A summer of religion, science and more

On a recent morning, 12 young students at a Bible-study summer program at St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church in Marble Hill measured ingredients for a science experiment.

It called for vinegar, hot water and baking soda, and the tough part was getting the math right.

“How many quarters are there in a half-cup?” Waveney Lee, the program’s director, asked her class.

“Four,” answered one student. “Two,” said another.

Ms. Lee held up four fingers to explain that each finger represented a quarter-cup, helping the students realize that the correct answer was two.

The goal of the lesson, offered as part of the St. Stephen’s vacation bible study program, was to introduce science to students and spark their interest in the subject. It was the first of two science experiments taking place that day.

“I thought it would be good for the kids to be involved in,” Ms. Lee said. “Maybe help them grow into accepting science as something they need to learn. It’s fun and I hope that it’s fun for them.”

The program also teaches Bible study, art, dance and healthy eating to children ranging in age from 4 to 12. Students also take trips to local attractions, such as Wave Hill and Van Cortlandt Park.

To Roberta King, whose 7-year-old granddaughter Natalia Hillking attends the program, the convenience, curriculum and lessons on healthy eating are the best parts.

“What really blew my mind was when we went shopping and, you know, [looking at] the list about the calories, [Natalia] said: ‘We can’t have this. This has too much salt,’” Ms. King said. “When reading the labels on the cans of food, Natalia said that some were too high in carbohydrates for her father, who is a diabetic.

Natalia said she “always buys broccoli” when food shopping with her family. But her favorite part of the program is not nutrition, but the dance portion: “I like this camp because we get to dance on the stage … We get to do art and stuff.”

Gloria Flores, whose seven-year-old son, Izavieo, returned for a second summer at the summer program gave a rave review to the curriculum.

“They teach him about the Bible. Also, they teach him good manners. They teach him science,” Ms. Flores said. “To tell you the truth, they are better than summer camp.”

She added that the Bible study portion of the program stands out to her and that she wants her son to learn more about Jesus.

The program was founded in 2005 by St. Stephen’s church member Audrey Ferguson Jackson, who died in 2014. She initially recruited students by setting up a table in front of the church and registered children on the street as they walked by with their families. She also asked her church friends from help. Many of them still volunteer with the program today. This summer, 10 volunteers staff the program.

The price is five dollars per week for its five-week session, which runs from July 5 to Aug. 5. Students receive breakfast and lunch through free meal programs.

According to Paulette Shomo, who has been volunteering since 2005, the program is also a way to introduce students and their families to St. Stephen’s church.

For Bible study teacher Geraldine Miller, a retired New York City public school teacher, volunteering is a way to give back to a program that helped her great-granddaughter.

“My great-granddaughter, three years ago was in this program,” Ms. Miller said. “She has since moved to Tampa, Florida. But, she remembers the program and she enjoyed herself so much. I felt that I had an opportunity to give back from her experience.”

Dorothy Shepherd, who has volunteered since 2005, said she most enjoyed seeing former students return and catch up with the staff. “We see the children that were here. They move on and then they always come back and see us and say: ‘How are you doing?’ I loved it. We had a good time here,’” she said. “One fella just brought his niece and nephew and he told them this is where I came. So, they came for a summer.”

As to the students, they enjoyed both experiments. They went outside and they dropped three pieces of Mentos candy into a 16-ounce bottle of soda – producing what participants described as a soda geyser. In the second experiment, they poured vinegar, hot water and baking soda into a plastic bag and quickly sealed the top. The mixture fizzed up, and the pressure of the carbon gasses forced the plastic bag to open.