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Note #8659 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

05125
March 4, 2005

All aboard!

New Vacation Bible School curriculum chugs into station

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE - For five days last summer, blue tape formed the outline of an
airplane on the fellowship-hall floor of Temple Terrace Presbyterian Church.

The 100 passengers aboard this "aircraft" were children from preschool age
through fifth grade - the Vacation Bible School class of the 450-member
congregation in suburban Tampa, FL. 

The young travelers, along with a "pilot" and "co-pilot," strapped in and
took off on a make-believe trans-world "flight" to five countries where the
Presbyterian Church (USA) works in active mission partnerships. 

The "trip," which included stops in Guatemala, Malawi and Pakistan, was part
of the PC(USA)'s first independently produced Vacation Bible School (VBS)
curriculum, unveiled in early 2004.

"We just thought it was terrific," the Rev. Charlene Heaton, associate pastor
of Temple Terrace church, said of last year's VBS curriculum. "It was a lot
of fun. Just the whole emphasis on learning about people in other countries
and the diversity of God's world is just perfect for us."

Now the denomination has released a new installment, this time featuring an
imaginary train ride and beefier resources.

"Since this year it's going to be a train ride, I'm sure we'll get a train
whistle," said Heaton, noting that the congregation has already ordered the
new edition. "It's just good, imaginative, easy stuff."  

Released last month, "Around the World in 5 Days: Living as Forgiven Children
of God" is the second installment in what eventually will be a three-part VBS
series focusing on mission work. 

The curriculum's inaugural 2004 resource, "God Calls Us: Around the World in
Five Days," has sold 1,500 copies since its rollout early last year and is
still in demand, according to Sandra Albritton Moak, publisher of
Congregational Ministries Publishing (CMP), which is producing the low-cost
VBS series.

"The theme this year is about how we live out what we believe," Moak said.
"We believe that we as humans are in a state of sin and that God has forgiven
us. And so the response to that is, 'Then how do we live?"'

In the new installment, intended for children ages 4-10, Bible School
participants will ride an imaginary train through Taiwan, Northern Ireland,
Brazil, Zimbabwe and Nepal. 

Bible School participants will play games, create crafts, sample foods and
learn the languages of the countries they visit. They also will hear Bible
stories and read letters from Presbyterian missionaries from around the
globe.

"Through our Vacation Bible School curriculum, mission workers living around
the world invite children to visit their homes and learn a little bit about
what it means to live as forgiven children of God in Taiwan or Northern
Ireland or Brazil or Zimbabwe or Nepal," said Bill Owens, the PC(USA)'s
Coordinator for Curriculum Development. "Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ
to a neighbor across the street might be a little easier when you've seen
what the gospel means to someone living in faraway Nepal."

Global mission is the focus of the first two volumes of the five-day
curriculum. The final installment, due out next February, will examine
mission work in the United States.

Curriculum officials have also made improvements to the new edition,
according to Moak - more activities are included, as well as combined game
and snack stations and a new mission and Bible study station. 

"I think it's a big improvement over last year, because we've had the
opportunity to get feedback from the people who have used it," Moak said.
"This year's (installment) has a lot more activities for younger children. It
has more ideas about how to do travel-related activities and some of those
actually came from people who used the materials last year."

The 2005 VBS, with reproducible pages, CD, and binder, is priced at $39.95.
Additional resources (such as passports and train tickets) are available for
downloading free of charge at: www.pcusa.org/webelieve/vbs.

"It's very easy to use, in terms of being able to copy what you need
according to how many in a class," Heaton said. "We've appreciated that
feature very much."

The CD contains music selected and arranged by Ken and Mary Jane Cooper,
music leaders at First Presbyterian Church in Dallas, TX, and performed by
the Choristers children's choir and instrumentalists from First church.

The new installment was written by Betsy Ensign-George, CMP's Editor for
Children's Resources, and the Rev. Meg Rift, a former CMP associate who
worships at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church in Dallas.

The Children's Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study is a complementary piece
to the 2005 VBS and supports the PC(USA)'s summer curriculum of "We Believe"
(for ages 4 through adult), but can be used independently.
 
Copies of last year's VBS curriculum are still available. The resource was
intentionally left undated so that it could be used for future Bible school
programs, Moak said. 

To order "Around the World in 5 Days: Living as Forgiven Children of God"
(#624900), or last year's "God Calls Us: Around the World in 5 Days"
(#614900), call Presbyterian Distribution Service (PDS) at (800) 524-2612 or
visit www.pcusa.org/marketplace. 

The Children's Mission Yearbook (#7061205451) can also be ordered through
PDS, as can the "We Believe" summer curriculum (#624800 leader's planning
guide) or (#624801 resource pack).

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