Pictured here: The four VBS and Sunday school teachers from St. George
on their last day of VBS this summer (2019).
Sarah Fothergill is a church school teacher at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Kearney, NE. She was kind enough to share about Vacation Church School 2019 at the parish, and she also shared VCS resources from 2018 and 2019 (student workbooks for 2nd-8th grade students) that were created by St. George teachers. Invaluable!
Link to the VCS 2018 Workbook: Armor of God
Link to the VCS 2019 Workbook: Where Your Treasure Is, There Your Heart Will Be Also
How many students attended your church school for the 2018-2019
school year?
We had approximately 20 students attend on a regular basis.
How many students attended Vacation Bible School 2019 and what
was the age range?
We had 28 students, ages 3 through 13.
Please describe the registration process for students.
We asked parents to register (for free) via e-mail, Facebook, or
on a card located in our parish hall. We asked for registration information to
be completed a week prior to the start of VBS. Registration cards asked for
parent names, contact info, children’s names, ages, allergy information, and
t-shirt size. All students receive a free t-shirt with the theme on the front.
The kids love wearing these shirts year-round and it’s a great way to
“advertise” VCS and our bible verses to friends and our community.
How did you establish the theme and develop the
curriculum/materials?
The teachers typically meet at the beginning of the summer to
discuss ideas. Our first curriculum was Kh. Gigi Shadid’s “Time to Go to
Church” and our second curriculum was “Behold the Light” from the GOA. For the
past three years, we have written our own curriculum. Our themes were Fruits of
the Spirit (2017), Armor of God (2018), and Treasures of the Heart (2019). We
try to make sure that our lessons include Scripture memorization, Scripture
study and learning about the saints. Our crafts have included making prayer
ropes, icons, wind chimes for the church, prayer rocks, and popsicle stick
memory verse helpers.
For our youngest age group, verse memorization incorporated
pictures since most of them could not read yet. We found songs online that were
suitable (many of them word for word from Scripture) that helped this age group
learn their verses. Lesson times were often coordinated with a hands-on
activity so the children could listen and participate while keeping their hands
busy. For example, we created Play Doh fruit while learning about one of the
Fruit of the Spirit.
We also enjoy using “kindness coins” each year which we
distribute to students when we see them helping one another, volunteering
answers in class, and being extra kind to other students and adults. The
students can cash in their kindness coins at the Kindness Prize Store on the
last day of VBS to purchase items like candy, small toys, journals, crosses,
prayer ropes, and stickers.
How many days did Vacation Bible School run? Please give us an
idea of the average daily schedule.
We ran our VBS Monday through Friday, from 10:00 am
to 12:30 pm. Monday through Thursday began with morning prayers and
hymns in the church sanctuary followed by a message from our priest. Then we
separated into classes for lessons, activities, songs, and verse memorization.
We had a snack break and then finished our lessons and completed crafts. This
year we had two classes (ages 3 through 1st grade in one class, and 2nd-5th
grade in the other. We also had breakout sessions for grades 6 and up). At the end
of the day, we met in the sanctuary for a puppet show highlighting the week’s
theme and finished with closing hymns. On Friday, we walked to a nearby park
for a sack lunch and fun time playing at the splash ground.
How did you publicize details about Vacation Bible School to the
parish (bulletin, email, flyers, social media, etc.)?
We advertised in our church bulletin, newsletter, and Facebook
group.
Were other parishes invited to participate (Protestant,
Catholic, Pan-Orthodox)?
Invitations were not sent to other parishes, but we did
have some non-Orthodox children attend who were relatives or friends of our
parish children. We have found that our VBS week is a neat way to introduce
families and friends to Orthodoxy and the importance that the Orthodox Church
places on teaching our children about their faith.
How many staff were recruited?
We had four teachers (2 in each classroom). We also had a couple
of volunteers help in each class. Several parishioners offered snacks.
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