Several churches joining forces for VBS

It will take place beginning Monday at White Oak Park.

Sampson’s Mills Presbyterian Church in White Oak is partnering with several area churches and ministries for its fifth annual Community Vacation Bible School in the Park.

It will take place from 9 a.m. to noon July 28 to Aug. 1 at White Oak Park’s Blue Spruce and Tulip Tree Pavilions. The VBS event is free and open to anyone of all ages who wants to participate, but those under age 4 will need an adult to accompany them. There will be music, crafts, games, snacks and more.

Sampson’s Mills Presbyterian Church, Mary Mother of God Parish, McKeesport Area Shared Ministry UMC, McKeesport Presbyterian Church, the City of McKeesport, White Oak Borough, Allegheny County Parks, Pittsburgh Dream Center and Hope Ministries are involved this year.

This year is the first year that Sampson’s Mills is partnering with other organizations. Jo VanMeter, director of faith formation and the organizer of the event, said Mary Lynn Zoscak of Mary Mother of God Parish is helping her with programming.

“It’s the same program as last year, but we are growing a little bit every year and that has been our big growth bringing on this other church,” VanMeter said. “(Mary and I) worked really well all summer, and we did a lot of outreach things like McKeesport Good Neighbor Day, food truck Fridays at Sampson’s Mills, the festival at her church, the Memorial Day parade.”

The event will be held outside, and VanMeter said they don’t include big decorations or “out-of-the-box themes,” like other Bible schools have because that is “not the direction” they want to go.

This VBS is different because it is multi-church, multi-denominational and it’s for the whole community, according to VanMeter.

History

Sampson’s Mills VBS 2020 was done through a series of videos due to the pandemic, but in 2021, they decided it was time to make VBS an in-person experience again.

“It was an idea that came out of the pandemic because we were still in a situation where we still needed to do things outside,” VanMeter said last year.

“At the time, McKeesport Presbyterian did not have a pastor, and so we asked them to join us and just start working together on this particular project,” she added. “And it went really well, and it’s grown from there.”

They decided to take the event outside, with VBS in the Park 2021 being a success as well. In 2022, according to the website, both churches brought their pastors together, their volunteers together and their children together along with other children from the community for a second annual week of VBS in the Park.

Since it’s a combination of multiple churches, VanMeter said they called the program Community VBS because it’s for everyone.

VanMeter and volunteers have spent the summer planning and reaching out into the community, including the Sampson’s Mill’s Food Truck event earlier in the summer, Good Neighbor Day in McKeesport and various ice cream socials around the area.

Community VBS also has opportunities for teens to engage in mission work. Youth who have completed grades 6-12 will spend the morning at VBS, then they’ll have lunch together and go to their service project of the day.

Teens will be bused to McKeesport Presbyterian Church after VBS each day for lunch and then will be taken to their project site.

They will be returned back to McKeesport Presbyterian Church for parent pickup each afternoon, and all project sites will be in either McKeesport or White Oak.

Fifth-year activities

In 2025, VBS is partnering with local organizations such as Hope Ministries, White Oak Borough, Pittsburgh Dream Center and the City of McKeesport for local mission projects.

They also have a magician, who is a retired pastor, who does a program on magic versus miracles. He is coming July 30, and there will be a youth mission program in the afternoon with several activities during the day.

Free transportation will be available to and from White Oak Park for those who need it, including bus stops at McKeesport Presbyterian Church, Mary Mother of God St Patrick Church, Beulah Park UMC Campus and Sampson’s Mills. Times can be found on the VBS website.

VanMeter is excited for the events and hopes that everyone will get involved in some way.

“It’s been nice to have a really big collaboration this year with (Mary Mother of God) being involved, so that is what I am appreciative and excited for this year,” she said. “It’s been really great this year to work with (Zoscak).”

Zoscak said VanMeter has been asking to collaborate for the past few years, and it’s nice to work together as a group to help kids in the community.

“I am really excited to be partnering with them,” Zoscak said. “We did the same thing at our Bible school, and the same components are there so (VanMeter) really has a well-oiled machine running up there.

“I am excited to be a part of it, and to see it in the park because we have always had it in a facility. It’s nice to be outdoors so it will add another nice layer to the closeness of God and nature. I am looking forward to it.”

Any student who needs volunteer hours can count these projects for their requirements. All volunteers over age 18 must have Pennsylvania clearances.

Anyone looking to sign up for VBS can go to https:// vbspark.org/ or the Facebook pages of participating churches.