H.O.P.E. Outreach activities

Closing activities for the H.O.P.E. Summer Reading Outreach will be held at Hope Fellowship Church, 2921 N. Belt Highway, beginning at 1:15 p.m. July 1 for children at Oakridge Apartments and the Bartlett Center. The starting time for children at Brittany Village Apartments and the Noyes Home will be at 2:15 p.m. July 2.

The activities will include a puppet show presented by Melissa Sager and her team from In His Hands Puppet Ministry. There will be games for children of all ages whereby participants may earn tickets to exchange for prizes at various prize booths. Refreshments will be served. Volunteers are welcome. For more information, please call the Rev. Earnestine Blakley at 279-8829.

‘Eye Doc in a Box’ seminar

Dr. David Curtis, OD, will be conducting a seminar on Aug. 8 at McCarthy Baptist Church, 2710 S. Belt Highway, on how to offer eye clinics in third world countries as a way to meet needs and share Christ’s love. Dr. Curtis’ system can work in a village with no electricity, in any third world country. The cost of the seminar is $75 per person and includes seminar materials and lunch. Call the church office at 279-2432 as soon as possible to reserve a seat. The church also is collecting used glasses for eye clinics in third world countries.

First Lutheran offers pre-school

Helping Hands Preschool is located inside First Lutheran Church at 302 S. 10th St. Pre-k academic skills are taught in a Christian setting by an experienced teacher with a degree in education. School hours are 8:50 to 11:30 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Some scholarships are available. For more information, please call the director, Lin Starks, at 232-8378.

VBS at Central Christian

Central Christian Church, 1501 N. Leonard Road, invites children to Crocodile Dock. Kids jump into bayou fun at Crocodile Dock, where they participate in Bible-learning activities, sing songs, play teamwork-building games, dig into treats and experience Bible adventures. Plus, kids will learn to look for evidence of God all around them through something called “God sightings.” Each day concludes with Firefly Finale, a celebration that gets everyone involved in living what they’ve learned.

Crocodile Dock is for kids ages 4 through 12 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. July 6 through 10. For more information, call 233-4144.

VBS at McCarthy Baptist

Kick-off and pre-registration for McCarthy Baptist Church’s vacation Bible school, Boomerang Express, will take place July 12 at the St. Joseph Aquatic Park. Come out for a cook-out with free food from 6 to 7 p.m. and swimming in the aquatic park from 7 to 8 p.m. The cost to get in to the water park is $1 per person.

The vacation Bible school will take place from 6 through 8:30 p.m. July 13 through 17, with a finale for children and their families at 10:45 a.m. July 19.

Lifestyles reporter Erin Wisdom can be reached at religion@npgco.com.