DECEMBER 2016
CHRISTMAS
Writing this report Christmas seems a long time ago but on the 11th December we welcomed excited children full of the anticipation of the season to our Christmas Messy Church. The lights twinkled on the Christmas Tree, music filled the Church and Santa hats adorned the heads of our festive helpers. With the variety of activities available the problem was where to start!
Christmas wouldn't be Christmas with out the good old traditional Christmas Card so the children created some beautiful cards full of sparkle and festive pictures to give to some lucky recipient. On another table they were shown how to make a very regal crown full of gems and grandeur to represent the three Kings and these did look extremely impressive. Running around the Church, peering under pews and investigating dark corners our members tried to track down seven hidden Christmas Stockings which when found uncovered the words "Bless all the dear children in thy tender care", from the carol 'Away in a Manger', a small prize awaited on completion. At the food activity table the children were able to make a snowman treat assembled with biscuit, marshmallow and a selection of other edible goodies. These looked quite scrumptious and I think quite a few marshmallows found their way into the mouths of the adults present! Another table had materials to create a beautiful model of the baby Jesus in the manger and this theme was followed through in the making of the banner. This showed a silhouette of the stable with Mary and Joseph worshipping Jesus in the manger and behind them the night sky. The children then made bunting in the form of Christmas stockings to hang above it. And last but certainly not least, a decoration for the Christmas Tree was made by our busy members and I'm sure these will adorn many a tree in the years to come. After all this activity it was time to adjourn to the chancel and a chance to relax and watch a presentation from Lynn, to listen together and share in Messy Grace followed by picnic time and tea and chat. All too soon it was time to say goodbye and to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.
All children (accompanied by an adult) are welcome at Messy Church and you don't have to be a church member to attend so please bring your children/grandchildren along and give it a try.
If you would like any more information please call Lynn on 670730 or Marion on 682701.
OCTOBER 2016
HARVEST
As the autumn leaves filled the country side with all the rich colours of the season our children excitedly came through the church doors to share in the gift of harvest and enjoy the activities on offer and what a busy time lay ahead.
They were able to become fashion designers for the afternoon by dressing their own scarecrow and many a future Vivienne Westwood or Ralph Lauren were discovered. After which, following the age old harvest tradition of straw craft the children had a go at making corn dollies and these looked very impressive when completed.
Works of art were created by printing with sliced fruit, very messy, but extremely colourful and a Harvest book was compiled complete with story, colouring and harvest puzzles. Gingerbread men featured in the food activity and these were decorated with coloured icings and various goodies. The banner bore the words “Thank You For Our Food” and each child had a plate to fill with cut-outs of food. We hadf plates of eggs, beans, sausages, tomatoes, broccoli, burgers, carrots, peas all around the banner making a bright display for all to admire (I’m afraid the cauliflower wasn’t very popular) and finally the ever popular hunt had our members searching high and low for a crop of apples. After all this activity it was a relief to sit in the Chancel area and listen as Lynn talked about God’s provision to us every Harvest and then raise our voices and sing a merry harvest song. Our hard working kitchen volunteers then brought out the picnic for all the children to enjoy and a pleasant social time was shared amongst all. It was then time to bid our children a fond farewell and hope to see the next time.
All children (accompanied by an adult) are welcome at Messy Church and you don't have to be a church member to attend so please bring your children/grandchildren along and give it a try. All our volunteers work very hard preparing the activities and picnic and really enjoy seeing the children's pleasure on the day so don't be shy we would love to see you. The next Messy Church will be on 11/12/16 at 3.30pm and the theme will be Christmas, Yo Ho Ho! Come along and take part in the festive fun.
If you would like any more information please call Lynn on 670730 or Marion on 682701.
AUGUST 2016
JOY
At August's Messy Church we asked the question 'what brings you joy?'. Different things make different people happy and so in our activities we tried to focus on those which we all found joy in.
Family - At times family pressure can try our patience but that soon passes and we know how blessed we are to have the gift of a family and so our children crafted Wall Plaques to illustrate the pleasure of home and family and these certainly looked stunning and will decorate many a home in the years to come.
Relaxation -Whether we are camping, cruising, building sand castles or experiencing the thrill of a theme park we all enjoy periods of rest and holiday and what better way to share this than to make your own postcard! The collage effect was very attractive and our members had great fun sticking and pasting.
Giving - Only one thing beats receiving a gift and that is giving a gift and so in order to save for a present to give to that special someone, money boxes were cleverly constructed out of empty food containers and decorated with various stickers. Hopefully by Christmas time these should be full enough to purchase that gift for Mums and Dads, brothers and sisters or friends.
Love - To love and be loved is the greatest blessing of all and the children were able to cut and colour bunting depicting family and friends to hang in their homes which will always remind them of how much they are loved.
Joy - The banner now hanging in church and available for all to view for the next two months had the word JOY emblazoned across and then in different coloured letters coming down formed the phrase 'Jesus Loves You'. The children then made their own faces from card, craft foam and stick on eyes to paste around the banner. Their names in glitter letters were then attached. If you get a chance do pop in to church to admire their work.
Of course, no Messy Church would be complete without a food activity and this one was no different. Fairy cakes were decorated with a vast choice of goodies including chocolate (which brings everyone joy, particularly our Vicar!).
The Hunt, as usual, had them hunting high and low for six hearts hidden in cunning locations all over the church with a little prize given when all were found.
