One of my parishioners suggested that I personally invite parents and children of the community to Vacation Bible School by submitting a newspaper article. This started me thinking: What is my favorite Vacation Bible School memory?
When I was a youngster, VBS wasn’t held at a church. It took place at the Community Park House in Apple River, Illinois. I guess the park house was the agreed upon neutral site for the Methodists, the Presbyterians, and the Lutherans to fully cooperate! Well, church politics meant nothing to a little boy. All I knew was that for five straight mornings, I would get the chance to eat lots of cookies, drink large amounts of Kool-Aid, and glue popsicle sticks together in the form of people, churches and boats. To a seven year-old, it was a dream come true.
Oh, and I would also get to bring my three kittens for show-and-tell. I was sure that they’d be the most wonderful thing that happened all week. Well, they may not have been the most wonderful, but they sure were the most unforgettable! I brought Powderpuff, Skunk and Yellow Cat in my mom’s plastic clothes basket which seemed like a good idea at the time. They’d have plenty of air, would be able see out, and all my friends would be able to see them.
Everything was going fine until it was time for singing. While everyone congregated near the piano, I placed my kittens under the basket with a blanket over top at the far side of the large open room, but they didn’t stay there long.
Soon, the basket came alive, sliding across the floor this way and that, bumping into tables and chairs as if it were possessed by a ghost or some unearthly monster. All the children stopped their singing when they heard the commotion, and when they realized what was happening, they burst out with laughter and uncontrolled excitement. “What on earth is going on?” yelled the teacher. We didn’t learn our VBS song that day, but we sure had lots of fun witnessing God’s Spirit move in a most mysterious way!
Please join us for First Congregational Church’s Vacation Bible School from 6-8 p.m., starting Sunday, July 11 to Thursday, July 15. You can pre-register your child by calling the church during regular business hours at 810-798-8855 or by stopping by the church. Registration will also take place beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 11. We’re located at 201 East Saint Clair, Almont, Michigan. And you don’t have to register your kittens! K-4th grade children are invited to attend. Pre-K can attend if accompanied by an adult.
Sincerely,
—Pastor Bill King,
First Congregational Church of Almont
