The first Messy Church of 2023 was held on Saturday 4th February in Church and it did not disappoint. Our theme was thanking God; saying thank you in lots of different ways and thinking about how Mary, Joseph, Simeon and Anna thanked God for Jesus. As ever, there was lots of mess, crafts, singing, sharing, fun and friendship.

Su Whybrow and Kate Smith did a grand job catering for our meal together at the end – ably assisted by Peter Hyatt on set up, and by Pam Davis and Diana White in the kitchen, with fantastic clear up services by Tony and Penny Wager. These are just some of the folks who supported and many thanks go to the whole team. The food was delicious – jacket potatoes and salad, then flapjacks and vanilla ice-cream. As Rebecca mentioned in Church the following morning, there was not just ice-cream but a choice of three sauces to go on it!!

It’s been brilliant having house groups volunteer to organise the food for Messy Church, and the Messy Church families are all very grateful. I would encourage others pondering about offering to help to do so! Please speak to Rebecca or Esther if interested. The food doesn’t have to be fancy – actually from my perspective as Samson’s mum he prefers more simple food for example jacket potatoes, macaroni cheese, pizza, hotdogs and sandwiches. For us families it’s more about having the space and time together to connect and build relationships than gourmet grub! As you can see from the photo, as well as worshipping God through service to others, Su and Kate really did enjoy themselves!

Messy Church is normally held on the first Saturday of the month 3.30-5.30pm (for attendees, slightly longer for helpers). The next couple of dates for Messy Church are Saturday 4th March and Saturday 8th April (moved from the first Saturday to Easter Saturday). Why not invite someone you know who may not have been to Messy Church before to come along?