messy church Archives - Page 2 of 2

The Beacon

It used to be an industrial heartland but the Dartford Bridge area became ripe for redevelopment and housing schemes began to spring up on Thames Gateway sites previously dominated by factories and business. The Beacon came into being when the local Methodist Church appointed Bart Woodhouse as lay leader of a new church plant team.

I moved on to the Bridge development in north Dartford with my family while the bulldozers were still very much in evidence in early 2008 so we were among the first five or six people to be here! At first we simply started just to try and meet anyone else who was around so we’d take our children out and about walking, bump into our neighbours and get some conversations going.

As more and more people began to move on site, I was very keen to start a Residents' Association. We put letters through people's doors and organised an informal meeting in one of the new buildings; about 40 or 50 people come along to it.

We made it very clear that we were a church and that we wanted to work to try and build community here, firstly by getting residents together in that Association and giving them a voice.

That was a really effective way of initially getting the community together and being able to listen to what was going on. In new developments there are always issues with houses and how well the windows keep out water and so on – I was able to actually get some movement on those issues. We saw that as part of our role of building Kingdom. Part of our witness here as Christians was to consider how we could make this place a strong, vibrant and healthy place to be – so very early on we did things like holding a community carol service.

We then stumbled on the national Big Lunch initiative which encourages communities to get together for food and activities. We had a very popular tug of war, a bouncy castle and a barbecue. We also got local people to bring along some home-made food that expressed something of them and their background – a kind of signature dish. As a result of that we had goat curry and many other wonderful things! About 60 or 70 people come which, from the small community that we are at the moment, was quite a big proportion of the people here.

In our desire to help shape community we'll also be working to help create a community garden on a small plot of land on site that couldn't be built on because there's a high pressure oil pipeline underneath it. The youth club will be involved by creating a piece of art or sculpture for the centre of the garden.

We had quite a small group of people with us when we started and now there is about nine and 10 on a core team. They all have a real sense of call to be doing this kind of work but we are learning again what it means to be community and what it means to be church together. We've also got quite a large and growing fringe group and we are using things like the Y Course and other things to encourage that fringe to maybe explore the Christian faith and then hopefully transition into the cell life of the church.

It has been very much about winning trust, listening, forming real relationships and friendships with people and trying to demonstrate something of God's love to them in a practical and real way.

We meet on a Tuesday evening in cell groups – or Beacon groups – and then on one Sunday in the month we all have a big meal together, maybe with some sort of interactive prayer time. The Dartford Bridge Learning and Community Campus has been built on site and we have a room there which is just the right size for us. We also launched a celebration service at the new school on the Bridge Development in January.

Some people want to try and argue that what we're doing isn't really church, saying that it's just an extended house group or something but I really would want to defend what we're doing here by saying that we are authentically church; we are a worshipping community together. We are also about God's mission, demonstrating the Kingdom in this place, worshipping him and finding ways that are relevant for us to do that. We certainly are creating disciples in what we're doing and encouraging others as to what it might mean to explore being disciples of Christ in this place.

There are a number of challenges that I think we face in trying to shape a full and healthy Christian community here. One of them is that I'm a lay person in the Methodist Church and so I'm not able to preside at the Eucharist meal. I think there needs to be a real integrity about these new communities we're forming in being able to celebrate that meal – and all that it means – together.

We aim to:

Build a strong church that is rooted in the fullness of God's grace and demonstrates the 'Jesus life' to our community and our world;

Always strive to foster a strong and real sense of community, one that isn't invasive but supportive;

Discover a pattern of Christian life that is 24/7, not limited or detached from the rest of our lives;

Follow Jesus, and by his Spirit, demonstrate his message to others.

Our long term vision here is to create a kind of pattern of church that is so integrally part of this new community and yet is authentically a church expressing all the Kingdom values and living out the message of Christ, seeing people discover faith in Jesus and having their lives changed as a result.

Messy Church at Parkstone URC

Alison Dalton, Church Related Community Worker, looks at the growth of Messy Church at Parkstone United Reformed Church, Poole.

We began our Messy Church journey four years ago with our ecumenical partners – the Parish of Parkstone St Peter's and St Osmund's with Branksea St Mary's.

