AUGUST 2017
THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER
On a late August afternoon under a clear blue sky and warm bright sunshine we at Messy Church were busy preparing for the arrival of the children who were coming to enjoy all the activities laid out for them. The theme for the afternoon was based on 'The Parable of the Sower'. The story tells of the farmer sowing the seeds.As the seeds were scattered some were eaten by birds, some fell on stones and some were strangled by weeds but the seeds that fell on good soil flourished and grew into a strong harvest.
Children arrived and the fun got underway. They made the biggest and brightest of sunflowers decorated with sparkles and a beautiful weather mobile complete with sun, cloud and raindrops. An activity book full of puzzles, colouring pages complete with the story of the Sower was compiled and homemade shortbread was available for those who wished to decorate the biscuits with coloured icing and flower cutters and a pop up book was cleverly constructed. The children then created bright flowers with smiley faces to place on the banner to demonstrate those seeds that fell on the good soil and of course, the hunt had them scurrying around searching for hidden seed bags. After all this it was time to relax and watch a screen presentation of the parable followed by a song and the messy grace. The picnic was then served and tea and chat enjoyed by all.
We were very pleased to to see the return of some old faces and to welcome some new faces. Messy Church is open to all children accompanied by an adult, if you haven't been before why not come along and see what it's all about, we would love to see you.
If you would like any more information on our forthcoming Messy Church please call Lynn on 670730 or Marion on 682701.
JUNE 2017
Messy Church lights the way
Jesus was the focus of June’s Messy Church with the children partaking in a variety of crafts and a treasure hunt to celebrate God’s son.
The children thoroughly enjoyed assembling and decorating their own specialised activity booklet, selecting from a range of quizzes, dot to dots, word searches and a very tricky code breaking task that challenged both children and adults alike.
Bryan and Sam made a welcomed addition to the Messy Church team and their delightful fridge magnets certainly proved a great success with the children, who used lots of glittery accessories to decorate them. Each of the different designs had a little message to remind us of the great love God and Jesus have for us all.
Food based crafts are always popular at Messy Church so the decoration of fish shaped biscuits with a range of jellies, sweets and fruit pieces was a big hit with the children. I wonder if the any of the early Christians ever made such delicious and edible fish as a sign of their faith.
Good things come in little packages; and this was certainly the case with the wonderful little prayer boxes the children decorated with sparkly gems, lace and ribbon. Each exquisite box contained a pencil and paper sheets, all ready to jot down any worries and thoughts that might need praying about.
Sparkly gems also featured in the decoration of glass containers to which battery-operated tea lights were added as a pretty reminder that Jesus is our guiding light.
The treasure hunt followed a similar theme, with the children searching for strategically placed candle clues which, once all found, revealed Jesus’ message from John 8: 12
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Once the activities were finished, Lynn gathered everyone into the chancel where we sang action songs and found out some fascinating facts about Jesus before tucking into our picnic.
Your Challenge
How many brothers did Jesus have and what were their names?
For details about our forthcoming Messy Church, please call Lynn on 670730 or Marion on 682701.
APRIL 2017
THE LOST SHEEP CAME TO MESSY CHURCH
On the last day if April the parable of the Lost Sheep was celebrated at Messy Church. This story celebrates the fact that to Jesus every single person is loved by him and he will never leave us and so all the activities were based on this.
Seven lost sheep were hidden around church waiting to be found by our eager searchers, some proved more difficult than others and occasionally an extra clue was needed. In the end all were successfully found and a little prize awarded to our intrepid shepherds! Sheep shaped biscuits were hand-made by our very own Nigella (otherwise known as Anne) which the children then decorated with tiny marshmallows and they were then able to make woolly sheep to adorn the banner each with their name attached. The puzzle book always proves a popular activity and this one included a crossword, word search, maze, sudoku and colouring page for them to enjoy at home. A prayer in the form of a heart shaped wall hanging looked beautiful and very trendy when constructed and will hopefully adorn many homes for years to come and a sheep fridge magnet made in colourful fabrics will be sure to brighten up many family kitchens. Finally, a sheep made another appearance on a pencil holder to keep safe all those elusive pens/pencils which are never were they should be when you're looking for one! After all this busy bustle it was very welcome to sit in the chancel and listen to Lynn talk of the lost sheep parable and watch an entertaining cartoon of the story. We all joined in a very catchy song which had everyone repeatedly shouting out 'I'VE LOST MY SHEEP' (guaranteed to stay in your brain for the rest of the night!). Picnic time followed and tea and chat time for the adults, all too soon we were waving our shepherds off and looking forward to seeing them again at out next Messy Church.
We would like to thank all those parents who kindly help to tidy up after Messy Church this is very much appreciated by us all.
If you would like any more information on our forthcoming Messy Church please call Lynn on 670739 or Marion on 682701
FEBRUARY 2017
ALL THINGS BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL
At February's Messy Church we celebrated all things bright and beautiful in God's wonderful world. We are fortunate in living in such a lovely area and we sometimes are in danger of taking for granted all the beauty around us and so it was good to take time to appreciate the wonders we all enjoy.
As the children arrived the activities got underway and there was plenty for them to do! The Banner was an explosion of colour with flowers, bees, sparkling butterflies, fluffy sheep and hatching chicks all crafted by the children and is now on display within the church, do pop in and admire their handiwork if you get a chance. The Gardening Club had very kindly donated sunflower seeds for our use and these were planted in brightly decorated pots and taken home to bloom later in the year (so keep your eyes open for sunflowers displayed in village windows). A very big thank- you to the Gardening Club from all at Messy Church for this thoughtful donation. Stones were also decorated with paint and shiny gems to make beautiful paper weights/ornaments. These looked extremely attractive and some very creative hands were busy at work on this activity. The children were then able to make huge wriggly snakes as a reference to the snake in the Garden of Eden who tempted Eve to take forbidden fruit from the tree and the food activity again proved very popular with delicious fruit pies made and taken home to be consumed later. The Hunt had children scurrying all around the Church searching for glittery fish and finally a very cleverly constructed snappy animal was made. Activity time came to an end and peace descended as everyone sat in the Chancel to watch a visual presentation given by Lynn and join in the songs. This was enjoyed by all and followed by the picnic when everyone had the chance to relax and chat together. All too soon it was time to say goodbye and another busy and fun filled Messy Church drew to a close.
After all the preparation it is so rewarding to share in the pleasure of the children who join us at Messy Church and all are made welcome. Our next Messy Church will be on Sunday 30th April, more details in April's Parish Magazine.
If you would like any more information please call Lynn on 670730 or Marion on 682701.