Emerging Church: Fresh expressions. Last month a small group where to attend a short course looking new models of Church. A definition of fresh expressions is, “ a fresh expression is form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church”. Well our first session was at the end of January and we meet with Anglicans, Methodists and United Reformed Church folk, from around the south of England to explore what this may mean. Our original intention was to discover how we might develop ichurch@stmary’s, the URC’s All-age worship service, the group quickly discovered that by exploring this area of mission you ask as many question of “Inherited Church”, (The model we are used to week by week) as it does of any fresh expression of church. What does it mean to be church? What values underpin that, what preconceptions do we employ to sustain, ‘Our’ church? Fresh expression of Church are based on the principles of Loving service, Community and Discipleship.
I am sure any of the group, Julian Jordan, Lynda Spokes and Neil Eldridge would be happy to talk through their experienced thus far.
As we journey together at St Mary’s the challenge that may lay before us is to be prepared to sacrifice some of our preconceptions so as to allow the Holy Spirit to really engage ourselves and those we may encounter though mission? That St Mary’s might be a real fresh expression of the
Neil Eldridge
United Reformed Church Minister
St Mary's Banbury & Bernwode Forest Mission Partnership
01295 700043
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