Are you still wondering, "What exactly IS Messy Church?" Want a trip down memory lane?
Here's a short video with highlights from our last couple of years of Messy Church!
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
A Messy Summer
But don't let "break" fool you - there's plenty of Messy work happening around AUMC!
We had a planning meeting on May 13 with a new team of awesome volunteers who will be helping us plan awesome Messy Church events each month. That's right - I said "each month!" Starting July 19, there will be a Messy Church event every month from July to April. That's 10 Messy Churches in a row! Look here and on our Facebook page for the schedule - coming soon!
We're also hitting the road with a newly designed Messy Church display to be a part of the Mission Fair at the SC Annual Conference on June 8. If you're in the Florence, SC, area, you may see some of our great volunteers rocking their Messy Church t-shirts, helping to spread the word about what a great ministry we have with Messy Church!
In the meantime, don't forget to register for VBS at Aldersgate. Go to www.aumcsc.org to get a registration form! We're conquering Mt Everest this summer - with God's power!
Monday, December 15, 2014
The Mess of Christmas
We are less than one week away from Messy Christmas!! Even as I'm running around trying to gather up gold pens and paper plates (for angel wings of course), trying out new ideas (I totally had a Pinterest "fail" moment with the shepherds costumes), and organizing the chaos that turns into Messy Christmas, I still love this service as much as any worship service we do each year.
There is such truth in the messiness!! The first Christmas story was NOT as clean and beautiful as we make it out to be. It was a mess! And that's the best news of all!
Here's a wonderful blog about the messiness of Christmas - I couldn't have written it any better!
http://sojo.net/blogs/2014/12/15/why-are-manger-scenes-so-weird
I hope you'll join us for Messy Christmas 2014 - Sunday December 21 - activities for all ages begin at 4pm. Worship is at 5pm with dinner to follow.
There is such truth in the messiness!! The first Christmas story was NOT as clean and beautiful as we make it out to be. It was a mess! And that's the best news of all!
Here's a wonderful blog about the messiness of Christmas - I couldn't have written it any better!
http://sojo.net/blogs/2014/12/15/why-are-manger-scenes-so-weird
I hope you'll join us for Messy Christmas 2014 - Sunday December 21 - activities for all ages begin at 4pm. Worship is at 5pm with dinner to follow.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Messy Advent Reflection
We live in a world of "already" AND "not yet" - and there is no time like the season of Advent to remember this reality! During this season, we prepare to celebrate the coming of Christ as a baby in a manger - a baby that will grow up, teach, heal, invite, challenge, die and rise again. The arrival of this baby brought the Kingdom of God here and so even today we can say with confidence that because God took on flesh and blood, because God came and lived with us - the Kingdom of God is already.
Of course, it only takes one quick glance at the headlines to see the "not yet" part of the equation. The Kingdom of God may be already - but it is not yet complete. The beginning of the Advent season showers us with reminders to "prepare the way" not just to remember the baby in a manger but prepare the way for the KING of Kings to return, that there is more work to be done.
We begin our church year in Advent with this clear remind of the "already" AND the "not yet."
Life in the church - in any church - is full of "not yet" moments! Because we are human, it cannot be helped. There will always be moments when we shake our heads at something someone said or did, at a news headline, during a church meeting and say, "nope...I just don't see the Kingdom of God in THIS."
In a way, that makes Messy Church truthful advertising. We are a Messy Church - but we are also a messy church. We cannot help ourselves any more than any other church, any other community, any other family. Life together in the "not yet" will always be a bit messy. And so at least with Messy Church, we claim that title for what it is - truth.
However, even when the "not yet" seems to completely overwhelm us - the "ALREADY" is truly present with us. We just have to look for it! For every reminder of the "not yet," we have plenty of reminders of the "already," reminders of the Emmanuel, God With Us. We see it in the leadership of our youth. We hear it in the honest responses of our children (One dad asked his kids "what is a disciple?" Leave it to the kids to nail it = a friend of Jesus.) We feel the "already" in the excitement of the season.
Don't get so caught up in the "not yet" moments that you cannot see the "already" moments! That is the challenge of Advent, and the challenge of any disciple of Jesus the Christ. The world is messy, the church is messy - but we can live with the mess as long as we can see the beauty in the "already."
Take time this Advent season to prepare - for yourself and your family. Watch for those "already" moments - look, and you WILL see, God With Us.
We invite all of our families to participate in our Sheep Trail in Downtown Greenville during December. Check us out online at www.aumcsc.org/sheep-trail for more information. And follow along at www.facebook.com/messychurch.aumcsc - Feel free to post pictures of your Sheep Trail fun!
Also, we hope you will join us for a Messy Christmas on Sunday, December 21 at 4pm. Activities begin at 4pm; worship is at 5pm and please join us for dinner following the service.
