Saturday, July 31, 2010

TSMSS - VBS Joint Worship Pledges


Our church had Vacation Bible School (VBS) this week, and it prompted me to recall the VBS experiences from my childhood, as well as other church memories, in yesterday's Friday Flashback.

One part of VBS that I did not mention is Joint Worship, which is what the daily time when all the classes came together was called in the 1960's and early 1970's.

The VBS classes all lined up outside the sanctuary and then walked in to sit together, with the youngest classes going in first. Then the ones chosen that day to be the bearers of the flags and Bible proceeded to the front. (It was a HUGE deal to be chosen to carry the flags or Bible! Or to be the leader for the day!) Then came the pledges, followed by a song, and the songs were the same every year. Before each pledge, the leader would say, "Attention, Salute, Pledge."

First up was the Pledge of Allegiance:

I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America,
one nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.


My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty
Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died
Land of the pilgrims' pride
From every mountainside
let freedom ring.

Then the pledge to the Christian flag:

I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag
and to the Savior for Whose kingdom it stands.
One brotherhood, uniting all Christians
In service and love.


Fairest Lord Jesus
Ruler of all nature
O, Thou of God and man, the Son
Thee will I cherish
Thee will I honor
Thou, my soul's glory, joy, and crown.

And finally, the pledge to the Bible:

I pledge allegiance to the Bible,
God's Holy Word,
and will make it a lamp unto my feet,
a light unto my path,
and will hide its word in my heart
that I may not sin against God.


Holy Bible, book divine,
Precious treasure, thou art mine
Mine to tell me whence I came
Mine to teach me what I am.

Raise your hand if you have ever heard of those last two pledges before! They are deeply ingrained in my memory!

VBS has changed a lot since I was a kid, and while I don't think we necessarily need to bring back the pledges, I think it's important to recognize and appreciate our heavenly citizenship and the written Word of God. Here's a newer song that I just love which expresses so well the precious treasure the Bible is.




Don't forget to visit Amy's for more songs!



Flags: stock.xchng
Bible: Google Images


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12 comments:

Hazel said...

Wonderful choice. I love Michael Smith and this is my first time to listen to this song and I enjoyed it. I remember having joint worship at school in the Philippines in the late 70s til early 90s.

My late grandma, taught by American soldiers around WWII, used to sing "My country tis of thee..." while she cooked. I told her I noticed the song in our church hymnal. We looked for it and indeed there it is.

Michelle said...

I do remember having Joint Worship as a child and saying the pledges. My boys also had the pleasure of this experience. This is a great post.

Pamela Scott said...

I love your song choice....I remember joint worship, wow the memories....and I do remember sayint those pledges...

Thena said...

Wonderful song. One of these days I'm going to slow down enough to join in on Flashback Friday.
have a blessed weekend!!!

Julie Stiles Mills said...

Never heard this song before - thanks for sharing it!

Teacher Engineer said...

love this song,my first time to heardd it..thanks for this;)singing with u..;)

Cathy said...

Thanks for the memories Linda.

Cathy said...

That is beautiful, Linda, thanks for sharing it and your wonderful memories.

Anonymous said...

My hand is raised. Can you see it? I remember years of attending VBS and then years of working in VBS. I can't remember but maybe one time that I was chosen to carry the Bible. Yes, that was special. Great memories!

LOVE, MERCY AND GRACE...GOD'S GRACE said...

Yay!! My hand is raised!!! I loved being able to carry one of the flags or the bible!! I almost strutted when I did!! And the pledges and the songs we'd sing....oh! yes!! It was a special thing! You're right, VBS has changed so much now.

I can remember when we would have a parade on the Saturday before VBS would begin....there would be balloons, streamers, etc. and we'd head down the road and on the streets and honk the horns and yell and hollar to let everyone know we were having VBS!! I loved that too! A special memory!

Thanks again for sharing!! Loved it!

~Beth

Unknown said...

We sand Ancient Words at our VBS this year- my daughter loved this song!!!

And so do I am!

~Becca

Amy Wyatt said...

I love this memory. My kid still say the pledge to the Bible and Christian Flag at school and I'm so glad they do. Loved the song too.