Time at last to sit in the chancel and enjoy Lynn's presentation and share in some very joyful singing and noisy Messy Grace, followed by a relaxed picnic and a very welcome cup of tea or coffee and before long another Messy Church had come to an end.
All children (accompanied by an adult) are welcome at Messy Church and you don't have to be a church member to attend so please bring your children/grandchildren along and give it a try. All our volunteers work very hard preparing the activities and picnic and really enjoy seeing the children's pleasure on the day so don't be shy we would love to see you. The next Messy Church will be on 30/10/16 and the theme will be Harvest.
If you would like any more information please call Lynn on 670730 or Marion on 682701.
JUNE 2016
THE HOLY SPIRIT
June's Messy Church theme was 'The Holy Spirit' which can be difficult for adults to understand so it presented a bit of a challenge to explain it to children! Having said that, our members proved to be extremely smart and took all we had to offer on board with ease.
We focused our activities for the afternoon on the three things most associated with the coming of the Holy Spirit, fire, wind and language (speaking in tongues). The children made garden wind chimes from beads, shells and bells and I'm sure they will be jangling away in village gardens over the coming year. Following through on the wind theme they also made windmills or pinwheels which looked very effective when completed. The hunt became a language challenge with seven different translations of 'The Holy Spirit' hidden around the church, all were eventually tracked down with only a few clues having to be given. Because the coming of the Holy Spirit is also known as the birthday of the Church, little birthday cakes were decorated complete with a birthday candle. I know of one little boy who very kindly kept his cake to give to his Dad whose birthday it was the following day. The fire theme was shown in the making of flame headdresses which were very bright and cheerful blazing away on many a head throughout the afternoon and the banner focused on fire and wind and as always is on display on church for all to admire.
After all this business it was a relief to retire up to the chancel and listen to a story and watch a cartoon of the coming of the Holy Spirit which was followed by a lively song and a noisy Messy Grace. The children then settled down to enjoy their picnic and allow Mums, Dads and all accompanying adults to have a relaxing cup of tea or coffee.
All children (accompanied by an adult) are welcome at Messy Church and you don't have to be a church member to attend so please bring your children/grandchildren along and give it a try. All our volunteers work very hard preparing the activities and picnic and really enjoy seeing the children's pleasure on the day so don't be shy we would love to see you.
If you would like any more information please call Lynn on 670730 or Marion on 682701.
APRIL 2016
THE 12 DISCIPLES
April's Messy Church welcomed the 12 Disciples and our children were able to learn about the different characters who were the friends of Jesus.
Peter is known as 'The Rock' and to demonstrate this beautiful little rock gardens were made which looked so attractive even our Vicar made when to adorn her home!
As the disciples lived and worked together as friends and one of our activities was to make Friendship Bracelets either for the children to wear themselves or to give to one of their own friends. Jesus told his disciples to "Let your light shine before others" and so our members made lanterns to hang in their own homes and also a paper 3d model was created of the Last Supper complete with Jesus,his disciples and the bread and wine. Perhaps one the best known quotes of the bible is "I will make you Fishers of Men" which Jesus told the disciples whose trade was that of fishermen. To show this the children made beautifully decorated fish which now adorn the banner hanging in church and as ever you are all welcome to pop in and admire their work. The food activity proved as popular as ever with our children topping fairy cakes with loaves and fishes made of icing.
Time for a more chilled out time in the chancel where we all watched a screen presentation about the calling of the disciples to Jesus and to learn a very lively new song accompanied by a bit of a dance (well jigging about enthusiastically if I'm honest) after which followed a noisy Messy Grace. Picnic time was then enjoyed while the adults relaxed with tea and chat. All to soon it was time to say goodbye and look forward to our next Messy Church which will be on 26th June, 3.30-5pm and we hope to see you all there.
All children (accompanied by an adult) are welcome at Messy Church and you don't have to be a church member to attend so please bring your children/grandchildren along and give it a try.
If you would like any more information please call Lynn on 670730 or Marion on 682701.
FEBRUARY 2016
JOHN THE BAPTIST
February's Messy Church told the story of John the Baptist. As most of you will know, he was the cousin of Jesus and spent his adult years travelling the land and foretelling the coming of Jesus. He baptised people in the Jordan river and when he baptised Jesus he witnessed the Holy Spirit descending upon him. His diet consisted mainly of wild honey and locusts therefore bees, locusts and doves (to represent the Holy Spirit) formed part of our activities for the afternoon.
The children were able to make paper locusts which when completed became finger puppets and did look suitably insect like. The banner showed John baptising Jesus in the Jordan and our members made doves to decorate and attach to it. As usual this will be displayed in Church, and all are welcome to pop in and have a look. Egg boxes were ingeniously turned into Bee fridge magnates and the children made fondant bees to adorn the top of fairy cakes. Doves were created out of paper plates and a book was compiled with the story of John the Baptist complete with puzzles and colouring pages. The Hunt had the children buzzing around church searching for 7 well hidden bees which when found formed the message 'He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit'.
After all this hectic activity we all adjourned to the chancel where Lynn screened the story of John to an audience of children and adults alike. We all then shared in a very noisy Messy Grace. Our volunteers then shared out the picnic tea while the grown-ups relaxed with a welcome cup of tea and a chat.
As ever, Messy Church was enjoyed by all who attended. It was an afternoon full of fun, laughter and activity through which the children were able to learn more of the wonderful Bible stories and we look forward to welcoming everyone at our April Messy Church.
If you would like any more information please call Lynn on 670730 or Marion on 682701.