The Lord’s Prayer
Hello there! On Saturday 15th June, we explored the Lord’s Prayer together through art, craft, singing and a lot of mess.
We marched around the hall and did a lot of jumping to worship God with our singing and instruments.
We also enjoyed snack together. Thanks to all who came and all who helped. I hope everyone had fun
Many thanks to all who came and all who helped.
Liz, Children and Families Worker
Happy Easter!
Hello there! On Saturday 23rd March we had an Easter Messy Church.
An intrepid group of explorers braved the snow drift to join us. We had an egg and spoon race, with only minimal cheating!
We sang worship songs with the band about the joyful Easter morning.
We then got creative. Stations were set up around the hall with various Easter activities including chocolate Cornflake cakes, making palm leaves, making palm crosses, Easter cards and head-dresses. We also made a giant poster with rays of light coming out of the cross. The children made a lovely effort before leaving parents to complete their masterpieces!
The wonderful kitchen team then replaced our energies with lots of treats to dip into melted chocolate. We had great fun making kebabs of fruit and marshmallows to smother in yummy chocolate, some of which made it to our tummies…
Snack time over and faces and fronts wiped of excess chocolate, we split into teams and serached for eggs around the building. We then settled down and watched a video from “Donkey” who lives just outside Jerusalem and carried the Very Important Person into the big city on Palm Sunday to much celebration. He told us about how the mood in the city changed so quickly and the authorities tried to stop Jesus. And the shock and joy on Sunday morning who the Very Important Person came back to life!
It would be wonderful to see you at our next Messy Church on Saturday 18th May from 10:00am-11:30am.
Many thanks to all who came and all who helped.
Liz, Children and Families Worker
Happy Valentines Day!
Hello there! On Saturday 9th February we looked at love. Download the takeaway sheet to find out more!
We sang worship songs with actions about how much God loves us, involving lots of jumping and a march around the hall.
We played “Animal Match”: pairs of animals were on pieces of paper hidden in a shoebox. We each picked one and then had to find our partner by pretending to be our animal!! There was some excellent Donkey noises and brilliant worm wiggling across the carpet.
We also raced to collect hearts in a box.
We got lovely and messy covering a big heart in finger and handprints of lots of different colours and later revealed a secret message under the paint, by pulling off the buried masking tape.
We got creative making Valentine’s cards, “God loves me” bookmarks and friendship bracelets (with only a few escapee beads!).
We also decorated heart biscuits, some of which made it out of the building, but not many.
Together at the end we watched a cartoon about 1 Corinthians 13 (watch it again on YouTube) and said a teaspoon (TSP) prayer: Thank you, Sorry, Please for us to love God and others more.
It would be wonderful to see you at our Easter Messy Church on Saturday 23rd March from 10:00am-11:30am.
Many thanks to all who came and all who helped.
Liz, Children and Families Worker
We Wish You A Messy Christmas!
Hello there! On Saturday 22th December we had a Christmas Messy Church. Download the takeaway sheet to find out more!
We sang songs about the birth of baby Jesus then got messy making festive crafts.
We made pipe cleaner donkeys, star Christmas tree decorations, and decorated crowns with lots of glitter, sequins and glue. But the prize for the messiest craft goes to the wool baubles: we covered think wool in glitter and PVA glue, then wrapped it around a balloon. We took them home so that once the wool dried, we could burst the balloon and have a hollowed out bauble for the tree.
We worked together to make a big collage of the nativity scene, I especially like the shiny coat the three wise men are wearing and the cotton wool sheep.
After snack time, we came back to the front and learnt “Away in Manger” in British sign language. We then searched the room for some Special Christmas Crackers: each contained a prophesy about Jesus’ birth (as well as the rudimentary hat, bad joke and toy). The prophesies told us that:
We made stained glass biscuits to hang on the tree, by melting a boiled sweet in the centre of the biscuit (to be honest, very few of these made it home so that they could go on the tree, they were gobbled down before they even left church!).
- Micah 5:2: “But you, Bethlehem, David’s country, the runt of the litter— From you will come the leader who will shepherd-rule Israel. He’ll be no upstart, no pretender. His family tree is ancient. ”
- Jeremiah 23:5: “The days are coming, declares the Lord when I will raise up to David a righteous branch: a king who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.”
- Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and give birth to a son and he will be called Immanuel.”
These prophesies were written by Old Testament prophets about 700 years before Jesus was born!
We then heard the Christmas story sung to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody! Watch it again on YouTube.
Finally, we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and all had some of his birthday cake.
You can see more of what we did on the Messy Church noticeboard in the church hall.
Many thanks to all who came and all who helped.
Join us for “Stay and Play” on Saturday 19th January, 10-11:30am. We’ll have a bouncy castle!
Liz, Children and Families Worker
Merry Christmas everyone and Best Wishes for the New Year!
Let There Be Light!
Hello! On Saturday 24th November we were looking at light and darkness. Download the takeaway sheet to find out more!
We made a plethora of light related craft including candle holders, notebook covers, lanterns and models of Saturn. We also threw paint around to make a firework poster on a huge piece of black paper and decorated star and candle biscuits.
We came together for singing, a story and game and to share some food. We were joined by six students from Cliff College in the Peak District who told us about how Jesus led a blind man to life in the light by restoring his sight. You can read the Bible story that we heard here. The children also helped find Matthew 4:15-16, which I had carelessly lost, and read it beautifully.
You can read more about what we did on the Messy Church noticeboard in the hall and the firework poster is up by the hatch, round the corner from the notice board.
Many thanks to all who came and all who helped.
Join us for the next Messy Church on Saturday 22th December, 10-11:30am. It would be great to see you.
Liz, Children and Families Worker
Harvest Messy Church
Hello! On Saturday 20th October we were looking at Gifts of the Harvest and watched a drama of Jesus’ Parable of the Sower (Mark 4). Download the takeaway sheet to find out more!
You might want to watch this if you couldn’t be with us: www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9IOhGPrRvY.
We came together for singing (including a difficult tongue twister chorus!!) and to guess a variety of fruit and vegetables in ‘feely’ bags.
Craft activities included making hedgehogs, leaf rubbing, Harvest Basket stained glass windows, making chocolate mess cakes, planting bulbs and playing with animals in dried leaves, trikes and the supermarket toys. These were set up at different tables around the room, with the baby mat to one side and the café by the kitchen hatch.
Examples of the artwork are on the Messy Church noticeboard in the hall and the Wheat Poster that everyone helped make is in the church.
Many thanks to all who came and all who helped.
Next Messy Church is Saturday 24th November, and we’ll be joined by students from Cliff College for another morning of stories, craft and singing. It would be great to see you.
Liz, Children and Families Worker