They already had really strong links with our local schools and were involved in holiday activity days. Those developing these events had been inspired by Messy Church founder Lucy Moore and wanted to explore the idea of Messy Church further. As a result we talked together and developed our team throughout 2006.

After discussions with the schools, parents and carers and wider community it was decided that the Messy Church model would be piloted over six months. However, through my experience as a Church Related Community Worker, I realised that six months was not long enough to get something off the ground and so it was extended to one year. Our Messy Church journey began in January 2007 but it was in the eleventh month that our numbers increased. Our lowest numbers in the early days were around 10 children and their carers whilst our highest numbers were over 60 children plus parents/carers.

We were in no doubt that this was a different experience to our earlier activity days, this was Messy Church! The upshot is that we have found ourselves developing a community, asking questions of ourselves about Church, baptism and who we really are. For me personally that has been a key part of the whole thing, being able to look at such questions as, 'Is this an activity or is it church?' 'If it is church, how can we make it more sustainable?' 'How can we be open to people's questioning without imposing our belief system on them?'

I feel the whole thing is about relationship. If I was in the position of forming a new traditional church and it was developing as a community, I wouldn't expect that to happen after a month or so – it would take years. Why should Messy Church be any different? I have just got to be ready to be where people are, not expect things to happen quickly but be prepared when it does.

It's all about timing and unreal expectations.

Lucy Moore has facilitated two training sessions for us and continues to support us through the Messy Church Network. Nearly four years on – and with a cluster of a dozen Messy Churches in Poole – we realise that this development is really important for us as individuals, as a team and as a wider ecumenical partnership. Parkstone and St Peter's have been a Local Ecumenical Partnership for about nine years but Messy Church, among other initiatives, has helped that partnership to deepen even further because we have got a shared goal, a shared vision and shared experience. When we work together we grow together and that's of great benefit to everyone.

Those Messy Churches which are part of our local network have worked together to ensure that they are not in competition with each other and their Messy Church times do not clash. This means that mums or dads and their children can go to all the various Messy Churches if they want to and we have already found that some parents are doing just that.

There are many personal good news stories about God's work through these churches. People who have gone forward for baptism in other churches have said it was because of their involvement in Messy Church; our Messy Church coordinator has been accepted for ministerial training; members of St Peter's youth group, and other young people, have become actively involved as volunteers while students at a local college cook – and sometimes serve – food for Messy Church sessions as part of their studies in life skills.

Messy Church in the Loughborough Circuit

In early 2000, Knightthorpe and Sileby Methodist Churches each began monthly 9.15am services as an 'experiment'. Now seven out of 10 churches in the circuit run a Messy or Café Church. Rev Jane Carter explains how it happened.

The 9.15am, half hour, informal services were for people of all ages. These went well and new people started coming; one service was lay led (team) and the other, called Arise, was led by me. This was at Sileby Methodist Church.

At Sileby we used to have coffee afterwards as a 'bridge' between the 9.15 regulars and the main congregation. It originally started because of a shortage of people to help at Sunday School; this particular church had a more elderly fellowship and this was very much seen as a new venture. We really hoped that it would attract families who were just hanging on in there at our churches, and something to invite families from the Baptism roll.

That really took off and one of the interesting sidelines was that a number of teenagers, who had never had any involvement with church at all, began to come along on a regular basis. As a result of that we started a youth fellowship.

Following a redevelopment of Sileby Church building, coinciding with the launch of the Fresh Expressions DVD showing Messy Church, the church reviewed what they had been doing and decided to stop the 9.15am service. Quite a few people had said they couldn't come to them because they were too early on a Sunday so the church relaunched the idea in a different way in the afternoons.

Knightthorpe too reviewed its 9.15 service and with the new ministers Rev Adam Wells and Deacon Jan Sutton they began a new style of service. Knightthorpe went for a monthly cafe style service and Sileby became a Messy Church, both starting at 4pm. The format was still very informal with craft, songs, Bible stories, activities, food. These again attracted new members.

