Bishop's blog

“In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’”    (Matthew 2:1-2, NRSV) When I was a young child, long before I had any good training in how to interpret the Bible stories I heard in church, I became something of an early mystic.   As I had heard the above scripture being read during worship services I became captivated by the thought of a star the “Christmas star.”   This captivation became even greater when we children were instructed in how to act out the story for our parish Christmas pageant.   How well I still remember wearing colorful bathrobes with shiny papier-mâché crowns on our heads.   My participation in the pageant continued to pique my curiosity about a unique star which led the “…wise men from the East…” to Bethlehem in search of the newborn king of the Jews.  

Are you curious about what Fresh Expressions means? Here are five easy lessons, with terrific examples, from Fresh Expressions US . Lesson 1: Start with Listening   Every Fresh Expression begins the same way: with listening to the community and to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Begin by asking these questions: Who in my community is not connected to the church? How and where are they already gathering? To which group of people do I feel called? As we begin to hear our community’s answers to these questions, ideas for new fresh expressions will emerge.   Church in the Parking Lot A Culture of Beauty Shaped by People of Peace Lesson 2: Loving and Serving   Through your efforts of listening to your community, you've uncovered a niche group of people that need a new way to experience Church. Now, you move onto Loving and Serving. To start a fresh expression among our neighbors outside the church we must first get to know them. Focus on building meaningfu