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.
Monday, December 15, 2014
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!!
Thursday, September 18, 2014
The Pigs and Messy Church
It's been awhile since I've posted anything about Messy Church at AUMC - but not because there hasn't been plenty going on! After our last Messy Church on August 24, we quickly turned our focus to the Church Retreat. Technically, the Retreat isn't part of Messy Church - but really, it's like a day-long Messy Church for all ages (and the adults don't even realize it!) Sneaky, I know.
At our Retreat, we focused on the story told in Mark 5:1-20 about Jesus casting out the Legion of demons into a herd of pigs. Our theme: Sometimes the Pigs Must Die. Dramatic, yes. But I once heard a speaker ask the question - after telling the story from Mark 5 - "what pigs in your life or in your church need to die in order that the good news of Jesus might be proclaimed?" 8 years later, that question still haunts me. I ask myself all the time - is this ministry a pig or is it telling others about Jesus? Does it need to die in order that something better might come along?
We had some great discussion about pigs at our church that might need to die. It's important to note that we were clear - pigs can be ministry, programs, and especially attitudes, but not people! :) We weren't calling names! Ha!
But there were quite a few attitudes identified as pigs - attitudes of fear, complaining, gossip...and a good one, apathy.
Now this pig didn't come up at the retreat, but I see it all the time in most churches. We have this idea that the best way to do things is to separate out children go here, adults here, youth here...and every so often we'll get back together - but for the most part we all stay apart. Case in point - Sunday worship. Kids squirm and talk during church so let's put them someplace where they can play - or even learn good things - while the adults worship. Kids are happier, parents are happier - how can this be anything other than good?
Folks, I hate to say it - but this kind of attitude? It's a pig. And you know what needs to happen to pigs, right?
In a few weeks our kids will be leading our worship services for Children's Sunday. They'll lead the congregation in professing our faith with the Apostles' Creed and lead us to pray the Lord's Prayer together (among other things). Anyone remember how you learned the Lord's Prayer? The Creed? Chances are - if you grew up going to church - you learned these things simply by hearing them every Sunday until you couldn't help but know them. We learn by doing. We learn by experiencing. And our kids cannot learn to worship unless they experience worship.
But we don't just see this pig during worship. We're even seeing it during Messy Church! What's our motto for Messy Church - exploring faith TOGETHER. What usually happens during Messy Church? Kids dive in to the activities and parents stand around a chat. On the one hand, it's great to see everyone together and everyone having fun. But as long as our parents are doing one thing and the kids are doing another, it doesn't matter if we're all in the same room - we're not exactly exploring faith together, are we?
Now some parents are helping with Messy Church activities - and that makes it hard to go with your kids. We're excited to have more and more volunteers stepping up who wouldn't have kids participating in Messy Church - so that parents don't always have to be the volunteers. But still, we've got to kill off the pig that's keeping all of us separated by ages! We're in this faith journey together and we all have so much to learn about God - so that, like Legion in our story from Mark 5, we can go and tell others what amazing things God has done for each of us! And the more we do this together, the better foundation we give to our kids as they grow! Not to mention, we adults still have plenty to learn ourselves!
Our next Messy Church will be October 5 at 9:45am. We're moving back to Parker Hall (our Fellowship Hall) for this one because hopefully they will be working on putting down a new floor in our gym. There will be plenty of greeters to point the way to Messy Church. October 5 is World Communion Sunday and that will be our theme. Fair warning - there will be several activities that parents and kids will have to do together! (We're going to work on killing that pig...one Messy Church at a time!)
See you at Messy Church! Invite a friend!
 |
| Some of our kids at the Retreat! |
At our Retreat, we focused on the story told in Mark 5:1-20 about Jesus casting out the Legion of demons into a herd of pigs. Our theme: Sometimes the Pigs Must Die. Dramatic, yes. But I once heard a speaker ask the question - after telling the story from Mark 5 - "what pigs in your life or in your church need to die in order that the good news of Jesus might be proclaimed?" 8 years later, that question still haunts me. I ask myself all the time - is this ministry a pig or is it telling others about Jesus? Does it need to die in order that something better might come along?
We had some great discussion about pigs at our church that might need to die. It's important to note that we were clear - pigs can be ministry, programs, and especially attitudes, but not people! :) We weren't calling names! Ha!
But there were quite a few attitudes identified as pigs - attitudes of fear, complaining, gossip...and a good one, apathy.
