DECEMBER 2015
The Christmas Tree sparkled with lights and Christmas songs filled the Church as we welcomed our children to share the everlasting story of the birth of Jesus.
They began to explore all the activities available. An abundance of holly and berries were turned into beautiful table decorations, complete with candle, to adorn their tables on Christmas Day and the children were able to construct a very glittery star mobile (I think we will still be finding tiny bits of glitter under the pews by next Christmas!). As ever a big favourite is the cake decorating activity and this time was no exception. The table was filled with lots of goodies to adorn their cakes with a festive theme although I'm not sure how many cakes actually make it back home before being eaten!
The children were able to make Christmas Tree decorations and could select either snowmen, baubles or mini Christmas trees to hang on their trees at home and hopefully these will appear year after year in homes around the village. Our members were also shown how to make a very special Christmas card which when finished took the form of an angel and of course the Hunt had children searching high and low for some very well hidden snowmen and after a few clues they were all eventually tracked down. The children then created a banner which was headed with the words 'Peace on Earth' and festooned with glittery holly, berries, stars and golden bells and this will remain in Church until the end of February. Finally, the toddler corner was busy and lively with lots of little fingers digging into some festive, gloopy snow.
Time then for a little bit of hush as we listened to the story of Mary and Joseph travelling to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus after which the girls and boys settled down to enjoy the picnic while Mums and Dads had a very welcome cup of tea. We then wished everyone a very Merry Christmas and looked forward to seeing them 2016,
On behalf of everyone at Messy Church we would like to wish you all a very Happy 2016 and hope to see you at the next Messy Church which will be on 28th February, 3.30-5pm.
If you would like any more information please call Lynn on 670730 or Marion on 682701.
OCTOBER 2015
The celebration of Harvest was enjoyed at October's Messy Church. The Church was full of colour, music and excited children as they dived enthusiastically into the various activities on offer.
Future chefs discovered their potential when they made apple pies to take home and bake for a treat later on. Harvest Wreaths, full of beautiful russets, reds and golds were created by the children and I must say the leaves looked so real they had everybody fooled. A collage of a Harvest basket full of fruits involved lots of gluing and general stickiness and looked very effective and a bright, colourful sunflower was made out of coloured card and seeds and then stood in its own individual flower pot. I am sure these will be adorning many a kitchen windowsill in the village and beyond. The old favourite the Puzzle book full of stories, word searches, crosswords and colouring pages was compiled and the children decorated the front cover with a selection of stickers and other materials. An Apple Hunt had boys and girls scrambling all over the place as they stretched, stooped and peered under pews and around pillars searching for apples which when gathered formed a message. Which brings us finally to the banner, and this Harvest banner is bursting with the fruits of Harvest Time. It is full of autumnal colours and the children have made sparkly pumpkins to write their own messages of thanks. These now decorate the border of the banner and as usual this was hung in Church for all to admire.
It was then time for a little bit of calm as we all made ourselves comfortable in Chancel to listen to Lynn tell us a Harvest story. The children became engrossed in the story of various vegetables (although Lynn was not very keen on the asparagus!) and enthusiastically joined in the Messy Grace. Following all this it was time for the picnic and a very welcome cup of tea before we waved everyone off and hoped to see them at our next Messy Church.
The next Messy Church will be on 13th December from 3.30-5pm and the theme will be CHRISTMAS! All are welcome. If you haven't been before and would like to know more about it please call Lynn on 670739 or Marion on 682701 we would love to hear from you.
AUGUST 2015
Following the fabulous musical production in Church of 'Joseph’, performed by Cannock Wood & Gentleshaw Musical Society, we at Messy Church decided to stay with the subject and chose it as our theme for August,
The children arrived and got stuck in to the various activities. They were able to create a beautiful Family Tree which was festooned with apples depicting different family members. The Hairy Israelites, who had sold Joseph into slavery, were remembered by the making of false beards and looked very dramatic when attached to little faces. The banner showed Joseph resplendent in his coat of many colours and the children made sheaves of corn to place around him. This was to demonstrate the dream that Joseph had about his brother's sheaves bowing down to his. There were all sorts of goodies to decorate such as biscuit men and I'm not sure how many of these made it home as they looked too tempting to resist! Because Joseph had been taken away from his own land the children drew and coloured a picture of their own village. These were so good and imaginative (I personally don't recall seeing an elephant in Cannock Wood or Gentleshaw) we asked them if they could be displayed at the Country Fayre on the 5th September. If you attended that event you would have seen them hanging in the main hall. No Messy Church would be complete without the ever popular Hunt and this one had the children scrambling all around the Church searching for scarecrows.
