Messy Church is a new ministry at Christ the Redeemer that is held once a month on the 1st Saturday of each month. The Next Messy Church will be on January 7th, from 4:30 – 6:30. We will be celebrating 12 Night, or epiphany, the 12 day of the proverbial 12 days of Christmas. It will be a time for Three Kings of Orient Are and a pinata just for fun: one more Christmas with the kids!
The objective of Messy Church is to try and reach out to the young families in our community who perhaps find getting to church on Sunday morning difficult, usually due to kid’s activities or family commitments. By providing a more casual setting once a month on a Saturday in which all family members and all ages are welcome, it provides another alternative to going to church and becoming part of a church community.
The format is simple; provide a craft that the whole family can participate in (this is the messy part) for approximately 1 hour, then a short worship service that is very informal for 15 to 20 minutes, and then finally we provide a simple meal in the hall which everyone can enjoy and takes up the remaining 40 minutes or so. Because it only goes for a couple of hours and is only once a month, it makes it easier for families to commit to.
Attendance can vary from month to month, we generally have approximately 30 to 40 people in attendance, or 6 to 7 families. Many folks who find making church every Sunday finds Messy Church is a wonderful to help their children and families connect spirtually.
It has proven to be quite self-sufficient as well. We have been accepting donations to help pay for the meal and these donations have been quite generous. Not only have the donations paid for the meal, but we now have a small fund which will pay for the food and craft supplies for future events.
In summary, Messy Church is becoming a very viable outreach for Christ the Redeemer, and as the “word gets out” through word of mouth, postcards, posters and advertising in the local papers, we believe this program can be a wonderful outreach to our surrounding community and beyond.