Our midsummer festivities continued into the evening, as Jonathan Bland (one of our young leaders) led a Ceilidh, accompanied by an international scratch band. It was a joy-filled and somewhat sweaty evening as we danced and learnt how to do-si-do and strip the willow! There was evening, and there was morning – the second day of All Together!
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it (1 Cor 12:27 NIV)
It was with great excitement that the BRF ministries Messy Church team gathered at High Leigh Conference centre to host the fourth Messy Church conference 20-22 June 2025.
Our theme for the weekend was ‘All Together’. Based on the Bible passage from 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, we wanted to dig deep into the Messy Church core values of being for all ages and hospitality, asking the question: how can Messy Church be a welcoming space that draws people of all ages, all abilities and from different backgrounds towards Jesus?
‘It felt like a Messy Church family, being all together. If feels so wonderful to sit with international Messy Church sisters and brothers. I’ve loved dwelling in the word. I will bring this to my messy Church team.’
It was a joy to welcome 160 people from around the world including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, USA and from around the UK. To help us think about how we welcome people from diverse backgrounds and abilities to our local Messy Churches, we learnt how to say the phrase All Together in the languages that had countries represented, as well as using Makaton, a language programme that combines signs with speech to support communication for individuals with learning or communication difficulties. Throughout the conference our international friends took turns to bless our mealtimes and read the Bible passages in a variety of languages, helping us recognise that whilst we are different, we are all part of the body of Christ.
We also wanted a visual representation of being All Together and over the course of the weekend, we invited everyone to create a giant tapestry, inspired by a song and activity by Sam and Sara Hargreaves from Engage Worship, our resident musicians. Delegates were encouraged to bring strips of material or yarn from home and to reflect on some questions as they were weaving the yarn into the structure: Where have you come from? What has your journey with God or Messy Church looked like so far? Who has walked with you? As the weekend progressed, the giant loom became a focus for people to share their stories around our theme of togetherness.
The rest of Friday evening was spent sharing about our new project Messy Momentum, which is all about how we make Messy Churches more engaging for young people. Sophie Harber (Project Lead) and the team shared the six new approaches that we plan to pilot over the next two years, ever hopeful that we may have Messy Church leaders in the room ready to make the most of this opportunity. As darkness descended on our first balmy evening, our reflections were drawn upwards to the clear sky as Dr. Dave produced his telescope for some awe-inspiring stargazing. Before we knew it there was evening, and there was morning – the first day of All Together!
Day 2 was not only the longest day of the year, but also the hottest! As temperatures began to soar, we prayed that the air conditioning would be sufficient in our main meeting space – a marquee! All Together we listened to God through Dwelling in the Word, reflecting on 1 Corinthians 12-20 (in different languages), ahead of our first keynote talk from Lorraine Prince, Head of Networks for The Church of England Education Office. Lorraine explored with us the importance of creating safe psychological spaces, so that everyone can feel welcome. Her explanation of ‘beloved belonging’ – the underlying sense that we are connected – and how this means that in everything we do we need to relate first, produce second, really struck a chord. Jane Butler (Training and Development Lead) invited us to choose from nine different workshops that included: working with different ages: the under-5 years, the teens; working with different abilities such as people with autism; and workshops on how to change the culture to be more intentionally intergenerational, together with more practical applications of how to be All Together through art, music and storytelling.
Making the most of being All Together and knowing the importance of spontaneous conversations that in-person events provide, we experimented with ‘Open Space’ – an opportunity to participate or listen in on a range of discussions that were free flowing around the room. The topic of ‘how we create safe spaces’ drew a crowd alongside ‘Messy Togetherness’ to chat about working well across a range of diversities, ages and stages of faith.
The conversations continued over lunch, providing us with sustenance for our afternoon keynote from Dr. Sam Richards, Head of Children and Youth Work for the United Reformed Church. Sam is a key champion for intergenerational ministry, and it was encouraging to hear her speak on how intergenerational ministry is about who we are and how we relate, and that needs all ages to be together to thrive – something which has been at the heart of Messy Church from the start.
Sam then joined the Q&A panel of experts: Kirstyn Oliver (Alma Autism), Gemma Gillard (Truth be Told), Jonathan Bland (one of our young leaders), Chris Barnett (who wrote the additional chapter in our revised edition of Martyn Payne’s Messy Togetherness book) and Aike Kennett-Brown (Ministry Lead). Hosted by Sarah Smart (Network Development Lead), the panel shared their wisdom on topics such as top-tips for imbedding intergenerational values, how can we best welcome SEND children and their families to Messy Church and what really engages young people.
We moved on from the hot topics to worship All Together through a Messy Church Goes Wild – outside in the heat! Fortunately, we were able to gather under an enormous eucalyptus tree for our outdoor celebration, with contributions from our young leaders, Engage Worship and Swedish Messy Church friends around a decorated cross, as we considered how Jesus is the Life-Light (John 1:5) on the longest day of the year.
Refreshed from a night’s sleep and refuelled with breakfast, on Sunday morning we returned to Dwell on 1 Cor 12: 21-31 and consider the part each of us can play in God’s kingdom, ahead of another great selection of workshops and our Messy Church session ‘Home for All’, adapted from Messy Togetherness and featuring in Get Messy! vol. 3. We celebrated our time All Together by sharing communion in a Messy Church way, led by Rev. Sandy Brodine from the Uniting Church in Australia, and were sent out with a blessing to our places of ministry.
Like Messy Church, a conference like this is not a solo effort, but requires energy and enthusiasm from the whole community. A massive thank you to all who came, our conference planning team, workshop leaders and keynote speakers. Special mention to Sally O’Hare (Messy Church Co-ordinator) who project managed the event, supported by Nina Seaman (Administrator), so that we could be All Together.
Aike Kennett-Brown & Sophie Harber
‘Was a Biiiig blessing to me to meet the wonderful people and to be inspired by the Messy Church stories and experience. I am going home blessed with all the Gifts of the other Members of the Body. Thanks for Welcoming and Celebrating me and my Country/People by inviting me to pray. I appreciate the opportunities and friendships.’
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