Western NEW York Conference

THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

131 John Muir DRIVE

AMHERST, ny 14228

(716) 564-2316

www.wnyumc.org

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION NEWSLETTER

FEBRUARY 2006

IT IS TIME TO PLAN FOR VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL!

Is your church planning a VBS Program this summer?  Please let us know!  We will be posting a VBS list on our website.  Please let us know the name of your church, address, Name of the VBS Program, Dates, Contact Person and Number and any other pertinent information.  Email resource@wnyumc.org

Can’t make the Workshop?

Information about Cokesbury’s 2006 Adventure of the Treasure Seekers: Exploring God’s Promises is available at www.cokesburyvbs.com

Don’t forget there are youth and adult resources for VBS coordinated with Adventures of the Treasure Seekers so that an entire congregation can study the same Bible stories at the same time.   The Youth resource is Promises: Living Faithfully With God and Neighbor and the adult resource, I Will Be With You: Exploring God’s Promises.  You can find out more about these resources at the cokesburyvbs website.  Just click on A Look Inside.

Information about Journey Into Hush Arbor this year’s new African American VBS resource is available now at www.Africanamericanvbs.cokesbury.com

Although Cokesbury produces its own VBS resources each year, they realize that there will be some churches that choose to use other material instead.

Cokesbury offers a helpful comparison chart of the features and benefits of all of the VBS programs that they offer at the Cokesbury VBS website.

Information on other publisher’s VBS is also available on their websites.

Standard Publishing  www.standardpub.com

Incredible Race VBS : 10 Turbo-Charged Lessons for the Race of a Lifetime

Trading Places VBS

Augsburg Fortress  www.augsburgfortress.com Gospel Express: God’s Celebration Train

Gospel Light  www.gospellight.com

Son Treasure Island: Discovering God’s Love

Concordia Publishing House  www.vbs.cph.org

Treasure Cove: Discover the Riches of Christ

Group Publishing  www.groupublishing.com

Holy Land Adventure Bethlehem Village: Where A Savior Is Born

Fiesta! Where Kids are Fired Up About Jesus

NEW Christian Education RESOURCES

AT THE CONFERENCE RESOURCE CENTER

I WILL BE WITH YOU: EXPLORING GOD’S PROMISES FOR ADULT VBS OR SHORT-TERM STUDY

Audience: Adults

This five-session Bible Study covers the same five Bible stories and promises of God that children will study in Adventures of the Treasure Seekers VBS.  Many churches are offering VBS as a whole church experience and I will Be With You makes it easy to do.  This is also a great short term study anytime.

MYSTERY OF THE SHAKING GROUND

Dramas, Speeches, and Recitations for Children

This collection will enable churches to create a Easter program whether they are blessed with a large number of children or only a few children. Includes DRAMAS, speeches, recitations, and very short dramas for Lent and Easter. For children ages 3 to 12.

CHERUB WINGS #10: AND IT WAS SO! DVD

Audience: Children, ages 3-7

Running Time: 25 minutes

Suggested Use: Sunday School, Evening Programs, Parents’ Day Out,

In this Easter episode of Cherub Wings, arousing space-chase in cherub chariots topple Cherub and Chubby into an awesome awareness of God's mighty power! Children will see the ultimate act of forgiveness in the crucifixion and will marvel at the power of God in the resurrection. They will learn that by accepting Jesus' gift of forgiveness, they can receive Him as Savior. This program shows how we can benefit from God's daily presence in our lives. Cherub Wings is an entertaining and inspirational production geared to ages 3-7. Each episode includes a visualized prayer, an illustrated Bible story, two high concept kid music videos, a Jesus teaching, a Scripture song, interviews, and loads of fun! 25 minutes in color.

Note: This video is great for  giving younger children the big picture of the Easter story without showing the graphic details of the crucifixion.

THE TORCHLIGHTERS: HEROES OF THE FAITH SERIES

Audience: children ages 8-12

Running Time: 30 Minutes

Extensive study guide included  with four sessions, activity sheets and student handouts

THE JIM ELLIOT STORY DVD

The inaugural episode features the story of missionary martyr Jim Elliot.  He and four other young men accept God’s call, risking it all to take the Gospel to the savage Auca tribe in Ecuador.

