Godly Play and Messy Church Again!

Feedback from the second conversation day
Following the interest in the first Godly Play/Messy Church conversation day which was held in London in June, a second gathering took place last month in the Midlands.
The day was facilitated on behalf of Godly Play by Kathryn Lord who is a Godly Play trainer based in Sheffield; the chair of the Godly Play Trust, Alison Summerskill; Lucy Moore and Martyn Payne from the BRF Messy Church team; and Cerys Hughes who is the Messy Church Adviser for Lichfield Diocese.
Following the pattern of the first conversation day, everyone experienced a mini version of both Godly Play and then Messy Church in the morning. This set the scene for group conversations after lunch about the particular contributions both Godly Play and Messy Church have made to life of the church and how they might complement each other with their different but overlapping gifts.  In particular the delegates focused on the following questions:
• What aspects of people’s/children’s spirituality do you see being nurtured through Godly Play and through Messy Church?
• What learning is happening in Godly Play and in Messy Church?
• How is community grown in both Godly Play and Messy Church?
• What would you say is best practice for Messy Church practitioners using aspects of Godly Play in Messy Church and what can Messy Church and Godly Play learn from each other?
• In what ways does power lie with the leaders and the participants in Godly Play and in Messy Church?
Please read the full report to discover what was shared in the each of the discussion groups on these topics.
This day provided another valuable opportunity for practitioners to meet and exchange ideas in a spirit of openness and mutual respect.  Godly Play and Messy Church are different and were designed for different purposes, but that does not mean that they do not share a similar ethos, particularly with regard to a respect for people’s spirituality and its nurture, and a desire to make it possible for people of all ages to encounter God in a powerful and meaningful way.
October 2014