Bible school shifted this year from crafts and games to a simulation of what it was like to live in Jesus' time through re-enacting Bible stories.
By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published August 2, 2003
NEW PORT RICHEY - The year is 29 A.D. Shopkeepers tend their booths, selling oil lamps, handmade jewelry and woven money pouches. Wealthy women walk the streets with gold coins jingling in their hands. A beggar looks for handouts.
And rumor has it, a rabbi who performs miracles and heals people will be coming through town soon.
In planning this year's vacation Bible school, the Presbyterian Church of Seven Springs threw out the old formula of a morning camp for young kids where they sing and make crafts. "Marketplace 29 A.D.," a prepackaged Bible school resource, is an experiential camp held in the evening for children and adults. The session ran fron Sunday through Thursday.
"I think this is the closest you can get to the experience of a community of faith being together," said the Rev. Emily Koehler, one of the church's co-pastors.
On opening night, participants divided into groups, each representing one of the 12 tribes of Israel. They learned their tribe's symbol and donned robes of special colors and patterns to identify themselves.
Next it was on to the marketplace, where everyone had money to spend on food and supplies. But they had to make choices. Would they give any to the poor? Would they make their 15 gold pieces last throughout the week? If they ran out, could they barter?
The centerpiece of each evening's marketplace experience was a short drama portraying one of Jesus' parables. On Sunday, a wealthy man passing through town was beaten and robbed. Several people, including a priest, ignored the injured man lying unconscious on the ground. The only one to stop and help him was a stranger from a hated tribe: the Good Samaritan.
After the scene played out, the children went back to their activities in the shops. But the place was buzzing about the kind stranger.
"Did you see what happened?"
"His own people wouldn't help him, but the Samaritan stopped."
"I guess it goes to show that an outsider did what everyone should have done."
The idea is to spur a dialogue with the children about what they just witnessed.
"By children seeing it before their eyes, we feel it's going to make it more easily understood," said Linda Glosson, who organized the dramas. "It's like sitting at the table at dinner and talking about what you did that day."
Ashley Glewen, a 12-year-old who played one of the thieves, compared the camp with a real-life history lesson.
"It sends you back into their time to see what life was like and how people were treated back then," she said.
Betty Walters, the church educator, said that's exactly the goal of the camp experience.
"The bottom line is the kids are really involved in so much media and so much pretend," she said. "When it comes to Bible stories, we have to go the extra mile to make them understand that this is real. These are real stories."
