Hey, what’s Jerusalem Marketplace all about?
During the week of July 18-22 at 6:30 pm, the Calvary Baptist Church Fellowship Hall will be transformed into a bustling marketplace depicting the ancient city of Jerusalem in the first century. This year’s “Jerusalem Marketplace” theme, titled “Where Jesus Walked to the Cross”, will focus on the last days of Christ’s ministry on earth. Through this inter-generational program, participants will learn about the roots of our Christian faith through Jewish tradition and culture.
How can I get involved? Over 60 members of Calvary’s church family will be in costume to create the atmosphere of a Jewish community through marketplace shops where participants becomes apprentices. Unlike our Vacation Bible School programs of the past, “Jerusalem Marketplace” involves the whole family. You can volunteer to help by going to the VBS table in the hall way behind the sanctuary and sign up.
What will my family be doing? Lots of things! Pots will be cast in the pottery shop, dreidels and wooden harps will be built in the carpentry shop, and matzoh covers and reed baskets will be woven in the weaving shop. Participants will learn about ancient candy making, discover the fragrance of herbs and spices, and beat metal into glittering jewelry necklaces.
What will my family learn? “Jerusalem Marketplace” will provide Bible-learning activities through family interaction. Each day, families will join other families to create small groups named after one of the 12 tribes of Israel. Each tribe will learn about Jewish culture through examples found in the Old and New Testaments. Families will learn first-hand about the meaning of the Seder meal at Passover, the purpose of the mezuzah, the origin of the menorah and the Havdalah candle, and taste freshly baked bread from dough hand-kneaded earlier each evening. In Synagogue School, students will use feather quills to carve Hebrew letters into clay tablets while the ‘rabbi’ teaches from the Torah.
What else will my ‘tribe’ do? Tribes will learn about games children played in the first century at the village playground, participate in traditional Jewish dancing, and witness daily dramas at the village well concerning rumors about a man named Jesus. Tribe members will discover the importance of animals in ancient Jerusalem with the addition of live animals in the “Marketplace Barnyard”. Families will also receive souvenir copies of “Jerusalem Daily News” which will allow them to compare life in Bible times to life today.