News

Vacation Bible School 2023

02 Sep 2023

Heroes Assemble! This was the call every morning as 45 children aged 5 to 11 gathered at Immanuel Church in Regina for a full-day Vacation Bible School the week of August 21st to 25th. The Professor (played by Holly Hirschfield and Emily Barber, both of Our Savior's Lutheran) talked to the children about the Hero Hotline Headquarters, and all the calls they were getting from other heroes needing help to solve problems. Super Meer, the puppet (with puppeteer Toby Walker) always showed up and helped to solidify the message.

Our Hero theme (curriculum purchased from Cokesbury) was based on Romans 14:19 So let's strive for the things that bring peace and the things that build each other up. We learned that everyone's gifts are valued, and each of us has a role to play in bringing peace, love, and justice to the world.

The children were split into 4 groups, and with a leader, rotated through 4 stations - Crafts, Storytime, Science and Games. Crafts led by Maegen Plumb included a mask and cape (essentials for all superheroes!), medals, a star magnet, a playdoh hero, a photo frame, cross string art, and keychains. Each participant had a workbook with stickers to help make the stories more memorable. The science experiments led by Mark Haugen of Our Savior's were amazing and included magnet attraction, buoyancy, bubbling up reactions, super straws, and the leak-proof bag. Games led by Anita Laryea were always fun and even though we had two rainy days, we made the best of it with some indoor activities such as Pictionary and a scavenger hunt.

Each morning we had snack time. This year Karen Bacon from Our Savior's led this and did an amazing job! Snacks included star shaped sugar cookies, apple heroes, rice krispy heroes, trail mix, watermelon, tangerines, and muffins.

On Wednesday Platoon 4 from Regina Fire and Protective Services made a guest appearance. Each of our 4 groups of children had a chance to tour the truck and ask the firefighters questions.

On Thursday, a pair of RCMP officers arrived at lunch to visit and let the children turn the sirens on and off as they pleased. It was very loud! Sargent Dave and his police dog partner Hawk also joined us to give an obedience demonstration, and we were all amazed at how Hawk listened!

Each day Rev. Christine Burton led the children in music time. She got the children all participating in learning the songs and all the songs had actions. The songs we learned included: Hero Hotline, Let's Strive, If U Wanna be a Hero, The Good Life, and That's What Makes a Hero.

Planning for the week began in earnest in early spring. Immanuel again teamed up with Our Savior's Lutheran to put this week together. The core group of leaders were Holly Hirschfield (OSL), Karen Bacon (OSL), Maegen Plumb (Immanuel), Anita Laryea (Immanuel) and Jenny Williams (Immanuel). St. Paul's Anglican again contributed financially to our camp, and there was one dedicated volunteer from Eastside United. The curriculum created by Cokesbury was purchased, and this included music DVDs, videos for each story, and a trivia question / answer for the daily wrap up. We also collaborated and shared some resources with Christ Lutheran Church who also used the Hero Hotline curriculum on a different week.

Our camp was again provided free of charge, thanks to donations from Immanuel, Our Saviour's and St. Paul's. We received donations from parents to offset some of the costs.

Our campers were joined by more than 20 adult volunteers and 13 tweens/teens. This week could not have happened without the help of all those volunteers. Some dedicated the whole week, others were there just a few hours, and it all came together.

If the noise level is any indication of success, we were VERY successful! As the week went on, and the children made friends and built relationships with each other, things got very loud! The other somewhat unanticipated result of our week was that the adult helpers made friends and built relationships with each other as well.