This post is about a year old. I don't know why I never finished it... any way 2 for 1 today!
I recently had my first experience of Messy Church. Have a look for it on the Internet if you don't know what it is. At St Hugh's we've done this style of worship before, it just hasn't had a name at all.
The thing that really struck me about the way Messy Church was delivered was the formality of communion. The lady in charge had very much stuck to the Church of England liturgy. And she wasn't afraid to do so. Granted we were in a room of adults and all CofE so no one minded the liturgy, but I still wondered how that would come across with the 200 or so children and adults who attend the Sunday session.
This might have been the first time since May that I had attended a communion service outside of St Hugh's. The last time was at St Alban's Abbey. I know that Abbey services are short and purposeful, but this one felt a little bit cold and too succinct. The one at Messy Church was nothing like that. Still, we used the same words and they are celebrating the same thing.
It's amazing how different settings can provoke different responses and feelings.