Now this pig didn't come up at the retreat, but I see it all the time in most churches. We have this idea that the best way to do things is to separate out children go here, adults here, youth here...and every so often we'll get back together - but for the most part we all stay apart. Case in point - Sunday worship. Kids squirm and talk during church so let's put them someplace where they can play - or even learn good things - while the adults worship. Kids are happier, parents are happier - how can this be anything other than good?
Folks, I hate to say it - but this kind of attitude? It's a pig. And you know what needs to happen to pigs, right?
In a few weeks our kids will be leading our worship services for Children's Sunday. They'll lead the congregation in professing our faith with the Apostles' Creed and lead us to pray the Lord's Prayer together (among other things). Anyone remember how you learned the Lord's Prayer? The Creed? Chances are - if you grew up going to church - you learned these things simply by hearing them every Sunday until you couldn't help but know them. We learn by doing. We learn by experiencing. And our kids cannot learn to worship unless they experience worship.
But we don't just see this pig during worship. We're even seeing it during Messy Church! What's our motto for Messy Church - exploring faith TOGETHER. What usually happens during Messy Church? Kids dive in to the activities and parents stand around a chat. On the one hand, it's great to see everyone together and everyone having fun. But as long as our parents are doing one thing and the kids are doing another, it doesn't matter if we're all in the same room - we're not exactly exploring faith together, are we?
Now some parents are helping with Messy Church activities - and that makes it hard to go with your kids. We're excited to have more and more volunteers stepping up who wouldn't have kids participating in Messy Church - so that parents don't always have to be the volunteers. But still, we've got to kill off the pig that's keeping all of us separated by ages! We're in this faith journey together and we all have so much to learn about God - so that, like Legion in our story from Mark 5, we can go and tell others what amazing things God has done for each of us! And the more we do this together, the better foundation we give to our kids as they grow! Not to mention, we adults still have plenty to learn ourselves!
Our next Messy Church will be October 5 at 9:45am. We're moving back to Parker Hall (our Fellowship Hall) for this one because hopefully they will be working on putting down a new floor in our gym. There will be plenty of greeters to point the way to Messy Church. October 5 is World Communion Sunday and that will be our theme. Fair warning - there will be several activities that parents and kids will have to do together! (We're going to work on killing that pig...one Messy Church at a time!)See you at Messy Church! Invite a friend!
Monday, August 18, 2014
"Rules" for a New School Year
Is it really time for school to start?! Wow, where has this summer gone?! But here it is, ready or not - a new school year begins!
With a new school year, kids will all be learning new rules for their new classrooms. Teachers outline expectations - students learn the boundaries for the classroom.
So it's got me thinking about rules for our Messy Life within the Church. Jesus really only laid out one rule for our classroom - Love one another as I have loved you (see John's gospel for this one!). On Sunday in Messy Church, we'll be learning about that LOVE, that unfailing, ever-pursuing love that God has for us. All Jesus set before us is to love one another with that same kind of love. But what does that love look like in action?
Paul set out some pretty good thoughts on love within the Messy Life of the Church, both in 1 Corinthians 13 and in Romans 12. In honor of a new school year, here's a look at what Paul has to say about the "rules of our classroom" in our life together as a church (from Romans 12):
- Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of you minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect
- Let Love be real.
- Hate what is evil.
- Hold strong to what's good
- Love one another
- Serve God with Gusto!
- Rejoice in hope
- Be patient, even when things don't go your way
- Pray. And pray some more
- Be generous
- Be kind, but not just to your friends - make sure you're kind especially to strangers
I don't know about you, but those are some pretty good classroom rules!
We at AUMC hope that you and your family have a wonderful first week of school. We are praying for a safe and fantastic school year for all our children, teachers, volunteers, and parents!
See you Sunday at Messy Church (Aug 24, 9:45 a.m., in the gym)!!
With a new school year, kids will all be learning new rules for their new classrooms. Teachers outline expectations - students learn the boundaries for the classroom.
So it's got me thinking about rules for our Messy Life within the Church. Jesus really only laid out one rule for our classroom - Love one another as I have loved you (see John's gospel for this one!). On Sunday in Messy Church, we'll be learning about that LOVE, that unfailing, ever-pursuing love that God has for us. All Jesus set before us is to love one another with that same kind of love. But what does that love look like in action?
