I'm posting the words of the prayer I used yesterday in the service from Valley of Vision, a book of prayers which I cannot recommend highly enough as a guide to prayer (several had asked after the service).

O LORD,

In prayer I launch far out into the eternal world, and on that broad ocean my soul triumphs over all evils on the shores of mortality.

Time, with its frivolous amusements and cruel disappointments, never appears so inconsiderate as then.

In prayer I see myself as nothing; I find my heart going after thee with intensity, and long with vehement thirst to live to thee.

Blessed be the strong gales of the Spirit that speed me on my way to the New Jerusalem.

In prayer all my worldly cares, fears, and anxieties disappear, and are of as little significance as a puff of wind.

In prayer my soul inwardly exults with lively thoughts at what thou are doing for thy church, and I long that thou shouldest get thyself a great name from sinners returning to Zion.

In prayer, I am lifted above the frowns and flatteries of life, and taste heavenly joys; entering into the eternal world, I can give myself to thee with all my heart, to be thine forever.

In prayer I can place all my concerns in thy hands, to be entirely at thy disposal, having no will or interest of my own.

In prayer I can intercede for my friends, ministers, sinners, the church, thy kingdom to come, with greatest freedom, ardent hopes,

as a son to his father,

as a lover to the beloved.

Help me to be all prayer and never to cease praying.

Above is a picture of a Vacation Bible Club held by our church in 1948 and directed by the Pastor's wife, Mrs. Charles Massey

I'm also including excerpts from an article from the August 17th Wall Street Journal about Children's summer programs like our Backyard Bible Club which someone handed to me yesterday. It is longish and I may not agree with everything I read here, but it's a reminder of how outsiders may be reached. (You may be able to read all of the original article here: http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110010484)

Vacationing with Jesus

by Jennifer Graham

There comes a time in every mother’s life when she has to make a decision to save herself and her loved ones, even if it means taking a leap of faith. There comes a time for Vacation Bible School.

The large signs beckon from every suburban church. Free baby-sitting, they whisper. All week! It is a seductive pitch, directed at frazzled parents desperate to entertain their bored offspring as the summer drags on.

A refuge for frazzled parents,

an opportunity for churches

Vacation Bible School, or VBS, differs by denomination, but churches that offer it share a common goal: to expose children to the Gospel, and maybe, just maybe, recruit their families into the church. For Southern Baptists, the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., VBS is the most effective tool of evangelism, the impetus for 26% of baptisms in 2006. Nearly three million children and adults attended VBS at Southern Baptist churches last year, resulting in 94,980 “decisions to receive Christ as Savior” and 280,693 “Sunday School prospects discovered,” according to Southern Baptist Convention statisticians “Vacation Bible School is today’s revival,” said Jerry Wooley, the VBS specialist for LifeWay, the SBC’s publishing agency.

Vacation Bible School was the brainchild of a Mrs. D.T. Miles, wife of a Methodist minister in Hopedale, Illinois. Mrs. Miles, it is said, was concerned that the children of her husband’s congregation weren’t learning enough on Sundays and needed a month-long course of study over the summer. The first session, in 1884, had 37 students. Like its modern-day counterparts, it included arts and crafts, singing, exercise, drama and Bible study . . .

Chapel Hill United Methodist Church, in Chapel Hill, Tenn., has 150 members, and for them, VBS was a budget-breaking expense. At $1,000, it “is one of our highest funded pro- grams,” said Jenny Youngman, the wife of the pastor. The investment paid off: Chapel Hill's program, held July 22 to 26, drew 55 children each evening and resulted in three new families attending church the next weekend.

VBS often begins or ends with a party—as simple as a family worship service with refreshments afterward, or as elaborate as a carnival with pony rides. During the course of the week, children may go on field trips, and they often take home T-shirts, CDs, hats, bracelets and videos. Usually all of this is free, while a week at other camps can cost $250 or more. . . .

Glynis Jaszewski, a Roman Catholic who lives in the suburbs of Richmond, Va., sent her two children to Vacation Bible Schools at Protestant churches without qualms. “When I was working, they would always go to two or three of them in the summer; it was day care,” Mrs. Jaszewski said. She believes their generic Christian message doesn’t vary much, even across denominational lines. . . .

Mrs. Youngman, the pastor’s wife, said churches welcome any child to VBS, whatever the parents’ intent. “If we can connect with just one family, it’s worth it,” she said.

Ms. Graham is a writer in the suburbs of Boston.