Easter
Here are some Lent and Easter resources to share with you, pulled together by Jane. Grab some new ideas or store away for another year:
We made three stained glass crosses, which were used for the Easter Day Service. However our minister, Karen Hendry used the largest one for our Good Friday service. It was so thought provoking, it had several of us in tears. She lay the cross on floor with lights shining through. Some of those attending read Bible readings, and at the end of each reading, laid a black card which blocked out the light. At our last hymn, Karen lay rose petals across the cross. you will see from the pictures how poignant this was. The Messy Church families were delighted to be part of the Easter services.
We've had lots of requests about Palm Sunday activities for Messy Church, particularly through our Facebook page.
Palm Sunday is a feast that celebrates Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem; there were palm leaves and coats on the ground which certainly sounds very Messy!
This was a lovely Easter Season email to receive!
Hello Lucy and Jane,
We used the song 'Remember me' as part of our Good Friday family time
We recently did an Easter Family Journey when we invited both the Messy Church and main Church families to journey together through the events of the Easter week. I guess we should have called it 'Messy Stations of the Cross' as it was based on 4 zones - Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday - with an explanation and 2 craft activities per zone. We started in church with hot cross buns and refreshments and then in (strict!) 10 minute-apart groups, we walked into a Palm Sunday drama and then followed around the zones.
We have just celebrated the first birthday of our Messy Church at the Living Rivers Uniting Church, Nerang. After hearing Lucy speak at Ignite (the Children's Ministry Conference in Queensland) we planned a bunch of really special activities including the some of the ideas we saw at Ignite.
This year for Easter we put on a Messy Treasure Hunt in the churchyard. Families searched for 6 characters from the Easter story who were in costume and hiding in the churchyard. They each had a story to tell and either gave the children an object related to their story or told them where to go to find the object. Children came inside with their 'treasures'.
Fresh ideas for building a Christ-centred community by Lucy Moore. Overflowing with creative ideas to draw the community together for fun, food, fellowship and worship, this resource book contains 15 themed programme outlines. Each outline has ideas for creative art and craft activities, meal plans and recipes for eating together and family-friendly worship.