Jenny’s letter 16th February
Dear Friends,
Are you aware of the busyness of our church community during the week? Just pop into our Centre and on most days you will find all sorts happening.
We now have two church services there as well as the Unifom project, various groups meeting in the rooms and a steady stream of café customers. We are hoping that we will soon be able to do a soup lunch on a Friday with some kind of drop in activity group at another time.
Once a month, Messy Church continues to be a shining light in our calendar, and our February gathering was no exception! With 46 attendees, including 21 children, the event was filled with laughter, creativity, and warmth, topped off with delicious food.
Thank you to everyone who joined us and made the event so special.
As we approach 10 years of Messy Church, we celebrate the incredible dedication of Fiona, whose tireless work has kept this initiative thriving month after month. A heartfelt thank you to Fiona for her unwavering commitment.
On a related topic, this month, we are overjoyed to share that we have received two generous grants: £20,000 from the Community Lottery Fund for our ‘Food for Families’ work and community initiatives, and £900+ from a Thornton Hough Charity to enhance our children’s corner and support Baby Church and other children’s work.
Special thanks to Helene and Gill and their teams for securing these vital funds.
To keep this wonderful work going and, moreover, to grow it we need your help.
At Messy Church, Fiona and our small but faithful team are seeking more volunteers. Volunteering is not just an act of service; it is living out our faith.
Supporting children and families is a biblical calling, as Proverbs 22:6 reminds us: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
If you can spare time to help with activities, or simply be a welcoming presence, please consider joining our team. Messy Church runs once a month on the second Tuesday between 3.30 and 5.30 pm.
You don’t have to be an expert. We are deperately short of people (especially men) who will come and sit down, chat and eat with our children and families. Much of the work we do is through conversations.
Sometimes we don’t get to talk much about Jesus and then, on another occasion it seems very appropriate. People will often ask about church life or share something of their own faith. I often talk about my own ‘after school’ experiences as a single working mum.
If we can just make it a little easier for people then that’s good. If we build enough of a relationship to share our own faith experience then that’s even better.
Here’s to many more years of Messy Church and the development of our work with children and families. May we keep on growing in faith, fellowship, and fun!
Wishing you every blessing,
Last week’s challenge
In church last Sunday I challenged everyone to have one conversation about their faith during the week. Did you manage it? Thanks to Messy Church I was able to have a quick win early in the week. However a new week dawns. I am going to go again. Will you join me? One conversation in which you say something about what you believe, preferably with someone who you don’t know is a Christian. Ask God to provide the opportunity. Will you choose to seize the moment and be brave?