How do I message a whole list in contacts

Move all of them into a group. Message the group. To create a group go to messages then go to the top right most button it looks like a square with a tiny pen in the top right corner then it will take you to a screen with a empty box about a half inch down form the top, type one contact you want to add then click on it on the tiny list that appears under it and repeat about if times you want.

,zzane

Messages is not well suited for regular messaging of a large group. There is a limit to the number or people you can add to a particular thread (though I don't recall what it is). If you need to regularly message the same group of people and it's more than a few, I'd suggest you consider a dedicated group messaging app.