Christ Church Haydock URC use grant to share God’s message through Messy Church
Christ Church Haydock URC church members at a community celebration
Christ Church Haydock URC has received a Mersey Synod Mission Fund Small grant to share God’s message through their Messy Church group. The church opens this to all families from the local community (primarily non-church families) to come along, spend quality time with each other doing crafts and activities, eating hot food together whilst listening to the Word of God. All of the sessions are based on a gospel theme.
The sessions are free and are attended by around 50 adults and children each time. The aim is to provide a safe and exciting environment within a church setting where children and adults can have fun, family time and learn about God, and to give families a sense of ‘belonging’ to a church family.
Susan Taylor explains: “Messy Church really helps parents to understand that our church is there for them and can support them.
“The afternoon starts off with families being welcomed to participate in a range of different craft stations. They can walk around at their own leisure choosing which crafts and activities they want to complete. These can include crafts with paints, pens, food, paper, materials and much more. A range of refreshments is available for everyone to access during this time.
“After an hour of activities, the families then sit down and listen to God’s Word. This is usually in the form of a short children’s video about the Bible and a talk by one of our leaders, followed by some children’s choruses. Once this is finished, the families then go and sit down while they are served with a two-course hot meal.
“So far, we have covered many themes such as Noah’s ark, God’s love, Easter and God’s ultimate sacrifice and more.
“We want to show our community that we as a church are here to support them, especially in the currently financial situation where the cost of living in increasing and families are struggling.”
The funding will cover resources for sharing God’s Word: Christian tracts, Christian bookmarks, Youth Bibles and UCB Bags of Hope. It will be also used for replacing and buying new resources: crafts materials and craft activities, paints, pens, pencils, scissors, glues, paper plates, card and cardboard, in addition to resources for feeding families.
Susan added: “Our Messy Church also gives us an opportunity to invite the families to our Cafe Church which is held on the first Sunday of each month. This is an all-age service where we sit around tables rather that a structured church setting. Drinks, biscuits and cakes are provided after the service for all to enjoy. We commenced this service three months ago and have seen new faces each month. God is good!”
For more information on Christ Church Haydock URC and its community groups and events, please visit Home|Christ Church Haydock URC|St Helens (christchurchurchaydock.co.uk)