United Community

I think many of us remember the Father's Day sermon that Pastor Don gave a few years ago after the shooting in a Charleston AME church- telling us that it was going to take a whole lot of fathers and mothers to change the world into a place where children of all backgrounds can be united together in friendship and common purpose.

Our Vacation Bible School was born out of that call and that purpose- a way for children from diverse churches to come together to experience God's love- learning to live into that diversity as the church. Some have called Sunday morning the most segregated hour of the week- we have worked with our partners from around Summit to make sure that VBS is one of the most inclusive. 

We are excited about our upcoming VBS- working with churches from all over Summit to teach our kids not only about the truths of the Bible in stories. We will be teaching children that they are created in God's Image to love and serve the Lord, God built them for a purpose, it is our Christian vocation to love God and to love others. We are also showing children that we are all made in the image of God. Because we are joining with historically black and Spanish language communities, as well as more evangelical traditions, children are coming from diverse backgrounds and ethnic groups- different traditions- but all united by our love of God. 

We are so pleased to be including Spanish language as part of our week- we will have our posters and rooms in two languages, some of our prayers and songs in Spanish and many of our leaders in kids adding a new voice and language to our VBS tradition. 

In a world where diversity is a growing value- where we recognize the need for diverse voices in business, academics and leadership, where we know that colleges and employees value diversity in every candidate they consider, we are so excited to also work together to build a church community where diversity is honored.  At Central Church we know that when we come together as a diverse people that we better represent God's image- all created in the image of God- it makes me think of how beautiful God must be. 

This year promises to be a great one in Vacation Bible School. We have fantastic music and stories, snacks, games, crafts and gizmos. We have decorations and Bible stories and little reminders of God's love that children will be able to carry with them throughout the year- but beyond all of that, at VBS this year we have a community- a community of churches from different backgrounds and groups- different traditions- all coming together as one to love our children and to teach them about God. 

Children from Kindergarten-5th grade are invited to register as participants, while youth and adults in 6th grade and up are invited to register as leaders. https://vbspro.events/p/events/1475c5

We cannot wait for VBS!

Pastor Deborah