100 Days!

Looking forward 100 days and honouring 100 years in the past

Published 17th April 2024 by Jane Butler

In 100 days’ time, thousands of athletes from across the world will gather in Paris for the 2024 Olympics. Much like Messy Church, Olympism is based on a set of values: excellence, respect and friendship. To celebrate the summer games, the July session in Get Messy Volume 1 is all about ‘running the race’ and exploring these values through the well-known passage in Hebrews 12:1-3. We look to Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith for excellence. But how do we persevere in pursuit of that excellence and respect the sacrifice that Jesus made for us? The session outlines various activities that help us think about how we might ‘train’ for the race and avoid the things that get in the way of keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. The session also reminds us that we don’t do this on our own. As well as having the Holy Spirit to guide us, we have our Messy Church friends – a great cloud of witnesses – to support us.

Why not host a mini Olympics? You can purchase ‘The Olympics – running the race!’ material to help you put together a fun and faith fuelled session here.

In addition to looking forward the Olympics this summer, the Messy Church team have a trip to Scotland planned for June. We’re running two training days in Dundee (Friday 7 June) and Glasgow (Saturday 8 June) for both those interested in finding out more about Messy Church as well as established Messy Church teams and leaders.

During the planning with colleagues in the Church of Scotland, we learnt about the inspiring story of Eric Lidell. Eric Liddell was a Scottish sprinter, rugby player, and Christian missionary. Although he was born in Tianjin, North China, Eric had strong links to Scotland and Edinburgh. He studied at the University of Edinburgh, represented Scotland in Rugby and Athletics, lived and taught in Edinburgh.

At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, Liddell refused to run in the heats for his favoured 100 metres because they were held on a Sunday. Instead, he competed in the 400 metres held on a weekday, a race that he won.

Liddell’s Olympic training and racing, and the religious convictions that influenced him, are depicted in the Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire.

We’re delighted to be able to offer some additional session material to share the story of Eric’s remarkable life free to download here.

We’d love to hear how you’ve used these sessions – please send us your stories and pictures!