Westbury’s Messy Church has now been running for 18 months on the afternoon of the second Sunday of each month.
Although it is hosted by West End Baptist Church, it is run on behalf of Westbury Area Churches Together.
Messy Church is a family church with a difference. It certainly isn’t boring, with lots of activities, crafts and games; it is child and family friendly; it includes a short time of family worship and concludes with a buffet tea.
The aim of Messy Church is to create a user-friendly environment for families to have fun and to experience something of the relevance of God in their everyday lives; as well as accessing some of the stories in the bible in a memorable way.
The reason why it is called Messy Church is because there are often messy activities, together with a lot of wandering around as members of our families go from activity to activity.
Westbury Messy Church also has its own simple Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/Westbury-Messy-Church-960537484027223 and its own champion, i.e. MonteCute (MC for short) Bear.
Starting at 4.00pm, the programme is straight forward: 15 minutes for registration and games; 30 minutes on craft activities relating to the theme; 15 minute family service, with worship being led by our MC Music Group; followed by a buffet tea provided by members of the hosting church. There is no charge, but donations toward the cost of running Messy Church are appreciated.
This month’s Messy Church on 10th April focussed on the story of the observation that Jesus made regarding the people putting money into the temple Treasury, including a poor woman who just put in a couple of small coins. Activities included coin rubbing, purse making, making coin chutes, making collecting pots for chosen charities, jewellery making, etc.
Families enjoy coming to Messy Church, with many regular families coming month after month. The next Messy Church will be on Sunday 12th June at 4.00pm, with the theme being ‘The Worldwide Church’.
Graham Warmington
