Hey Salem Family!

VBS is quickly approaching. Come bring your kiddos and join us July 13th- 16th @ 5:30pm-8pm. On the 16th we will do a family cookout celebration. So make sure to invite your friends and encourage them to sign up as well! Below is a brief history of how VBS originally started. If you would like to volunteer, contact Beth Lane so that we could stay connected with you and your family. Can’t wait to see you there! Below is a brief history of how VBS was started if you would like to know more:

VBS History

The origins of Vacation Bible School can be traced back to Hopedale, Illinois, USA, in 1894. Sunday schoolteacher D. T. Miles, who also was a public schoolteacher, felt that she was limited by time constraints in teaching the Bible to children, so she started a daily Bible school to teach children during the summer. The first Bible school enrolled 40 students and lasted four weeks. A local school was used for classes, while an adjoining park was used for recess.[1]

In 1898, Virginia Sinclair Hawes (often identified as "Mrs. Walker Aylett Hawes"), director of the children’s department at Epiphany Baptist Church in New York City, started an "Everyday Bible School" for neighborhood children during the summer at a rented beer parlor in New York’s East Side. There is a bronze plaque honoring her efforts located in her hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia, in the foyer of First Baptist Church.