Faith Presbyterian Church

ReNew: It’s the Green VBS!

Join everyone at ReNew, the Green VBS for a week of planting and growing, connecting with God, and caring for creation together. There is a place for you at ReNew!

WHAT: VBS 2011: ReNew, the Green VBS
WHERE: Faith Presbyterian Church
WHEN: June 6th – June 10th
TIMES: 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
FOR: Kids in Preschool – 5th Grade

This year, our program will encourage kids to “Grow in Faith, Have Fun, and Change the World”, while studying Jesus’ Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-9), and learning ways to care for God’s creation.

There will be lots of green activities, from planting seeds and growing a “pizza garden” of tomato, basil, onion, bell pepper, and oregano, to learning about ways they can help care for the environment at home, in the community, and around the world.

For more information or to register for VBS by phone, call the church office at 225-275-7393. Click on this link to print out your registration form and mail it to Faith Presbyterian Church, 12855 Old Hammond Hwy, Baton Rouge, LA 70816, or fax it to 225-275-7399.

To register online or to get more information posted on our website about the upcoming VBS, please click the link below.

 The weather is getting warmer, summer is just around the corner, and soon it will be time to welcome children to ReNew, the Green VBS, June 6-10. This year, our program will encourage kids to “Grow in Faith, Have Fun, and Change the World”, while studying Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, and learning ways to care for God’s creation.

There will be lots of green activities, from planting seeds and growing a “pizza garden” of tomato, basil, onion, bell pepper, and oregano, to learning about ways they can help care for the environment at home, in the community, and around the world. 

Each night, ReNew will begin at 5:30 PM, with dinner.  Kids will then “Gather” to learn about the Parable of the Sower, sing songs, and begin their daily planting ritual. Then they will rotate between the Self, Community, and World activity sites, learning what the Bible story and creation care mean for their lives.  During the “Send” time, they will share “roses and thorns”, finish their planting ritual, and decide as a group what “ReNew It! Challenge” they will do before the next day,

A new feature this year will be the combination of VBS and our annual trip to the blueberry farm, Berry Sweet Orchards.  We want to invite all our VBS families to meet us on Saturday, June 11, and travel to the country to see organic gardening up close and personal.  And of course, on Sunday, June 12, we will celebrate VBS in worship, and after at the Hamburger Picnic!

 Registration will be available online, as well as by mail, e-mail, and fax.  Please check back often as we update this information!

June 7-11 brought an African Safari and heat wave to Faith Presbyterian Church’s Vacation Bible School 2010.  And yes, it was a blast!  It actually felt like a Rainforest Adventure on Monday with the rain storm but that did not stop the fun.

Each day brought a Bible story, Bible verse, theme, and critter.  On Monday the children met Faye, the zebra, and heard the story of “Abraham to Canaan.”  The theme was Trust.  Tuesday the theme was Love and Amy, the Red Colobus Monkey, helped with the story of “Joseph and His Brothers.”  Bud, the elephant, helped with the theme of Follow on Wednesday.  The Bible story was “Jesus calls the Disciples.”  Thursday the Bible story was “The Good Samaritan” and Care was the theme.  Sam, the meerkat, was the critter.  Jonathan, the giraffe, was the critter on Friday.  The theme was Share and the story was “Philip and the Ethiopian.”  The children enjoyed receiving their toy critter and trading cards each night as they went to different sites.  There was storytelling, crafts, and music.  During storytelling we told the story for each night, and crafts were made with each theme in mind.  With music, there were parades, learning sign language and motions, and playing musical instruments.  We also had a pre-school class that stayed in one room but still learned what the older children were learning each night.

Of course, after registration each night, everyone enjoyed fellowship with a delicious meal.  There was spaghetti, chicken strips, pizza, hot dogs, and red beans and sausage along with many side dishes, salad, and desserts.  The children then enjoyed an incredible opening celebration.  There were skits and a lot of joy and laughter!  There was also a collection for the mission project, Africa Jam.  The children raised an outstanding amount of $229.96!!  After a couple of sites the children enjoyed sensational snacks such as fruit salsa, ants on a log, and fruit cups.  After the last site the night ended with a closing celebration.

Sunday brought us a special worship service all about VBS.  Many of the children and families attended and then shared another wonderful meal provided by Fun and Fellowship.  To all the parents, thank you for sharing your beautiful children.  They were all such a joy.  Thanks also to everyone who participated.  It was truly a Baobab Blast!

