Most vacation Bible school programs in the diocese have ended for the year. But All Saints in Bay City and Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption Parish in Saginaw will offer theirs August 3–6. And as the All Saints’ registration form says, “the more the merrier!”
Gwen Wiegand likes vacation Bible school so much that she attended twice this summer—once at St. Brigid’s in Midland and then again at St. Catherine of Siena in Bay City where she and her family attend Mass.
“I love it,” said the soon-to-be fourth grader at All Saints Catholic School in Bay City. Vacation Bible school is always one of the highlights of Gwen’s summer. She always learns more about God, and she reunites with old friends and makes new ones.
Gwen spotted her friend Amari Daley for the first time in two years at St. Catherine of Siena. The two used to attend school together at All Saints. During snack time on the first day of vacation Bible school, the old friends sat together and invited a new friend—Aubrey Sova—to their table. By the fourth day, the three had exchanged phone numbers to stay in touch.
Building Faith Through Community
This year, there were 37 children who attended the vacation Bible school (July 13–16) at St. Catherine of Siena, along with 10 youth helpers from area middle and high schools. All the faith formation directors in Bay City and Essexville work together each year to make vacation Bible school (pre-K–6th grade) a reality for area children.
Mary Roth, one of the vacation Bible school coordinators and director of religious education at Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish in Bay City, said Bay City area faith formation directors began working together in 2020. Refusing to let Covid end the vacation Bible school experience for area children, they decided to offer an outside traveling version instead. Mary, Lori Marsh (St. Catherine of Siena), Amy Dupris (All Saints & Corpus Christi), and Rick Sohocki (St. Jude Thaddeus) have worked together ever since with a different parish hosting the program each year.
A Unique Approach to Faith Formation
The program in Bay City is unique because they have developed their own curriculum instead of purchasing one, said Laura Scheibert, coordinator of Faith and Catechist Formation/OCIA for the Diocese of Saginaw.
Each vacation Bible school in the diocese operates a little differently, she said. Regardless of how they are set up, the goal is still the same: making the Gospel come alive for kids, Laura said. “Through the eyes of the Church, it’s pure evangelization.”
Making the Gospel Come Alive
Each year, Bay City’s program has a different theme, Mary said. This year it was “Adventures in Capernaum.” Each day’s theme was based on the children’s books for The Chosen video series. And every day, the children enjoyed activities in four breakout rooms (games, crafts, story time, and music). There was snack time. And on the last day, the kids performed for their parents, dancing to the songs they learned to sing.
On the day before the performance, four-year-old Mia Sinicki stood in the front row of the practice session, singing, dancing, and leaping up in the air—sometimes dancing with the rest and sometimes moving to her own rhythm. It didn’t matter to her or to Mary, her grandmother. She was having fun.
“Our kids need to know that Church is part of their life and it can be fun,” said Mary, who also had three other granddaughters participating this year.
One of her younger granddaughters, nine-year-old Nora LaClair, also participated this year. But the two older ones—15-year-old Khloe Roth and 11-year-old Harper LaClair—wanted to help as youth volunteers this year.
Passing Faith to the Next Generation
Madelyn Olson, a 17-year-old from All Saints, said helping with vacation Bible school is a joy.
“I just love doing it … especially since I enjoyed [vacation Bible school] so much as a kid.”
The world is so loud and competes so much for children’s attention, Mary said. It may seem “old school,” but vacation Bible school is so important. “We still need to give them something to get excited about.”
Keeping the Joy of Faith Alive
Vacation Bible school may have ended for the year, but for Gwen, the songs she learned this year are still louder than the noise of the world.
Out of all the songs they learned this year, Gwen’s favorite was “Jesus Loves the Little Children.”
Every single song,” her mother Cynthia said, “she sings them all day long.