Messy Church at the CTM, 2011: A Reflection
“Very stimulating, so creative and exactly where I needed to be. The conference was a revelation, and opened up new ways of being a 21st century church that welcomes children and families”
More than 150 ministry leaders from across the denominational spectrum recently crammed into the Centre for Theology and Ministry to engage with Lucy Moore – founder of MessyChurch. After a day of listening, learning, sharing and doing, most left inspired and energised by the possibilities of MessyChurch for their context.
MessyChurch, in essence, is a multi-age congregational planting strategy that focuses on connecting with 'unchurched' children and their families. Begun seven years ago in Portsmouth (UK), there are now over 700 registered MessyChurch expressions around the world.
In Australia, at the beginning of 2011, there were only two registered MessyChurch expressions. Following some gentle awareness-raising, there are now more than 20 registered Messy Church expressions – with this number expected to grow rapidly as a consequence of the Uniting Church facilitated visit by Lucy and her family.
A typical MessyChurch expression takes place monthly at a time and place chosen intentionally to encourage local community participation. With an order consisting of Messy Activity, Messy Celebration and Messy Food, MessyChurch - at first glance - is not unlike many other activities that seek to engage those not yet part of a faith community. What is distinctive, however, is the combination of the distinctive values that MessyChurch embodies…
Worship: Creating a space to experience and respond to God individually and together
Creativity: Demonstrating creativity in relationships, in programming and in sharing of the Good News
Hospitality: Generously offering and humbly accepting hospitality
Contextualisation: Taking seriously the context of the local community, the local faith community and the ethos of the Uniting Church
Multi-Age Community: Not just for kids, not just for adults, but multiple ages engaging together
Christ-centred Community: Focusing on Jesus who invites, welcomes, offers life in all its fullness and calls to follow
These values underpin the MessyChurch principles:
· Enabling people to have fun together
· Inviting people into an experience of Christian community
· Giving people a chance to express their God-given creativity
· Providing an opportunity for people of all ages to worship together
· Helping people of all ages to feel that they belong in church and to each other
· Introducing people to Jesus through hospitality, friendship, stories and worship
If these sound like the kinds of values and principles that might resonate with you and others in your congregation, then establishing a Messy Church expression could be a great way for your community to engage with the children and their families in your local community.
Find out more by e-mailing chris [dot] barnett [at] ctm [dot] uca [dot] edu [dot] auor going to http://www.messychurch.org.uk/.
* Messy Church resources – including MessyChurch, MessyChurch2,Messy Church – DVD, Messy Crafts, Messy Cooks and Messy Readings – are available from David at Uniting Resources.
