Working on the bird beak table
A completed bird beak
Seed biscuits, ready to eat
Sowing Cress seeds
A selection of real branches and seeds from our gardens
Seed coasters and tiles Tricky work with the banner
Sunflowers in the church
Time to eat the BBQ food' |
| | | Messy Church - 1 September 2013 |
Report by Jim Paterson
 September
saw the return of Messy Church, where families with young children can
gather to learn about Jesus and have fun at the same time. To open the
new season of Messy Church the theme was the parable of the sower,
from Matthew 13 and thinking about how our faith grows, how we
can share our faith and what seeds we might be sowing.
Lots
of crafts to do with seeds and sowing. The special biscuits which the
children covered in mud and snow (otherwise known as melted chocolate
and icing) were then sprinkled with seeds, or as the adults know them,
hundreds and thousands. The effect was great and the best bit is you
got to eat what you made!
Birds play a big part in seed sown in
the fields, as they fly down to eat the seeds that fall on stony
ground. The task was to make a birds beak and decorate with a
range of coloured feathers and beads for eyes.
Children like working with clay and and making a coaster or clay tile covered with seeds looked just like the seeds that fell on the path, to be eaten by birds and other wild animals.
 Neil
and Joan Cape brought along the 'garden' that we have used at Easter .
This time the older children filled the box with fresh compost and
everyone had the opportunity to plant a bulb. The finished garden
has been placed in front of the church and we shall watch the bulbs
appear next spring.
Planting real Cress seeds in paper cups to
take home and watch growing presented a great challenge. One cup had
cotton wool balls soaked in water, the other stone gravel. Some of the
children already knew about the seeds falling on stony ground, having
done this experiment at school! We will find out next month what
happened.
 If
Andy Turnbull is around then some cardboard structure is not far away.
This month he worked on the creation of a giant tree. Andy helped the
children to build the tree and place branches of green leaves with
seeds ready to fall, just like the real thing.
A harvest
banner was made with 'Sow to Grow' written across it. This has been
hung in the church so that we can all see the theme of the afternoon's
work.
Close by was the 'matching game' where a range of seed and
leaves had to be matched to the type of tree or bush that they came
from.
The prayer tent was different this month, being more
like an igloo than the usual gazebo. It attracted a lot of
attention and curiosity.
 Story
time was held in the church where we heard the parable of the sower,
watched a video animation, and took part in a puppet presentation with
Sheila Anderson on the puppets with some of the older children helping.
Graham McDonald led the story and the singing, with Holly Taylor,
Andrew Dunsire, and Sam McDonald helping out with the story and musical
accompaniment. A
giant sunflower, similar to the display of sunflowers, had special
petals added with the children's own prayers for others written on
them.
 We
returned to the church hall for the BBQ which Neil Cape had been busy
cooking outside in the garden. Away from the fire it was a becoming a
bit chilly so we ate the burgers and sausages in the hall, along with a
selection hot and cold drinks.
 A big thanks to all who organised
and took part in this Messy Church, but most of all the families who
bring their children along to hear about Jesus together, and with
friends.
See the Sow and Grow banner in the church on Sunday
Look out for the next Messy Church on Sunday 6th October, when the theme will be 'Things that go bump in the night'
For more information on Messy Church contact Katrina McDonald 07872 996906, or Lynne Turnbull 07812 648924.
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