The United Churches of Christ and First United Methodist Church in Elmhurst Extend Invitation to Vacation Bible School 2014

Bethel UCC, First Congregational UCC, First United Methodist Church, and St. Peter's UCC invite all children, from those entering kindergarten to students entering 8th grade, to be part of its annual Vacation Bible School (VBS) again this year.  Those entering grades 6-8 are invited to be members of the Middle School Service Squad, which will undertake mini-service missions daily.

The fun begins Monday, June 9, and ends Thursday, June 12, from 9:00 a.m. until noon each day at St. Peter's UCC, 125 W. Church St., Elmhurst.  A VBS celebration and ice cream social will be held Thursday evening, June 12, at 7:00 p.m. Registration begins April 6. Starting on that date, registration forms and Service Squad permission and release forms can be downloaded from the Bethel UCC web site, www.bethel-ucc.org; click on Vacation Bible School.   Fees, which include a t-shirt, are $27 per child April 6- May 12 or $32 after May 12.  There is no on-site registration.  Scholarships are available; check ith individual churches. Space is limited so please register early!  Adult and high school volunteers are needed to make the week a success.  Please call VBS Registrar Karen King at 630-530-6000 for information and to volunteer.

This year’s theme, Workshop of Wonders (WOW), helps children explore how the ordinary becomes extraordinary with God.  They will be encouraged to use their imagination and creativity to build their faith.  They will meet people from the Bible who used what they had to produce something amazing with God.  And they will learn how to use their hearts, minds and imagination to participate in the creative life of God, the one who works wonders!

If you’re a soon-to-be 6th through 8th-grader and are looking for a volunteer experience, you’re invited to be a member of the VBS Middle School Service Squad.  Daily mini-missions will focus on helping those in need in Elmhurst, DuPage County, and our world.  See what a difference you can make in 4 days!  The Squad will meet each morning at St. Peter’s and from there embark on its daily mission.  Among the service opportunities will be working with the Elmhurst Park District, with a focus on helping the environment in Elmhurst.  On another day the Squad will take part in Amazing (G)Race, a scavenger hunt throughout town which highlights those who help others.  The group will finish the morning by purchasing food for the Yorkfield Food Pantry, which serves those in the Elmhurst community.  A third day will take Squad members Feed My Starving Children in Aurora, where they will package food to be sent to hungry children around the world.  Finally, the junior high students will travel to Northern Illinois Food Bank in St. Charles where they will package food and supplies for those in need in our area.

Each year Vacation Bible School chooses a mission to support throughout the week.  This year’s effort will be to collect gently-used shoes to donate to Soles for Kids, www.solesforafrica.com.  This is an Elmhurst-based organization located at Elmhurst Camera Boutique.  Through its efforts, more than 5,000 children have received shoes, free of charge, to help keep their feet disease- and injury-free as they walk to school.  The organization distributes shoes to children in Africa, Haiti, Dominican Republic and the United States, including Pine Ridge, South Dakota.  In support of Soles for Kids, VBS will be accepting donations of gently-used shoes such as sandals, flip flops, flats, gym shoes, soccer cleats, and winter boots. In July the Bethel UCC Youth Group will travel to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota on its annual mission trip, where the high school students will deliver the footwear collected at VBS to the Lakota Sioux children of Pine Ridge.