Two months out
Adults at Zion L u ther an Church, Iowa City, Iowa, en- joy making stepping stones for their craft project dur- ing adult Bible school: Naomi (left) and Gene Hanson, Lesley P ries and Connie Brinton.
to use time more effectively (ending at 11, not 11:30). It’s also why there will be fruit, not just sweets, for coffee time. And to stay green, partic- ipants bring their own coffee cups for the entire five days.
Baby-sitting may be offered this year in an
effort to attract younger adults, especially teach- ers who might have the summer off. Other ELCA and Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod churches in the area are also invited. “We start working in early March to get our
Adults put the Bible into their summer vacation
A
t Zion Lutheran Church, Iowa City, Iowa, vacation Bible school isn’t just for kids. While the children gather in June for Bible school, the adults meet mornings during the second week of
August.
The idea for an adult vacation Bible school came to Naomi Han- son in 2009 as a way of encouraging more adults to read and study Scripture. She approached Mark Pries, pastor of Zion, and was told, “Go for it.”
Iowa City has the advantage of being driving distance from both
Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, and Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa. So in this third year of the adult program, Zion will again call on a professor to teach—Gwen Sayler from the seminary.
Participants (25 the first year, 35 the second) gather at 8:30 a.m.
for coffee, followed by an opening led by Preis and his wife, Lesley, who have backgrounds in outdoor ministries. So these older students have a chance to sing lively songs. It is Bible school, after all .... The guest professor gives two 45-minute lectures, with a coffee break in between.
In 2009 participants also did a craft project. Last year, they heard from a variety of community folks about how to volunteer for the parks and recreation department, crisis or senior centers, or a home- less shelter. This year’s coffee break activity will be a service project. A freewill offering was collected in the past to cover expenses, but this year it’s in the budget, Hanson said.
From the feedback on evaluations, the schedule has been revised Send congregational stories—both those for a specific month/holiday or your best timeless idea—to
julie.sevig@
thelutheran.org. June 2011 39
speaker. It’s just really fun. People seem to enjoy it. ... This summer program is becoming as regu- lar an event as VBS is for children,” Hanson said, adding that participants seem to enjoy the con- centrated study of a five-morning format. For more information, contact nhanson@
mohsi.com. M
Good one!
Faith for the future Kurt Lammi, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church on Dog Leg Road in Dayton, Ohio, this year did what countless pastors and confirmation leaders have done before, but with a twist. He asked adults to share their faith stories with confirmation stu- dents—one guest a week for 30 weeks. Not bad for a con- gregation of 85 worshipers. Early into the
year, he decided to record the speak- ers. At the end of
PHOTODISC
the 30 weeks, he burned their approximately five-minute faith talks onto two CDs for the students, speakers, the rest of the congrega- tion and the church’s archives. As a result, he’s got a head-start in celebrating the con- gregation’s 200th anniversary in 2016.
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