What is Messy Church? It’s a church in its own right within the main church. It’s also like a service – such as the 10.15am on Sunday or 10.30am on Wednesday – and attracts its own congregation. Even so, some people come to other services as well.
Messy Church sessions are built on friendship and fellowship. Each one includes a study on a biblical theme (January’s was Abraham and Sarah, February’s was Joseph and March’s will be Moses) and a meal as well as time together in which everyone chats and does craftwork.
It’s just as it was when Jesus was here on earth. A lot of His teaching involved eating and chatting together; they were a central part of His ministry.
Why “messy”? “Messy” does not refer to the mess we make and, in fact, we are well organised and aren’t really messy! There’s a lot of stuff about, but what do you expect when about 150 people are working together?
“Messy” refers to the messy edges of society to which we are reaching out; for example, those who want to come to church but can’t:
- manage Sundays due to work, child arrangements or other commitments.
- because they find “normal” services intimidating; they can be hard to follow and understand even for people who’ve been attending them for many years (including me before I came to Norbury).
- as they are adults who are trying to find God but need an easier way to do so; if they’ve never been to church, they may be at the same stage of spiritual development as a young child.
These are just a few reasons - there are lots.
Messy Church has become a bridge from (i) Holiday Club and toddlers to (ii) Sunday Club and church. Every messy member is invited to all that we do at church, both services and social events.
How old are we? The Norbury Messy Church reaches its second birthday in March and we are grateful for all the support we have received to get as far as we have. I’ll let you have some facts about Messy Church - globally, nationally and Norbury specifically - in another article.
How can you continue to support us? We need prayer and encouragement from the Norbury church family to grow and develop the messy family. We also need practical help with preparation, the sessions themselves and clearing up after. Please speak to Rob Green (01625-858 680) or me if you can lend a hand.
Messy Church is held on the fourth Wednesday of the month from 3.30 to 5.30pm.
Cath Palmer (0161-483 6325)