Vacation Bible School 2014

Before we left England, we signed J and L up for a vacation bible school in Maryland. We found Weird Animals at St. Augustine Church in Elkridge, Maryland. It ran from July 7 to July 11 in the mornings. I dropped the children off just before 9 a.m. and picked them up at 12:15. Naturally, they didn't tell us much about what happened each day. They gave us the usual story. J said, "Yeah, it was fun. We did stuff. We sang songs."

We had two things going for us to get information out of them. First, we had a CD of the songs they were learning each day. Their learning included some choreography, which I saw demonstrated at pick up time. And then at home, they gave a performance on Saturday:



The other thing we had going for us was my volunteering for two days. I was in the science room. Each group of children (divided by grades from kindergarten to 5th grade) came for a half hour of activities. We did little science experiments that tied in with the theme for the day. Other rooms had crafts, snacks, story time, etc. So I knew the structure of the day and could ask more specific question on what happened each day.

On Friday, they had an evening worship service. The children sang their songs and the deacon had some readings and a short sermon. After that, the ice cream social was in the parish hall.

VBS-decorated parish hall

On the back lawn, they had a petting zoo and pony riding. L was excited to participate in both.

At the petting zoo

Petting a goat

The rabbit got away

L rides a pony

J was not so interested, so he played on the parish's playground.

J hangs tough

The kids enjoyed the whole event very much and are looking forward to next year. So am I!

HoCo Library Summer Reading Program 2013

We came back to America for two weeks--part work, part vacation. I thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up on graphic novels that aren't in the libraries in England, so I reserved some just before coming. The Tuesday after we arrived, we went to the Elkridge Branch of the Howard County Library to pick up the graphic novels and some extra books to read to J and L.

The library has a great children's area with plenty of books to read and some toys and kid-friendly computers. J and L browsed some of the books but soon latched onto the computers. While they played, I checked out some books for them and picked up my reserves. We were just about to leave the library when one of the children's librarians waylaid us.

She asked if we had signed up for the summer reading program. I said no and that we were only in the USA for two weeks. The lady said the program started on June 1 and if we had read to the children ten times since then, they'd qualify to finish the program. We read to them each night so they are certainly overqualified. We signed them up for the program and then filled out the two completion tickets, resulting in a bunch of take-home swag from the library.

"Take-away" is how the Brits would refer to it, and no, the LG TV was not part of the swag

It must be a record for the fastest completion of the program if you count from signing up. Of course, most other Howard County residents have probably already finished it by the end of July, so we didn't feel bad. And we still pay property tax on our Maryland house, so we are funding the library even if we don't currently live in their geography.

J's certificate

So beware visiting the library--you may come home with more than you bargained for!

St. Augustine Church, Elkridge, Maryland

St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church in Elkridge has a long history. Elkridge was originally Elk Ridge Landing--the Patapsco River was wider back then and ships delivered goods and picked up locally grown tobacco for sale in other markets. The community grew large enough that a Catholic church was built in 1844. Father Bernard Piot traveled from Ellicott City to offer Mass once a month. By 1846, the Bishop of Baltimore asked the Redemptorist order to staff the church. They sent priests from their main parish in Baltimore. One such priest was Father John Neumann, who worked here from 1849 to 1851. In 1851 he was asked to be bishop of Philadelphia, which he reluctantly accepted. He was a great and holy man who wound up being canonized in 1977.

In 1866 diocesan priests began to serve the community. Fairly soon, the first parochial school in Baltimore was opened at St. Augustine. In 1894 a project to build a new church was begun. The church was completed in 1902 and still stands on a hill just outside downtown Elkridge.

St. Augustine, Elkridge, Maryland

Front view of the church

Sadly, the Saturday morning I visited there was a wedding or a baptism going on inside so I did not get to see the interior. I remember it being very beautiful inside. You can see their stained glass windows here.

The church is built on a hill and the hillside has a small cemetery between the church and the main road.

St. Augustine Cemetery

I was delighted to find a little statue of St. Francis on the side of the church.

St. Francis preaches to the birds

Maybe on a future visit I will make it inside the church!

Who was St. John Neumann?

Born in Bohemia in 1811, John soon discerned his vocation to the priesthood. The only problem was his local diocese already had enough priests (something hard to imagine in this day and age). He applied to various dioceses all over Europe with the same response. He finally came to America to study for the priesthood after the archdiocese of New York welcomed him. As a priest, he worked in western New York traveling from community to community. The isolation became difficult for him and he asked to join the Redemptorist order, who were committed to serving the poor but also living in community. He became a Redemptorist in 1842 in Baltimore, where he again served small communities like Elkridge. In 1852 he was appointed Bishop of Philadelphia, where he invited various religious orders to come. He also expanded the parochial schools and established parishes for immigrant families. He died in 1860 and was canonized in 1977. His feast day is January 5.