Five Bloomfield churches come together for VBS

Friday, July 24, 2009
By Julie Preble, Staff Writer

By Julie Preble Maddie Stone poses while working on her bandana. [Order this photo]

Strolling by the Bloomfield City Park any night this week, passersby could see children marching from shelter house to shelter house, hear kids laughing and singing and see plenty of youngsters just having fun.

The camp-based Vacation Bible School that took place in the park taught kids about kayaking, rock climbing and other outdoor activities.

The slogan for the week was "experiencing and discovering God everywhere."

One way the kids were able to "discover God everywhere" was through "Missionary Moment." The children were able to video chat with missionaries Nathan and Bethany Scott in Thailand.

VBS co-director Cinda Williams said that the video chats have been a lot of fun for the kids.

Williams said the week was filled with kids learning new songs and dances, playing all different kinds of games, making a variety of crafts. She laughed and said, "and of course we have snacks."

The snacks were also popular with the kids as well. When asked what his favorite part of VBS was, 6-year-old Hunter Deaton smiled and said, "where you eat!"

Other kids like 11-year-olds Annie Dempson and Mary Burch said that they really enjoyed being able to hang out with their friends.

Along with having lots of fun and learning about God, the VBS was also about raising money for kids in Thailand. Williams said the overall goal of the week was to raise $200. That would be enough to send 100 kids to a 2-day soccer camp.

The week was made possible by five Bloomfield churches that came together to put on the VBS: Bloomfield First Christian, Word of Life, Mansions in Heaven, First Presbyterian and United Methodist.

"It's taken quite a bit of planning, but it's been great to see the churches come together," said VBS co-director Stephanie Arthur.

The joint VBS started with the Presbyterian and Methodist churches, and Williams said that it snowballed from there. She said that they hope to continue this next year with the possibility of adding in another church or two.

Williams said it's a lot of work, but a lot of fun. Dividing the work between the churches is a big help she said.

Williams would be happy to see the VBS continue to grow. She believes this is important for the community because "the kids are our future."

"These kids are going to grow up and be running things one day," said Williams.

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I wish I knew about this I would have sent my little boy. He would have had a ball. Maybe next year.

-- Posted by AMyers8289 on Fri, Jul 24, 2009, at 7:16 PM

So wonderful to see something uplifting being recognized!

-- Posted by taximom on Fri, Jul 24, 2009, at 8:18 PM

This was a wonderful thing for many children. My child really liked the singing and learning new songs. The song leader had lots of energy. There was close to 100 children there almost every night. Good job to all those leaders. God is Good

-- Posted by lil bug on Fri, Jul 24, 2009, at 9:16 PM