Messy Church Meets Sunday Church at Peasley Cross

For the last three years, Peasley Cross URC has held Messy Church Sunday, an annual celebration where Messy Church meets Sunday Church. This began because of a desire to engage with families, while also sharing Jesus.

Peasley Cross now has an established group of mums, dads, grandparents and carers who come regularly and take an active part in the sessions.

Revd Allison Claxton, Minister at Peasley Cross URC explained:

 “The reason I decided to start Messy Church Sunday, is that quite often, Messy Church is seen as ‘their’ church and Sunday Church as ‘our’ church, and I wanted everyone to see that they are one in the same, with the same aim, worshiping Jesus and learning from Him.

 “I also saw it as a good opportunity for the Sunday congregation to gain a better understanding of what Messy Church is, and for the families to meet the congregation in an informal and fun way; so, we arrange for the whole service to be like a Messy Church Session.

“There are the usual songs – this year we had ‘God Can Do Anything’ with actions of course - which fitted well into the theme of Jesus feeding 5,000 people. We also watched an animated bible story about the story and had a game of ‘flappy fishy fun’, followed by crafts where we decorated paper fish and ‘painted’ bread, we then had a buffet.

 “I also created a video of What Have We Been Up To (see top of this article) showing all the activities, games and trips we have enjoyed over the last year. The service also gave an opportunity to recognise and thank the Messy Church Team for all that they do in making it run so smoothly.

 “It was a wonderful time of fellowship and laughter with the Sunday congregation joining in with the fun and the families and the congregation enjoying the worship and exploring a story of Jesus in a different way, together.

“We share what we have done and what is coming up via our Messy Church WhatsApp and our Peasley Cross Messy Church Facebook page I also admin the St Helens Network Facebook page and I will post our session dates on there as well as other local Facebook groups in St Helens.

“We’ve had enquiries from our posts and have been able to share the other groups and activities we have at Peasley Cross.

“Social media has been very helpful in spreading the word about Messy Church, as well as making the families who attend feel part of the Church.”

Learn more about Peasley Cross URC here: 

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