broken biscuits
building our prison cell
straw bars for prison cell
busy crafting
Andrew in shackles behind bars
Sheila tells the story
shredding for forgiveness
hearty meal
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| | | Messy Church - 30 April 2017 |
Report and photos - Jim Paterson
We
took the parable of the king who wanted to settle
accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man
who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to
him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he
and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay
the debt. At this the servant fell on his knees before
him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I
will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity
on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
But when that servant
went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred
silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay
back what you owe me!’ he demanded. His fellow servant fell to
his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it
back.’ But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man
thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.
When the other
servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told
their master everything that had happened. ‘You wicked
servant,’ said the master to the servant, ‘I cancelled
all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t
you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’
In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be thrown into
jail until he should pay back all he owed.
The crafts were based on prison cells and bars, and how forgiveness can be really hard.
A Pencil holder
is not only useful, this one using ribbon and tape to hold it together.
Just like life, when we fall out with friends or even family, and
we need to forgive others to fix the relationship. God’s love is
like the tape/ribbon we used: it holds us (and our friendships)
together.
Broken Biscuits
not only was good to eat, but when we broken it reminded us how much it
hurts to fall out with a friend, and to make up again, if we can. If we
love one another like God loves us, we can mend the broken friendship.
Outside in the garden we had Floating boats,
putting marbles one by one to see how long it takes before they
capsized. We talked about how the servant borrowed more and more money.
He couldn’t pay it back, and in the end his greed got him into
trouble. We need to know when to stop before we get into deep water
(trouble)!
 Our Obstacle course
in the garden saw the children race round pulilng a bag. David Hogg
kept the time. At the end each returned without the bag. How much
quicker they were. We talked about how good it feels to unburden
ourselves from baggage – to pay what we owe/ take our fair
punishment or to forgive someone for a wrong they have done
The small prison cell used straws as bars, and every prisoner ends up in shackles.
Ours were made of tinfoil, which Andrew would later wear in his prison
cell. For the younger children we used paper chains made upas
shackles. We talked about how terrible it would have been for the servant to be thrown into jail with his arms and legs in shackles.
The big one of the day had to be the JUNK prison cell.
Our large prison cell was fully kitted out with bars, and would be the
home for Andrew Don who would play the unforgiving servant in the
church at celebration time.
 Our
time in the church for the celebration talked about the parable of the
unforgiving servant and what forgiveness means. Sheila Anderson led the
story with Andrew playing the part of the unforgiving servant,
explaining how God offers forgiveness for all those who repent.
The
children wrote something down that they had done that they wished they
hadn't and would like forgiven for. Sheila produced a paper
shredder that they could shred their note, while explaining how God can
take our sins away. The celebration also featured the puppets and song
to explain the meaninig of forgiveness.
Returning to the church
hall we enjoyed a baked potato with a range of fillings, followed by
cake and juice. Much talk and discussion about the days activities was
heard across the table.
meal time at the end of the afternoon
Messy
Church is more than just getting your fingers sticky, it stretches the
mind and makes you think of what Jesus taught us, and how God leads us.
The next Messy Church will be on Sunday May 28, same place same time 4.00 to 6.00pm. We hope you will come and join us.
Messy Church will also be at Penicuik in the Park on Saturday 27th May.
For more information on Penicuik Messy Church contact Katrina kmcd11@yahoo.com or Joan capefamily@talktalk.net.
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