Jane in Sutton Coldfield

Today’s Fiesta in Sutton Coldfield was privileged to have Bishop Andrew Watson doing the welcome and introduction. He was excellent. Although he could give only 20-30 minutes before heading off to Deanery Synod, he had taken the time to write something specifically about the values of Messy Church, the reality of ‘mess’ in people’s lives and the way in which God can and does break through in the mess. He is such a gift to us in Birmingham and he really showed his support to Messy Church and BRF in general today.
They were a group of 30 children’s leaders and clergy (and included a woman I had taught with 20 years ago!) from across Birmingham, representing quite a variety of social and economic areas. The day got off to a little bit of a frosty start with the room being very cold (seems to be a running theme for the team at the moment!) Thankfully, it warmed up during the day, turning into Sutton Warmfield before we all froze.
Only one person had started a Messy Church and that was still very much in its early stages. The morning was given to the background, aims and craft time. The afternoon was more talk, questions and the chance to think about how they might develop Messy Church in their situations.
It will be an exciting development if a few of those who attended do get things underway, especially as many are on the doorstep.