News and Events - June 2009
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL IN MERRILLVILLE PARISH
Merrillville, IN - The grounds of St. Elijah Cathedral of Merrillville, Indiana were bustling the week of June 15-19th with lots of activities as approximately 40 of our Church School children participated in our annual summer VBS camp.
Along with Rev. Aleksandar Novakovic’s religious leadership and guidance, our dedicated Church School Director, Cindy Stojic planned an enriching week full of religious education and music, arts and crafts and plenty of fun outdoor activities for preschoolers up to our 18 year old counselors to participate in and enjoy.
Each morning as the children arrived, Fr. Aleks greeted them and started each day with prayers. Following morning prayers, Fr. Aleks walked the different age groups of children to the cathedral as he discussed our Orthodox faith and other church topics. Based on age groups, Fr. Aleks taught the children subjects they didn’t know or reinforced and acknowledged topics they already knew and answered their questions about our Orthodox faith. At the same time, the other 2 groups worked on either their creative arts and crafts projects with “Teta Cindy” or learning church hymns/music with one of our musically trained choir members, “Teta Maryann” Radoja.
Following a morning full of formal classes, the children worked up a hearty appetite for delicious posno lunches beautifully prepared by “Teta Branka” Manojlovic with help from some Moms and Babas throughout the week. The children dined each day outdoors at our picnic grounds pavilion where they had a wonderful variety of foods all week as well as an abundance of fresh fruits daily donated by parishioners.
The afternoons were spent participating in many outdoor games and sports and also included two special trips; bowling on Tuesday and then on Thursday, a trip to the local waterpark! The weather cooperated most of the week with the expected storms and heavy rains occurring during evening or early morning hours so as not to damper the camp week!
A BIG THANK YOU to Fr. Aleks and Cindy Stojic and all helpers for their hard work to make another successful St. Elijah Church VBS week come to a close with happy, enlightened and tired children!!
Dawn Maksimovich