VBS Envy VBS Disdain

Lauren and I are sitting at the dining room table getting some work done as we often do on those rare occasions when we don't have meetings at the same time. And is becoming the norm these days, just a few minutes ago the conversation turned to "who's got the baby at what time?" I'm picking up today - that was on our calendar. After that? Unclear. I asked if she'd watch him for a little while so I could get some kind of workout in (I do NOT understand how any mom goes from delivery to marathon in less than five years). "Of course," she said, "and I figured I'd have him for bedtime too - though I'd like to go to VBS for a bit too." And then she paused..."I still have feelings about the whole VBS thing though." I looked at her, confused. "What?" "VBS is for kids who didn't go to Catholic school," she said with a little bit of a smile. And when I actually looked up from my computer to convey just how weird that sounded, she went on, "When I was growing up I didn't have to go to VBS because faith was tied in with every class we had in school. So...VBS and Sunday School...those were just for the non-Catholic-school kids." The way she said this conveyed a kind of mock-disdain - as if children who didn't go to Catholic school were less-than. She was joking, of course, but apparently it still felt weird to talk about attending ours. Hearing her impression of VBS made me chuckle a bit because I have such a different reaction. The first time I remember even hearing about this thing called Vacation Bible School, I was already working as an intern at Village Presbyterian - just before seminary. And, really, I didn't just hear about it. I witnessed it first hand. Staff and volunteers transformed the church hall into this incredible jungle, complete with giant, paper mâché tree reaching up to the ceiling. Hallways and rooms throughout the building were decorated and made to look like totally different environments. And the kids weren't even there yet! Once they arrived it was all fun and games and songs and snacks. Even as a twenty-something it looked like the best time ever! I was so jealous that I'd never had the opportunity to participate as a child. It was like having retroactive VBS envy. So when Homer proposed doing an intergenerational VBS last year, I was totally in! And I'm excited for it to be back this year. Just like what I witnessed at Village, we'll have fun and songs and snacks (and activities that might feel a bit like games too). Tonight we're going to focus on music - and we'll even get to try our hand and writing some hymns and putting them to our favorite hymn tunes. Tomorrow night, Janine's going to teach us a bit about Eastern spirituality and Tai Chi (so wear something comfortable). And during the day on Saturday we'll prepare some comfort food and try different kinds of art projects - like paper folding (with our old hymnals!), pour painting, and more. We'll join together for dinner tonight and tomorrow night too. Knowing us, it's going to be filled with creativity, community, and some comedy just for good measure. And, of course, we'll get to grow in our relationships with God and with each other. We hope to see you there!