Others in the circuit started to ask me what was happening at Messy Church in Sileby, and in my other churches too in Barrow upon Soar and Wymeswold. From this I then raised the idea of having a circuit team consisting of local preachers and worship leaders to offer to lead a Messy Church within the churches in the circuit and to help them to start a Messy Church on a regular basis if they so wanted. All circuit staff are actively supportive of this work.

Now seven of the 10 churches in the circuit run a monthly Messy Church/Café Church, all take place at 4pm and all have attracted new members. These are held both in town and rural churches, and one is a Local Ecumenical Partnership (Anglican/Methodist).

The issues some are facing now are: How does the church help the people who come grow in faith? How do you link them into the wider context of the church, if at all? One church is starting an Emmaus Course and is hoping and praying that members from Messy Church will come to this.

We have very good links with local schools. Every month I do an invitation containing the Messy Church details; the school at Wymeswold puts it in every school bag for the children to take home with them. Messy Church within the churches is providing a wonderful opportunity for churches to invite those on the fringes but needs to look at how people can grow in faith and discipleship.

I have been here in the circuit for 11 years but I will be leaving in 2011. However it's good to see that there are lay people already coming into leadership of Messy Church in my churches. Within the circuit we are also encouraging and developing The 'pastor in every Church scheme' and the three I am working with are all involved in the leading Messy Church, which will enable this work to continue and grow.

Although we are looking at fairly small numbers at the moment there is real long-term potential for growth and evangelism. At Barrow on Soar they have dropped their 6pm evening service to concentrate on the 4pm Messy Church, and we now get more people coming at 4 than we had at 6.

It has taken time to get things going but to me it's very encouraging that a lot of chapels with elderly congregations have seen the vision for this and gone with it. It's not only young families who are being drawn in; sometimes grandparents bring their grandchildren and in one area a farmer comes on his own from another village and joins in with the activities.

One of our practical questions here was about whether or not the church should make the food for Messy Church. Instead the Messy Churches I am involved in provide it on a bring and share basis and that seems to work very well. In Wymeswold, a dad whose family come to Messy Church provides gorgeous cakes for it because he's a chef. He never comes himself but we're very grateful for his contribution! We're now looking at the possibility of organising social events for the parents; there are lots of opportunities out there.

Tudeley Messy Church

Revd Pamela Ive is parish deacon at All Saints,Tudeley, and she is thrilled at the development of Messy Church in her area. She tells the story so far.

I attended the Fresh Expressions mission shaped ministry course from September 2008 to July 2009 in Rochester. It was really useful and made me rethink a lot of things about how we reach out to people and, in certain aspects, also helped me to be more realistic about which goals were achievable.

As a result we changed the style and format of midweek after-school activity we had been doing for quite a while and I have been surprised and delighted at the response we've had to it.

In the past we had a monthly meeting called Light on Thursday which was really a discussion time with a very few mums who had gone through confirmation, and a couple of others who had joined along the way. There was a minimal amount of worship while the children had tea but there was not much faith input for them. That folded after about four years when the volunteer helpers moved on.

I prayed with a member of a local Baptist Church about the direction in which we were meant to go. A third person came along from Christians Together in Capel and she had a vision that we should set up Messy Church so we decided to pool our resources and put our energies into that.

We are in a Local Ecumenical Partnership (Tudeley cum Capel with Five Oak Green), and Messy Church really came together because of the involvement of a number of churches. We also have an Ecumenical Church Council and they were happy to support it financially.

We are meeting on the fourth Sunday of the month at Five Oak Green United Church, and decided to schedule 10 Messy Churches for this year. Helpers come from the Baptists, the Anglican/URC LEP and a local charismatic Free Church.

We decided to stick to Sundays because we are quite close to London and a lot of dads don't get back until 7pm or 8pm from work during the week. If the children are aged five or six, that’s no good for them on a weekday, so we opted for Sunday from 4.45pm for an hour. I think that time of day is perfect. They have had their Sunday lunch and they may be on their way back home after time out somewhere, this is dead time and we fill the gap.

At our first meeting we catered for 40, buying two hotdogs for each person expected so we got 80. Then somebody reminded me that we might have vegetarians there so we got veggie versions as well. Thankfully we did, with a crowd of 65 on the day!