Happy Advent!!
Of course, it only takes one quick glance at the headlines to see the "not yet" part of the equation. The Kingdom of God may be already - but it is not yet complete. The beginning of the Advent season showers us with reminders to "prepare the way" not just to remember the baby in a manger but prepare the way for the KING of Kings to return, that there is more work to be done.
We begin our church year in Advent with this clear remind of the "already" AND the "not yet."
Life in the church - in any church - is full of "not yet" moments! Because we are human, it cannot be helped. There will always be moments when we shake our heads at something someone said or did, at a news headline, during a church meeting and say, "nope...I just don't see the Kingdom of God in THIS."
In a way, that makes Messy Church truthful advertising. We are a Messy Church - but we are also a messy church. We cannot help ourselves any more than any other church, any other community, any other family. Life together in the "not yet" will always be a bit messy. And so at least with Messy Church, we claim that title for what it is - truth.
However, even when the "not yet" seems to completely overwhelm us - the "ALREADY" is truly present with us. We just have to look for it! For every reminder of the "not yet," we have plenty of reminders of the "already," reminders of the Emmanuel, God With Us. We see it in the leadership of our youth. We hear it in the honest responses of our children (One dad asked his kids "what is a disciple?" Leave it to the kids to nail it = a friend of Jesus.) We feel the "already" in the excitement of the season.
Don't get so caught up in the "not yet" moments that you cannot see the "already" moments! That is the challenge of Advent, and the challenge of any disciple of Jesus the Christ. The world is messy, the church is messy - but we can live with the mess as long as we can see the beauty in the "already."
Take time this Advent season to prepare - for yourself and your family. Watch for those "already" moments - look, and you WILL see, God With Us.
We invite all of our families to participate in our Sheep Trail in Downtown Greenville during December. Check us out online at www.aumcsc.org/sheep-trail for more information. And follow along at www.facebook.com/messychurch.aumcsc - Feel free to post pictures of your Sheep Trail fun!
Happy Advent!!
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Attitudes of Gratitude
Messy Church is this Sunday! It's been awhile since our last Messy event so I'm particularly excited for Sunday! Of course Messy Church in late November could really only mean that it's really a Messy Thanksgiving! Sunday is all about thanks-giving and developing attitudes of gratitude that last for more than just one day out of the year.
The theme verse is from 1 Thessalonians "Rejoice always, pray without stopping, and give thanks in all circumstances." We've got all kinds of activities in store for Sunday. No, no grape stomping this time - but we will be making some raisins dance! No kidding.
I ran across this saying the other day. "It's not happy people who are thankful; it is thankful people who are happy." It really is about an ATTITUDE of thanksgiving. And having an attitude of gratitude can completely change your entire perspective on life.
Join us on Sunday at 9:45 for Messy Church! We're back in the gym this time - giving thanks for a beautiful new gym floor! Every child who comes to Messy Church on Sunday gets to vote on the theme for VBS 2015.
And our Messy Church team is hitting the road Sunday afternoon to share the joys of Messy Church at the Anderson District Training Workshop (First UMC in Easley, 3:00-5:30). We'll be back in time for the community Thanksgiving worship service at Aldersgate (7:00pm).
The theme verse is from 1 Thessalonians "Rejoice always, pray without stopping, and give thanks in all circumstances." We've got all kinds of activities in store for Sunday. No, no grape stomping this time - but we will be making some raisins dance! No kidding.
I ran across this saying the other day. "It's not happy people who are thankful; it is thankful people who are happy." It really is about an ATTITUDE of thanksgiving. And having an attitude of gratitude can completely change your entire perspective on life.
And our Messy Church team is hitting the road Sunday afternoon to share the joys of Messy Church at the Anderson District Training Workshop (First UMC in Easley, 3:00-5:30). We'll be back in time for the community Thanksgiving worship service at Aldersgate (7:00pm).
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Fall Festival TODAY!!
Join us this afternoon for our Fall Festival! The weather is beautiful and the candy is bountiful!
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Grapes, I Love Lucy, and World Communion
This past Sunday, we had the pleasure of celebrating World Communion Sunday at Messy Church! What a great opportunity to help families learn about why we celebrate Holy Communion - but also to remember that we are not alone! Christians all over the world celebrated this sacrament together. That's almost mind-boggling if you really think about it.
Our craft project this week had the kids decorating a chalice to remember the Lord's Supper. The craft was simple but the kids had a wonderful time. Word from one grandmother was that her granddaughter carried that chalice around with her the rest of the day on Sunday! The cups are simply plastic wine glasses from the party store. They used permanent markers, gem stickers, and some fun international stickers we found at the Dollar Tree.
