Children Send Message to the Future

By Anna Walsh

Sealing the capsuleThe children at the Congregational Church in Dunstable have recently been exploring, "How the Bible came to be".  One of the stories in the Old Testament is about a king called Josiah.  In his day the early books of the Old Testament had been lost and forgotten about but miraculously, when King Josiah's subjects had been given the task of renovating the temple, they were rediscovered after many years of being lost.

Ready to plantIn a modern day comparison the Sunday School children have been putting together their own material to place in a time capsule.  Through drawings and writings they have told future generations why they come to Sunday School and what they learn about.  They have also explained what they do here in Dunstable and what life is like for them.  With these writings we also placed a Bible and other books and posters explaining Christianity.

Digging the holeThe stainless steel, 22 inch, capsule was then sealed with silicon glue and the children dripped hot wax over the joint to seal it up completely.  A hole was dug, which went below the frost line, outside on the church front lawn.  The children helped to bury the capsule, replacing the dirt themselves, followed by some bulb planting to mark the spot!  Once the job was done, after a very windy morning, all the children and their parents went into Fellowship Hall for hot chocolate and a warm up!

Some flowers to mark the spotMaybe when these children have grandchildren of their own they will be able to tell the story of the windy Sunday morning in Dunstable when they buried a time capsule on the church lawn and they'll be able to describe all the things that are in it and explain why.