“Going Bananas” Holiday Club has given us in Sketty a busy week!  Stories of Gideon, Elijah, Zacchaeus and Jemima (who you may not recognise by name!) were told and enjoyed.  Ripe and Rotten created fun and mayhem.  There were interviews as characters emerged from the Time Shed, craft work, games, and conversations.  Parish Centre Airlines lumbered into the stratosphere daily, with creaks and groans echoed by the aerobics necessary to prevent DVT (which probably stands for “desperately vacuous theology”).

Of course, the point was not just to make the stories known.  The way they were presented strongly implied that they had meaning and relevance.  Gideon lived a long time ago in a very different culture, but he still had to learn about being brave, and trusting God – a key issue today.  Elijah used dry stone walling technique and barbecue skills, but there was much more about the power of God (as opposed to alternatives that just don’t work!).  Zacchaeus thought his wealth more important than his loneliness, until Jesus called him out of his tree, and life fell into place.

You will recognise that this is not just for the kids!  The challenge for all of us is to live by what we know of God, and to go on learning and correcting what we think we know.  The stories of scripture encourage, teach, correct, - in fact, you can never be quite sure what is going to come up, or come out of the text, next.  It is easier, and more fun, to learn with other people, whether in church, a group – or a holiday club.  You can even take them with you in a book, or on a CD.  The method matters less that the lifelong learning of Jesus and his way.

Andrew Knight