Church UpsideDown Creation and the Fall

On the 22nd of October we had our second MA family’s project ‘Church Upside Down!’ A small number of people poured in hundreds of hours over a month, preparing the props and decorations.

Once all was set up, the church had been turned ‘upside down’, transformed into the garden of Eden and it looked awesome. it was a treat for the congregation when they came in Sunday morning and it generated a great sense of excitement and anticipation. Then in the half-hour leading into the session helpers began pouring in, the atmosphere was of excitement, there was chatting and banter, as the final bits and pieces were got ready.

as people started to arrive the excitement started to build even more. I counted 19 children, there were parents, grandparents, and other carers and a huge team of helpers. The session was run by Patrycja Walford (the vicar’s wife) and Caitlin one of the family engagement workers for the diocese.

The children arrived to a time of Simon says exercises to help burn off excess energy, they were then led to sit around the tree in the centre of the garden as they watched a video of the first part of the creation story, followed by some teaching and a treasure hunt around the church and a game of charades - guess the animal which was a great laugh.

 The cycle then repeated with a video and teaching, but this time with mushroom bowling and an opportunity to try all sorts of exotic fruits, some of which the adults had never tried either! We then repeated the cycle again and finished off with a song “who’s the king of the Jungle O O” and prayer. The session lasted an hour and a half, and it was exhausting, and yet many of us finished with such a buzz of excitement.

What was really encouraging, was that it wasn’t just the children who got something from it, the adults listened in and engaged with what was going on, and we hear those conversations continued in some of their homes in the days that followed. It was also encouraging for the members of the church who were there to see the way God was at work, cause it was a time full of joy and entertainment, and because people were able to see fruit labours. As we left, Patrycja, who had planned, designed, and made manifest this event, despite being exhausted was already making plans for the next event!