October Wonder

A blogpost by Roberta J. Egli 

 Most Holy, All-powerful, good Lord,
Yours are the praises,
the glory, and the honor, and all blessing,
To You alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no human is worthy to mention Your name.
Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun,
Who is the day and through whom You give us light…
 

Canticle of the Creatures
by St. Francis of Assisi 

Welcome to October! In the Pacific Northwest, the air has gotten cooler and the leaves have begun to show off with beautiful autumn glory of yellow and red. A week ago, I was taking in the glorious beauty of the turning of seasons in New England. In addition to meeting so many great new Messy Friends through Messy Church trainings in Connecticut and New Hampshire, I spent several days exploring areas I have never visited before.

So many experiences that brought joy; I joined into a multicultural block festival on the Yale campus, I fell in love with a small town called Mystic, CT, I spent a full day on Cape Cod, MA, I wondered through a state park in MI, I drove Kancamagus highway in New Hampshire and was excited to spend a few hours in Vermont on my way back to the airport on my final day in New England. I discovered that using the ‘no toll, no highway’ on my phone maps app took me off main highways to explore many unique small towns. Spending time exploring the wonder of creation was good for my soul and I came home renewed and grateful for the wonderful world in which we live and move and have our being!

How does your Messy Church celebrate the changing of the seasons?

• Many Messy Churches celebrate a season of Gratitude throughout October. One of our most popular MC USA Facebook posts last year was the October post that involved a pumpkin, a sharpie pen and the instructions to write a gratitude on the pumpkin daily.
• A second popular October celebration for many churches throughout the world is a special ‘blessing of the animals’ worship to commemorate the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi, traditionally celebrated on October 4th. St Francis, who lived in the 12th century is the patron saint of animals and the environment. Lindsey Goodyear shares her family’s experience with their Messy Church blessing of the animals in her upcoming blog.
• A third way to celebrate October in your Messy Church is to join with others throughout the globe celebrating World Communion Sunday. Traditionally celebrated on the first Sunday of October, this observance of many Christian Denominations celebrates the oneness in Christ with all brothers and sisters around the world. Has your Messy Church begun to celebrate an intergenerational Holy Communion? You are welcome to use this all-age Great Thanksgiving prayer that I wrote for the Messy Church International Conference closing worship.

However you choose to celebrate the month of October at your Messy Church, we would love to hear your story. Send us an email or post on the Messy Church USA Facebook page or Team Leaders group page.

Go forth with pumpkins, pets or bread and in the words of St Francis give our “All-powerful, good Lord, praise, glory, honor and blessing.”

Grace and peace,

Roberta