What is Muddy Church? This is a question I have been asked quite a few times in the past weeks, ever since I put out the advert for our Muddy Church service on 5th April.
Well - Muddy Church is church outside. It is not, however, simply taking our regular liturgies from a Sunday and saying them outside. Instead it is having a new service one that uses nature at its core to help us think about our creator. We want to connect to God, through connecting with creation. Our Muddy Church service will have all the elements of a traditional service - we will gather together, we will hear from Gods word, we will explore and respond to God, and we will be sent out into the world changed and renewed. However these elements will all be done outside using what is around is in nature to help us. The service will be interactive and suitable for all ages and baring a massive thunderstorm or unsafe winds it will be happening whatever the weather - so if you are planning to come do dress appropriately for whatever the weather will be. We are surrounded by an amazing world created by God and Muddy Church is simply an attempt to use what God has made to help us to explore who God is in worship. We are blessed in Worcester Park to have outside space in the churchyard where St Philip church used to stand - just a few hundred metres along the road from where we now meet as a combined congregation of Christchurch with St Philip. The St Philip churchyard is large and full of nature and we are blessed to have such a space to host our first Muddy Church service.
Muddy Church though can be done anywhere where there is nature and so I look forward to seeing where else across the group we could explore in the future.
Rev Hannah Thomson
St Oswalds Cheam
Christ church with St Philip Worcester Park