For our snack time, we encouraged families to sit down together at one of the tables we had set up. Families received some pita bread and grape juice - enough to share with all of the members of their family. We had a reading for them that helped to tell the story about why Jesus gave us the important meal. Again, a simple activity - but it was absolutely amazing to watch families sit down together for this experience. We had several families with 3 generations present, learning about Holy Communion together! Wow - this is exactly what Messy Church is all about!
For a little silliness, we of course had to have a game! Families competed against the clock to see how fast they could set the table!(Disclaimer, this might have been the parents' favorite activity - we earned serious points for teaching kids how to set the table properly!!).
To focus on the "world" part of "World Communion," we had a prayer station for families to learn about children all over the world and to pray for them. Our church has a family that is currently serving in Thailand as missionaries so the kids made cards of prayers and encouragement for that family. In the picture here, one of our kids is showing on the map where she and her family will be heading to serve as missionaries in the coming months. It really was a special moment, reminding us all how big God's world is!
And finally, we just couldn't resist. We stomped some grapes into grape juice! Lots and lots of grapes! This was the activity that the adult volunteers worried most about. When I sent out the email asking for help for each activity, I had plenty of people offer to help but most emails included "but not with the grape stomping!" One volunteer emailed me to ask how exactly we were going to crush those grapes. I simply asked, "Have you not seen I Love Lucy?" Ha! Still, I had a few volunteers - including someone volunteering with Messy Church for the first time! - willing to help with this messiness. Turns out, it really isn't as messy as people feared as long as you are well stocked with towels and baby wipes. The kids had a blast and our pastor even got in on the fun. She did a great Lucy impersonation! (We did learn a few lessons with this activity. Take the grapes out of the refrigerator the night before. We took them out the morning of, and they were oh so cold! It was like stomping on ice cubes! Also, don't forget that you'll have to take all of the grapes off of the stem so you don't have kids stepping on sharp little stems. This takes some time - but it's a great way to get little ones involved setting up for Messy Church.)
All in all, we had one of our best crowds for Messy Church and we had an absolute blast. Even better, I've heard from several parents and grandparents who came away raving about how much they had learned.
Our next Messy Church is a very Messy Thanksgiving, coming November 23. And then it will be time for Messy Christmas!!
Our craft project this week had the kids decorating a chalice to remember the Lord's Supper. The craft was simple but the kids had a wonderful time. Word from one grandmother was that her granddaughter carried that chalice around with her the rest of the day on Sunday! The cups are simply plastic wine glasses from the party store. They used permanent markers, gem stickers, and some fun international stickers we found at the Dollar Tree.For our snack time, we encouraged families to sit down together at one of the tables we had set up. Families received some pita bread and grape juice - enough to share with all of the members of their family. We had a reading for them that helped to tell the story about why Jesus gave us the important meal. Again, a simple activity - but it was absolutely amazing to watch families sit down together for this experience. We had several families with 3 generations present, learning about Holy Communion together! Wow - this is exactly what Messy Church is all about! For a little silliness, we of course had to have a game! Families competed against the clock to see how fast they could set the table!(Disclaimer, this might have been the parents' favorite activity - we earned serious points for teaching kids how to set the table properly!!).To focus on the "world" part of "World Communion," we had a prayer station for families to learn about children all over the world and to pray for them. Our church has a family that is currently serving in Thailand as missionaries so the kids made cards of prayers and encouragement for that family. In the picture here, one of our kids is showing on the map where she and her family will be heading to serve as missionaries in the coming months. It really was a special moment, reminding us all how big God's world is! And finally, we just couldn't resist. We stomped some grapes into grape juice! Lots and lots of grapes! This was the activity that the adult volunteers worried most about. When I sent out the email asking for help for each activity, I had plenty of people offer to help but most emails included "but not with the grape stomping!" One volunteer emailed me to ask how exactly we were going to crush those grapes. I simply asked, "Have you not seen I Love Lucy?" Ha! Still, I had a few volunteers - including someone volunteering with Messy Church for the first time! - willing to help with this messiness. Turns out, it really isn't as messy as people feared as long as you are well stocked with towels and baby wipes. The kids had a blast and our pastor even got in on the fun. She did a great Lucy impersonation! (We did learn a few lessons with this activity. Take the grapes out of the refrigerator the night before. We took them out the morning of, and they were oh so cold! It was like stomping on ice cubes! Also, don't forget that you'll have to take all of the grapes off of the stem so you don't have kids stepping on sharp little stems. This takes some time - but it's a great way to get little ones involved setting up for Messy Church.)All in all, we had one of our best crowds for Messy Church and we had an absolute blast. Even better, I've heard from several parents and grandparents who came away raving about how much they had learned.
Our next Messy Church is a very Messy Thanksgiving, coming November 23. And then it will be time for Messy Christmas!!
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