Treasures of the Sea

Ocracoke United Methodist Church is hosting VBS this week with a "Treasures of the Sea" theme. The kids will learn Bible stories (the first was the parting of the Red Sea), make crafts, play games, sing songs, and eat snacks – all with a maritime theme.

The wonderful crew of VBS organizers and helpers include Teresa Adams, Sally Schwoeppe, Katie O'Neal, Desiree Ricker, Anna Jones, Melissa Jones, Kerry Celestini, Ali Arter, Tina Slocumb, Travis Slocumb, and Sue O'Neal.

On Sunday, July 28th, the children will share what they've learned and sing VBS songs during the 11 a.m. service. 

Starting with VBS, and throughout the month of August, the church will be collecting money for Birthing Kits. A mission team from Methodist churches across Eastern NC will be taking the birthing kits to Liberia this fall. The birthing kits include essential items such as soap, plastic gloves, and receiving blankets to help provide a safe, clean delivery and to encourage good after care.

Using a birthing kit can double a woman's chance of surviving a birth. Each one costs about $8 to put together, and the children will be bringing in money during VBS to fill up a piggy bank with donations. (If you'd like to contribute to this really good cause, please stop by the church or call 252-928-6219.) Everyone's welcome to a big Birthing Kit packaging day on Labor Day (get it?), September 2nd, at 3 pm in the OUMC Rec Hall.

On July 28th, the Youth Group and four adult chaperones, will leave for their mission trip to Pamlico County, NC. They will stay in a church building in Vandemere that has been converted into dorms for the North Carolina Methodist Disaster Recovery Services.  

The Youth will work on homes that sustained damage from Hurricane Irene. (Just this morning, I read an article about people in eastern NC who are still struggling to rebuild after Hurricane Irene, which was in 2011.) The kids will be one of the last groups to go to the Pamlico County site, and they'll be finishing up projects that other groups have started. 

Sydney Austin, Kaylee Gaskins, Karen Perez, Kevein Perez, Eldon Robinson, Caroline Temple, Josie Winstead, and Sierra Winstead will represent Ocracoke youth on this trip. Their chaperones are Pastor Laura Stern, Lauren Strohl, Joseph Ramunni, and Junior Perez. 

To prepare for this challenging experience, the kids and adults are reading Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Father Gregory Boyle. During the week, the group will study and discuss this personal story of mission work.

After four days of hard labor, the kids will get to spend a day exploring New Bern and visiting Tryon Palace.

The Youth will share what they did and learned on the mission trip on Sunday, August 18th at the 11 am service.