We had our first night of VBS last night, and I thought things really went smoothly. We’re doing quite a different VBS this year — using Group Publishing’s Galilee-by-the Sea curriculum. The idea is that the kids go back in time to experience the crafts, foods, and stories of the Bible. Because it’s so different, there was a lot of work on the front end — the weeks leading up to the opening, and yesterday as we created shops and hung atmospheric scenery (recycled from previous children’s musicals!) But the work paid off last night, as volunteers commented, “This is so different than usual — it feels more relaxing to spend time in the marketplace, choosing your own activity.”

Addendum (June 12): We will continue to add more pictures to this post as the week progresses. You can also click here to see many more pictures of VBS on our Photo Galleries page of our church’s website.

Addendum (June 14): We had a great week of VBS! All pictures are now posted up on this post and on our church’s website.

To read the rest of the post and view a small sampling of pictures, click here.

We sang songs in our sanctuary at the beginning of VBS.

Some of our “shopkeepers.”

Our “rabbi”:

Pictures of some of the “shops” in our Galilean market place (held in our Fellowship Hall).

The skit in the marketplace:

In our Preschool Department:

Recreation:

Miscellaneous: