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St. Mark kids have fun with Totus Tuus

HUNTERSVILLE — More than 200 children and youths enjoyed a fun-filled week with the Totus Tuus team at St. Mark Church in Huntersville recently. Totus Tuus is a fun and energetic parish-based summer catechetical program for both grade-school children and teens.

This year's theme catechism cycle was on the Creed, with a dedication to the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary. The last day is always fun for the elementary students, as two members of the teams are selected by vote to be "human sundays." Joseph Coca and Erin Grosch were the lucky winners as more than 100 kids tossed their favorite Sunday toppings onto them. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed lots of water games and ice cream.

This is the third year Totus Tuus was held at St. Mark Church. Other Totus Tuus team members were Michael Becker and Sarah Rider.

— Donna F. Smith

St. Thomas Aquinas kids enjoy Totus Tuus

CHARLOTTE — More than 150 youths aged 3 to 18 gathered the week of June 24 for the Totus Tuus program at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte. The youths discussed the Creed, experienced the sacraments, prayed the rosary, participated in night prayer, and had lots of fun. For the elementary-school aged children, the week ended with the creation of a "human sunday" with one of the missionaries acting as "ice cream"! The children are already looking forward to next summer's program!

— Katie Herzing

Good Shepherd Mission holds VBS

KING — Good Shepherd Mission in King held Vacation Bible School July 9-13. The VBS program taught children about the Lord’s Prayer and the life of St. Joseph of Cupertino, called “the Flying Friar” because he was known to levitate when he prayed. Above, children enjoy playing with a parachute, flying high in the joyful spirit of St. Joseph of Cupertino and lifting up their prayers to God.

— Barb Robless and Bernie Mathon

St. Gabriel children learn about God's creation during special VBS

CHARLOTTE — The children of St. Gabriel Parish just wrapped up a high-energy week of stories, song, games and crafts June 18-22 – all part of Vacation Bible School 2012. This year's Vacation Bible School program, which was locally produced, had a "green" theme: "We've Got His Whole World in Our Hands." It focused on God's creation of the world and Catholic social teaching about our responsibility in caring for it.

This is the second year that St. Gabriel Church created its own VBS program, as opposed to purchasing one.

"It requires a little extra work on everyone's part, but it's more fun this way," said program coordinator Laura Rice. With 200 campers ranging in age from 4 to 10, the combined efforts of approximately 100 volunteers – most of whom are teenagers – were put toward shepherding children between activities and assisting adult coordinators, as well as tending the needs of tired preschoolers and the occasional skinned knee.

In addition to Scripture-based lessons about the creation of light, the separation of seas and the land, and the additions of plants, animals and people, the children also spent each day learning about how to protect these resources and to "reduce, reuse and recycle" items from daily life. The crafts portion of the program was especially geared toward the latter, using parish-wide donations of empty disposable water bottles and paper towel rolls as materials for the campers' creations.

The VBS program also included a service project to collect donations for the Catholic Social Services food pantry. Each day, the campers were asked to bring in specific items as requested by Sharon Davis, director of the CSS Charlotte Regional Office. The children were invited to add their daily donations to the growing stacks of macaroni and cheese, canned fruit and toothpaste each morning. All of the donations were blessed during the VBS wrap-up celebration of song and prayer that closed out the week.

— Shannon Habenicht, special to the Catholic News Herald