All God’s Children
July 27-31
This summer’s Hillcrest Kidz Camp promises to be another great week of learning, fun, and energy! We will learn about the common background and values of the three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Our activities and stories will come from these three religions and will focus on the common values of Faithfulness, Kindness, Wisdom, and Generosity & Thankfulness.
Overview:
Abraham is central to each of the three Abrahamic religions. God calls Abraham to leave his home and travel to a new land and worship one God. Most peoples at that time worshipped many gods; Abraham’s faithfulness to God is one of the greatest stories in the religion of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Ruth’s faithfulness to Naomi and loyalty to one’s family will also help the children understand faithfulness to God.
The Hebrew Scriptures, or Torah, are also found in the Christian bible, where they are called the Old Testament. For Jewish people, there is nothing “Old” about it; it is just that Christians have another part of their bible called the New Testament, about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was born to a young Jewish mother named Mary. For Christians, Jesus lived and taught people of his time and all of us now about God’s love and about living the best life by showing God’s love in our actions. Jews worship in a synagogue or temple with their rabbi. Christians worship in a church with their minister, pastor, or priest.
Muslims, like Jews and Christians, believe in one God, whom they call “Allah” (which means “God” in Arabic; Arab Christians also pray to “Allah”). Their religion is called Islam. Muslims honor Abraham and Jesus as great prophets, or people who speak God’s truth. For Muslims, God revealed the scriptural truth to a particular prophet whose name is Mohammed. The central teachings, or scripture, of Islam is the Qur’an, or Koran. Muslims worship Allah, or God, in a mosque with their imam.
The stories and activities that we share will reveal that these three religions have common, shared values, the message that we hope each camper will experience and remember.
Beyond its attractive campus and facilities, Hillcrest’s campus affords us the opportunity to engage the good and important work of Hillcrest’s Community Food Pantry, Clothing and Layette Program: The particular experience of being generous by bringing gently used clothing and baby items and food will provide the campers a lesson in sharing, which all three religions emphasize as a core value.
Please feel free to call us at the church office with any questions or comments that you may have.
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