06/23/2012
To my VBS Family,
I prayed to the Holy Spirit before writing this letter to ask Him to help me find the right words when words don’t seem sufficient to ever express what I’m feeling right now.
As you have read in Father Greg’s e-mail, on Friday, June 8th, St. Frances’ Vacation Bible School was cancelled due to a lack of VIRTUS trained and background screened volunteers. 212 adults plus 162 Teacher Aides did come forward to volunteer over the two week period. However, more than half of those adult volunteers were not Virtus Trained. Excluding our incredible VBS Board, Teachers, and TA’s who give so willingly of their time and talents, we needed an additional 350 days of volunteers over the two weeks to keep this huge program up and running and safe. We had nowhere near that.
We're brokenhearted that this happened in our 20th year of serving our awesome God and you, our dear friends. I have watched so many of your children grow from inside your tummies to beautiful, inspiring young adults with so much to give! I have loved being a part of your families’ lives and have been privileged to share the love of God and the warmth and love of a truly caring Catholic community with each and every one of you. I almost can’t even remember when my life didn’t include VBS. It has become part of who I am. This makes it even more difficult to write the rest of this letter.
After much prayer and discussion, we have decided as a family that we will pass on the leadership role of VBS at St. Frances. Every moment we have worked on it as a family since 1993 (the year my daughter was born) has been a joy. There has been plenty of stress, lost sleep, obstacles to overcome, and grueling hours of work, but the joy always came in the end when we saw your children worshiping God with huge smiles on their faces! The teens have affected us the most in recent years as we witness their kindness and good example to the little ones. We pray that they always remember what they learned and felt at VBS and continue to share that throughout their lives.
Please keep in touch with our family. Let us know about your joys and accomplishments, and know that we will continue to be here for you with open arms and open hearts should you need prayer or encouragement in times of sorrow.
At a wake when we mourn the loss of a loved one, shared memories of times together begin to heal our hearts. We, as a family, are mourning. Won’t you please share your VBS memories with us so we can all begin to heal? The phone calls and e-mails and facebook postings that we’ve received since Friday have been so touching. While they always bring me to tears, they also make me smile and feel so loved and appreciated. Send your memories (your favorite… song, Big, Little, experience, Teacher, TA…a funny story…something that truly touched you…whatever you feel in your heart!) to [email protected] Let us know if you would like us to share them or if you would rather they remain private, between us. Let’s heal together.
Public memories will be shared on St. Frances’ VBS website, www.StFrancesVBS.com.
We, as a family, know that God is leading us to new adventures! We will never stop serving Him or His people. We pray that all we do in life is for the Glory of God! One of my favorite quotes is from Saint Teresa of Avila,
"Christ has no body now, but yours.
No hands, no feet on earth, but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which Christ looks
with compassion into the world.
Yours are the feet with which Christ walks to do good.
Yours are the hands with which Christ blesses the world."
I try to live that; try to be the hands, feet, eyes, and heart of God in this world. I don’t always succeed…who does? ...but I will never stop trying. Won’t you join me? We could truly make God’s light shine all over Wantagh and Levittown, and spread it to the world!
Your refund check is enclosed. If you paid in cash, the parish will issue you a refund check which will be mailed to you in the near future.
We wish each and every one of the 553 families who registered for VBS this year a peaceful and joy-filled summer filled with God's abundant blessings!
When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you,
but merely opening your hands to receive something better.
The Will of God will never take you
where the Grace of God will not protect you.
We love our VBS Family ♥
God Bless You Always,
Mrs. Margie Woods – VBS Director – [email protected]
&
Mr. Tim Woods, Mr. Chris, and Miss Elizabeth.
