Messy Church Fiesta
Not Just Glue and Glitter!
Messy Church isn't about glue and glitter; it's more about how people come to faith, about how families work, about how God works with people. When Jesus walked on the earth, he worked with messy people.
Lucy Moore
More than eighty people gathered at Llangollen Pavilion for the St Asaph Messy Church Fiesta. Some came with experience of running Messy Church events in their own churches, some came to learn more about how to get started, and others came because their Vicar dragged them along!
As well as hearing the inspiring story of how Messy Church began in a local church in Portsmouth, partcipants were also given an opportunity to experience some Messy Church activities and to share ideas.
A follow-up event is already being planned.
Tim Feak, Under 25s' Officer, introduced the day, which was led by Lucy Moore, the author of the Messy Church books.
Representatives came from across the Diocese; some with experience of their own Messy Church ventures - Southsea, Welshpool and Bala were represented, for example - and others came to discover more.
Lucy Moore shared the vision that her church had had of doing church differently for children and their parents.
We dreamed of a way of being church
to appeal to the whole family.
After an ice breaker activity, in which we discovered just how far people had travelled to participate in the day, the day unfolded as a conversation between Lucy, those with experiences to share with others, and those who had lots of questions to ask.
We heard from the parish of Caerwys about 'Churchyardigans', their monthly Messy Church, and met Caerwys church members Ali Dore and Tim Woodhead. Ali is now the regional coordinator for Messy Church.
Questions were asked about how to make Messy Church appealing to men and boys, how to publicise Messy Church, and about whether more people come to church on a Sunday as a result of Messy Church events. But, said Lucy Moore, this is not the aim of Messy Church:
For the people who come, this is their church service. This is church - but not as you know it!
Lucy Moore (paraphrased!)
Before lunch, there was opportunity to explore some of the Messy Church activities, which included craft, art and prayer.
This isn't just for children.
We have to try to be all-age in all we do.Lucy Moore
The Values of Messy Church are
- Christ-centred
- Creativity
- Hospitality
- Celebration
- All-age
Is it better to send some people out, segregated because of their age, or to learn how to be the Body of Christ together?
Lucy Moore
The afternoon concluded as Lucy used story-telling skills to explore what it means to be the Body of Christ.
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