Breakfast Church at St Crispin’s in Braunstone welcomed a special visitor to help them think about Creationtide earlier this month.
After an interactive telling of the Creation story from Genesis 1, the congregation were able to meet one of God’s wonderful creatures - 'Monty' the Vicarage Python.
Monty was assisted by his wrangler, Fiona Benner-Hover, who shared many fascinating facts about snakes and answered questions, as parishioners were given the opportunity to get up-close and even touch this beautiful reptile.
They then participated in a dramatised version of the Garden of Eden story, with Monty playing the part of the serpent, voiced by Nicholas Benner-Hover.
Breakfast Church is held on the first Sunday of every month at St Crispin’s from 10am, with light breakfast served from 9:30am.
It takes place in the church hall around tables, and includes activities such as games, colouring, quizzes and wordsearches.
Worship is interactive and dynamic, with different approaches to prayer including everything from Jenga and archery, to the ‘prayer ball’ which offers a randomised prayer activity for everyone who catches it.
The service is usually led by Revd David Hover and Reader Minister Rosemary Meredith, with music and singing led by Ruth and Tom Cox.
Revd David recognises how important it is to find alternative, interactive, interesting and memorable ways to share the Good News, and pray together in our church communities.
He says: “God speaks to us in a variety of ways, including through our imagination and our sense of play. As this is one of the primary cultural languages of children through which they learn about the world and engage with others, when welcoming children to church it is important to speak their language, too.
"This is why at Breakfast Church at St Crispin's we are always seeking imaginative, fun and playful ways to engage with Christian faith and with scripture," he explains.
"The parables of Jesus are a good source of material, as Jesus understood that we do much of our deep learning through stories that inspire, intrigue, amuse and challenge us.
"Bringing a snake to church certainly did all of those things in helping to bring to life the Creation stories from Genesis, which teach in a similar way to Jesus' parables."
Monty also made a guest appearance during Breakfast Church at St Helen’s Church in Sharnford, taking part in a similar service to mark the season of Creationtide and bring the Gospel alive.
Revd Joanna Hove, Rector of Sapcote and Sharnford cum Wigston Parva, said: “We enjoy exploring different Bible stories and themes in accessible ways which appeal to old and young alike and Monty was a big hit across the generations!
“Having Montague with us helped to dispel some of the myths around these beautiful creatures and give members of the congregation an increased awareness of the need to care for all God’s creation.”
