Augsburg and VBS

[dkeener]

We use the money we save by not doing VBS to subsidize sending kids for a week of day camp at the local YMCA camp. They pick the kids up at the church in the morning and drop them off at night. All in all it has worked well. Besides, I was always worried that some day our kids would find out that Jesus didn't live in a tree made out of macarroni with a talking panda named Peter.

What is the point of that?

That I find a lot of what is being marketed for VBS to be silly and vacuous.

[dkeener]

Seriously?  A church spends their money to send their kids to the Y?  Instead of doing a VBS?  Seriously?  If you don't have the volunteers to do a VBS why not send them to a church camp?  The Wisconsin North District of the LCMS has a wonderful camp that our church makes use of.  I've had loads of fun at the camp.

First off - I am a big supporter of Church camps and if I lived in Wisconsin I would be happy to send my kids there. I live in Georgia, however, and to be honest I really don't trust what is being taught in ELCA camps (the closest is about 4 hours away) and am not aware of any LCMS camps nearby. Secondly, we do Sunday School year round and do not take a summer break. During the school year we run a mid-week children's program run by quite a few volunteers, and we like to give them a break now and then. Thirdly, Lutheran Camps are expensive and not everyone can afford them, nor can our congregation afford to pay for all to go, - the Y camp was around $80 for the week per child. Lastly, you assumed that I and other adults did not attend the Y camp with the children and take part in the program. You would be wrong in that assumption.

[Durkin_Park]

Judson (and anybody else),

I have not used, but have heard excellent things about Pax Domini Press and their VBS materials:

http://www.pax-domini.com/

[DCharlton]

Lutheran Outdoor Ministries of Florida has been doing Day Camps at various congregations for well over a decade.  Many congregations offer an LOMF Day Camp instead of VBS. 

My congregation stopped using Augsburg-Fortress curriculum for Sunday School when they did away with LifeTogether.  LifeTogether was a lectionary based curriculum.  Seasons of the Spirit was the replacement for LifeTogether.  It came from a non-Lutheran publisher and tended to neglect Justification in favor of social justice and care of the environment.  In other words, the focus was on the Good Works that we ought to do.  (Please note, I don't have any problem talking about social justice and the environment.  It's that I consider them to fall under the category of Works.)