Enjoyably bracing to bring the colourful friendly world of Messy Church up against the dark and studded ‘Go on, impress me, then’ world of Youth Work at a day with youth and children’s workers in Bristol. No wonder old ladies tremble at the sight of gangs of hoodies: the tableful of black-clad early twenties, full of Doritos and the latest advances in youth work, was distinctly intimidating to this greying, wrinkled proponent of something so untrendily jolly.
However, we had a good friendly discussion and it’s useful to be reminded that one style of church cannot be all things to all people. Is Messy Church inclusive of the 18-25 age group? (Interestingly, ’18-25 year old singles” went without saying, which needs thinking about, as many of the 18-25s in Messy Church are either married or effectively married, and have children. But does this stop them having the same needs as single people in the same age bracket?)
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