Bible school also about the arts

Iona-Hope Episcopal Church has created a version of the typical summer vacation Bible school for parents with children interested in the arts.

The south Fort Myers church on Gladiolus is offering a week-long arts and Bible camp starting June 16. Registration is under way and ends Friday.

"It's totally created by our folks at the church," said Adele Dees Hatfield, the camp's organizer. "The overarching theme is going to be faithfulness to God and how all of these stories help us to learn and understand what that means."

But understanding the meaning of stories in the Bible isn't the only focus at the camp, which is open to children ages 6 to 13.

"It's a wonderful opportunity for them to come and play together and learn together," said John Adler, the senior pastor at the church. "There is a big need ... a lot of kids that are living in our environment that probably don't have a lot of contact with the church."

Building that contact is what camp organizers hope will keep kids coming back to the church even after the camp has ended.

"We are trying to at least offer this program to fill that need and just have them learn to have a good time together," Adler said.

Participants of the camp will spend the first three days at camp from 9 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.

"We will be using the arts as a way to help them understand and experience these stories in some meaningful way," said Hatfield, who was a music teacher for 28 years.

During the week, children will prepare to perform two plays for family members at the conclusion of the camp. The plays were created by Broadway Palms Theatre's Tom Prather, who will act as the playwright, director and set designer.

"I know how important the arts are to helping a child get creativity and teach them that they might have a gift for music or drama," said Hatfield, noting that some of the older children will work with the younger ones.

The camp costs $75 per child and a discount will be given to parents with more than one child. It's limited to 25 children.

"They will get some exposure to Jesus which I think is a very positive thing," Adler said.