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| | | Junior Member
 
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Last Login: 2 days ago @ 11:38:23 AM
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| | In the Catholic director's manual, it lists the features that are specific to the Catholic version, such as the "Connecting Kids to Justice" component, the people of faith, the "our Catholic" ID sections, CRS inspired portions of the daily challenges, and a special CD of Catholic music to incorporate into the program. Our version uses a Catholic bible, and has imprimatur on all components. I investigated the "market" for Catholic VBS and pickings are slim. Power Lab really seems like a wonderful program, especially for first-time directors and churches. Also, as I said before. Harcourt supplies all of our textbooks for CCD and I feel comfortable with them. My only words of advice are to order the materials from the Catholic specific catalogue that came with the starter kit. Otherwise, you may accidently end up with the Power Packs, etc. that are not for the Catholic version. |
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| | | Forum Newbie
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Last Login: 5/28/2008 10:10:11 PM
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| | We have been doing vbs for serveal years and what I have done is have some of the teens dress up as the saints and have the saint visit us at vbs during closing and relate their life the the bible point. we have also connected the theme to a Catholic teaching. We have only found one thing that could be a problem with Catholic Theology, that is " nothing but the blood" We as Catholic Christains beleive that it is the total work of Jesus from birth thru asintion that was the saving work. I hope this helps with your first year of vbs. YOU NEED TO GET YOUR STATION LEADERS NOW. We start plaining our stections in Dec. we have our vbs in July. Unlike most churches we have a limited number of kids we take. 100 k-5 and 35 preschoolers. They sign up in May that way we can order T-shirts and snack supplies. We do charge a fee for vbs. $15 a child , this covers shirt and 1 cd per family. We offer cds and dvds for sale. $5 for cd and $10 for dvd. We find that kids know songs when they get to vbs it is easyer on song leader. I will pray for you vbs. welcome to the family paul |
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| | | Junior Member
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Last Login: 6/11/2008 2:03:09 PM
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| | We are doing something similar to Paul. We have a group of 5 teens who will research and dress up like the holy person of the day. They will share their information with the kids as they hand out their holy person card. They are setting up a mini museum of the holy people for the week and the kids will be able to view this on their way to one of their stations. We are also using the crs guidelines with our mission project. Our go balls will go to our mission church. |
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| | | Forum Member
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Last Login: 6/2/2008 3:25:28 PM
Posts: 43, Visits: 89 |
| | On harcourt's webpage, the Power Lab logo includes the words "catholic vbs." I use that on all my promotional materials and registration forms to emphasize that feature. My children were confused going to another denomination for VBS. They thought it was their "other" church. I was so moved by that VBS that I brought it to our church... so remember, just by having it at a catholic church, you are still making it a catholic experience. One of the unsung benefits of vbs is feeling at home in their church from spending so much engaging time there. While each age retains the faith learnings differently, I think they (and the adults for that matter) really latch on to that intangible feeling of belonging. |
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| | | Junior Member
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Last Login: 6/25/2008 2:42:09 PM
Posts: 11, Visits: 42 |
| | We are a Catholic church running PowerLab. I didn't know there actually was any Catholic material tie in....interesting. This is my first year as director, but I've been attending a group VBS at another parish for 3 years. They have always just run with the curriculum as is and added in an opening/closing prayer using the sign of the cross and then have a closing liturgy/mass on Friday night and invite all the parents/parishoners to come. The kids do music from the VBS during the Mass and we do a more kids-friendly homily and then after Mass we have an icecream party. We love it! I have been encouraged by our pastor to review the Catholic VBS programs for next year, but I hope to stick with the Group Easy VBS. Erin in Massachusetts |
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| | | Junior Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 4/29/2008 7:52:21 AM
Posts: 11, Visits: 21 |
| | We also skip the certain songs over the years. I love the idea of a teen dressing as a Saint and handing out holy cards! Great idea! This year is the first year that we are ordering the Saint cards. We usually give out the little plastic figures of the Bible buddies but we aren't crazy over them this year. We are thinking of ordering the daily challenge bracelets this year because they feature a nice tie in with the Saint cards, too. |
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| | | Forum Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 6/2/2008 3:25:28 PM
Posts: 43, Visits: 89 |
| | Welcome to VBS! I found using the timeline to be really helpful. I also recommend being REALLY organized in advance. One of the things that really worked for us was having a room with the week's materials grouped by station. Materials management is a pretty big task... get it out of the way early so you can focus on the people stuff duirng vbs (we also had misfilled orders... so it's good to check it all out about 2 weeks prior) Regarding catholic id... 1. To me, having it at your Catholic church in itself validates it's Catholic-ness. Kids will feel more at home because of so much time spent in your church and building and because they'll know more people when they come to mass. For children, building a sense of connectednes to the parish is huge. It works wonders for adults too 2. If knowing the catholic features is really important to your parish, you'll just have to tell 'em! Since we only have one year under our belt, we're still focused on "educating" our parish about what vbs is these days. We have a registration table up with displays of "how it works" and the overview right out of the catalog. I think that helps peolpe see that it's very much aligned to church teachings. (I mount these things to cardboard and use a cookbook or plate stand to display it). If you feel you need to gain support for VBS by educating the parish at large, try an article in your newsletter or a brief summary in your bulletin. 3. Be confident in letting folks know that you specifically investigated available options and felt this best met the needs of your parish. Group is an industry leader, has far superior music than any other vbs, and Harcourt makes it catholic. Who wouldn't want the best for their children?! You are the VBS expert in your church! 4. For those who approach you with Catholic id type questions, be sure to answer their question and then always conclude with, "You are really passionate about your faith. We could really use someone to like you to help with VBS!" In fact, ask EVERYONE you meet to volunteer... the children will come but you can never have enough adults. |
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| | | Junior Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 6/6/2008 1:19:08 AM
Posts: 13, Visits: 41 |
| | you know, i didn't even realize that there was a catholic component until I came in this forum. The children's ministry director bought the kit before she took on a new job, and I didn't realize that it was the everyday vbs component. What are the different saints for the saint cards? We are not ordering some components of the vbs packaging just because our budget doesn't allow for it, but these saint cards and saints sound like a good filler in our cinema time. Is there anything else about the catholic components that i should know about or include? This is my first time running vbs. I thought i was going to have the children's ministry person helping when i took on this task, but then she resigned leaving me to handle it all. Thanks for the help.
Charles in Charge
yikes, scary thought, lol
Thought of the day: The light at the end of the tunnel, may be a train coming towards you! |
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