This is the second year our parish has cancelled VBS due to lack of enrollment. It had been going on for years before that.I think he would be on board if we show him an authentically Catholic program, not just the Catholic version of the big box.
The one I am volunteering at is a 3 parish effort; however all 3 parishes are under one DRE. My parish joined forces with another parish one year, but there were issues, egos, etc.
That’s not the point, though. Many Pastors see the summer as staff downtime. Unless you have worked closely with staff or been on one, you have no idea how many unpaid hours go into Advent/Christmas, Lent/Easter. A lot of Pastors just don’t want the summer to be anything but relaxed and give everyone a break. It’s how they “pay” the staff back, they get plenty of extra days off.
That is a good start! See if you can get a few more parents on board for next year and try again. One parish that I sometimes attend on the weekends, starts fund raising for their VBS very early in the year. They put together a list of items needed for craft projects and snacks and ask for donations, and they start raising money with bake sales, raffles etc… By Summer the whole parish has some how contributed to the program and it is a big hit every year.
That might play into the reasoning. We stopped having VBS when the DRE & music director who ran it (husband & wife team) moved to another parish. There were also budgetary concerns, though for what we were charging ($40 - $50 per child), I don’t think it was breaking any budgets. It seems that it was a matter of interest, leadership & volunteers. I have developed a parent survey that I want to send out in September, to gauge whether there really is interest.
Good luck. What program are you using?
I had the opportunity to speak to our DRE yesterday, and she is definitely interested in having it next year and was happy that I will “shadow” the director at the neighboring parish this year to learn all I can about running it. I absolutely agree that the process starts in the fall. I developed a survey for parents that I want to send out in September or October, to gauge parent/parish interest. Then we would need to choose a program. The cost varies, and though the Catholic version of the big box programs appear to cost less, they may not be the best bargains overall. I am learning how to keep costs down & still present a quality program from other VBS leaders. Then we have to get volunteers - adult & youth, early bird registration discounts, discounts for children whose parents volunteer, service hours for youth volunteers, etc.
But there is nothing un-Catholic about offering a summer program as an adjunct to religious ed. I have done my research. The Catholic version of Gospel Light has an imprimatur & links to the CCC, & is offered by Ligouri publications - a Catholic publisher. The Group program advertises as “Totally Catholic” & is offered by by Our Sunday Visitor/Harcourt - another Catholic publisher. I have looked at both the Catholic versions & the Protestant versions of these programs and they are different. The Bible stories are the same, but the lessons reference the Sacraments & CCC as well as the scriptures. Here is the rub. The Catholic version resources - Saint Cards, CD with Catholic songs, etc, cost extra. My biggest problem with these is that because the** title** is the same, people see the Protestant church down the road offering what appears to be the same thing for free & the Catholic parish charges; I have paid as much as $50/per grandchild when my parish did offer it.
The Baptists, etc. don’t charge because their programs are underwritten and staffed by volunteers who have done it for donkey’s years. I think the concept is great. I also think we Catholics need to book it as something better than/different from VBS because the connotation would be that we are “copying” them or just doing exactly what they do. I don’t know, maybe that’s just me, but I think marketing it differently might help some people. Just the name “Vacation Bible School” is off-putting to me.
I have only one question: are you doing this with the full knowledge and permission of your Pastor? If you end-run the boss, it tends to not work out very well. Besides being exceedingly rude.