Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 24, 1990 TAG: 9007240076
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE RELIGION WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The youngsters - increasingly being joined by their parents and grandparents - are experiencing vacation Bible school.
The tradition has left generations of adults with crafts they may still be using 30 years after their creation, memories of either delicious or deadly snacks and sometimes the recollection of a few Bible verses indelibly etched into their brains.
Many Christian churches hold the weeklong sessions each summer to occupy their younger members, teach them a Bible lesson or two and maybe recruit a new person from the community into year-round participation.
Although the specific programs vary from church to church, many follow the traditional pattern of assembly, Bible lessons, music, crafts, recreation and snacks, all packed into 1 1/2 to 3 hours a day
What may no longer be traditional are the themes some schools' directors select to help teach their theological lessons.
At Vinton Baptist Church, for instance, which is located in the Roanoke Valley's first community with a mandatory recycling program, Bible school participants were taught basic lessons about recycling and the conservation of natural resources.
As they arrived at church each morning, children brought recyclable plastics, aluminum and glass to deposit in bins outside the church. Pastor Bill Ross opened each day's session with a scriptural reference about the responsibilities of stewardship of the Earth and a practical lesson about the hazards of littering or other misuses of resources.
There was even a visit one day by "the trash lady" - a.k.a. Ann Weaver of the Clean Valley Council - who explained what could be recycled and where.
At Fairview United Methodist Church in Northwest Roanoke, this week's theme is "Seaside with the Savior." Children will be "sailors" who will visit a different "port" each night where costumed "mates" present lessons on 6 1 BIBLE Bible topics such as "Following the Savior" and "Growing With the Savior."
The program, said organizer Myrteen C. Heslep, is geared to provide lots of activity so children don't become bored.
As at many other churches, an important goal for the Fairview Bible school was to attract new people to the church. The children of the congregation released helium-filled balloons with attached invitations the Sunday before Bible school began. Parishioners also went house-to-house in the neighborhood leaving invitations on each door.
Last year, a balloon was returned from Ohio, Heslep said, with regrets that the finder could not attend and a financial contribution for the program.
Heslep, an eight-year veteran of organizing Bible schools, said her church's program also has paid off with increased interest in a year-round weekday program for kids called Fun Fellowship. The Fellowship was an extension of last year's Bible school, she said, and involves up to 25 neighborhood children each week in music, dance, games and Bible lessons.
Children attending Bible school at Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church spent a lot of time on their feet last week learning about "The Journey of God's People."
Margaret Norris, minister of Christian education, said about 80 children were led by more than 50 adults during the week.
They re-enacted the experiences of Abraham, Moses' leadership of the Jews out of Egypt and their wandering in the wilderness, and the passage over the river Jordan into the Promised Land. The last day was spent with "witnesses to Jesus," who described miracles and the Resurrection.
The Raleigh Court week closed with an assembly for parents in which the children, who were divided into 12 groups representing the tribes of Israel, introduced a new song from the recently received revised Presbyterian hymnal. The church was one of the first in the nation to receive the new hymn book.
Smaller churches in some communities now combine efforts for an ecumenical Bible school.
In the Williamson Road area of Roanoke, for instance, the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox, Trinity Lutheran and St. James Episcopal churches have combined resources this year. Fincastle Baptist, United Methodist, Episcopal and Presbyterian congregations also join together for a weeklong program for children.
Churches are always seeking new ways to attract more participants, including adults for whom numerous churches are offering Bible study or specialized sessions.
The focus at most Bible schools continues to be on children, though, as it was last week at Westhampton Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) on Grandin Road.
Co-directors Beth Slovensky and Billie Dawn Howell kept participants moving through a whirlwind of activities that began the first night with a hot dog supper and ended five days later with ice-cream sundaes.
After hot dogs and cookies Sunday night, the Bible school students moved into what would become a familiar routine of instruction and fun on the theme "Following in Jesus' Footsteps."
"Shalom," Slovensky said to her class of first- and second-graders. "Do you know what that means?"
The use of the Hebrew greeting marked the introduction to a week of lessons on what life was like in Jesus' time. Using puppets of fictional children named Joshua and Miriam, Slovensky explained detailed illustrations of a synagogue, house, sea port and Jesus' encounter with the tax collector Zacchaeus.
The lessons were all taken from accounts of Jesus' life in the Gospel of Luke. Although the children weren't asked to memorize Bible verses, each day they did re-study key words - such as shalom, synagogue and scroll - and the previous day's Bible story.
Scott Hendrick and Crystal Peck showed off their colored simulated stained-glass pictures of Jesus from their lesson kits, which also included a record and daily activity sheets with stickers or cut-out figures. Slovensky also used a filmstrip and cassette recordings to enhance the lessons.
Twenty minutes later, the class moved to what was the most hectic period of the day - crafts. A bevy of adult leaders led each class through different activities.
Shannon Loughridge needed two lines to spell out her first name with sparkly string paint on her T-shirt, but she was pleased with the result. Jeffrey Burchett refused to use any pink paint on his shirt ("a girl's color"), limiting his choices to blue and purple.
Others created designs with glue, then sprinkled on colored macaroni noodles and rice. Bare feet were dipped in paint then pressed against burlap banners to show how the class was following Jesus today. The class created fish-illustrated windsocks by applying scales of colored tissue paper.
Next, the class moved upstairs to the sanctuary where their strong voices and quick memorization delighted music leader Donna Hartsell. The theme song, "Come and Follow," was rehearsed by every group, and each class also learned two songs of its own for the final program for parents.
For the first- and second-graders each day ended with recreation time - usually a game of kickball - and refreshments.
The goal for the week was to get the children "to feel good about church, about the place," Slovensky said.
The eager grins, many missing a couple of front teeth, and the enthusiastic singing at the concluding ceremony seemed testimony to that.
by CNB