Fresh Expression of Church, brick by brick
Pioneer Vicar Liz Rees is a self-proclaimed Lego fanatic and Mum to Lego fans. And, it turned out, she was not alone. A Mission opportunity was born.
‘Lego’ Church was launched at St Ann’s Church in Aberystwyth in the lead up to Christmas 2023, since when it has run monthly on Sunday afternoons, engaging people of all ages in the community.
“Our house is full of Lego”, she says. “We have boxes of the stuff all over the place, as well as complete sets on shelves. When I talked to people about it, both in our Churches and the wider community it seemed like we were not alone. There is a lot of love for Lego out there.”
Liz identified other Lego fanatics in the Church. Together, after a lot of prayer and discussion, they decided to launch a new expression of Church, with a Lego twist. An appeal was put out for Lego donations, with tonnes being donated to the cause.
“We are so grateful to everyone who donated Lego”, she added. Without their generosity there would be no way we could do what we do”.
A typical Lego Church revolves around a Bible story or theme. There is a welcome challenge, where everyone builds something related to that theme, followed by the story broken down into different parts, with other building challenges to go with those parts. At the end we think about the story as a whole and how it and God relate to our lives.
Some of the themes and stories explored in the last year include Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, David and Goliath and Jonah and the Whale.
Lego Church is truly all-age, with adults and children a like taking part. It has attracted both people inside the Church, as well as people in the wider community who would not normally go to church.
As well as the Lego challenges and story, there is tea, coffee, drinks running throughout, as well as space for conversation and laughter.
Lego Church is interactive and open to all. It is a lot of fun but with a serious purpose underneath. Lego may be played with, but really it is God’s kingdom that is being built.