A Dark and Stormy Night

The signs are all down marking the end to another Messy Church Sunday. Yesterday we focused on the story of Jesus walking on water, as told in Matthew 14:22-33. Hopefully the kids understood that Jesus can calm the stormy seas and that he is trustworthy - so we have nothing to fear!

We learned a few lessons this time - as we always do - not just about the Scripture, but also about putting on Messy Church. For example, last minute changes to activities can actually be good! We had to make a few adjustments to our science experiment...mostly because we didn't quite realize how much corn starch it would take to get kids to be able to "walk on water!" As in about $100 worth of corn starch! So we went with the gloop in a bowl for the kids to play with - and it turned out to be the biggest hit!

Here's how the storm jar was supposed to look!

I also had one of those great Pinterest moments - you know, when you look at this picture of this really great craft, read the directions and then later realize that's totally not going to work. Then you discover that to use the sand, you have to wash the sand first?! What?! Wash the dirt?! Yep.And none of it turns out how you thought it would?  And yet, it ends up being a favorite craft anyway!

Speaking of favorites, our last minute activity addition - the wind thingy - turned out to be a good one, too! It was really inexpensive, easy to make, and yet when we did the story (both at Messy Church and in worship later), these were really fun and effective! Which brings me to another point - this Sunday during our 11:00 worship (the service that follows Messy Church), we used the same Scripture lesson for worship as we did in Messy Church (because our pastors are awesome and love to connect MC and worship!). This time in worship, though, we told the Scripture lesson "Messy Church style." The whole congregation was in on the story - some as waves and some as wind. What a joy to look out over all those smiling faces as they helped tell the story together! It was a wonderful moment!

Another thing we learned - if you put on the Messy Church t-shirt (that our volunteers wear), you will get asked to help! Our wonderful District Superintendent, Mary Teasley - that's her on the left - came to give Messy Church a try on Sunday. She walked in the door with her MC t-shirt on and promptly got asked a question by another volunteer and had to go off to find supplies for one of the crafts. So be careful when you wear that t-shirt!



Here are a couple of other pictures of crafts we did, including the treat bags we made for that afternoon's Fall Festival.

Many of our children will be hitting the streets this week dressed up for Halloween and trick-or-treating. We saw many of them at our Fall Festival - and boy, there are some scary costumes! Zombies, bloodied up characters, witches and more...Halloween brings out the cute - but also the scary! It's important for our kids to remember that while Halloween can be fun, with Jesus as our Savior, we have absolutely NOTHING to fear! C.S. Lewis (he wrote all the Narnia books!) once said, "Since it's so likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage." Our kids will always come up against scary things and many storms - we can't stop the storms as much as we might try. So the least we can do is to make sure that they know they do not have to be afraid because we worship a God who can calm any storm, who can conquer any storm, and who can all us out onto the water to do amazing things.

Storm's a Comin'

For the past two nights I've been dreaming about sand, waves, and shells. Sounds idyllic? Maybe dreaming of a beautiful beach somewhere - peaceful, tranquil? Nope. Because add to the sand, waves, shells the following: corn starch, glitter, duct tape, rice, toilet paper rolls, bottle caps, oil, and jello. In other words, I haven't been dreaming about beaches - I've been dreaming about Messy Church!! That can only mean one thing - it's Messy Church Week!
I've been shopping for supplies and I can honestly say, I've gotten some very strange reactions from the cashier at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club. At Sam's I bought several huge tubs of corn starch.
Apparently she had seen a TV program about a lady addicted to eating raw corn starch. So she wondered about me. I said, no, I won't be eating this...we've got a science experiment to do. And then the lady at Wal-Mart questioned the large container of glitter. She asked if they didn't have a smaller container. I said, no, I wanted to the largest container they had - because I know my kids! We will need the glitter!
It definitely is the oddest assortment of supplies. Individually, they don't make much sense - that's why I've been getting all those strange looks. Even on the floor of my office they don't make sense.But I know that on Sunday morning at 9:45, these random supplies will come together in amazing ways.
Isn't that like the Church? We're a pretty random assortment of people - and yet, when we're about Kingdom work, we come together in amazing ways. As Paul tell the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 12) all the parts and pieces are needed - even the ones that seem the least important. Everything works together and the Church is at her best when all the supplies are there, when all the pieces are working together. We may be Messy, but we can do amazing things in Jesus' name.

Don't forget to invite friends and neighbors to Messy Church! It's going to be a Dark and Stormy Night on the Sea of Galilee. Wait, is that a ghost? Nope. It's Jesus!!

Taking one for the TEAM - the Next Step for Messy Church

We are 25 days away from our 2nd Messy Church event! On October 27, we welcome kids and families for another exciting Messy Church. And this time things are going to get really messy!

But even as I send out information for our volunteers as we prep for October 27...it's time to take the next big step for Messy Church @ Aldersgate.

Up until now, Messy Church has been one person coordinating, organizing, dreaming, etc - with volunteers working on one Messy Church event at a time. But it's time for us to create a Messy Church Team. This team should have between 5 and 12 volunteers who are committed to dreaming, planning, and executing Messy Church @ Aldersgate. From planning the themes, finding the activities, coordinating volunteers, marketing, promoting and dreaming big, messy dreams - this team can help Messy Church run and help it grow.

Who should be on this team? Adults who are passionate about creating exciting spaces for children (and their families) grow in faith. And youth who are passionate about the same thing!

This is not a light commitment - it's a commitment to a ministry that will take time, energy, and prayer to execute. And fair warning, this team will need to meet on a regular basis (probably once a month). If you are interested in being a part of the Messy Church Team at Aldersgate, please call or email me (244-1820 or jmyers@aumcsc.org) and let's chat.

The more hands we have on deck to help, the bigger mess we can make - and the bigger impact we can have as we spread the good news about Jesus, the Christ, to children and their families in our community.