A proud seagull stands guard at Two Lights State Park.

Searching for God in Cape Elizabeth

We talk about it to our family and friends, to each other, and sometimes even to strangers during our walks around this marvelous corner of the country we call home — we are blessed to live by the sea and its magnificient coastline.

During this summer’s Vacation Bible School, we want to document those inner feelings with a project the Spiritual Life Committee has labeled “Searching for God in Cape Elizabeth.”

During the past few years, Vacation Bible School has given us the opportunity to be creative with stained glass, balloons and kites, and, of course, the birth of Amazing Grace, our welcoming giraffe.

This year, on three evenings from 6-8 p.m. — July 26-28 — we will dig deeper with our creative spirits to present God’s presence in the Cape.

We will go out into the community, to the state parks, to the coastline, to the forests — anywhere we sense and know we will find evidence of God in our world. We will bring that evidence back to the church and present our findings to each other, and eventually the entire congregation.

Our creative energies will take many forms — photography, poetry, music, paintings, drawings, skits or whatever form of expression best fits what we have discovered and want to share.

To help inspire us, the Spiritual Life Committee has selected three Bible verses as the foundation for searches. On the first evening of VBS, we will be divided into teams, given the opportunity to select one of the verses, and then begin our search.

This project will truely be intergenerational with teams of our youngest and oldest church members working together while searching for evidence of God throughout the Cape. We also want to make it clear that this is a project open to the public and we encourage everyone to invite family and friends.

We also want individuals and families who will be away during Vacation Bible School to still have the chance to participate. Listed below are the three Bible verses that will be used during VBS. On your own time, conduct your own search and when the time is right, bring your creative results back to the church to share.

The three Bible verses:

Genesis 1:10: “And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.”

Matthew 6: 26-29: “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

Job 37:14: “Listen to this, O Job; Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.”

Before each night’s activities for the VBS project, we will share a meal together: pizza on Monday, hamburgers and hot dogs on Tuesday and pot luck with everyone’s contributions on Wednesday.

This year’s Vacation Bible School project has so many wonderful possibilities — we look forward to your participation and creativity.

Beach roses at Two Lights.