Paul set out some pretty good thoughts on love within the Messy Life of the Church, both in 1 Corinthians 13 and in Romans 12. In honor of a new school year, here's a look at what Paul has to say about the "rules of our classroom" in our life together as a church (from Romans 12):
- Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of you minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect- Let Love be real.
- Hate what is evil.
- Hold strong to what's good
- Love one another
- Serve God with Gusto!
- Rejoice in hope
- Be patient, even when things don't go your way
- Pray. And pray some more
- Be generous
- Be kind, but not just to your friends - make sure you're kind especially to strangers
I don't know about you, but those are some pretty good classroom rules!
We at AUMC hope that you and your family have a wonderful first week of school. We are praying for a safe and fantastic school year for all our children, teachers, volunteers, and parents!
See you Sunday at Messy Church (Aug 24, 9:45 a.m., in the gym)!!
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Messy Church: It's Not Just For Kids!
We all probably remember the commercials for Trix cereal with the white rabbit who is always trying to get some Trix? The rabbit comes oh so close, only to have a child say, "Silly rabbit! Trix are for kids!"
Poor rabbit. I'm not sure he ever did get any Trix.
One thing that's NOT just for kids - Messy Church! It's easy to walk into the gym during Messy Church and see activities that are simply "for the kids." Sure, there are parents to help, especially the little ones with the crafts. We have dads hanging out, holding on to all the finished projects (much like my dad holding all my mom's packages while she shops). But at it's heart, Messy Church is supposed to be as much for the adults as for the children! It's about growing TOGETHER, experiencing faith TOGETHER.Too often - especially it seems in churches! - we find ourselves separated by age groups. Youth go here. Children go here. Adults go someplace else. Even in worship, some churches divide up by age groups. The downside of all this age segregation? So much of faith development in children comes from them watching parents and other adults model faith. Kids learn from watching, from observing. And they learn from working alongside parents and other adults.
Messy Church is deliberately for families - for all ages.
Even more, the messages we try to get across to the kids with Messy Church? Messages like "God is bigger than any giant you face," "God is more powerful than anything you fear" - adults need to hear those words, too! Maybe even more than their kids!
Our next Messy Church is August 24. The theme this time is "God's Unfailing Love" and the main Scripture verse is Psalm 23:6. "Surely your mercy and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life!" While I was getting ready for Messy Church, I came across this quote from C.S. Lewis about God's unfailing love. It's more "adult language" but the point Lewis is trying to get across here is exactly what we hope to show our families at Messy Church:
God's love for us is not wearied and it is relentless in pursuit of each of us!
We hope to see you all at Messy Church on August 24, 9:45 am in the gym, as we explore this theme of God's Unfailing Love!
Poor rabbit. I'm not sure he ever did get any Trix.
One thing that's NOT just for kids - Messy Church! It's easy to walk into the gym during Messy Church and see activities that are simply "for the kids." Sure, there are parents to help, especially the little ones with the crafts. We have dads hanging out, holding on to all the finished projects (much like my dad holding all my mom's packages while she shops). But at it's heart, Messy Church is supposed to be as much for the adults as for the children! It's about growing TOGETHER, experiencing faith TOGETHER.Too often - especially it seems in churches! - we find ourselves separated by age groups. Youth go here. Children go here. Adults go someplace else. Even in worship, some churches divide up by age groups. The downside of all this age segregation? So much of faith development in children comes from them watching parents and other adults model faith. Kids learn from watching, from observing. And they learn from working alongside parents and other adults.
Messy Church is deliberately for families - for all ages.
Even more, the messages we try to get across to the kids with Messy Church? Messages like "God is bigger than any giant you face," "God is more powerful than anything you fear" - adults need to hear those words, too! Maybe even more than their kids!
Our next Messy Church is August 24. The theme this time is "God's Unfailing Love" and the main Scripture verse is Psalm 23:6. "Surely your mercy and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life!" While I was getting ready for Messy Church, I came across this quote from C.S. Lewis about God's unfailing love. It's more "adult language" but the point Lewis is trying to get across here is exactly what we hope to show our families at Messy Church:
We hope to see you all at Messy Church on August 24, 9:45 am in the gym, as we explore this theme of God's Unfailing Love!
Monday, July 21, 2014
What happens when Messy Church and VBS get together?!
