Today’s Word from Deacon Amy…
Vacation Bible School is one of my favorite weeks every summer. I love the energy that comes with a building full of kids having fun and learning about Jesus. This year, as with many other things, VBS is very different. Leading the opening sessions each morning, where we drum up the excitement and enthusiasm for the day, is one of my favorite things. This year, we’re performing our opening sessions for an empty house. This is a very different VBS.
We may be playing for an empty house, but we know there’s an audience out there that’s excited about what we have to say. Students and volunteers aren’t gathered at Trinity, but they are paying attention. Families (and adults) are tuning in at home. We’re “live streaming” and posting recorded videos on our Facebook page, YouTube channel, and website. It’s a very different VBS.
Our morning videos include my introduction to the day’s Bible verse and theme. We also have some fantastic live music provided by “Mr. Karl and the Salamander Band!” A few years ago, some of our “Breaded Fish” musicians came together to play for VBS. When they learned that all of our student groups had animal names, they decided to call themselves the Salamander Band – and three years later, they’re still leading exciting music, even with this very different VBS.
For the past several weeks, volunteers have been turning up their creativity, and working hard to put together a very different VBS. We built a train station in the Fireside Room, where we filmed “Conductor Bob” and puppet friends learning about some exciting Bible stories. We created take-home packets full of craft supplies, snacks, coloring pictures, printed Bible stories, and other activities for each student. Parents and grandparents came last week to pick up their packets (actually paper grocery bags) full of goodies.
Families can now participate by viewing our opening sessions online each morning, watching our pre-recorded Bible Story videos, and then opening their packets and digging in to the day’s activities. We’re hoping that families will send us photos of their VBS-at-home activities so we can share the joy of our very different VBS with each other.
One thing about VBS that is not different, is sharing our “God Sightings.” Each day, we talk about all of the places where we see God – in the beauty of our natural world, in a helping hand, or in a stranger’s smile. We’re asking students and their families to write down their “God Sightings” on sticky notes every day and create a collection throughout the week.
One benefit of our very different VBS? You can join in! Log on to our Facebook page or website to see our daily videos – and share your God Sightings with us! Where have you seen God today? You can certainly find God at our very different VBS! I look forward to hearing from you.
Deacon Amy
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