Pastor Warren Riley of St. Paul Lutheran and Father Michael McAndrew of St Patrick's Catholic lead music to start the night off. PHOTO BY JONATHAN MEYER

This week students in kindergarten to age twelve were all welcomed to Vacation Bible School. The four day event is hosted at the catholic church however over 15 different congregations have students in attendance to further their religious education.

The massive community event is spearheaded by Jackie Toennies who works as Director of Religious Education at St Patrick’s Catholic Church.

Jackie has been working tirelessly over the past week setting up decorations to go along with a space theme of the event.

“I’ve been here until midnight a few nights in the last week” said Toennies when speaking of her preparations.

Unlike many bible schools you might find, several area churches come together and offer a larger, more uniform experience for students. From Methodists, to Presbyterian, Lutheran, and Catholic, a wide variety of Christian denominations band together for the event. The different churches split responsibilities for the week. One example being dinner provided by a different church every night.

Pastor Warren Riley of St. Paul Lutheran and Father Michael McAndrew of St Patrick's Catholic act out a skit in the opening half hour of Vacation Bible School. With the assistance of costumes and an enthusiastic crowd, the two men of faith got a laugh and a great start to the night of spiritual growth. PHOTO BY JONATHAN MEYER

Each of the four nights kick off with some high energy music followed by a skit. After music and the intro for the night, students split into age groups and head to a group of rotating stations. Stations include crafts, games, a lesson, and of course dinner.

This year over eighty students have registered. With this many students comes the need for many volunteers to manage that volume of kids. Over twenty five volunteers have come forward to help throughout the week.

Many hands make light work, this principal was on full display this week throughout Vacation Bible School. No matter the denomination or place of worship, community members came together in order to make this event a success year after year.

On the West lawn of St. Patricks Catholic Church lies the large advertisement for the free week-long religious education event. PHOTO BY JONATHAN MEYER