THE WILLIAM TYNDALE STORY DVD

The second episode of the Torchlighters Series for children.  Follow the adventures of William Tyndale as he works in secret to translate the Bible into English, a “crime” punishable by death in 1535.

CELEBRATE EASTER

This collection will enable churches to create an Easter program whether they are blessed with a large number of children or only a few. Blessed is the One is a short drama in three scenes which takes us from Palm Sunday through the resurrection. The Ride to Jerusalem is a very simple drama for Palm Sunday, suitable for enacting during a worship service.

That They May Be One helps us see that even as he struggled with his approaching death, Jesus continued to pray for us. Told in poetry with a refrain that can be said by any number of children, Cock-A-Doodle-Do, tells the story of Peter's denial and ends with the observation that Peter became on of Jesus' strongest followers.

I Have Seen the Lord is based on John 20:1-19 and is a very brief story of Mary's encounter with the living Lord. Several poems about Lent, Holy Week, and Easter round out the collection. Also included are three interactive teaching stories that can be used with children or the whole congregation during Holy Week.

SIMPLY EASTER

This collection will enable churches to create an Easter program whether they are blessed with a large number of children or only a few. Blessed is the One is a short drama in three scenes which takes us from Palm Sunday through the resurrection. The Ride to Jerusalem is a very simple drama for Palm Sunday, suitable for enacting during a worship service.

That They May Be One helps us see that even as he struggled with his approaching death, Jesus continued to pray for us. Told in poetry with a refrain that can be said by any number of children, Cock-A-Doodle-Do, tells the story of Peter's denial and ends with the observation that Peter became on of Jesus' strongest followers.

I Have Seen the Lord is based on John 20:1-19 and is a very brief story of Mary's encounter with the living Lord. Several poems about Lent, Holy Week, and Easter round out the collection. Also included are three interactive teaching stories that can be used with children or the whole congregation during Holy Week.

AN  EASTER COLLECTION FOR CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS

Build excitement with your children by using these dramas and program pieces to highlight the most exciting time in the life of the church - the resurrection of our Lord! Choose from full length dramas, worship pieces, recitations, and fingerplays.  No Flowers for Easter tells the story of a group of children faced with an Easter Sunday and no flowers. Their solution? Spread the Good News through their actions! Adaptable for 3 to 20 children. 20 minutes.  Six Who Pass on Their Way to Easter helps children recall the true meaning of Easter while honoring family and church traditions. Thirteen children, 20 minutes. *Praying in the Garden, The Rooster Crowed, and What Happened at the Tomb? are reader's theater pieces that can be used separately or combined for one drama that tells the whole Easter story. Ten to thirty minutes. * Lenten Worship Readings provides a reading for each Sunday on Lent and for Easter Sunday. Appropriate for use in church worship or in the classroom.

Celebrating God’s Word in Children’s Church:

A Year’s Worth of Preschool Programs

Hands-on programs, each lasting from 35-45 minutes, designed for active children ages 3-7.  Features simple Christian messages, Bible verses, stories, prayers, sharing time, snacks, and games, crafts, or other activities.  Includes an additional  activity to extend to a full hour.  Easy to use format for today’s busy teacher.

Come Follow Me! A Weekly Program for Teaching the Gospel to Children

Audience: Children ages 4-12

53 Hands-on sessions (35 minutes each), complete with seven learning centers, a five-minute children’s story, and a ten-minute worship service.  Includes puppet plays, building projects, skits, 300 Bible-related craft projects, 102 pages of patterns and 370 different Bible verses.  Easily adapts to any size group.

SUPER SIMPLE BIBLE LESSONS: 60 READY-TO-USE BIBLE ACTIVITIES

Audience: Children ages 3-5

Have you ever needed a Bible lesson QUICK!  This resource solves your problem.  Super Simple Bible lessons contains sixty Bible lessons covering both the Old and New Testaments.  Each lesson includes a story, a Bible verse, and a super simple craft activity that will reinforce the story.  Each craft activity is reproducible.  An easy to use index helps you locate specific stories for the children.

For a listing of children’s videos for Easter and Lent visit our website www.wnyumc.org  Click on Resources and Resource Center.