“Maker Fun Factory” was the theme of St. Marcus Catholic Church’s annual vacation Bible school this year, which was held this past week. It was the first year they partnered with their sister parish, St. Lawrence, to provide VBS for students in both parishes.

 

Forty-five kids from preschool age to fifth-grade attended VBS, which was headed up by Faith Formation Director Peggy Berger, and run by adults and older youth of the congregation. 

 

Nearly the entire education wing of the church was filled with colorful posters and decorations relating to the theme, which were made throughout the entire year by Wednesday night religion students.

 

The main focus of the week was “Created by God, Built for a Purpose,” and each of the five days started out with music and discussions related to it. The students then rotated through different stations, which included “Bible Quest,” where they talked about that day’s Bible story, “Imagination Station,” where they made crafts such as plush bears and whirligigs, “Sports and Games” and “KidVid Cinema.”

 

Each day ended with everyone gathering to talk about what they learned that day, followed by a slideshow of that day’s activities and more music. Friday the students held a presentation of all the songs they’d learned for their families, which was followed by a lunch.

 

There were a lot of things happening throughout the week to help keep the kids engaged and having fun. Along with music and stations, each day they used a different way to “travel” between stations, such as the crab walk, skipping or tippy toe. Whenever they’d hear each day’s main Bible point they would stop whatever they were doing and shout, “Wow, God!”

 

“It’s been a fun, awesome week,” said Berger. “Coming to VBS helps the kids get deeper into their Bible studies without them realizing it, and it helps them to look at coming to church in a different, fun way, which creates more community.”

 

Berger expressed thanks for all the volunteers who helped with this year’s VBS, from the adults helping behind the scenes to the youth who ran the stations.