It's the day after Messy Church, and I'm writing in the middle of the eye of the storm that's also known as Vacation Bible School. All the kids are settled in to their first full day of VBS. I just heard one of the K3 kids declare that it's snack time! Whoo hoo!
Yesterday's Messy Church was fabulous! We focused on the story of Queen Esther. She was the first story of our VBS this year (Workshop of Wonders by Cokesbury, in case you're wondering!) Queen Esther is one of my most favorite stories! She's a pretty unlikely hero until she is called on to make a big decision - to play it safe or to step up to save her people. Esther chooses to take a bold step. She goes before the king unannounced and asks for the salvation of her people.
We had some pretty fun activities to go along with Esther's story.
We did face painting, tattoos, stickers and all kinds of fun stuff for "beauty treatments." As you can see, even the adults got into the fun. I had my face painted with a heart (with lots of glitter) - just in time to preach at the 11:00 service. I wonder how many times our congregation has seen a preacher with their face painted??
Since the theme for VBS this year has to do with imagining and building with God - we had some boxes (lots of boxes) out for the families to build a palace. We built lots of palaces! Every time one was finished, it came
tumbling down only to be rebuilt. It was a blast!
We had two crafts this time. One involved making puppets to help the kids tell the story of Esther. Kids could make puppets for Mordecai, Haman, the King, and Esther. The idea had been to use wooden spoons for the puppets but in reality paint sticks (FREE paint sticks) worked just as well. We told the story of Esther both in Messy Church story time but also during our worship service. I invited the kids to hold up their puppets while I was telling the story during my sermon. We had a front row full of kids and I loved watching them hold up their puppets! They really did pay attention to when I was talking about a particular character. And the puppets were great!
Kids also had a chance to draw a self portrait. The frames included the theme verse, "Perhaps you were chosen for such a time as this." A good reminder that we are all called by God. The self portrait picture I have posted is from one of our rising 4th graders, Alex. I didn't even need to see the name - I knew it was Alex as soon as I saw it! He did a great self portrait!
Our snacks were are royal themed - a kings scepter (lollipop), jewels (candy), etc. Nothing like sending the kids into worship with plenty of sugar! :) Always fun!
The story of Queen Esther really is a great story - for kids and for adults. I know some of the older kids think they are too cool for Veggie Tales, but the Veggie Tale version of Esther really is the best around. It doesn't romanticize the story too much and stays very true to the Bible.
I'm starting to hear the kids running around to another class for VBS - I probably should go get ready for our closing assembly! I need to practice the music again!
Yesterday's Messy Church was fabulous! We focused on the story of Queen Esther. She was the first story of our VBS this year (Workshop of Wonders by Cokesbury, in case you're wondering!) Queen Esther is one of my most favorite stories! She's a pretty unlikely hero until she is called on to make a big decision - to play it safe or to step up to save her people. Esther chooses to take a bold step. She goes before the king unannounced and asks for the salvation of her people.
We had some pretty fun activities to go along with Esther's story.
We did face painting, tattoos, stickers and all kinds of fun stuff for "beauty treatments." As you can see, even the adults got into the fun. I had my face painted with a heart (with lots of glitter) - just in time to preach at the 11:00 service. I wonder how many times our congregation has seen a preacher with their face painted??Since the theme for VBS this year has to do with imagining and building with God - we had some boxes (lots of boxes) out for the families to build a palace. We built lots of palaces! Every time one was finished, it came
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| I'm not sure how many kids fit into this palace! |
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| Here are puppets for Haman, the King, and Esther |
Our snacks were are royal themed - a kings scepter (lollipop), jewels (candy), etc. Nothing like sending the kids into worship with plenty of sugar! :) Always fun!
The story of Queen Esther really is a great story - for kids and for adults. I know some of the older kids think they are too cool for Veggie Tales, but the Veggie Tale version of Esther really is the best around. It doesn't romanticize the story too much and stays very true to the Bible.
I'm starting to hear the kids running around to another class for VBS - I probably should go get ready for our closing assembly! I need to practice the music again!
Monday, June 30, 2014
Esther and Good Choices
After taking a couple of months off, we gearing up for Messy Church again at AUMC. We're kicking off VBS on July 20 with Messy Church. Queen Esther's story is the first story for VBS this year - so I guess this means that Messy Church is headed to the king's court in Persia!
I love Esther's story! She's a strong and courageous woman - who didn't really set out to be strong or courageous. I think that's why I like her so much. We don't really set out to be strong, courageous, or bold - but sometimes following God demands strength, courage, and boldness whether we planned on it or not!
