Messy Church at ADVENT

By Kitty Wright

“St. Saviour's hosts our first Messy Church”

St Saviours,Nelson hosted our first ever Messy Church event coordianted by Susan Barrett.It was held on Dec.5 to tie in with the theme of St. Nicholas, and all activities referred back to this theme.In the past we have celebrated the Advent season with a party, but this year it was time to do something different. The party/service was held in the Church building.

We came together for 5 pm and after 70+ name tags, and a time of greeting, the children and parents proceeded to rotate through the various craft tables,4 in all: play the bean bag toss; watch the puppet show; and experience the tibetan singing bowls.We even had a cozy storytime corner for the littlest peanuts to enjoy.

At 6:15 pm we were called to the service,parents sat in the pews and the children gathered on the steps. After a short service presided by the Rev. Suzanne Basek, we all enjoyed a dinner of pizza,veggies and cupcakes.This provideda good opportunity to visit and get to know each other.After dinner,we finished the party with a pinata bashing.Great fun,as everyone had a turn,with the rewards finally unleached in a cascade of candies.Every kids dream!

With the marked success of this event we are already considering whento host our next Messy church.It really seems this could be the wave of the future.Anyone interested in exploring this new way of being church could go to the web site www.messychurch.org.uk