Looking at the revolving participation each day, our Vacation Bible School must have reached over 70 kids this year! It was hosted by our sister church at Suydam Street, but teachers, actors and chaperones had come from all four collegiate churches.

Our collegiate VBS is an important tradition by now. We don’t do it for ourselves but for the children involved. Every year, I am amazed how much time these youngsters are used to spending time in a form of voluntary “solitary confinement” in front of their computers and video games. When they then come to VBS, it’s like a revelation for them that there is a whole world out there: they experience live drama and stories as opposed to downloaded music from their headsets; they work with real crafts and materials as opposed to the virtual reality on their screens; and they learn to cooperate with real partners and teams during sports and games. Our VBS is, therefore, a true service to the community.

Besides all this, VBS is, of course, also a family reunion, because it brings members from all collegiate churches together every year. This was especially nice during the final worship service and picnic at the Van Wickle House on DeMott Lane. Thank you all for being part of this, whether you donated time, food, or arts & crafts material. We appreciated it very much.