The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has presented Lucy Moore, pioneer of BRF’s Messy Church (and of our own Messy Vintage spin-off specifically for older people) with the Alphege Award for Evangelism and Witness.
The Anna Chaplaincy team, and all of us at BRF, are immensely proud of our former colleague, who recently left the charity to take up a significant leadership role with the Church of England.
Her citation for the Alphege award reads:
‘For the enormous impact of the gospel on the lives of children and families, through the ministry of Messy Church
‘Without Lucy Moore there would be no Messy Church. Since 2004 she has been instrumental in the conception, birth and continual growth of the reality of Messy Church. Now there are around 3,751 Messy Churches listed in over 30 countries.
‘This ministry, supported by BRF, has changed the church and, as is the end of all of God’s work in the church, has transformed lives. At its heart, Messy Church seeks to engage children and their families in exploring and participating in Christian faith, which it does in ways that are both profoundly accessible to these families and profoundly orthodox in following the example of Jesus and putting children at the centre. Through her outstanding creativity and imagination, her tenacity and insistence, Messy Church has brought faith to tens of thousands who were not engaging with more formal services and, in so doing, has transformed local churches as they receive the gifts of faith and hope that participating in God’s work brings.
‘Lucy has always remained a hands-on practitioner, but has also written an enormous amount of resource material, entered into a significant amount of thinking and reflection on all that Messy Church reveals about ministry, the Church and evangelism and at every turn she has been true to the core vision of Messy Church and taken every opportunity to develop this ministry for the glory of God.’
‘The gift of Messy Church is beyond measure. The Holy Spirit has used this vehicle to awaken children and their families to the love, joy and life of Jesus Christ in their own lives. It has changed lives and transformed the Church.’
She was joined for the ceremony at Lambeth Palace by her daughter Judith Moore, who works for the BRF fundraising team, and Lucy’s husband Venerable Dr Paul Moore. Lucy and Paul started Messy Church when he was parish priest in Waterlooville, Hampshire. They are now based in his parish – Hathersage – in the Derbyshire Peak District.
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