We have a very small church. When everyone is sitting down packed into rows, the maximum we can hold is about 100. It was a huge surprise to see who came because there were a number of people we had never come across before, and lots of husbands accompanied their wives so there were actually men under 40 there.

One mum said that her husband had decided not to come because he didn't think there would be any men – she couldn't wait to tell him that lots had turned up in the hope that he'd come along next time. We were just overwhelmed, it was wonderful chaos. The people who were there said they felt they could invite others to come, it was fantastic.

Creation was the theme. We had a table game and word searches, and told a story with drama involving the children. It was so packed and so noisy, we had to stand on chairs to be heard and seen.

Numbers now average about 45. This feels much more comfortable for the size of building we're meeting in – especially when we are being active. Many aspects have been very encouraging. Friends have invited others; we are building relationships within the community; and Christians who worship in different places are catching up with each other and working together (especially in the kitchen).

At our Palm Sunday Messy Church, we invited people to the Good Friday Family Service which was in a similar format. We started off by making Hot Cross buns and then baked them during the service, which meant we had a very sociable time afterwards! The service also brought different congregations together and we involved a small teenage after-school group in leading it.

As we knew that not everybody would be there on Easter Sunday we included the celebration of the Resurrection as part of that Good Friday service. There was a wonderful sense of having gone through Holy Week and to Easter with our Messy Church newcomers. We had linked things together for them in the previous Messy Church sessions by following the accounts of Creation, Noah and God’s promise, and then God’s Promise showing itself in the death and resurrection of Christ. A rainbow poster we made on our second session carried the theme through.

For Messy Church at Pentecost, we built a church with cake including gingerbread people to show that the Church is about the people – not the building itself. We then ate it!

Most people who came to the first Messy Church have been to a subsequent one and we've welcomed others too. The social aspect seems to be one of the most important to people – nobody's ever in a hurry to leave. We're very much looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Messy Church, Cowplain

It's truly a family affair when crowds flock to the home of the original Messy Church in Hampshire. Babies, toddlers, teens and adults can all be found at the fresh expression of church in St Wilfrid's Church hall, Cowplain, but helper Lesley Baker also has much more of a personal interest in some of the venue's regulars.

Six years ago, Lucy Moore spoke to several of us at St Wilfrid's about the idea for a place where those on the fringes of church life would be happy to come without it being threatening in any way. It was a kind of pulling together of people who may come to the church building for a toddler group, for instance, but who had never actually looked at something God-centred as part of their life.

Soon after that Messy Church was born, Lucy began to oversee the whole thing and I got involved in the planning of the sessions. My mum Doreen, who will be 80 this year, was originally running an activity table where she would help the children to make things. She loved it. Unfortunately she can't do as much as she would like these days but she is still very much a part of what we do each month.

The wonderful thing is that my daughter Kathryn also comes to Messy Church with granddaughter Molly, aged three; and one-year-old grandson Joshua. That means four generations of 'girls' from our family (and Josh!) all get together to take part in the sessions and enjoy the food afterwards.

I have seen people come along, perhaps reluctantly, but once inside the door they are amazed. The atmosphere is great, and doing something across the generations is seen as returning to traditional values where people sit down and share a meal together, chat to one another and care about each other – no matter where they're from and whatever their age.

I don't take notice of any criticism that says "it's not real church" Our vicar, Paul Moore, is wonderful in that he says we are very blessed here to have three churches, St Wilfrid's, Westbrook, and Messy Church. This is a special place, for my family and for many others because it speaks of God and shows the love of God in action. To me, that's got to be church.

My husband Derek's involvement came to the fore when we took Messy Church on the road to Greenbelt. He's a churchwarden and is someone who likes a lot of tradition, so to be thrown in the deep end and set up on a site of that scale was a huge thing to do.

Kathryn is a teacher so she gets to the session as soon as she can after the end of the school day. Her husband Pete, who is diocesan youth adviser, also gets along when he can. It's a huge joy to be sharing something like this with not only my Christian family but also my mum, daughter, and grand-children. My special prayer? That Molly will know the Lord, and know that He is with her through life. I also want it to be her decision to follow Him, not just because four generations of her family happen to come together in the same place at the same time.

