Message Received: Hearing God's Call
St Thomas Vacation Bible Camp, Friday, July 31, 2015
Well, it’s hard to believe that we’ve come to our last
day of Vacation Bible Camp! It’s been a wonderful week, filled with God’s
love and generosity! We have loved having the children with us and invite
everyone to join us on Sunday for our annual “Vacation Bible Camp Mass on the
Grass” and picnic. The Vacation Bible Campers will sing at our 10:15
service in Medina Park and the VBC story tellers will be acting out the gospel
for us. The children will be sporting their camp t-shirts for a day that
promises to be a wonderful and wonder-filled time.
Our Director of Youth Choirs, Tim Blok has been singing
with your children all week, and extends this invitation:
Hello parents, I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to
sing with your children this week during VBC. The groups have been creating
some seriously beautiful sounds together, and I’ve been so impressed by their
talent, thoughtfulness, hard work and sense of humor. If your child is
interested in more singing opportunities, I would like to extend an invitation
to check out the youth choir program here at St. Thomas. We have opportunities
for students from elementary to high school, and I would love for your child to
get involved! Singing in choir provides opportunities to make friends, have
fun, be involved in the life of the church, and develop musical skills that
will last a lifetime. If you would like any more information, or have
questions about how to get you child involved, please email me at tim@stthomasmedina.org. I look
forward to hearing from you!
Youth Choir director, Tim, working with the children at VBC
Today we heard the story of Lydia (Acts 16:11-15 &
40) who heard God’s call through the apostle Paul. The story of Lydia begins
with a group of women gathered just outside the city gate. Lydia was a
woman who might have described herself as “spiritual, but not religious.”
The apostle Paul and his companions happened to be walking where Lydia and her
friends had gathered, and he began to converse with them and to teach about
Jesus, telling them about his life, what he had done, what he had said, and how
he had lived. Lydia was so moved by these teachings! She came to
understand that belonging to a worshiping community of believers who cared for
each other, took care of each other, loved God and loved each other was what
she wanted and so she asked Paul to baptize her. She was baptized into
the Christian community and all of her household was too. Lydia became a part
of a great community of people who gave and received God’s extravagant love.
That big circle of giving and receiving is exactly what’s
happened at St Thomas Vacation Bible Camp these past five
days. Nearly eighty little campers and fifty wonderful
volunteers have found new friendships, deepened existing friendships, and
learned that age and size haven’t anything to do with our ability to make a
difference in the world. Our hope is that VBC has been a place for
everyone to experience the richness of God’s love. Campers and
volunteers alike have surely filled our hearts with love, and we’ve all been
blessed by our time together. We hope to see all of the children and
their friends at Vacation Bible Camp next year, and we welcome them to Godly Play
(ages 4-grade 2) and Kid’s Club (grades 3-5) each Sunday, where the incredible
and ancient stories of God’s love for us and for all creation come to
life.
Blankets are finished and will be sent to Nuevo Creacion orphanage in La Paz, Mexico!
All God’s blessings on you and yours…
Faithfully, Karen†
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