St. James to Host Fresh Expressions Vision DayApril 5, 2018 • Jeff Gardenour  • DIOCESAN FAMILY • EVENTS • REACHING OUT

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ST. JAMES EPISCOPAL, ORMOND BEACH
St. James Episcopal in Ormond Beach will host a Fresh Expressions Vision Day on Saturday, April 28.

Sharing the message of Jesus is no longer confined to churches. These days, spiritual leaders talk about the word of God in coffee shops, bars, and restaurants, among other places – thanks to Fresh Expressions.

Fresh Expressions, an innovative worldwide movement in which members create new forms of church alongside existing congregations in order to make contact with an ever-changing world, will hold its next “Vision Day” from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday April 28, at St. James Episcopal Church, 38 S. Halifax Drive, Ormond Beach. Registration is currently being taken at cost of $35 per person, or $30 per person for parties of two or more. Lunch is included.

This is the latest Vision Day planned in the Diocese of Central Florida. Bishop Greg Brewer is very committed to Fresh Expressions, which helps to reach those who have never been in church (the unchurched) and those who have left the church (the de-churched). Fresh Expressions members go to a variety of places, including pubs, parks, and other venues, to share Christ’s message.

Fresh Expressions has been an enormous success as more than 1,700 people in 30 different cities have participated in Vision Days, according to the freshexpressionsus.org website. Participants learn how the organization is renewing the church, the coordination behind churches being mission-based, how to talk with community residents outside the church, and what resources are available for starting a Fresh Expressions.

Past Vision Days have drawn great interest across Central Florida. In May 2017, a total of 75 people attended an event at the University Carillon United Methodist Church in Oviedo.

“We had a mix of people in attendance,” said the Rev. John Motis, a deacon at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd of Lake Wales and the diocesan chairman for Fresh Expressions in an interview last year. “Attendees included clergy and lay people from our diocese, members of the Florida Methodist Conference, and a group of people with a heart for reaching the unchurched from other denominations and with whom I have the privilege of working.”

To register for the Vision Day in Ormond Beach, go to: www.freshexpressionsus.org/event/OrmondBeachVisionDay on the internet. For other information, call St. James at 386-677-0872.