Messy Church is a way of being church for families and others who like stories, craft, games and a nice bit of food!.
It is Christ-centred, for all ages, based on creativity, hospitality and celebration.
Everyone welcome – children, parents, grannies, individuals of any age. Grown-ups tend to work with their children or even have a go at the crafts themselves – and many sit and chat over breakfast.
Our Messy Church runs on the second Saturday of each month at church (except on a few occasions when we meet at Burrs Country Park; see the June and July "messy reports" below); we start at 10:30 am with breakfast!
There isn't a messy church in August.
We look forward to meeting you – or seeing you again.
No cost and no need to book, just come along and why not bring a friend.
P.S The breakfast would be something like sausage butties and we do cater for vegetarians.
All leaders are DBS checked.
Messy Church - June
We built the Tower of Babel at June’s Messy Church! But it fell down!
We heard the story of Pentecost; the disciples hiding away but then the Holy Spirit came and they could speak and understand each other in different languages. And they had tongues of fire!
We decorated cakes to look like they were on fire and thought about how the Spirit changes us as we did paper and colouring craft, making caterpillars and butterflies.
Breakfast was fire on toast (red - jam: orange - marmalade). How many of you are wondering if we burnt the toast?
We learnt a new song and played a game with flags from different countries.
Phew - that was a busy Messy Church.
Join us next month, Saturday 12th July at 10:30am. Bring your best friend, bring all your mates, bring your Granny!
We start with breakfast - all free, of course!
Messy Church - May
We had a beach party at May's Messy church! Michelle brought her boat and we caught fish in nets, just as Jesus instructed his disciples to do. But where Jesus and his friends ate fish for breakfast, we had that old beach favourite, sausage and sand butties!
"Do you love me?" Jesus asked. Have a look at our heart-shaped hand prints on display in the hall - we like to get messy. We made (and decorated) fish biscuits with Gill, and also mosaic fish on sticks to wave around. Our game was a bit fishy, too. We thought about Peter and the start of the Church - more on that next month when you are ALL WELCOME!
Saturday 14 June at 10:30am. Bring your best friend, bring all your mates, bring your Granny! We start with breakfast - all free, of course!
Messy Church - April
Messy Easter was indeed messy, but also reflective. Deacon Michelle led us through the events of Holy Week, inviting us to stand in the shoes of those present each day, and consider their responses. Then we marched round singing "We are marching in the light of God".
We made some pretty interesting Easter nests (using marshmallow instead of chocolate - what's that about?) and, as it was the day before Palm Sunday, we painted a donkey. The intrepid ones plunged their foot and hand into paint to get the shape of the donkey peering through foliage. More paint was needed to paint egg cups and boiled eggs - our own Easter people!
We ran round finding pieces for our Easter jigsaw and took home an Easter card, a book and a chocolate egg. HAPPY EASTER, EVERYONE! (It's not over until Pentecost which means, of course, we can have a chocolate egg every day until then ...). Next Messy Church takes place on Saturday 10 May at 10:30 am - we're hoping to have a beach party. Bikinis out!
Messy Church - March
We're still looking at the I AM statements, to get an understanding of Jesus' nature. At our Messy meeting in March, we examined the sheepy ones: I am the good shepherd and I am the gate to the sheepfold.
Angela had us all running round looking for pictures of sheep and shepherds, and we made some edible sheep with Gill.
Other crafts: tubular shepherds, and sheeps on sticks, along with cards to remind us that God knows all his sheep by name.
We're now preparing for Messy Easter - on Saturday 12 April at 10:30am. Breakfast in March was pancakes. In April it will be hot cross buns - what else? Lamb? Chocolate!
Messy Church - February
It was lovely to see some new faces at Messy Church in February, including officially our youngest member, just born and not yet named!
We continued with our theme of Jesus' I AM statements, looking at I AM the Bread of Life and I AM the True Vine.
Gill combined both ideas in cookery corner: our young people made bread in the shape of a vine (with grapes the size and colour of sprouts. Think Shrek .... We also made a colourful vine to hang up at home - with Angela's jigsaw game and new song bringing the session to a close.
These Messy reports were written for and are included in our monthly church newsletter.