Messy Adventures
You might call what we have been experiencing for the past 9 weeks a messy adventure; but if this pandemic hasn’t been enough and you are looking for a little more adventure, I would like to invite you to join the global Messy Church on a Messy Adventure.
How did this idea get started? When the pandemic hit there was a great feeling of uncertainty and the landscape in Messy Church and in the world had changed drastically and quickly. Lucy Moore, the founder of Messy Church, had a little idea that popped into her head. She was looking for a way to celebrate… to be a bright spot in what was feeling like a not so bright time. She wanted to connect the Messy Churches internationally. Like many things associated with the Messy Church movement the idea was shared and energy, enthusiasm and creative ideas began to flow. And the next thing you know there is a Messy Adventure to go on.
What exactly is a Messy Adventure? It is 14 hours of a variety of journeys from the Bible. It is a way to “get out of the house”. We will travel to 6 different countries to hear a variety of different stories and experience 6 different cultures. We will laugh, sing and contemplate. There will be videos for all-ages and videos for families and videos for Messy Church Leaders. It is a way for us all to connect with others in a fun way during these stay at home orders.
Messy Church USA is one of the 6 countries participating. Eight states are participating in Messy Church USA’s 2 hours. The first hour will be Jesus Journeys into the River Jordan for Baptism. We will be visiting a few different rivers as we journey across the United States, hearing about the Plater’s experience of Zachary and Madison’s baptism at our CUMC Messy Church and ending with Leyla and I telling the story of Jesus’ Baptism from Sunset Beach. The second hour will be Jesus Teaches from a Hillside. We will wander in the Antelope Desert with Rev. Jim White. We will lead you in a science experiment investigating light and watching videos of how people have been the light and shared the light during the pandemic.
When is this adventure? It begins on Thursday, May 21 7:00 AM (British Standard Time) which really means 11:00 PM Wednesday May 20th (Pacific Standard Time). Here is a schedule so you can see what stories you might be interested in. Click here to take you to the Messy Adventure. The USA will begin their adventure at 9:00 AM (PST) on Thursday, May 21.
Come join with others around the world to celebrate each other. To celebrate with each other and to celebrate the wonders of God!
Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord! How good it is to sing God’s praises! How delightful, and how right! Psalm 147:1
Gracious and Loving God,
Be with us as we journey on this adventure. Give us strength when we grow weary. Open our ears to new ways of hearing your stories. Open our eyes so that we can see the blessings that we find along the way. Open our hearts so that we can use our gifts to serve others and share your love with those we meet on the journey. We have much to celebrate!
Amen
Marty