You see, about five months ago, a friend and I confronted Father Matthew about the lack of funds for VBS. He graciously said if you'll lead it, I'll find you the money. We did and he did too! We had a great showing...52 children and over 40 volunteers. Not bad for a church our size.
We had an Egyptian theme. Father Matthew graciously accepted the role of Pharoh.
Even though I have helped out at VBS several times, this year was the first that my boys were able to participate. It was so much fun seeing them have a great time. They did great...no tears when having to say goodbye to Mom...no meltdowns during the day.
In addition to story, snack and games, and arts and crafts, we added a rotation of Catechises of the Good Shepherd. I spent most of my week in the atrium teaching. I loved being able to present to older children since I generally work with the 3-6 child. Much different giving the Good Shepherd to an 11 year old who really understands Jesus' symbolism of the sheep and shepherd.
Daniel loved his first exposure to CoGS and the atrium. He sat, watched, and listened like a champ. He did not seem dependent on me...very comfortable getting help from other catechists. Philip, of course, was thrilled to be back. In fact, I let him help me set up the atrium Sunday morning. I got things ready while he sat quietly for over an hour doing work. His favorite during VBS was definitely setting the altar. He loved moving on to Altar II and learning more about each of the items on the altar. Brings me such joy to see them respond so well to their time in there.
They weren't the only ones. One little girl that does not go to our church told another catechist on the last day that she "loved this room."
I compiled pictures all week for an end of the week video. I'm posting some from the atrium since many of you are unfamiliar with what we do there...
a catechist teaching how to prepare the chalice and the meaning behind the amounts of wine and water that a priest uses to do prepare the chalice
a catechist and two girls learning the gestures of the Eucharist (namely the Epiclesis and Offering) after setting the altar
a girl caring for the plant in our atrium
two boys preparing the cruets
It was a great week. It was fun to have something to do everyday, but I have to say we were a little worn out at the end of the week. I am so thankful that Scott and I decided to see it through. A huge undertaking but an even bigger reward.
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