By Rev. Luke Edwards, Associate Director of Church Development, Western North Carolina United Methodist Church Conference. Luke is author of Becoming Church: A Trail Guide for Starting Fresh Expressions, a United Methodist minister who helps churches innovate in light of the rich wisdom and tradition of our past. We are grateful for Luke’s leadership in serving on the Messy Church USA Board of Directors since 2021.
Messy Church at Annual Conference
After a long three years of pandemic postponements, the Western North Carolina Conference was finally able to gather in person for our annual meeting. One of our hopes for the conference was to create space in the schedule for fun and connection and hosting a Messy Church felt like a great option. Johannah Myers and Robin Cannon from Messy Church USA planned a great gathering that fit with the theme of the conference and involved a whole bunch of bubbles.
We invited clergy families and anyone interested in starting their own Messy Church to attend. Robin prepared the activities and led the celebration time. Everyone had a blast and several people said, “I’ve never had this much fun at Annual Conference!” As the lead cultivator of fresh expressions in the Western NC Conference I appreciated the opportunity to expose more of our churches to Messy Church. I am confident that Messy Church will be a significant aspect of our ministry for many years to come!
