VBS a first in St. Andrews
The Parish of St. Andrews made some history this summer.
“Nancy [Carson] did some digging,” said Jarred Beckerton, youth & family ministry leader in the parish. “This might be the first time All Saints has done a VBS.”
When Jarred was hired two years ago, VBS was on the list of things the parish wanted to try, so this summer seemed like the right time.
The first day saw 14 kids; the second, 17. The youngest was nine months, the oldest 14 years.
“A lot of these kids do not come to our church,” he said.
Jarred and his volunteers researched VBS themes, but just couldn’t find the right fit.
“I had one picked out but then we thought, ‘let’s just do our own.’ I’m really glad we did our own. I wrote all the lessons myself.”
They built a three-day VBS program, held July 23-25, based on God’s provision.
“We started with creation. Today we’re doing Noah and God’s promise. Tomorrow it will be the feeding of the 5,000.”
For day one, the group took a walk to the seashore, a block away, with Matt Abbott, Fundy Baykeeper and Marine Program Director with the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.
There they learned about all the sea creatures at the shoreline and how to care for them. Basic to that list was putting them back where they were after having a look at them.
Keeping to the seashore theme, the snack was Goldfish crackers.
On day two, when the NB Anglican visited, they began with story time under a tree, where Jarred told them about the great flood and the rainbow that God sent afterwards as a promise.
The main craft was tie dying T-shirts, in keeping with the rainbow theme. Colourful melons, apples and Freezies made up the snacks.
For day three, the snack plan was Rice Krispie Squares representing loaves, and cheese sandwiches cut in the shape of fish.
Tie dying proved to be very popular. While four or five kids at a time worked on their shirts, the others played games on the lawn. Red light, bubbles, horseshoes, badminton and soccer were popular.
Then volunteer Shelley Chase took the T-shirts home to finish the process, and returned the following day to give out the T-shirt creations.
Shelley and her husband, Mark, plus Piper Scalabrin led the VBS with Jarred.
“Crafts are my thing,” said Shelley. “I’ll do any craft any time, anywhere!
“I teach Sunday school here, and have since my son was five. He’s 26 now. I think it’s important to give back.”
“I feel like it’s been really good,” said Jarred of the parish’s first foray into the world of VBS. “The kids are having a lot of fun.”
PHOTO CAPTIONS:
1. Jarred Beckerton leads the bible story of Noah and the great flood outside All Saints Church in St. Andrews.
2. Piper Scalabrin, Shelley Chase and Jarred Beckerton (hidden) serve colourful melons during VBS in the Parish of St. Andrews.
3. Piper Scalabrin and Shelley Chase (hidden) give instructions on how to tie dye during VBS at All Saints in St. Andrews.
4. The shirts hang on Shelley Chase's clothesline before being returned to the children. Submitted photo
McKnight photos