When I was growing up we called it Vacation Bible School. It was a week of day camp for elementary students. The teachers included our mother and the mothers of our friends. They were the same people who taught in our Sunday School Classes. Vacation Bible School was a week of games, activities, and bible stories. Looking back, I am not able to remember specifics of the content of the weeks. We were raised in the church and we attended almost every program that they had. Vacation Bible School was one of the summer activities that we knew would happen every year. Most years, other churches in town had their vacation bible schools the same week as ours.

Summer programs of learning for children have been a part of all of the congregations we have served in our careers. However, the Covid pandemic changed that pattern in a lot of congregations. Many of them did not have those programs in the summer of 2020 and 2021.

In the congregation we are now serving, we have decided that this summer is a good time to return to a summer day camp for children. The church already had changed the tradition of calling summer programs “vacation bible school.” The focus in recent years had been mission and service. As we reviewed the many different mission and service projects and programs in the church, it became clear to our Faith Formation Board that we wanted to offer a week of learning about the church’s response to the climate crisis. From those conversations, our Creation Care Camp was born.

This is our week. We have four days of activities planned. Our camp will run from 9 am until noon with special activities for children aged 3 through those who have completed grade 5. Each day has a special emphasis. Today we will be learning about air. The children will learn a bit about biblical languages as they repeat the Hebrew and Greek words that mean air, wind, spirit, and breath. In English we have four words for these concepts. In both Hebrew and Greek, there is just one for all for concepts. It is Ruach in Hebrew and Pneuma in Greek. The concept is introduced very early in the book of Genesis and appears throughout the Bible. Among the adults from our congregation who will be sharing especial expertise today are a woman who worked in air quality during her career and a man who is an entomologist. We have songs, games and a host of activities planned. There will be workshops on arts and crafts and music and movement around the central theme. Even the snacks are coordinated to the teaching we have planned.

Tomorrow we’ll be exploring water. On Wednesday we’ll learn about the earth and trees. Thursday’s theme focuses on animals. Each day has an opportunity to hear biblical stories and learn about the long heritage of stewardship in the church. Each day will have experiences of worship designed to make children welcome in the church and teach a few of the rituals and prayers that are a part of congregational life. Each day will involve carefully screened and caring adult leaders.

It is the kind of work that we have loved doing for all of our adult lives. I am excited for the programs we have planned and I think they will be meaningful to children and their families.

As I look forward to the week, I have been reflecting on the changes in language that have been a part of my life in the church. I really don’t see any thing wrong with the name “vacation bible school,” but is has fallen out of favor with my colleagues and church leaders. We used to call the ministry of the church with children and youth “Christian education,” but that term has also fallen out of favor. Our official title at our church is ministers of faith formation. I don’t have a problem with the concept of faith formation. In many contemporary churches the idea that faith is caught more than taught is popular. Using that language is an attempt to broaden the task of teaching faith. It is an acknowledgement that faith is more than a set of facts and that becoming a faithful person is more than being able to recite some formula of beliefs. Faith involves emotions and hands on service as well as the transmission of information.

However, the heritage of teaching and learning is a rich heritage in the church. It is one of the early commandments of our faith, appearing in the Bible many different times. In the 6th chapter of Deuteronomy, parents are instructed to teach the stories of our people to their children when they are at home and when they travel, when they lie down and when they rise up. Later in the 11th chapter of Deuteronomy the same commandment is repeated. The responsibility for teaching the history and faith of our people is given to parents. In community, we have shared that responsibility through programs such as church schools and vacation bible schools.

Teaching is one of the great vocations of the church. In the United Church of Christ, ministers are ordained “to teach and preach” the gospel. Somehow, however, educational ministries have often taken a back seat to worship and pastoral care. Specialists in education are becoming less and less common in the congregations of our denomination. Ministers are required to have theological and clinical pastoral care education, but not required to have taken formal instruction in educational design and teaching. That lack of education and preparation is evident in the roles assumed by pastors in congregations.

I have tried to always take my vows to teach seriously. I have seen education as equal to other ministries and integral to everything I do as a pastor. I am teaching when I enter the pulpit to preach. I am teaching when I meet with a couple to plan a wedding. I am teaching when I respond to a death and provide care and support to grieving persons. I see myself as a teacher in all that I do.

Whatever words we choose, sharing the faith with each new generation is a solemn responsibility of all who are a part of the church. I’ve been looking forward to this week and now we will live it together. It is going to be a good week.