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Photo: Rob Douglas
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Lorraine Holdsworth and her donkey visited Messy Church at Maida Vale Baptist Church to help the group appreciate afresh the story of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
Getting messy at church At a time when church attendance appears to be falling, there are many fresh expressions of church that are bucking the trend. With more than 500 known congregations in the United Kingdom, Messy Church is now one of the fastest growing fresh expressions of church in that country, where it has been described as a national phenomenon, according to Maida Vale Baptist Church Pastor Rob Douglas. “There are more than 3,200 congregations of Messy Church in 20 countries around the world and the movement is also growing in Australia,” he said. Maida Vale Baptist Church is the only Baptist church in Western
Australia where congregations exist in denominations as diverse as Anglican, Uniting Church and The Salvation Army. “About 40 percent of those who attend Messy Church at Maida Vale Baptist would have little or no other church connections,” Rob said. “It is an exciting and vibrant part of the life of our church.” The first Messy Church was established in the UK in 2004 to create church for families who can’t or don’t go to church on a Sunday. It was to be a place where they could be introduced
to Jesus and experience ongoing discipleship. According to the founder of Messy Church, Lucy Moore of the Anglican Church’s Bible Reading Fellowship, the distinction between host and guest dissolves and an all age, Christ-centred community emerges. Messy Church at Maida Vale Baptist Church is held on the fourth Saturday of each month from 4.30pm until 6.30pm, and has been coordinated by the church’s Children’s and Family Worker, Robyn Douglas since 2012. “Life is messy for most families, and Messy Church provides a way of connecting with the Church without the formality that goes with a Sunday morning service,” Robyn said. Messy Church normally consists of an activity that the
whole family can participate in, a short time of worship including a Bible story and active singing, then eating a meal together. These three elements are tied together by a theme. According to Rob, traditional, institutional church often found it difficult to keep up with a fastchanging society, leading to a decline in church attendance. He said Messy Church is not a means to get people to church on Sunday, but is a unique congregation. A workshop about Messy Church is being held at Maida Vale Baptist Church on Saturday 16 September. Messy Church WA Coordinator Greg Ross will be in attendance. For more information, email mvbcteamleader@gmail.com
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