Mawsley Church

Ten years ago, they began to build a new village from scratch on a 'green field' site south west of Kettering in Northamptonshire. They called it Mawsley. Paul Seaton-Burn, curate at Mawsley Church, continues the story.

Now there are around 840 houses, so the local community has come together as an eclectic and diverse group from all over the country, initially as strangers, as no previously community existed. In the original plans, it was intended that a new church building was to be included, but it was never built. The local parish church is a mile away across the fields with no direct access.

Initially a group of people emerged as a small Christian community, meeting in a house for bible study which they called 'Christians in Mawsley'. This ecumenical group maintained a presence over the years, supported by the local Anglican vicar (who lived elsewhere) and a retired Salvation Army officer.

Three years ago I moved with my family to Mawsley in my first post as a Curate. 'Christians in Mawsley' was then a group of Christians coming from different traditions that didn't really reach out to the village. There was a sense of collaboration and enthusiasm but no clear strategic purpose, and I was asked to assist in developing this into what we would call now a fresh expression of church. I was a traditional curate in a benefice to four churches in other villages, but also being a pioneer in Mawsley.

We changed the name to 'Mawsley Church' to reflect the conservative (with a small 'c') nature of the place and its people. While hardly prosaic it 'said what it did on the tin' and was recognised by friends at the school gate. They needed the confidence that this new church was trustworthy. We maintain a broad ecumenical welcome while being supported solely by the Anglican church.

Building on growing relationships with local people in Mawsley we began twice-monthly gatherings for public worship in December 2006. We meet on Sunday mornings in a Community Centre in the heart of the village – very much in secular space – where children's ministry began last year. Small groups have also met, with varying degrees of success, in homes across Mawsley. Larger scale 'messy church' events for children up to 10 years of age and their carers have become a regular opportunity for outreach here at significant times such as Christmas & Easter (and have spread to a nearby village too). We deliberately hold these in Mawsley's local Primary School. These more participative forms of worship have successfully engaged with fringe people, again of the 'de-and-unchurched' type. This year on Easter Monday, we had a Messy Church event and ninety-five children plus their parents and helpers attended. For the first time the school parents' group asked to be involved this year. These events happen mainly because of the participation of many fringe and non-church parents.

We have sought to develop our participation with other village events as a form of outreach to local people. So we play our part in fayres, family 'It's a Knockout' and other social events, and this has increased our ability to build relationships with people who do not go to church. Regular assemblies, a Bumps & Buggies group and starting an annual litter pick have also played their part, too.

The challenge of enabling people to join our community is happening, but must embrace both new and recognised ways of welcoming people. Our all-age remembrance day worship in 2008 was supported by some 240 people.

We now face the challenge of discipling people. So we have a community whose faith needs developing and maturing. So far we have been reliant on formation through action and participation in doing Christian events. So in this way, in a one-to-one approach, we have seen some pre-discipleship development. As my family and I prepare to move on, the good news is that a new ordained pioneer curate, Richard Priestley, is coming to Mawsley with broad experience of nurturing discipleship. This is the next step, to develop a contextual approach to discipleship on top of the relational mission and worship that God has started.

Vanessa describes her experience of Mawsley Church

I came to Mawsley just over two and a half years ago. To put it mildly my soul was broken. I was emotionally battered or in the words of a Pink Floyd classic hit 'Comfortably Numb'.

I had been through several years of two failed and dysfunctional relationships. I was living alone with my two children aged then 7 and 8 and my youngest son lived with his father and I didn't see him. I was lost but still had a glimmer of hope left in me. Mawsley was a new start, my own house at last, but something was missing. I yearned to be an ordinary family, mum, dad and the children, but somehow it had been an elusive dream.

At that time when I look back, God had already manifested himself in my life. A bout of depression had lead me to take solace at a convalescence home, and it was whilst I was there I was introduced to the chaplain. I remember it as a 'ping moment' when I felt I was metaphorically lifted by the spirit of the Lord and held. I was like a lost child being embraced and protected having been lost, and I had a sudden feeling of my pain and anguish being taken away from me, relieved of my burdens that had weighed me down for decades.

