Pastor's Corner: Goodness beyond measure

Last week, we had Vacation Bible School. When I say "we" I mean First Lutheran Church, Messiah Lutheran Church, Van Orsdel United Methodist Church and St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church. The week of VBS was made available to youth ages preschool through sixth grade for free and it was open to all religious denominations and to anyone who might not have any religious affiliation. Everyone was welcome.

The common goal of the churches involved was to share with the children through Scripture, prayer, song, crafts and games the abundant love, forgiveness, hope and unity that a relationship with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit can bring into our lives. The children were split into age groups. Preschool and kindergarten stayed at St. Jude Catholic Church for their activities and grades 1 through 6 went to First Lutheran Church for their activities. Before we broke into different groups we would sing and pray together and that is the way we would close each day also.

Now one might think that as you look at the churches involved in this VBS that there may be some theological conflicts which would not allow us to work together as we did. But our focus for this week of faith formation was not on what separates us in our different faith traditions. Our focus is on what we have in common and that is our belief and faith in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and God's great love for us all. This is what we chose to share with the children.

On the first day of VBS the theme was God's Goodness Beyond Measure. We used the creation story to help the children reflect on the fact that every created thing comes from God and that each child is created VERY GOOD. One of the little pre-k children asked me if God even created the little "eye boogers" that are in the corner of our eyes when we wake up in the morning? Well... God made our bodies so good that our eyes clean themselves while we sleep and that is where those "eye boogers" come from.

On the second day, we focused on how God's great love is beyond measure. We used John 3:1-17 to help think about how much God loves us. We talked about how we cannot earn God's love and forgiveness, that God's forgiveness through Jesus is a gift for all of us. On this day we showed the children a Crucifix. Many asked why Jesus had nails in his hands and feet and why did bad men do that to Jesus? This gave us a wonderful opportunity to talk about the reality of God's great love for us and how he sent Jesus into the world so that we would not die but have eternal life, because Jesus came not to condemn the world but to save the world.

On the third day, we focused on how God welcomes us all to be part of his church. Come to find out that when you talk about church with pre-k children they can only think of the church building. So, our focus was on how we are all welcome and belong together in God's church family. We went to great effort to help the children come to recognize that we the people are the Church. While the church buildings are indeed holy and should be held in reverence it is the people who gather in the church that really need to be held in reverence.

On Thursday, the fourth day of VBS, we had the opportunity to focus on God's forgiveness using the story of the Lost Son (Prodigal Son). We reflected on how we very often we separate ourselves from God and his love by the way we choose to live selfish lives. All the stations (Bible Study, Crafts, Snacks and Games) helped the children begin to think of God as being just like the father in the story of the Lost Son. Always running out to welcome us home again. We affirmed the fact that God's greatest desire is to have us all at home with Him.

On Friday, we focused on the parable of Mark 4:1-9 and Matthew 13:1-9, the parable of the Sower. The activities of this day included planting seeds in some soil and reflecting on how God's forgiveness and Love has been planted in us. For snacks we used Oreo cookies and chocolate pudding to make soil, complete with worms and while making this snack the children were asked to think about how God's forgiveness and love is what is what grows in us and we are to share it with the people around us and by doing this we produce a harvest of 40, 60 or a 100 fold.

As I reflect on the week with the pre-k children I realize that the phrase that Robert Fulghum coined is true: "All I really needed to know I learned in kindergarten."

• Learning that we are created good.

• That through Jesus we are all loved and not condemned.

• That we are part of a family gathered together by God.

• That if we do something wrong and leave God's family God will forgive us and welcome us back into the family as soon as we choose to return.

• That the seed of God's love is planted deep within each of us and we need to nurture and grow that seed and more importantly be willing to give away that love to the world around us.

The children were exposed to all of this at VBS. It is up to each of us to live this way and encourage the children to live this in their lives regardless of religious denomination.

Blessings

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Deacon Tim Maroney

St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church