The United Churches of Christ and First United Methodist Church in Elmhurst Extend Invitation to Vacation Bible School 2015

Bethel UCC, First Congregational UCC, First United Methodist Church, and St. Peter’s UCC invite all children, from those entering kindergarten to students entering 8th grade, to be part of its annual Vacation Bible School (VBS) again this year. Those entering grades 6-8 are invited to be members of the Middle School Service Squad, which will undertake mini-service missions daily.The fun begins Monday, June 15, and ends Thursday, June 18, from 9:00 a.m. until noon each day. K-5 will meet at St. Peter’s UCC, 125 W. Church St., Elmhurst. Service Squad members (6-8) will meet at First United Methodist Church, 232 S. York Rd., and will start their day an hour early, at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 16 and Wednesday, June 17, to accommodate the mission trips on those dates. A VBS celebration and ice cream social will be held Thursday evening, June 18, at 7:00 p.m. at St. Peter’s.

Registration begins April 12. Starting on that date, registration forms and Service Squad permission and release forms can be downloaded from the Bethel UCC web site, www.bethel-ucc.org; click on Vacation Bible School. Fees, which include a t-shirt, are $27 per child April 12- May 12 or $32 after May 12. There is no on-site registration. Scholarships are available; check with individual churches. Space is limited so please register early! Adult and high school volunteers are needed to make the week a success. Please contact VBS Registrar Karen King (kking@st.peterselmhurst.org) or 630-530-6000) for information and to volunteer.

This year’s theme, G-Force, will help kids explore how to put their faith into action. In this mission-focused VBS, children experience God’s unstoppable love and discover how to fuel up and move in and through life with God. VBS week will come alive with movement and images of all sorts of kid-friendly transportation, such as skateboards, running shoes, rollerblades and more! The G-Force meter will climb throughout the week illustrating how God is at work around the world and how God’s people are on the move.

If you’re a soon-to-be 6th through 8th-grader and are looking for a volunteer experience, you’re invited to be a member of the VBS Middle School Service Squad. Daily mini-missions will focus on helping those in need in Elmhurst, DuPage County, and our world. See what a difference you can make in 4 days! The Squad will meet each morning at First United Methodist and from there embark on its daily mission. Among the service opportunities will be working on a project in Elmhurst to help our community. Another morning will take Squad members to the Northern Illinois Food Bank in St. Charles to package food and supplies for those in need in our area. A third day will be spent traveling to Feed My Starving Children in Schaumburg, where the Squad will package food to be sent to hungry children around the world. Finally, the junior high students will welcome a member of the military who will speak to the group, followed by a shopping trip to purchase items for packages to be sent to members of our armed forces stationed overseas.

Please note that Service Squad fills quickly and space is limited to 50 participants. Parent drivers/chaperones are needed; contact Service Squad coordinator Jenny Pozen (jenny@bethelucc.org or 630-279-4040) for information and to volunteer.

Each year Vacation Bible School chooses a mission to support throughout the week. This year’s effort will be to collect used children’s books for Bernie’s Book Bank. This local organization is the logistical bridge between places where no-longer-used books are located today and where they are not, but desperately needed. Bernie’s Book Bank is an expert at collecting hundreds of thousands of new and gently-used books, processing them into six age-appropriate and leveled collections, and delivering them directly into the hands of low-income children who have no books of their own. To date, over 100,000 children in Chicago and its suburbs have benefited from the book bank’s efforts. Each child receives a minimum of twelve books per year, theirs to keep at home forever.