I made a conscious decision when I went to Mawsley to invest some time in me. I wanted to discover my spiritual side, and in response to my experience at the convalescent home, I plucked up the courage to go to Mawsley Church. I took the children with me. Everyone was so welcoming and I soon came to learn that the small congregation were all on different parts of their spiritual journey. It was within Mawsley church that I found the family I had yearned for. It was right here on my doorstep.

I learned too that even in the church, there was so much 'brokeness' in the lives of the people I met. One of the good things to come out from this is that the church allowed me not to focus on my own issues, but made me more open to help others in their time of need.

It was through the help and advice from the church, that I permitted myself to let go of some of the things that continued to weigh me down. They showed me that I had a choice and that I could choose to seek happiness, and that happiness has been found through my faith in God and my church family in Mawsley. I had learned to forgive the wrong that had been done to me, and I virtually removed the chains that had paralysed me for so long. My reward is that I now enjoy helping and encouraging others move on from places where they have become stuck.

I was not the only one to benefit from my experiences with our church. The children made new friends, and drew strength from the improvement they saw in me, a happier mummy. The question arose around baptism and I pondered over my decision for many months. I let the children decide whether they also wanted to be baptised. The answer was a resounding yes. I decided it would be a wonderful idea to have a family baptism. I wanted to share this point of Megan and Ewans spiritual journey. I saw my position as their spiritual guide, equipping them with the many tools our faith offered for their later journey in life. On the 28th September 2008, we had the marvellous experience of being baptised by submersion as a family at Mawsley Church. It was an incredibly charged moment for me personally, I could barely hold back my tears of emotion. That day I felt all three of us had turned a corner and we began a new journey strengthened by the love of God.

Charlie my youngest son, is now firmly back in our lives. He is, thank goodness, a happy and well-balanced little boy. He openly admits he models himself on his dad and is influenced by dad's stance towards religion which is predominantly atheist. He however does come along to church with us, and will often revert to rhetorical gibberish about not believing in God because his dad says so, but more recently he competes to say grace at dinner times and has even asked if I would come and bless his house to take away any 'naughty spirits'. I hope in my heart that Charlie will learn to trust the Lord. My job for now is to 'fan his flame' within.

Messy Church, Bath and Wells

Fresh Expressions Associate Missioner Jane Tibbs and Bath and Wells Diocesan Children & Families Officer, explores how a focus on children can create new opportunities for experimental worship and mission.

Well you may know the situation. The Sunday morning ten o'clock service of the church has a healthy congregation of mainly retired people. In the Sunday school meeting in the hall there are two children and three adult helpers. Someone says, "Oh but this is just a one off!", but you know in your hearts of hearts, it is isn't!

We have to face facts. For many churches this is now a weekly occurrence. Sometimes there may be as many as six children in the Sunday school, but more often – NOT. Sunday school has become a holding activity for the children of the few young families which come to church.

So what are we going to do about it?

Discussions ensue and at an evening meeting over supper I make a suggestion. There are two schools in the parish which have plenty of children, but they just don't want to come to sung Eucharist form of church on a Sunday morning. I suggest, 'How about trying something completely different?' Let us choose a few festivals – not the obvious ones – and have an activity session for the children on Saturday mornings. Let's do creative activities, 'making things', which can be included in a service, and change the pattern of Sunday morning services to include a non-eucharistic family service to last for forty five minutes.

In addition this needs a greater focus on relationships, so let's provide refreshments at the back of the church (if they have to leave the church and go to the hall they'll go straight to their cars) and maybe even consider lunch afterwards. It will mean changing the format of Sunday mornings but it will only be a few times a year.

"I've been asking for a non-eucharistic service for years," says Dave.

"We'll have to take it to the PCC", says Julian, the vicar.

"They'll never buy it…" I think gloomily to myself, "I've seen them in action!"

BUT, the PCC said yes, why not? And then I had to put my money where my mouth was!

The new "weekend" would be an activity morning for the children (primary school age to start with). Sunday would change from Holy Communion at eight and sung Eucharist at ten to Communion with hymns at nine o'clock, a service for all ages at eleven followed by lunch at 12.30.

