by Crystal Goetz, Director of Family Ministries at Puyallup United Methodist Church in Puyallup, Washington I love the story of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien; Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, and company on their adventures in Middle Earth. As is true with any adventure, there are always challenges. It is, in many ways, like our faith […]
Messy Connections- Part I
By Dr. Johannah Myers This year, my church celebrated 10 years of Messy Church. As I looked back through the pictures, I couldn’t help but laugh about how wild those first few years were. I remember in the spring of 2013 hosting a dinner for key church leaders to “pitch” Messy Church – how did […]
Celebrate: Each day holds a Surprise
What has surprised you recently? Were you able to celebrate that surprise? The quote from Nouwen challenges me to celebrate both the things that bring joy as well as sorrow. In our Messy Church training, when we teach about the foundational value of Celebration, we mention that at Messy Church we celebrate good times and […]
Celebrate: Say Yes!
Our Focus word for September is CELEBRATE! Lucy Moore and Jane Leadbetter in their book Messy Church[1] share that celebration is ‘about saying yes’. What things are you saying yes to this month? Are your children celebrating the start of school? I love seeing all the pictures of ‘first day of (insert year) grade” that […]