After an hour of hectic activity it was time for a period of calm as Lynn took us all through the magical story of Joseph. All were engrossed in the short film and once batteries were recharged we all joined in an enthusiastic Messy Grace. Everyone then settled down to enjoy a welcome picnic, and there were some particularly scrumptious cakes for the adults to have with their tea and coffee, after which we waved our children off.
The next Messy Church will be on 18th October from 3.30-5pm, and all are welcome. If you haven't been before and would like to know more about it please call Lynn on 670739 or Marion on 682701 we would love to hear from you.
APRIL 2015
The last Sunday of April saw Peace reign at Messy Church. That is to say, the theme of the afternoon was Peace although there was not much evidence of that as the children arrived and dived into all the activities!
We again enjoyed welcoming new children and parents as well as new helpers and they were all pleasantly surprised at the variety of what was on offer. Children, parents and helpers were kept busy working on the activities. They were able to create a beautiful necklace or bangle with beads and a dove symbol which when finished looked very professional. A spiral Peace mobile was very popular and I am sure that had nothing to do with the copious amount of sweets available on that table! Biscuits were decorated with doves and olive branches and a dove plaque/magnet was made. The usual banner, was made which showed various flags of different countries with their word for "Peace" alongside. For those of you who may not yet be aware, our church is now open during the day Monday to Saturday so if you get the opportunity please pop in and admire the children's handiwork.
The Hunt provided everyone with the chance to thoroughly explore whilst searching out the Peace symbols which when all collected formed the sentence "All we are saying is give peace a chance". I know that all of you of a certain age will have no difficulty knowing which song that lyric came from. The toddlers were not left out and plenty of toys were available in the comfort of the creche.
We then adjourned into the Chancel for Lynn to share with the children a story and screen presentation followed by an enthusiastic rendition of the Messy Church blessing. Our hard working kitchen volunteers then distributed the picnic and a welcome tea or coffee for the adults. We then wished the children and families good bye and set to cleaning and tidying in readiness for the Evening Service.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our willing volunteers without whose help Messy Church would not be possible. If anyone is interested in being involved then please have a word with Lynn or Marion.
FEBRUARY 2015
Despite the wintry weather outside, on the 22/2/15 we at Messy Church welcomed Spring, Our volunteers were busy preparing their Springtime crafts when the children began to arrive. Coats were shed, smiles became wider as eager fingers dived into all the activities.
The children became very gooey when making their bird's nest cakes, with chocolate flakes to depict twigs, butter icing and chocolate eggs. I am not sure how many were able to resist eating them before taking them home! A very colourful banner was decorated with daffodils, tulips and an assortment of spring flowers and was hung in Church as usual.
We didn't forget the birds and so bird feeders were constructed to take home and hang in the garden and still on the theme of wildlife, spider and ladybird fridge magnets were made. The children planted flowers in pots that they decorated which will look very bright and spring-like on their windowsills. They also had an umbrella hunt which had a few of them scratching their heads in puzzlement as some of the brollies proved quite elusive but all were successfully tracked down in the end.
The time had then come to adjourn to the Chancel to listen to Lynn tell us all of God's creation of Spring and the children were rapt as they watched a Peppa Pig presentation on this theme, this was followed by singing and a very noisy Messy Grace. All then settled down to tuck into the picnic while parents, grandparents and friends enjoyed a cup of tea/coffee and chat.
We then had to bid everyone goodbye as they went out into the wet and windy weather but having shared in a foretaste of Spring to come we knew the warm and welcome sunshine was not far off.
The next Messy Church will be held on April 26th from 3-5.30pm. Please don't be hesitant if your child has not attended before as each time we welcome new children they have so much fun that they invariably return.
If you would like any more information please call Lynn on 670739 or Marion on 682701.