Messy Church goes wild

There are a wealth of Messy Churches across our Diocese, each one taking the Messy Church values of being Christ-centered and for all ages, based around creativity, hospitality and celebration, and shaping them to its own context. 

But now they are being asked to take on eco-credentials and encouraging those taking part to love the natural world., experience a sense of awe and to wonder and work towards becoming more eco-friendly: aware in all we do as a gathered Church, for the good of our Planet. 

"The Wild Outdoors" is the title of a planned 3rd annual  Messy Church Conference taking place in May 2022 and a book has been commissioned that will be available from April next year. 

which will bring leaders together from around the world.  

But a number of Messy church goes wild projects are already underway and  Churches in our Diocese are being encouraged to join the movement and bring some theological reflection around the environment and climate to their sessions. 

A spokesperson for Messy Church said: 

 "As there is a multitude of groups, resources, ideas and movements concerned with families in the outdoors already, our USP is specifically the Messy Church context and tied closely to our five values. 

"While some groups will take their Messy Churches outdoors exclusively and wholeheartedly, we hope the expertise, ideas and attitudes generated by Messy Church Goes Wild will influence the Messy Church movement as a whole. 

The Messy Church Goes Wild theme will be strongly featured in the Get Messy! magazine sessions for 2022-23 and will be a thread running through the third Messy Church" 

Only just heard of the Messy Church? Here’s a quick overview...  

• It is primarily for people who don’t already belong to another form of church 

• It is for people at all stages of their faith journey and of any age 

• It involves creativity, celebration and hospitality 

• It is as valuable and worthy of investment as any other congregation 

• The Messy Church began in the small town of Cowplain, near Portsmouth, which has grown to 750 Messy Churches in 30 countries.  

• A common misconception is that the Messy Church is a means of being a place to entertain the kids and a way to get people back into “real” church.  
   

Now let’s look ahead for the future of the Messy Church: 

If you are a part of running a Messy Church, we would love to see your photos! Please send them to comms@ 

Find out more about Messy Church in the Diocese HERE and our latest news about Messy Church HERE.