And A Special Thanks To:

Pastor John Blewitt

Karen Blewitt

Garnet Pierce

Jill Wild

Kelly Surace

Carol Bell

Bobbie Broussard

Dora Summerell

Dona Werner

Lois Warner

Niki Wild

James Wild

Connie Raggio

Craig Rowley

Jim Wild

Dwyer Broussard

Sandy Broussard

Denise Summerell

Jack Summerell

Juan Letelier

Lee Soileaux

Freda Knight

Cleo Lambert

Roger Lambert

Sharon Gautreau

Alice Kennedy

Danah Frens

Jack Frens

Laura Acosta

Lauren Berthelot

Blaine Amoroso

Lauren Amoroso

Katarina Frank

Nichole Anderson

Buddy Anderson

Cheryl Anderson

Rosemary Goodell

Sarah Burke

Pat West

Kathy West

Jo Kay Tullos

Emily Rowley

Brandon Dixon

Drake Smith

Art Frens

James Frens

Chyrel Frens

Robert Crawford

Barbara Crawford

Mariel Acosta

Lukas Acosta

Everyone in our church family that supported us in prayer.

COME and EXPLORE at DISCOVERY CANYON!!

Mark your calendar for Monday, June 1st through Friday, June 5th from 5:30 to 8:30 in the evening. A week of wonder is just around the bend. Vacation Bible school is coming to Faith Presbyterian Church!

We are so looking forward to the upcoming VBS Discovery Canyon! For more information and to register your child online, please visit the new page created on our website to keep you up to date with information!

http://www.faithpcbr.org/vbs-2009-discovery-canyon/

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer your time or talents, please call the church office at 225-275-7393.

We are blessed once again to be doing another Vacation Bible School. This is our second one and last year, our first VBS, was quite successful thanks to the efforts of many dedicated volunteers. This year’s VBS will be held on Monday, June 1st through Friday, June 5th. It will be in the evening from 5:30  to 8:30. But, we need your help to make it happen!

Join us on Wednesday, March 25th at 7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary and learn more about VBS. This year’s theme is Discovery Canyon. It promises to be every bit as much fun and exciting as last years Rainforest Adventure. Even if you think you have nothing to offer, please come to the meeting on the 25th becuase you will learn just what you can do that will help our little one receive Jesus’ message.

We hope to see you there! Please call the church office at 225-275-7393 if you have any more questions or would like to volunteer to help with VBS 2009: Discovery Canyon.

Thank you to everyone who took so much time out of their busy schedules to volunteer and help with VBS 2008! It was a huge success and we couldn’t have done it without all of you! The kids had a blast and it’s really gotten people excited to be a part of our church!

Some of you may have noticed that during Rainforest Adventure last week we had a visitor from The Advocate taking pictures and talking to many of the kids and volunteers. This last Saturday our church and some members of the congregation were showcased in a great article in the People & Faith section of The Advocate about VBS and how far it’s come over the years! Below is a thumbnail of the article, and if you click on it it will bring you to a large version that you can read!

How exciting that the Word is spreading! God works in so many ways, and it shows in the lives of all who took part in Rainforest Adventure! Keep the Word and excitement alive until next years VBS!

If you have any problems clicking this thumbnail to view the large version, you can also right click and choose “open link in new window” or “save link” to save the file to your computer to read!

If you have any of the following items and would be willing to donate them, purchase them or make them for the skits for next week’s VBS, please call the office and talk to Kelly at 225-275-7393. Thank you!

Day One:

• Plastic or paper sack
• Pineapple (real or canned)
• Clipboard
• Table with Fruit
• Garbage can with a lid
• Sign reading “For Party on Friday, DO NOT TOUCH!”
• Large crate or box labeled “Seeds”
• Pots, gardening tools, and other potting materials
• Large sign reading “Party for the King in _____ days”

Day Two:

• Can or Container filled with seeds

Day Three:

• Coconut
• Seeds, Various Sizes
• Magnifying Glass
• Potting Soil
• Sprouting Seeds

Day Four:

• Something that looks like pruning sheers
• Something that looks like a saw
• Fruit Basket
• Gardening Gloves

Day Five:

• Large sign that reads “PARTY TODAY”

Many members of the church have already stepped forward to give of their time and talent in this venture. However, there is room for everyone to be involved! Not only is there a need for more volunteers to help in the planning and during the week of VBS, but supplies are needed as well!

