Allison Follbaum | Special to The Michigan Catholic
Fraser — Summer offers the perfect time for the youngest members of parishes to go “on retreat.”
What once was considered a Protestant practice, many parishes in the Archdiocese of Detroit offer weeklong Vacation Bible School programs for kids to learn about their faith. Companies such as Our Sunday Visitor, Cat.Chat, Growing with the Saints and Holy Heroes put together specifically Catholic programs for parishes to utilize.
Kingdom Rock from Group.com was the chosen program for Our Lady Queen of All Saints Parish in Fraser. With rotation charts, daily themes, coordinating videos, games, skits, snacks and Imagination Station science experiments, organizers can pick and choose whether they want to offer the bare minimum or every single element.
June 28 marked the closing ceremonies of Our Lady Queen of All Saints’ Vacation Bible School program, where 66 children attended as crew members and 38 tweens and teens assisted as crew leaders, not to mention the countless parent volunteers. It was the largest class in the parish’s eight years running the program.
“We had to turn down kids in previous years, because we didn’t have enough volunteers,” said Sr. Nancy Zajac, OP, director of religious education at the parish.
She said the planning committee of about 12 women starts meeting in January to pick the program and start preparing. Everyone pitches in the week before Vacation Bible School starts and works tirelessly to build sets, backgrounds and gather supplies for the activities, Sr. Zajac said.
“It’s really intergenerational preparation,” said Sr. Zajac. “Many members of the parish pitch in to help set up.”
Karen Lentine, co-organizer of the Vacation Bible School at Our Lady Queen of All Saints, said teamwork is the key to pulling off the event.
“We wouldn’t be able to put this together without the core group of women that all work together,” Lentine said. “There’s such a variety of talents and we all work towards a common goal; the success of VBS and educating our children.”
Not only do the K-5 age crew members benefit, but the teenagers who take time out of their summers to come back and help out also do, Lentine said. Some are confirmation candidates who need service hours as part of their preparation, and some are “graduates” of the Vacation Bible School program who want to stay connected.
“My nieces take the week off work to be here with us,” Lentine proudly said. “The young kids look up to all the teenagers.”
The joy of walking into a parish hall with more than 100 children quoting Scripture and singing songs is infectious, said Fr. Ron Babich, pastor of Our Lady Queen of All Saints.
Fr. Babich said the excitement during “Bible week” is a “shot of joy” into daily parish life.
“They enjoy themselves but learn too,” Fr. Babich said. “They’re a tiny community within the church community. They learn that church isn’t praying all the time; it’s socialization and friendship.”
The crew members running around with their friends, wearing matching shirts, are more than willing to talk about their favorite lessons learned.
“My favorite thing is to sing,” said Olivia Johnson, 9. “We get to learn about Jesus and have fun.”
Cody Cummins, 8, explained the “Bible Buddies” dog tags that each child wears around their neck: For each day of Vacation Bible School, the kids receive a dog tag with the daily character on the front and the Bible verse and theme on the back. Parents can download an app for smartphones that shows a 3-D character when they hold the phone over the dog tag.
Cody’s favorite character, Truman, pops up (through the phone) and says “I love you, O Lord, my strength” (Psalm 18:1).
Bringing technology into Vacation Bible School programs makes it relatable for the kids and something they can take back into their daily lives and use in their faith formations.
“We’re giving clues to the kids through the daily lessons,” said Sr. Zajac. “We’re preparing them for life lessons.”
Sarah Wallace, 11, enjoys the games and spending time with her friends during “Bible week.”
“I get to learn about God each day and going through all the lessons … they’re games, but they help us to learn about God,” she said.
Even after Vacation Bible School week is over, there are ripples of grace spreading for months to come.
“Everyone gets a CD with registration and they play it all summer long,” Lentine said. “The songs get stuck in everyone’s heads.”
Fr. Babich said nurturing the faith of the kids affects a wide circle in the community.
“A lot of times through kids, parents come back to the Church and rekindle the fire for the faith,” he said. “If you don’t have one of these things, you should. The kids are the future of the Church.”
Allison Follbaum is a freelance writer from Livonia and a recent graduate of Madonna University.
Vacation Bible Schools
For more information on Catholic Vacation Bible School programs mentioned, please visit the following websites:
http://vbs.osv.com/kingdom-rock
http://www.catchat.ca/vacation-bible-school
http://www.growingwiththesaints.com/index.cfm
http://www.holyheroes.com/Summer-Faith-Adventure-Catholic-VBS-s/47.htm
