Moria Kleissner, Synod Children's Work Advocate

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I worship at Christ Church (URC/Baptist) Ipswich.

I have worked with children in the church since I was 15, Sunday School teacher, holiday clubs, midweek clubs, seaside missions, school SU groups etc; I trained as a primary teacher.  For the last 12 years I have been a writer and trainer for CURBS (Children in Urban Situations).

It would be great to hear from some of you about what you are doing with children – pictures and write ups. 

If there are any training needs or you would like to have an event in your area or have ideas yourself of what we can do together please let me know. At the moment I’m creating a data base and trying to find out the numbers of children in the churches and what they are involved in so I may get in contact with you or your Youth & Children’s Elder.

Melbourn United Reformed Church Supported Fairtrade Fortnight

Melbourn United Reformed Church su0ppiorted Fairtrade Fortnight, with our young people cooking and selling Fairtrade cakes. The youngsters also painted some canvassess and produced pictures which enhanced our Easter Worship.

View: Pictures from Melbourn URC Fairtrade Fortnight

Going on a journey

Eastern Synod youngsters weekend at St Mark’s College, Audley End From Jessopp Road Norwich, Christ Church Chelmsford, Union Church Hutton and Shenfield, Christ Church Ipswich, United Free Church Framingham, Whiting Street Bury St Edmunds - 19 youngsters between 8 and 13 years congregated at St Mark’s with the theme of ‘going on a journey’

Download: read our report

Holiday Clubs 

Holiday Club at Christ Church Ipswich

View: Pictures from Christ Church Ipswich February Half Term Holiday Club

Holiday Club at Saxmumdham

We hold a holiday club for a couple of hours during school holiday mornings. One morning for the short half terms and three or four mornings in the summer school Break.

View: Pictures from Saxmundham Holiday Club

Messy Church is one church's attempt to be church for families who might want to meet Jesus, belong to their local church and bring up their children as Christians but can't cope with traditional Sunday morning church services. It's a once-a-month time of creativity, worship and eating together.

There are two books Messy Church and Messy Church 2

The book is very easy to read and wonderfully inspirational with loads of practical ideas. Reviewed on the Lincoln and Grimsby Methodist Church website

For a taste of a realistic appraisal of the needs of the wider Church today, coupled with a wealth of well-judged, practical and supremely usable material, look no further than Messy Church. Reviewed in The Methodist Recorder.

The Background to Messy Church

The first Messy Church began in 2004 when a group at St Wilfrid's in Cowplain near Portsmouth were frustrated because, as a church, we were hardly reaching any children with God's story.

We had lovely buildings and facilities but we weren't using them enough. We had wonderful creative people in the church, and the area we lived in needed as much community-building as possible, being a rather featureless suburb.

There was a lot of sympathy towards church in general but the church wasn't offering anything that really gripped the imagination of local families.

We decided very early on to try to do something for all ages together, partly out of a belief that we grow best as a church, when we walk the journey with as many different people as possible, and partly from a desire to help families grow together in their walk of faith, not see Christianity as something you grow out of when you're eleven.

View some pictures from some churches in the Eastern Synod that have begun using Messy Church.

View: Pictures from Castle Hill Ipswich

View: Pictures from Hutton and Shenfield Union Church

View: Pictures from Messy Craft Morning Crowstone St George's

View: Pictures from Messy Church Epping United Reformed Church