MARKETPLACE A.D. 29: AREA CHURCHES ALLOW CHILDREN TO RELIVE BIBLICAL TIMES AT VACATION BIBLE SCHOOLS

Children dressed in desert robes sat on blankets outside a tent eating freshly baked bread and fruit.

Goats roamed the camp, scavenging scraps of bread and raisins.

The children made a trek across the desert (behind the church) to hear from the storyteller. Two donkeys lead by shepherds accompanied the caravan, with each tribe displaying banners.

A young man played the shofar, a ram's horn, and 12 tribes gathered for a street drama.

Last week, these desert tribes took up residence at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Perryville Road and Cape Rock Drive.

The children were participating in a Vacation Bible School, sponsored by seven Cape Girardeau churches, called Marketplace A.D. 29.

The children, who all dressed in desert robes, experienced family and village life similar to Biblical times.

In addition to the tribes, a thriving market place was established where storekeepers and craftsmen demonstrated their trades and children were given an opportunity to learn.

Children helped a brickmaker squeeze clay and straw and water into bricks. They made sandals from carpeting, learned weaving, baking and jewelry making. They also had a chance to spin a clay pot or make a kite, if they chose.

Amber Elfrink, a second grader, said this Vacation Bible School was unlike any other she had attended.

"The shops are different," she said. "Usually for art class you go in a room and do what the teacher tells you. Here you can go to any shop and do whatever you want."

Jason Ellinghouse, fourth grade, made bread the first morning. "We used flour and water and then patted it. It tastes real good."

Brandon Westfall, first grade, said, "I made a kite and I made a saw and I made a hammer."

Cassie Brown, kindergarten, showed off her golden medallion. "This is to show what tribe we belong to."

Goats, donkeys and two camels on Wednesday added to the authentic atmosphere.

Jason said, "Mary and Joseph used a donkey. And they had goats in the olden days when Jesus was around. The goats here are all over everything."

Amber added, "At regular Vacation Bible School goats don't come and eat your room."

The goats had nibbled on this tribe's tent earlier in the week.

Children from kindergarten through sixth grade were grouped together in 12 tribes or family units. Leading this tribe were Judy Canupp and Colleen Carroll.

"It's like a family," Canupp said. "The whole emphasis is to make this like family. These are their brothers and sisters."

Seven Cape Girardeau churches worked to organize the marketplace held last week.

Churches participating were Westminster Presbyterian, Christ Episcopal, First Presbyterian, First Christian, Evangelical United Church of Christ, Maple Avenue Methodist and St. James AME.

Tracy Carroll, minister at First Christian Church, said representatives from each of the churches met and decided what supplies and volunteers were needed. Notices were placed in church bulletins for tents, awnings, and other items.

"People responded," Carroll said. "I think people caught sight of what it might be."

Ruth Ellen Holdman of Maple Avenue Methodist Church was director of the school.

Holdman said: "My teachers were saying `Oh, is it time for Vacation Bible School again?' with very little enthusiasm."

She had seen this Bible school project done in another town.

"I thought this is what we need to do to make Vacation Bible School fun again for the teachers and the kids," she said.

One hundred eighty-one children enrolled, including 51 preschoolers. The preschoolers participated in a modified version of the project.

Holdman said, "Monday morning I had parents from other churches here trying to enroll their children, but we didn't have any more room."

Carroll said the marketplace gave children a chance to experience many of the things they had learned in Sunday school or other Vacation Bible Schools.

"Any time you learn something by experience rather than by listening or reading, you learn more," he said. "When you use your whole self you always learn more."

On Tuesday morning, Carroll called out to the children a Hebrew word, shema, which means listen. The children stopped and waited for the street drama to begin.

"They learned that word yesterday," Carroll said. "And they all remembered it."

He said the marketplace also teaches children how the Bible tells history.

"Sometimes when we read the Bible, we have a tendency to think in terms of modern life. That was a long time ago and they did things a lot differently back then," he said.

"But this also shows how things are the same," said Carroll. "We have tried to develop an atmosphere of relationships here. Religious faith is more like family than school. I think that's why this is working so well."