Do you remember the

Mister Men books? I’m sure that there

was one called ‘Mr Messy’. You may

remember the description of Mr Messy as

being somewhat ‘messy by name and messy

by nature’. Well! That is a perfect description of what happens at Messy Church on the 2nd Monday of

every month, in church, between 4 and 6 p.m.

The children are usually well behaved; it’s the adult helpers that are the messy ones! Something about a re-lived childhood, I guess! And, you wouldn’t believe that adults were so good at colouring within the lines or using those glue sticks when it comes to glitter and the like.

Occasionally, the children

get an opportunity to show their

artistic skills! They do get plenty of time devoted just to them! They love it and, what’s more, they are good at it! There is usually a theme, based on some of those wonderful old bible stories that we probably all grew up with; stories like Jonah and the whale; Noah and

his ark; Joseph and his dream coat

of many colours; as well as numerous miracle stories. All of this is part of

our wonderful Christian heritage and,

in many ways, is as important to experience as ‘fish and chips’ or a

proper ‘Devon cream tea’. Then,

after an informal, short service of

prayer and celebration, there is

a hot meal provided for

everyone. 

All in all, the children have a great

time and it is not uncommon to

hear them asking when the

next Messy Church is going to be.

Parents or guardians stay with the children so they can join the fun too! Contributions towards the meal are welcome. Everyone enjoys themselves and, despite lots of glue and paint, baked beans, spaghetti and the like, the church is soon

cleaned up and no-one would have an

inkling what a mess it gets into during

those two hours!

Contact: Graham Harry