If you have any of the following or would be willing to purchase them for this years VBS, please call the church office to find out which items are still needed. You may bring your donations to the church office during the week or drop them off after church on Sunday. Any donation, however small, will be greatly appreciated!

Needed for Rainforest Rhythm:

• Maracas
• Rainforest Stickers
• Drum Sticks
• About 4 Drums (received 1 drum)

Needed for Snacks at the Coconut Cafe:

• Animal Crackers
• Raisins (small boxes)
• Candy Corn
• Fruit Juices (small multi flavors)
• Trail Mix (with dried fruit)
• Donations (Monetary)
• Goldfish (individual bags)

Needed for Pre-school class:

• Crayons (preferably washable, fat crayons)
• Markers (preferably washable, fat markers)
• masking tape
• Scotch Tape
• Washable white school glue
• Tissues
• Band-aids
• Sanitizing Hand Gel
• Alcohol Swabs
• Posterboard (white)
• Cardstock
• 3/4″ (2cm) black pompoms
• 3/8″ (1cm) black pompoms
• multiple colors of craft tissue paper
• twine
• non-latex balloons
• rubberbands
• children’s washable paint
• paper plates (white, plain)
• construction paper
• cotton swabs
• double-sided tape
• rainforest stickers
• 12″ paper towel or wrapping paper tubing
• colored masking tape
• wax paper
• aluminum foil
• heart stickers
• pipe cleaners/chenille craft stems
• variety of seeds
• felt (green, red)
• wiggle eyes (large)
• tacky or fabric glue
• mustard seeds
• crepe paper (green)
• brightly colored feathers
• magnets for science exploration
• small red paper plates (20)
• glue sticks
• plants (real & pretend)
• 10 square been bags ( ~ 3″ x 3″)
• Magnifying glasses (preferably plastic)
• Magnets for science exploration

Needed for decorations:

• plants (real & fake)
• brown paper bags and paper
• green crepe paper
• half gallon paper containers
• volunteers to help with decorations
• monetary donations to help cover costs of supplies purchased

VBS Group Leaders — If you receive a donation that is on this list, please let the church office know so that we can keep track of the current needs for this years VBS! We will mark through items on this list when they are received and no longer needed.

Thank you to everyone involved and all those who give of their time, talent, and donations!

Explore the canopy! It’s time to register for Rainforest Adventure Vacation Bible School!

• PLACE: Faith Presbyterian Church
• DATES: July 14th – July 18th
• TIMES: 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
• FOR: Kids ages 3 years to 6th grade

Join us for a rainforest program of faith-filled fun! Rainforest Adventure invites kids to share the good news of Jesus’ love for us by being caretakers of all that God has given us.

At Rainforest Adventure you will:

• hear stories about Jesus
• make cool crafts
• sing fun songs
• play zany games
• eat super snacks
• make lots of new friends!

We’ll have lots of fun sharing God’s love with everyone!

Parents, the cost of this year’s week long VBS is $10 per child, $18 for two children, or $20 for a family of 3 or more kids. (All children are welcome and wanted! VBS scholarships are available for families that are unable to cover this cost, so please do not let this keep you or your kids from participating!)

To register for VBS 2008: Rainforest Adventure please click here for a form that can be filled out online.

If you have any questions about this upcoming event please call the church office at 225-275-7393.

Vacation Bible School is scheduled for each evening of July 14th through July 18th. We are tremendously excited about this venture because it provides opportunities for evangelism, outreach and mission. VBS is a traditional educational tool for a congregation’s children, but it can also be a means whereby God’s Good News can be spread within a community by inviting neighborhood children to participate. As the children have fun singing, playing games, making crafts, and doing other fun activities they are learning Bible verses and themes which are reinforced by these activities. They also learn about important mission activities during this time and are encouraged to participate in the support of these missions.

Many members of the church have already stepped forward to give of their time and talent in this venture. However, there is room for everyone to be involved! Please contact the office to get more information about the different ways that you can give of yourself during this year’s VBS, which in turn will allow God to enter the lives of many!

If you are interested in more information about your child attending this summer’s VBS at Faith Presbyterian Church, please contact the church office through either the contact link above or by calling 225-275-7393.

In the coming weeks there will be more information about this year’s VBS posted on the website, including a form to download to sign your child up! Please check back soon!