Publishing VBS Musicals

Reformed Church of Highland Park
Highland Park, NJ

The Reformed Church of Highland Park (RCHP) has written, composed, recorded, taught, and performed 7 original children’s musicals for our yearly Vacation Bible School. These musicals are written to reflect and respond to the diverse identities and experiences of our community’s children and youth, and they instill progressive and inclusive messages about God’s love and the healing power of community. We want to publish these valuable resources to make them available to other progressive congregations or community groups. We also are interested in exploring how these musicals could be gathered as a wider collection on building resilience and hope in children.

We believe in the power of art to teach, to heal, and to strengthen individuals, families and communities. RCHP also understands its mission, in large part, as a calling to serve the broader “parish” outside the walls of our church, which involves meaningful relationships with other faith groups, other faith traditions, and those who are struggling to find hope, peace and belonging. So many of the families we serve have been impacted by the abuses of the world (refugees, undocumented immigrants, affordable housing tenants, etc.). We have witnessed the power of these children’s musicals to be a conduit of healing and empowerment, and we hope to serve other congregations through this resource.