This past Sunday during the children's moment, I spoke with the kids about making choices. They absolutely cracked me up. I asked them to make a choice between pizza and Brussels sprouts - that got an obvious response. Vacation at the beach or the mountains - I got a few of each. But then I asked them to chose between spending another hour playing or helping their parents with a project around the house. Bless their hearts, they all said "Help my parents!" I managed to catch a couple of their parents eyes and we all had to laugh. That's an easy choice to make on Sunday morning - those kids knew the "right" answer. Reality? Yeah, they probably will chose the play a bit more... I wonder how many parents tried that out Sunday afternoon? Hmm...
Esther had to make a hard choice between standing up for her people (God's people) or staying safe in the palace. She stood up for God's people even though it meant facing death. We don't always make life or death decisions for God - but as I told the kids on Sunday, we face a decision every day about whether or not we will follow God. Each day we get to make a choice, "Will I glorify God today? Will I follow Jesus today?" Esther made her choice.
Join us on July 20 at 9:45 am as we spend some more time with Queen Esther!
I love Esther's story! She's a strong and courageous woman - who didn't really set out to be strong or courageous. I think that's why I like her so much. We don't really set out to be strong, courageous, or bold - but sometimes following God demands strength, courage, and boldness whether we planned on it or not!
This past Sunday during the children's moment, I spoke with the kids about making choices. They absolutely cracked me up. I asked them to make a choice between pizza and Brussels sprouts - that got an obvious response. Vacation at the beach or the mountains - I got a few of each. But then I asked them to chose between spending another hour playing or helping their parents with a project around the house. Bless their hearts, they all said "Help my parents!" I managed to catch a couple of their parents eyes and we all had to laugh. That's an easy choice to make on Sunday morning - those kids knew the "right" answer. Reality? Yeah, they probably will chose the play a bit more... I wonder how many parents tried that out Sunday afternoon? Hmm...
Esther had to make a hard choice between standing up for her people (God's people) or staying safe in the palace. She stood up for God's people even though it meant facing death. We don't always make life or death decisions for God - but as I told the kids on Sunday, we face a decision every day about whether or not we will follow God. Each day we get to make a choice, "Will I glorify God today? Will I follow Jesus today?" Esther made her choice.
Join us on July 20 at 9:45 am as we spend some more time with Queen Esther!
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Looking Back and Moving On
As we move past Holy Week and into the Easter season, I've been doing a little reflecting about just how far we've come in a year with Messy Church at Aldersgate. Last year during Holy Week, my dear friend Pam Attaway and I decided to do a 24 hour fast together as we prepared for Easter. We'd been doing a study on spiritual disciplines and it seemed like this was something we both wanted and needed to do. As we were preparing to fast, Pam asked if I would pray for her and her family as they worked and prepared to go and serve as missionaries in Thailand. They were still raising money and everything was up in the air. And I asked her to pray for children's ministry at Aldersgate. I remember telling her that I knew we needed something, but I just couldn't grasp what that might be.
Within one month, plans for Messy Church fell into place. Within two months, we held our first Messy Church information meeting and by August we were off and running. By December, the Attaways were settling in to life as missionaries in Thailand. And now, here we are a year later - it's so amazing to be able to look back and see all that God has done (and is doing!).
It's great to be able to look back and give thanks for God's work. But it's also a time to look forward. Summer is our big planning time. While everyone is off on vacation, swim team, sports, etc, I get to spend time planning and pondering the future. Summer can be one of the best times of the year - and also one of the hardest.
One of the questions we'll need to address is what does the future of Messy Church at Aldersgate look like. What will we need to move forward? What's the next step for us and this ministry?
Ultimately I think it will come down to three things:
- Outreach - helping to move Messy Church outside the walls of Aldersgate and to spread the word about this opportunity for families to grow in faith together.
- Support - Messy Church costs money. Each event costs something - though most of the time it doesn't cost much (between $50-$100 for one event, 30+ kids). Still, communication, signs, outreach, supplies - all of this adds up. We have money budgeted. But still, wouldn't it be nice to know that money would not be an issue?
- Planning - The planning aspect of Messy Church can be the most fun, and also the biggest stress. Wouldn't it be great to have a small team coordinating an event? Teams could rotate even so that they aren't having to do every event...maybe just every other one. A small group working to plan activities, sources supplies, and gather volunteers would go a long way to make Messy Church even better.
