PRINCE ALBERT — For the summer of 2026, the diocese hired four individuals to carry on its yearly commitment of offering Vacation Bible School sessions in various parishes.
Cam Lowe, who was here a few years ago with the program, is now the leader, phoning parishes, making contacts, organizing transportation and accommodation for his three proteges. All of the students live with him at the rectory in Birch Hills when they are not staying in the host VBS communities.
Syd Hohlweg is in her fourth and final year at King’s College in Halifax and is studying the classics and Jewish studies. This was her first time in Saskatchewan and she said she loved it. Everybody is so helpful and kind. These two months have been very busy and she is sad to be leaving.
back from left, Joe Weatherby, Syd Hohlweg, Cam Lowe and Cohen Aiken.
Cohen Aiken is also in his fourth year at King’s and plans, upon graduation, to continue his education by getting his master’s in Classics. One of his fond memories was of a little eight-year-old boy who was attending VBS in St. Mary’s Church in Birch Hills.
This boy had never been in a church and was awestruck by the many religious statues and pictures adorning the church. He was especially interested in the picture of the Last Supper, and Cohen was honoured to explain the significance of this iconic image.
Joe Weatherby is a graduate of King’s and attends church in the Chapel, where he saw the job posting for VBS in Saskatchewan. He was teaching chemistry at Dalhousie. He is from Charlottetown, PEI and will be going back to attend the University of PEI to get his master’s in Chemistry. One of his favourite things about Saskatchewan is the kindness of everyone and the open skies.
The theme this year was the Apostles’ Creed, and part of their instruction includes dressing up and putting on a skit. They were doing a skit about the Good Shepherd, and of course all of the kids wanted to be sheep.
They wore headbands with white fleece and little black ears. It’s hard to tell who enjoys this the most: the instructors or the kids. The camp goes from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with lunch provided. In some cases, the community provided lunch and in others, the leaders would make lunch for the kids.
Posters are sent to the communities with information about the upcoming VBS camps. In one community, the leaders were all set up and ready at 10 a.m. for kids to arrive, but no one came. So, they went out inviting kids they saw on the street to come to the church. By invitation and word of mouth, this community had 19 kids. Attendance varied in each location, with a total of nearly 100 participants.
This year there were sessions in St. George’s, Prince Albert, Birch Hills, Muskoday, Arborfield, Cumberland House and Holy Trinity, Prince Albert. Either these communities requested the VBS team, or the leader, Cam, reached out to them. His ideal would be two teams of four each, as was done in 2019 with great success.
There were so many more opportunities for camp, but with limited staff and funds, it was not possible to go to every community. Donations to the VBS program would be greatly appreciated.