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Vacation Bible Camp: Held every year for five evenings (6:30 - 9:00 pm) in
early June, our Vacation Bible Camp is a hands-on learning experience for
children three years old through 6th grade. Children are placed in "family" type groups
of eight to ten children of various ages and genders led by at least one adult
and an assistant (another adult or a junior or senior high school student).
Each of the first four evenings begins with the children gathered
in their "family" groups for a short "get to know you" session. This is
followed by a large group gathering for singing and story telling. The
groups then visit two hands-on learning sessions unique to that year's
theme. The evening concludes with more singing, a play, a symbolic "meal"
where children serve the bread they've made that evening to the rest of the
VBCamp community.
During the final evening, the whole VBCamp congregation
gathers with parents and siblings for a pot luck dinner followed by a
closing session with singing, a play and the final "meal." Groups,
hands-on learning sessions, singing, plays and all other activities are led
by parents, junior or senior high students, retired members and other,
non-parental adults who care about our young children. It is truly an
inter-generational event where children make new friends, some older, some
younger, and have an opportunity to see our community's faith in action.
Typically half of the participants and 1/3 of the volunteers come from
congregations other than Trinity.
We began this 'home-grown' VBCamp almost 20 years ago based on an
adaptation of a hands-on program called Market Place 29 AD. After that, we
created our own "Church through the Ages" program where each year we move to
another era in our 6 year cycle:
- Tribes of Israel (Old Testament)
- Marketplace 29 AD (Life of Christ)
- St. Paul and the Early Church
- St. Francis and His Search for Jesus (Middle Ages)
- Life & Times of Martin Luther (Reformation)
- World Church Fiesta (Current)
The schedule and structure of each year's program is the same - just the
theme, stories, plays and some of the aligned crafts change. The children
and volunteers are by now used to the format and look forward with
anticipation to each year's event.
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