Thursday 21st November 2024

Welcome to Messy Vintage

Through Messy Vintage, older people are being reached with the good news of Jesus and encouraged in their faith. We spoke to Katie Norman to find out more

In the early noughties, Messy Church sprang up as a way of engaging more people in church. A ministry of BRF, the approach has Christ at its centre, is open to all ages and embraces creativity, hospitality and celebration. If you haven’t been to Messy Church yourself then you may well have seen the posters featuring colourful paint splats and exciting craft projects.

A fan of Messy Church, Katie Norman could see the potential to go further still, connecting older age groups. She explains, “Lots of older people have disengaged with church or can no longer attend due to a change in circumstances such as a move to a care home. It’s a way to bring church to them where they are at.”

Essentially, Messy Vintage is Messy Church ‘at a slower pace’. Katie is part of a 23-strong team running Messy Vintage on the island of Jersey. Each month, a Messy Vintage afternoon takes place at the Philadelphie Messy Centre. Those who come are treated to a sumptuous afternoon tea, with daintily cut sandwiches and finger slices piled high on three-tier cake stands. “It’s important that people feel welcomed in and loved,” says Katie.

The session follows a similar structure each time, with a Bible reading, a thought to share and hymns. Then comes the craft time, designed to prompt talking and reflection on the session’s theme.

“The craft is where people have time to speak,”says Katie. “Memories are shared. There is fun, laughter and joy. You might find yourself speaking to someone you wouldn’t normally meet. It’s a time of just being together.”

Everyone is included. One lady who comes is profoundly deaf. “In other settings, she might struggle but here she engages totally with the group,” says Katie. “We find ways to communicate and it’s so heart-warming to see others come alongside her.”

It can also help those who are lost find their way back. “One day a member of our team bumped into an older lady in the town centre and they got talking. This lady had been very damaged through church experiences she’d had as a child. She came along to Messy Vintage and at the end she said, ‘That was the most at peace I have felt for a long time.’”

Soon she joined the Messy Team and comes to Sunday church too.

As well as this regular monthly session, the team visit care homes and hospital wards around the island. For these settings, adaptability is key. Many of those they visit in care homes are living with dementia and respond well to a multi-sensory approach.

Tips for hosting Messy Vintage in a care home:

• ensure every member of your team has had a DBS check

• get in touch with the home’s activities co-ordinator. They are often best-placed to help you organise your visit

• ensure those living in the home have been made aware the session is taking place and can choose whether to take part or not

“We recently did a session on Nehemiah and rebuilding the temple,” says Katie. “Our craft was to make a toolbox with lots of different bits inside to explore. This brought back memories for people of DIY or painting.”

Even for those far along the dementia journey, moments of profound spiritual connection can flow.

“I’ll never forget one gentleman who was living at a dementia unit,” says Katie. “He was often agitated and the staff struggled to get him to settle. During one session, he stood up and said to others, ‘You think God is here just when these people come in, but He’s here all the time. My God is there when I go to bed and when I get up.’ He then started praying that all people would know God, and he wanted to sing and dance. It was incredible, we had no idea there was such a strong faith locked inside him.”

Afterwards, Katie often finds herself in the car crying. “There are always those moments that make you go ‘wow’. It’s a lot of work putting it all together, but it’s so worth it. I feel as Christians we shouldn’t just be stuck in our comfort zones about what works for us. Instead, we should bring church to people in a way that works for them.

“Why should your faith journey stop just because you are older or you live in a care home?”

The book Messy Vintage by Katie Norman and Jill Phipps contains 52 ideas and is a useful resource for anyone thinking of starting up Messy Vintage/ looking for ideas for ministry with older people.

Priced £8.99, it’s available from: www.brfonline.org.uk/products

Pilgrims Friend Messy Vintage Book cover

Super snowdrops

Folk from Dorothea Court, our housing scheme in Bedford, tried out a session from the Messy Vintage book themed around 2 Corinthians 12:6-10 and with a snowdrops craft to make. As everyone got crafting, the conversation flowed...

“It’s brought us all together. It’s nice that we’re all doing the same thing.”

Doris

“Snowdrops are hardy. They look delicate but they come up regardless in the snow.”

Doreen

“My great aunt got married in winter and had snowdrops in her bouquet.”

Pauline

“They signify hope. Spring is coming.”

Gill

“Age brings opportunities. We [Michael and his wife Joan] were in a café the other day and a young man came up to us and asked, ‘Are you a couple?’ I said we were and that we had been married 64 years. He asked, ‘How did you manage that?’ and I was able to tell him about the shared Christian faith at the heart of our marriage.”

Michael