Has anyone ever been to a messy church event?

[Mamabear04]

Just wondering if anyone has taken their kids to a messy church event and what it was like? We've been invited by a friend but was wondering if it's very religious or.....? I like the idea of crafts a free food though!

Sounds fun though!

It says "church". The clue is in the bloody title.

Ours is very informal. Crafts/story/games for the kids. Most parents bring something to share as a party tea (though not a problem if you don't) and there's tea/biscuits/squash too.

The story is a Christian one, and there might be a short prayer. Colouring sheets might be ark/stable/loaves and fishes themed but I'm not sure the kids will notice.

Messy church is great for a wet dark Sunday afternoon with primary school kids!

Surely the clue is in the name messy"church". So there will be a religious theme.

So what, whether you believe or not, its still education.

I went to Sunday School for years, but am not religious as an adult because I have a brain and opinions and can choose for myself.

It sounds like they can be quite varied depending on your actual messy church - but one thing I would be pretty sure of if is that all would welcome you to go along and see for yourself, and none would mind if you went and then said, eh it's not really for me, and didn't go again. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Just give it a go if you're interested, it's not a lifelong commitment 😬

You don't have to be "offended" to not want to join in with a religious ceremony. You just might find it tiresome or stupid.

As I've already said above, there are are plenty of secular activities that take place in churches and church halls. "Church" could just refer to the building.

Write "Bible stories" or "children's hymns" on your posters and then everyone would know where they stand. The fact that the OP has started the thread shows it isn't obvious.

You don't have to be "offended" to not want to join in with a religious ceremony. You just might find it tiresome or stupid

This but also i absolutely detest churches targetting children. Children are impressionable, they trust & believe adults. They don't yet have the skills or experience to question what they are told. Both my DC are at a CofE school (the only choice locally as is often the case in rural england) and i was horrified at how readily they believed & parroted christian teaching the school imposed. We had to actively undo it to avoid them being confused - as far as they understood what they were being taught was factual in the same way as their maths or science lessons. Its completely incomprehensible to me that it's legal to proselytise to children in that way.

Yes, we go frequently. Last weekend there was:
A group sing song about pumpkins
A quick blessing (2 sentences, very general)
1hr of activity time - 6 stations set up, each with a craft activity relating to Halloween, mostly making decorations of one kind of another. There's a baby area for very little ones.
A group story and song - not overtly religious, relating to being kind to refugees with a quick mention of how tho relates to a story from the bible at the end
Food - there was a quick grace at the beginning
Goodbye blessing

Also as regards free - there is usually a donation box. You of course can go for free, and feeding families who may be in need is an important thing for the church. Nobody will press you to put money in or make a suggestion as to how much you could donate. Nobody will look to see if you put anything in. But if most people didn't put anything in, then it is using up funds that have been donated in good faith to try and help those who may be in need. Something to consider.

Aren't you doing the same by telling them Jesus doesn't exist? Every parent imposes their beliefs on their children even if you aren't aware of it.

@MasterBeth any activities that use a church hall don't usually have "church" in their name.
They're just using the premises.
"Messy Church" seems obvious it's an activity that is part of the church's services.

My SIL is a CoE vicar and runs messy churches all the time!
They're often linked to a bible story or Christian festival, but not like "rammed down your throat"

There's usually crafts, a bible story read and some form of drink and snack!

I find it an excellent way of getting DH and the kids out of the house and SIL gets to play doting auntie! Win win!

Our nearby church did a fab messy church loved going when the kids were young ours was so inclusive and friendly. Give it a try if you don’t like don’t go back .

We’ve been going since my daughter was about 1.5… she’s now almost 14 and still enjoys it!!

Covert evangelising is so distasteful.

one of my best friends is too. She doesn’t do messy church (the neighbor church down the road does) but she did a ‘beach party’ for the kids in the summer - in the church. She set up a volleyball net between the pews, candyfloss, I did the fish finger sandwiches in the kitchen… it did have a Bible theme but loads of kids of different backgrounds came and loved it.

and will never forget the time she tried to teach the ‘Jesus as the Good Shepherd’ story at a toddler group and pretended to demonstrate not letting the sheep out the field by lying on the floor between the pews and making a ‘gate’ - all the kiddies came and sat on her baaa-ing and giggling.

Honestly one of my most cherished friends - she is just brilliant 🤣🤣🤣

If there isn't a Christian message or some element of discipleship, it is not Messy Church.

Haven’t rtwt but I used to run one of these groups. My neighbour was the vicar, a lovely lovely man and when the previous person who ran it retired he asked me to help him, which I did.

I guess they are all different but the one I ran was just a craft and story time session with cordial and a biscuit. The children were invited to take anything they’d made into the church to ‘show’ the congregation (of about 10 people) when we’d finished, not compulsory. We used to put film afternoons on (not religious films) for the children in the school hols.

Crafting might have included making a peg doll nativity family or decorating eggs at Easter, colouring in something, largely nature related from memory. We did everything from baking to prep for maypole dancing.

Definitely not overtly religious.

We went to one very recently

Cute crafts and then a 'snack' for the kids - but was enough that they didn't need tea. And hot drinks and cake for adults.

Then songs and a bible story at the end but nothing intense - think it was the good Shepard.

Some of the crafts had a vague Christian message. Like a prayer tree and a thankfulness beach ball. Again just gentle and sweet messages.
It was lovely, I'd recommend x

I'm lucky that we have loads of options for playgroups. I went once to a messy church and avoided going again as it was more religious than I was anticipating (naively!). I have never been to church and was told it was not religious. But there was a craft thing with a cross, some religious songs and a religious story. I never went back as I find religious not something I want my kids to be exposed to unnecessarily. People were nice though.

@Moonshiners I've only ever seen Messy Church advertised as part of the church's different services - along with Communion, Evening Prayers, Family Service etc.
Never as a "playgroup" type thing.
I said upthread that isn't this just a new name for "Sunday School" ? Which you expect to be a religious event.

I realised that afterwards! It was stupidity on my part. It was definitely a recruitment drive I realised later and doesn't pretend to be anything else. It wasn't awful but not my cup of tea.

What were you expecting at church??

Yes, my kids love it. Me and Dh weren't religious at all, but our kids attend a C of E school, and have really enjoyed the (non overbearing) religious aspects of it, and now we go to the church services occasionally, and the kids go to messy church as alot of their friends do and it's really fun for them. They occasionally will sing a kid friendly hymn or at easter and Xmas have related crafts and stories, but most of the time it's just a nice couple of hours letting the kids have fun with others, while the parents chat (and no ones house has to get trashed 😉😂)

I mean I’ve taken drugs and partied in a church and that was good fun