First things first. Festivals. We decided on Pentecost, Harvest, Advent, Candlemas and Palm Sunday. Then who to ask? I looked around and knew exactly who to target, inviting them all (fifteen) to a planning meeting.

I produced a pack of ideas and agreed to do the upfront bit and the games if everyone else would prepare craft activities. With some trepidation they agreed and went away armed with designs and materials. A couple of ladies were roped in to do the refreshments and CRB checks were put in place. "Jaffa cakes!" said Julian. "I'll provide them." Posters were distributed and our first activity morning would be a Pentecost Party.

The day dawned brightly and by nine o'clock everyone had arrived to set up. The music player was plugged in, the kettle was on, games equipment was set out and tables were covered with the ingredients for a variety of crafts – fairy cakes with candles, streamers, kites, doves, an altar frontal for the Sunday service …. And at five to ten the first children arrived. By five past ten we knew we weren't going to get any more. There were ten children aged from five to nine.

Disappointment? Of course. But actually… it was a Godsend! Instead of being overwhelmed with hordes of children, the helpers were able to spend quality time with each child who made something of everything. Everyone had a go at painting the altar frontal and writing prayers for the service. We sat round the tables together for refreshments and played different games to the team games planned. The closing worship included simple songs and a story. When the children had gone and we had cleared up, many of the volunteers said, "that was easy", and what's more, they all turned up to the service the next day!

The altar frontal was a riot of reds, oranges and yellows and depicted Pentecost to a "P". The music was lively, the prayers were sincere, the reading was dramatic and the talk was to the point. The children participated, not called upon to stand at the front and hold up pictures, but as part of the worship. Virtually everyone stayed for refreshments and about forty people sat down to lunch.

With little time to draw breath we met again to plan for Harvest and decided on the same format. Planning meetings now are timetabled before lunch and ideas are discussed again while we're eating. This time we'd have all the traditional harvest crafts, including apple heads and harvest loaves.

All the children who came to the Pentecost Party received a personal invitation and all the children in the schools were given invitations too. Lunch afterwards would be a harvest lunch.

Once again the day dawned brightly and everyone arrived laden with goodies. By ten o'clock we knew this was NOT going to be a quiet event. Sixty children turned up. Would we have enough for them all to do? Would there be enough space for the games? It wasn't quite chaotic but it was lively and tremendous fun. A number of parents stayed and drank coffee in the corner and chatted (rather too noisily during the story!) and they all left noisily at noon while set up for Sunday.

The church was packed for the eleven o'clock service and the new song went down a treat.

H for hops and HP sauce

A for apples red and green

R for rhubarb and radishes

V for veggies crisp and clean

E for every kind of egg

S for strawberries and spuds

T is for tasty take-away

Spelling HARVEST. Thank you God!

Sung to the tune "Doh a deer…"

The altar frontal looked like the fruit and veg stall in the market! Young and old alike chatted over drinks and biscuits and then ambled across for Harvest Lunch. The hall was packed.

So what did we learn from this event? Well… the children were younger than we'd expected, mostly about five and six rather than across the age range. Participation and activity are vital if young people are to find their place. It also needs to be fun. We need to ensure that the children didn't start the craft activities before the welcome and "setting the scene" and we needed to involve the parents who stayed.

Seven weeks later we learnt from our experience and were set to start on Stars and Angels (for Advent). A roll of bin liners and labels with the children's names on meant all the crafts could be stored in a bag and picked up as the children left. The labels that the children wear have the morning's logo on them and as they arrive each child now writes their name on two and one goes straight on to the bag. Some simple activities were layed out in the middle of the space for the children to do while everyone arrived. Parents were asked if they'd like to help behind the scenes while still leaving time for them to chat.

The opening songs, warm-up activities and story are a huge success. The children are then absorbed in the crafts and ready for refreshments (still Jaffa Cakes!) and games. We provide about eight different crafts – more than can be completed but no time to get bored. And the final story time is eagerly anticipated by parents and children alike!

This time, the altar frontal was a street scene in Bethlehem without the stable specifically marked.

