been marginalized by society: the lame and blind and the poor. When the banquet hall still isn’t filled, the invitation goes out to the transients and travelers on the road. Jesus, in telling the story, is reminding us of God’s realm. The invitation is clear, but people don’t always respond positively.
The parable seemed appropriate to those of us who work at the church because we hear a lot of excuses about church participation. We know about the sports events and family gatherings and weekends at the lake. We know about the busy schedules of modern families and the scarcity of time. We know about the priorities of the families we serve. We know these things because people still seem to feel a twinge of guilt and a need to explain when we meet them. There are members of our congregation who begin virtually every conversation with me with a list of reasons why they don’t attend church more often.
I really don’t intend to judge those people. I believe in the quality of the programs that our church offers and I see them as offerings. I have found that they are meaningful for those who participate. If others want to participate, I want the to feel welcome. It is, after all, an invitation - not a command.
We didn’t go into the details with the children last night, but there are two tellings of the parable reported in the Gospels. In Luke’s version, the person holding the banquet is not specified; in Matthew, it is a king. In Luke, the purpose of the banquet isn’t made clear; in Matthew it is a wedding. In Luke, there are excuses; in Matthew, the scene erupts into violence. Luke’s invited guests miss out on the party; Matthews are destroyed.
The two versions offer two different attitudes that might be taken when people don’t accept the invitations offered by the church. I can’t find myself associating with Matthew’s version at all. I see no reason to get angry when families are busy and people find all sorts of other priorities to place before the church. I know that I’m an insider and that my choices are different from those others make. I understand that not everyone thinks the way that I do. Furthermore, I think that there is great merit in inviting those who are sometimes marginalized by society. I think the church is richer and more meaningful precisely because we welcome those with disabilities and those who are traveling through and those who might not always feel accepted and welcomed in other settings. I think that the children we see only for Vacation Bible School have things to contribute to our community. Their parents are worth getting to know and we are called to serve all of the children - not just those whose parents are members of our church.
One of my favorite parts of Vacation Bible School is talking with parents as they drop off and pick up their children. The kids are usually in a good mood and the parents also seem to enjoy the excitement of the event. I hear about the accomplishments of the kids and the challenges of family life in these complex and busy times. The setting is less formal than our usual Sunday morning worship and I tend to have conversations with folks that I might not normally see on a regular basis.
The week is filled with hard work for staff and volunteers and we’ll find ourselves pretty tired by the end of it.
I’m thinking that the person in the parable was probably pretty tired after the big banquet as well. I’m also thinking that the banquet was worth all of the effort.
The theme for VBS at our church this summer is “Stories Jesus Told.” For several years now, we have been developing our own curricula for our VBS program. As denominational funding for education has been shrinking the quality of the commercially produced resources has been steadily declining. The appeal to popular themes, cartoon characters and entertainment has resulted in a series of resources with connections to the Bile and the traditions of the church obscured. It seems as if having fun is the only point of some of the programs. Others seek so hard to grab on to popular themes that they forget that the purpose of the program is educational - this is about passing the faith from one generation to another.
Admittedly, we in the church have been doing a poor job of faith formation for some time now, resulting in generations who are not deeply rooted in the church. Vacation Bible School is, for many families, a program for children whose parents don’t participate in the church.
Still, we are given the gift of five nights with 2 1/2 hours per night of contact with the children. Of course many of the children don’t really participate all five nights. Soccer and baseball games and family activities all interrupt the flow. We’ve learned to design programs that allow children to come and go - not because we believe it is the best way to provide education - but because we are resigned to the reality of the lives of today’s children.
Last night’s story, aptly chosen in my opinion, is the parable of the great dinner, reported in Luke 14. You probably are familiar with the outlines of the story. A person holds a dinner and sends out invitations, and the excuses start to roll in. One invitee has a new piece of land he wants to inspect, another has new oxen that demand his attention, a third just got married. Upon hearing the excuses the person holding the dinner invites those who have been marginalized by society: the lame and blind and the poor. When the banquet hall still isn’t filled, the invitation goes out to the transients and travelers on the road. Jesus, in telling the story, is reminding us of God’s realm. The invitation is clear, but people don’t always respond positively.
The parable seemed appropriate to those of us who work at the church because we hear a lot of excuses about church participation. We know about the sports events and family gatherings and weekends at the lake. We know about the busy schedules of modern families and the scarcity of time. We know about the priorities of the families we serve. We know these things because people still seem to feel a twinge of guilt and a need to explain when we meet them. There are members of our congregation who begin virtually every conversation with me with a list of reasons why they don’t attend church more often.
I really don’t intend to judge those people. I believe in the quality of the programs that our church offers and I see them as offerings. I have found that they are meaningful for those who participate. If others want to participate, I want the to feel welcome. It is, after all, an invitation - not a command.
We didn’t go into the details with the children last night, but there are two tellings of the parable reported in the Gospels. In Luke’s version, the person holding the banquet is not specified; in Matthew, it is a king. In Luke, the purpose of the banquet isn’t made clear; in Matthew it is a wedding. In Luke, there are excuses; in Matthew, the scene erupts into violence. Luke’s invited guests miss out on the party; Matthews are destroyed.
The two versions offer two different attitudes that might be taken when people don’t accept the invitations offered by the church. I can’t find myself associating with Matthew’s version at all. I see no reason to get angry when families are busy and people find all sorts of other priorities to place before the church. I know that I’m an insider and that my choices are different from those others make. I understand that not everyone thinks the way that I do. Furthermore, I think that there is great merit in inviting those who are sometimes marginalized by society. I think the church is richer and more meaningful precisely because we welcome those with disabilities and those who are traveling through and those who might not always feel accepted and welcomed in other settings. I think that the children we see only for Vacation Bible School have things to contribute to our community. Their parents are worth getting to know and we are called to serve all of the children - not just those whose parents are members of our church.
One of my favorite parts of Vacation Bible School is talking with parents as they drop off and pick up their children. The kids are usually in a good mood and the parents also seem to enjoy the excitement of the event. I hear about the accomplishments of the kids and the challenges of family life in these complex and busy times. The setting is less formal than our usual Sunday morning worship and I tend to have conversations with folks that I might not normally see on a regular basis.
The week is filled with hard work for staff and volunteers and we’ll find ourselves pretty tired by the end of it.
I’m thinking that the person in the parable was probably pretty tired after the big banquet as well. I’m also thinking that the banquet was worth all of the effort.