News, Stories and Resources from the MESSY CHURCH CANADA Team. Let us know by email if you have ideas, stories, or activities to share. The newsletter is published near the beginning of the month. Messy Church Canada is a ministry of Wycliffe College Toronto ON
Blessings to everyone as we await and celebrate the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ. May this month be filled with joy and love for you, your family and your ministries.
Blessings, Sue ~ on behalf of the Messy Church Canada Team
Sue Kalbfleisch, MCC Team Leader Phone: 1-905-648-0302 Email
In The News...
Welcome to Catherine McPherson from Edmonton who is our new volunteer Alberta Messy Church Regional Coordinator!
Congratulations to BRF for the 'new look' to the Messy Church International website!
Please welcome and pray for our soon to be launched Messy Churches in January 2019:
Riverside Community Church (Baptist), Peterborough ON
St. Matthew on the Plains Anglican, Burlington ON
and for the Messy Churches recently launched or new to us:
Sylvan United Church, Mill Bay BC - this Fall
Nanaimo Community Church BC (Salvation Army) - Sept 2018
St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Prince George BC - September 2018
St. Mary’s AC, Edmonton AB – December 2, 2018
Laurentian Messy Church (Anglican/United), Morin Heights/Lakefield QC – Dec 2017
Please notify us if you have started a Messy Church or if you hear about someone who has started one. Then we can let the appropriate Regional Coordinator know so we can connect with someone nearby for support and networking - and so that we will have an accurate national database too. At this moment of writing, there are over 280 Canadian Messy Churches and almost 4000 Messy Churches registered world-wide on the international site!
Messy Church Regional Coordinators
We are excited to welcome Catherine McPherson to our group of 14 volunteer Regional Coordinators. Catherine has been part of the Messy Church team at St. Michael & All Angels Anglican Church in Edmonton for many years and will be the contact for Messy Churches in Alberta.Find the contact info for all our RCs HERE.
Register Your Messy Church
Don't forget to register your Messy Church - there is no cost and we have lots of folks to help and support you. We are looking forward to connecting with you and growing together!
Events for Training, Networking & just for fun!
Messy Fiesta on Saturday April 6 at St. John's Anglican Church
Truro, Nova Scotia
The Messy Church Canada Team will be holding a Messy Fiesta for those new to Messy Church and for Messy Church Practitioners on April 6, 2019. More details in the new year so save the date!
Please let us know of Messy Meet Ups, Messy Fiestas and workshops so they can be publicized - or if you'd like to host one!
After Event Notes...
Saturday, November 24, 2018- Messy Meet Up for Messy Church teams and leaders - thanks to Carol Fletcher and her Messy Church Team at Transcona Memorial United Church in Winnipeg Manitoba for hosting a great event and opportunity for Messy Church Leaders to share ideas.
Messy Church Event Descriptions
Messy Church Canada provides and facilitates workshops that are open to all Christian denominations - and so we encourage participation from a wide range of churches. All events are listed with details at www.messychurch.ca
Messy Fiesta - a full day workshop to learn about and experience Messy Church AND for Messy Church Leadership teams just starting their messy journey to connect and share ideas. Usually on a Saturday from 10am-3pm. Includes 'doing' Messy Church in the morning with welcome, 10 activities, celebration and lunch followed by lots of discussion, Q & A, and networking.
Messy Meet Up - a get together of Messy Church practitioners who meet to share ideas, network, improve their Messy Church and encourage each other. A Messy Meet Up can be held on an evening, Saturday or whenever it works for the group involved, and usually lasts for 2-3 hours.
Messy Thoughts by Andy Kalbfleisch
This month instead of saying something I am asking you to say something.
As announced last month we are working on The Messy Church Course. One of the elements that we would like to include is Messy Church ideas that would reach out to our Indigenous brothers and sisters who lead or attend Messy Churches. So if you have any crafts, games, activities, songs, prayers, hospitality and story telling ideas please send them to me at: andy@nas.net
Have a very Messy and Merry Christ Centred Christmas.
Still looking for more Advent ideas? Our Messy Church USA friends shared Advent in a Box. Also, check out Nancy Rowe's Journey to Christmas Advent theme. The 'Anglican Journal' in Canada shares some ideas in their December issue on pages 6 and 7 for families.
More Christmas and Advent links from Chris in Australia, with our thanks!
Planning for various ‘Seasons’? Here are some great free resources that include Alternative Ideas for Hallowe’en, Advent/Christmas, Lent/Easter, and Father’s Day from Kids Friendly in New Zealand.
More Resources
There are 14 complete Messy Church Themes created by Canadian Messy Church Leaders on our website.
Cathy Garbutt, our RC in London ON, has a great Pinterest site - Messy Church Board. Cathy keeps adding boards related to various themes, so check her site often.
December Book Focus
These five 'mini books' are sold in packs of 5 and are a great gift idea for your Messy Church families! Contact Scripture Union in Pickering to order at the link in the blue box below.
Please check out the updated booklist for all the Messy Church (and related) books available in Canada along with ordering information HERE
Resources and links from around the world...
From the UK
Check out theFaith in Homessite - where you'll find lots of ideas for families - for both at Messy Church and for families between MC gatherings.
UK Messy Church Pinterest site has lots of ideas – bookmark it on your computer as more categories have been added! UK Messy Church Pinterest link
Lucy's monthly eNewsletter includes lots of articles and information Here is the DecemberNewsletter. Checkthis link for archived newsletters.Lucy's blog includes Maximizing the Mess as well as lots of additional articles and ideas.
The 'Get Messy' magazine published 3X yearly is a great resource. Go to the BRF website and pay for the download for the issue you wish to receive.
The newest Get Messy! magazine January-April 2019is available and includes free downloads to complement the themes. Available on-line to download for £4.50
The four sessions in this issue include: 'Where I belong' (Luke 2:41-52), 'Self Confidence' (Judges 6:11-16), 'Dusty Drawing' (John 8:1-11), and 'Always with Us' (Matthew 27-28)
Over the next four months of sessions in 'Get Messy', we’ll be exploring four aspects of Jesus bringing life in all its fullness to people of all ages. We’ll be encouraging everyone to think about Jesus’ sense of belonging to his heavenly Father and what that means for our sense of belonging (January); our self-confidence, as God has a job for each of us, just as he had for the unlikely Gideon (February); the unconditional forgiveness we can receive from Jesus and can give to others as we look at the story of the woman forgiven by Jesus (March); and the rock-solid hope and trust that Jesus is always with us that comes from the Easter story (April).