Again, the service was well attended with a good mixture of children, parents and grandparents. The use of a simple round has been most successful. By taking a traditional tune (London's Burning or Frere Jacques, for example) and writing simple words on the theme, then dividing the congregation into four groups to sing you get instant harmony!

Lunch this time was baked potatoes but bring your own fillings – we had so much chilli sauce!!

On Christmas Eve the altar frontal was moved at the start of the carol service from the front of the altar to behind it, thus becoming the background for the Nativity Scene, set up in the altar. The work of the children was thus integrated into the Christmas celebrations for the whole of the season.

Candlemas was soon upon us and the theme this time was "Leading Lights". No prizes for guessing how many candles we used!! The story of Simeon and Anna was simply and effectively told in the Godly Play style and children were invited to respond to the story with their art and craft work. The tune the Bear went over the Mountain was utilised for the words Simeon went to the Temple… and what do you think he saw? It was also an opportunity to make Christingles and talk about what each symbol means as we worked. A dark February day was lit with the lights in the children's eyes and in church the next morning a huge lighthouse shone out from the altar.

Families were chatting together and it was obvious that friendships were being forged. Lunch this time was a warm and hearty stew.

And so to the fifth of our chosen festivals – Palm Sunday, and Palm Parade. This time we decided that the children would dress up for the service and parade into church and tell the story of Palm Sunday. Among the activities were donkeys made from brooms so each child had a hobby-horse donkey. The parents at the activity morning were asked to make palm crosses while drinking their coffee and so everyone was included. Living crosses were made by the children from willow, and planted in pots.

The clock struck eleven on Palm Sunday morning and Julian introduced the service by saying "It was a quiet day in Jerusalem…" and that was the cue for the children to enter. And so, to shouts of Hosannah! and Praise the Lord! The children paraded in with their donkeys and the story of Palm Sunday unfolded.

The altar frontal depicted one of the gates of Jerusalem with a crowd on the right shouting "Hosannah! Jesus is King!" and on the left, "Kill him!" all done using potato prints. The talk drew on having the strength to stand up and be counted and not just being part of the crowd.

And so, as Pentecost looms again, what have we learnt, gained, achieved?

Well, we are a good team with a shared vision and a lot more confidence than a year ago, supported by the prayers of the regular church congregation. Our times of planning, reflection and fellowship have enabled the sharing of ideas and easy discussion about the activities that didn't work too well and what we could do better.

The thank you notes I send to everyone who is part of the event are much appreciated, and that also helps to encourage the team. We may not be particularly young (average age probably well over 60!) but we have enthusiasm and a heart for reaching the children where they are.

So, by listening to the needs of the children, church became more participative, more relational, more centred on being a dynamic community. In so doing, it became increasingly attractive to 'de and unchurched' families and importantly, parents. Mission then becomes a key relational component to arts-as-worship activities with children, and the church now continues to grow with new life.

Messy Church goes to the beach

Messy church goes to the beach and makes history as two different fresh expressions meet up. Janet Tredrea reports.

Tubestation, a fresh expression of church in Polzeath, Cornwall opened its doors to nearby Wadebridge’s regular Messy Church at the end of July.

During the winter months, parents, carers and children from Wadebridge have been attending Messy Church – a new form of church for families held in the local primary school. When the weather was really fine, attendance numbers dropped, so it was decided to take Messy Church to the beach… where the people were.

The session, Bible Seasides, began with funky drink and biscuits before everyone went down to the beach to construct a sand village made of eastern shape houses of 2000 years ago. The weather was definitely not brilliant, but the builders seemed unperturbed! We left a sign for those visiting the beach later that we had constructed Beach Street, Galilee.

On the return to Tubestation, a dozen or so crafts were on offer all with a Bible Seaside theme. One of the most popular was Lim-PETS, God’s creatures with our own adaptations!

As the crafts finished, so the worship began with musicians from Tubestation and Rev Jerry with Buzz the albatross (all the way from America!) with their message based on the house that was built on the rock. Hot dogs were served from the outdoor BBQ and the fun and the fellowship was complete. A great chance for two fresh expressions to work together.

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