Vacation Bible School at St. Mary Catholic Church

Since the little ones are out of school for the summer, they need something to keep them occupied. St. Mary Catholic Church in Woolmarket is hosting its annual Vacation Bible School for the week that’s loaded with tons of activities for kids to enjoy.

For the past 15 years, St. Mary Catholic Church has entertained children with food, games, and songs with their annual Vacation Bible School. Vacation Bible School Director Cherie Prentiss said, “When we started off, we had about 50 or 60 kids and we’ve grown in numbers. We are somewhere in the 90s. Every year, we get bigger. We have a cutoff number that I ignore and we always accept as many people who want to come.”

The church accepts kids as young as three-years-old. After fifth grade, children are able to volunteer and help with the camp’s activities. “We have outside games. We have kid-vid cinema, Bible discovery where they kind of re-enact the Bible story of the day. We also have our imagination station where science meets arts and crafts,” said Prentiss.

The theme for this year is called ‘shipwrecked.’ The kids venture an uncharted island where they learn how to survive tough situations in life. “We are going to talk about how sometimes when we do feel all alone, the different ways that we struggle and the different ways when we are up we might feel powerless, but Jesus is always there,” said Prentiss.

Giving kids the opportunity to learn, make new friends, and fellowship with one another is what makes this Vacation Bible School a growing success every year.  “It really means a lot. I feel like we are doing a great job, not only reaching out to our church family, but those families around us. I hope that in this case, not to be away from our theme, but that we are a beacon of light. We can be a church that everyone feels like they are always comfortable and welcomed and that they don’t feel alone,” said Prentiss.