Prayerfully consider if you would like to be a part of Messy Church moving forward! And look for more details about how you can be a part of this ministry! Look how far God has already taken us - and imagine what next year will bring!
And if you'd like to know more about Pam and her awesome family as they serve in Thailand, check out their blog: http://www.loveshareserve.blogspot.com/
Within one month, plans for Messy Church fell into place. Within two months, we held our first Messy Church information meeting and by August we were off and running. By December, the Attaways were settling in to life as missionaries in Thailand. And now, here we are a year later - it's so amazing to be able to look back and see all that God has done (and is doing!).
It's great to be able to look back and give thanks for God's work. But it's also a time to look forward. Summer is our big planning time. While everyone is off on vacation, swim team, sports, etc, I get to spend time planning and pondering the future. Summer can be one of the best times of the year - and also one of the hardest.
One of the questions we'll need to address is what does the future of Messy Church at Aldersgate look like. What will we need to move forward? What's the next step for us and this ministry?
Ultimately I think it will come down to three things:
- Outreach - helping to move Messy Church outside the walls of Aldersgate and to spread the word about this opportunity for families to grow in faith together.
- Support - Messy Church costs money. Each event costs something - though most of the time it doesn't cost much (between $50-$100 for one event, 30+ kids). Still, communication, signs, outreach, supplies - all of this adds up. We have money budgeted. But still, wouldn't it be nice to know that money would not be an issue?
- Planning - The planning aspect of Messy Church can be the most fun, and also the biggest stress. Wouldn't it be great to have a small team coordinating an event? Teams could rotate even so that they aren't having to do every event...maybe just every other one. A small group working to plan activities, sources supplies, and gather volunteers would go a long way to make Messy Church even better.
Prayerfully consider if you would like to be a part of Messy Church moving forward! And look for more details about how you can be a part of this ministry! Look how far God has already taken us - and imagine what next year will bring!
And if you'd like to know more about Pam and her awesome family as they serve in Thailand, check out their blog: http://www.loveshareserve.blogspot.com/
Monday, April 7, 2014
The Greatest Story We Get to Tell
Messy Church this time was all about Holy Week - from Palm Sunday through Good Friday. We had fewer activities - only four - so we could spend more time on the story. The kids were able to craft palm branches which will be incorporated into our Palm Sunday worship service this coming Sunday. For the Last Supper, we focused on Jesus washing his disciples feet. (In October for World Communion Sunday our whole Messy Church will be about Communion - so we saved that part of the story for later!) We also had an activity related to prayer and Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. The kids made pretzels out of modeling clay with a card that explained how pretzels came about and how they remind us 
And finally, the kids made "stained glass" crosses using contact paper and tissue paper. An easy craft - but they turned into very beautiful crosses. We'll be displaying these crosses in either the Commons or the Sanctuary during Holy Week.
For our story time, we had some great youth who helped tell the story of Jesus' last week. Hopefully the story will stay with our kids as they celebrate Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter.
Monday, March 3, 2014
Observing a "Messy" Lent
Wednesday brings the start of another season of Lent. So how do we help our children and families observe this holy season? Lent can be difficult - far more difficult than Advent - with all the talk of giving up something, taking on something, talking about Jesus' passion. But without observing a season of Lent - of preparation - Easter can easily lose its powerful meaning. If you don't recognize why Easter is such a big deal, why celebrate it with such passion?! Messy Church is hands-on - so how will we observe a "Messy" - or hands-on - Lent?
This past Sunday, our Sunday School classes helped prepare our kids for Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. We gave all the kids a really cool Lenten Calendar from the website catholicicing.com. Here's the link: http://catholicicing.com/printable-lenten-calendar-for-kids/ - She says its her most popular download of all time on her blog. I can see why. It's a great tool for walking through Lent with kids!
During the children's message, we "buried the Alleluia" for the season. I had a banner that says "Alleluia" which we've put in a box and tied it up, not to be opened until Easter. It's one of those children's messages that might have sounded better than it turned out - but we'll see. There's something pretty neat about having that box with the "Alleluia" up front, tied up - a great visual reminder of the season.The kids got to help hold the banner and put the box on the altar table.And we'll pull it back out on Easter and hopefully have it displayed throughout the Easter Season.
