A Pastor's Delight--Vacation Bible School

This week, the church's fellowship hall has been filled with amazing decorations, scenery, props, crafting materials, and food.  It has also been filled with the excited activity and laughter of children, as the annual Sussex United Methodist Church's Vacation Bible School has been underway.

Instead of the normal plain paneling of the fellowship hall walls, we have seen a ship's railing, the ocean and a bright blue sky.  Instead of a piano, we have stood in front of a two tall sailing masts and a quarterdeck with a conning wheel and ship's bell, as a parrot has looked down on us from the crow's nest.  We have assembled beautiful crafts, sung exciting new songs, shared dramatic re-tellings of scenes from the Acts of the Apostles, played great outdoor games, and enjoyed snacks that reflected our daily lessons.  The kids who are participating in this year's VBS are having a great time, and so are all the leaders and helpers.

I've really looked forward to playing Jack, the dim-witted and somewhat bumbling sailor in our opening skits, and it's been a great outlet for my natural hamminess.  And I can't offer enough praise to adequately thank our Sunday School Director and everyone else who has helped organize and put on the program.

As fun as the week is, Vacation Bible School is also very important for the church.  Our congregation is amazingly blessed to have a large number of active children and youths, and they are tremendously important to our church's ongoing life--not just in the future, as they grow into adulthood, but also right now.  Our children enrich our worship, deepen our adults' understanding of the faith, and signal to newcomers that this church is a vital and energized faith community.  The faith development and active discipleship of our young people are crucial priorities that need the attention of everyone.

If you have not helped in Vacation Bible School or Sunday School, then, I hope you will start doing so in some way.  You do not have to be a trained teacher or an experienced leader of children.  If you have children or youths in your family or neighborhood, I hope you will encourage them to participate in our worship and in all of our ministries.  Your commitment could not be more important.  (And it'll be fun!)

Fireworks and Freedom

This week we celebrated Independence Day, with all of the traditional festivities our family has observed for a long time.  Like many people, we wore red, white and blue, displayed our flag, and we ate hot dogs and hamburgers, along with fresh green beans and potato salad.  Our family also eats special Fourth of July sandwiches, called "Ham On Swiss Egg Rolls," baked with a mixture of mustard and mayonnaise.  After all the parades, we generally watch our DVD of the musical, "1776," and we sing along with all of the songs.  Then, of course, we try to watch fireworks.

This year, because July 4th fell on a Sunday, it seemed that the various towns in New Jersey didn't know when to conduct their Independence Day observances.  Most towns seemed to avoid holding their parades and firework displays on Sunday, and opted for Saturday or Monday (which became the official "day off").

But it seemed appropriate to me to celebrate on Sunday, too, because the main thing our nation can claim credit for is the large degree of personal liberty we share as individuals--and especially our example in guaranteeing freedom of expression and freedom of religion.  Yes, there are "purple mountain majesties"  in America, but those are just accidents of location.  Around the world, there are many places with beautiful vistas and amazing natural resources.

What I am especially grateful for is the fact that I do not need to face any restrictions, either legal or social, on my choice of how (or whether) to worship.  Unlike citizens of many countries, I face no business interference, no legal hassles, no personal danger, and no social rejection because of my choice.  That is an amazing, wonderful feature of our national heritage that needs to be protected for everyone, and not just those who, like me, are in the religious majority.

 I'm a believing Christian, and I want to share God's love with everyone.  But Christ only wants willing disciples; he's unimpressed by people who cry "Lord, Lord!" only because they feel required or pressured to do so.  As Christians, then, our best opportunity for evangelism is in an environment of maximum freedom and safety for all religious, non-religious and even anti-religious thinking.  So, on Sunday especially, let freedom ring!