– Kim R. Smith, Sound District Lay Leader
On a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon, I pulled up to Trinity United Methodist Church in New Bern. Before I even made the turn into their parking lot, I could see a huge “Welcome” banner blowing in the wind beneath the steeple. The property was lined with bright yellow signs covered in colorful handprints announcing “Messy Church” that simply made me smile. It was hard not to feel strangely warmed even while being drenched with cold rain.
Once inside, smiling volunteers from the congregation were busy greeting children, parents, and grandparents as they entered the waiting space before the interactive church experience began. Even in this space, the families were decorating bags, being exposed to the scripture for the week, and sharing the afternoon with members of the congregation. Right then, as I watched families excited to be learning together, I knew Messy Church was going to be something special.
Then I heard Connie Wolf, the wife of Pastor Benjamin Wolf, call everyone in the area to begin the countdown. She started by shouting out in an excited voice that made me want to stand up and start counting down too! The anticipation for what was about to happen built as they counted down together, finally reaching number one. The doors flew open to the fellowship area, and the children, with their families trying to keep up, ran laughing and giggling into the interactive craft and game station area.
Once inside, families could create Sweet Potato Stamp Placemats as they talked about the importance of saying “Thank You” and that all good things come from God. They could create Coffee Filter Turkeys and watch the colors spread as they talked about how to spread God’s love to others. The options went on and on, and the families loved them all!
I even got into the fun at the map station, where a volunteer talked about who might be visiting me over the holidays, and we mapped the locations of my daughters. Then she led me in prayer for them as they traveled. My personal favorite was the Turkey Zipline! Again, a volunteer helped me think about things I need to release to have gratitude. We prayed together, and then I let that thing go as my Turkey raced down the zipline! The teenagers really loved this activity, which says something about my personality.
Pastor Wolf shared with me how over the years, their congregation had looked less and less like the neighborhood surrounding the gorgeous facility. The congregation had been intentionally creating spaces that said to their community, “Join us.” One such space was a re-vamped prayer/walking trail around the property open to those in the neighborhood as well as a ball field ready for children, youth, and adults to make use of in a safe and loving community.
As part of the Discipleship Ministries Team for the NC Conference of the United Methodist Church, Ben got a glimpse of Messy Church and felt this might be something the neighborhood around Trinity UMC might enjoy. Volunteers from his congregation loved the idea and, with the help of a grant, made it a reality. The issue he spoke with me first about, the congregation not looking like the neighborhood, wasn’t an issue at Messy Church. The church was filled with families from the surrounding neighborhood.
Parent after parent spoke with me about feeling welcomed by Trinity. They told me how their children made them put the dates on the calendar and reminded them about Messy Church. Every single child I asked what they love most about this special kind of church responded, “EVERTYHING!” One father named Mike shared with me how his work schedule made traditional church times difficult for him. This afternoon church experience that he could share with his children was perfect for their family. He was filled with gratitude.
From the crafts and games, families moved into the sanctuary where they sang songs together, dug more deeply into the scripture Psalm 107:8-9, and even played a game together as families about foods they might have experienced at the first Thanksgiving. Then families and members of the congregation gathered around the table for an actual Thanksgiving feast. Together they laughed and got to know each other better in that special bonding experience of sharing a meal.
The buy-in of the Trinity UMC congregation was evident. The volunteers were not just in their designated spaces and being present. Every single volunteer was excited to be there, engaging the families in meaningful ways and doing everything possible to share the love of Christ with families they may have just met. It was soul-filling for me on that cold and dreary Sunday afternoon.
Linda and Bob Hansen were two of the many volunteers that day. The two spoke of having been out of town for the first two sessions, and how the other members of the congregation had shared so many stories with them about Messy Church, they couldn’t wait to volunteer this time. Sheila Daniels has volunteered at all three so far, and she now feels like she knows many of the children and their families. With that, I realized what may have started out as an outreach to their neighbors had also become a ministry that was helping to bond the members of the congregation with a shared purpose and ministry. Messy Church had become a Win-Win for Trinity UMC. It had also become a hint of what church can be when creative hearts are open to sharing a life with Christ in new and risk-taking ways. This risk is paying big dividends for the kin-dom!
According to the website Messy Church is an opportunity for all-ages to join in experiencing fun and faith-formative activities, based on five core values: Christ-centered, All-ages, Creativity, Hospitality, and celebration. Messy Church invites each person to: Come-as-you-are, meet and get to know a child or youth, free busy young families to rest in the company of friends, share a meal and a conversation, laugh and enjoy, be willing to prepare for and clean up after one another, practice play and become a but more child-like, and to experience the surprise of God’s spirit at work forming us into a family that knows, trusts and cares for one another not because we are all alike, rather because we are all brothers and sisters in Jesus’ family.
The final Messy Church at Trinity UMC will be held on December 10th. If you would like more information about how this program might work for your congregation, you can visit htttps://trinitynewbern.com/messychurch/.