These are just a couple of things that we've done as a church community. But families can also observe Lent at home. There are plenty of ideas online (how did we survive without Pinterest?!) from making a Lenten tree (very similar to a Jesse Tree during Advent) to suggestions for things to give up or take on. One of the ideas I really loved was 40 bags for 40 days - decluttering the house, cleaning out the excess. Here's one person's list:
With all the good ideas out there for observing Lent as a family, what will your family do during these 40 days? How will you celebrate this season and prepare your family and your homes for Easter?
This past Sunday, our Sunday School classes helped prepare our kids for Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. We gave all the kids a really cool Lenten Calendar from the website catholicicing.com. Here's the link: http://catholicicing.com/printable-lenten-calendar-for-kids/ - She says its her most popular download of all time on her blog. I can see why. It's a great tool for walking through Lent with kids!
During the children's message, we "buried the Alleluia" for the season. I had a banner that says "Alleluia" which we've put in a box and tied it up, not to be opened until Easter. It's one of those children's messages that might have sounded better than it turned out - but we'll see. There's something pretty neat about having that box with the "Alleluia" up front, tied up - a great visual reminder of the season.The kids got to help hold the banner and put the box on the altar table.And we'll pull it back out on Easter and hopefully have it displayed throughout the Easter Season.These are just a couple of things that we've done as a church community. But families can also observe Lent at home. There are plenty of ideas online (how did we survive without Pinterest?!) from making a Lenten tree (very similar to a Jesse Tree during Advent) to suggestions for things to give up or take on. One of the ideas I really loved was 40 bags for 40 days - decluttering the house, cleaning out the excess. Here's one person's list:
With all the good ideas out there for observing Lent as a family, what will your family do during these 40 days? How will you celebrate this season and prepare your family and your homes for Easter?
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
What's in a name?
Well this blog post is a long time coming! But then church life isn't just messy on Messy Church Sundays! For our last Messy Church event we combined Old Testament and New. The jump off point was Exodus 3, when Moses is talking with God at the burning bush. Moses asks for God's name and God says, "I AM." Here's our fun (and somewhat messy) painting/coloring activity. Kids colored the picture, but used paint and a straw the make the burning bush.We then looked at four of the times Jesus says, "I am..." when trying to show his followers who he is. In John, Jesus uses 7 "I Am" phrases - we concentrated on 4 of them.
"I Am the bread of life." John 6:35 Kids made an ornament that looks like a slice
of bread with the Scripture verse on it. They also got to make their own biscuit from scratch, measuring each ingredient from start to finish. We baked the biscuits in batches so each child was able to eat the one they made. The kids had a lot of fun with this - and the biscuits tasted pretty good, too!"I am the Light of the World" John 8:12 For this one, kids made a pretty cool flashlight out of a cardboard tube, some duct tape, and yellow paper. We also found some actual flashlights with the Scripture verse on it so the kids could take them home. I learned the hard way on this one to check to see if the flashlights came with batteries! They didn't...oops. Live and learn!
"I am the Good Shepherd" John 10:11 For this one, the kids were able to make a game to take home with them to learn about what it means to be a good shepherd. This blogger - http://thevanderkoddes.blogspot.com/2013/10/week-7-moses.html - had a great game idea about baby Moses that I ran across looking for Moses activities. We adapted her game to make it about the good shepherd. It probably took too long to put together - but it was a good take-home activity. We also had a really cool paint project with this one involving marbles (the wandering sheep). This was messy - but oh so much fun. The kids loved it - and even our littlest participants could do this one and turn out an amazing painting.
"I am the vine." John 15:5 Our last "I am" statement was about the vine. A simple, but very cute, activity with
grape/pom-poms was a good reminder for the kids.
We had a great turn-out for this Messy Church event. We even had a special guest join us. Mr Jerry, who is one of our youth counselors here, dressed up for Moses for our Fall Festival. We asked him to reprise the role. So Moses was wandering around chatting with the kids during the activities. He stuck around for story-time, too, as we told the story of Moses encountering God at the burning bush.
We have one more Messy Church event for the school year on April 6 - a Messy Lent that also includes a hot dog lunch and Easter egg hunt after our 11:00 worship service. It will be a busy day with Messy Lent at 9:45 (in the gym this time), worship, lunch, and egg hunt.
It may be the last one of the school year, but have no fear - Messy Church will be back, maybe even in time for Vacation Bible School!!
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