Fresh Expressions Celebrated at Methodist Conference

Methodists have shown their support for the ecumenical initiative 'Fresh Expressions' at their Conference in Blackpool.

Conference received a report on the Church's involvement in the initiative, revealing that 136 out of the 600 registered Fresh Expressions activities are run by Methodists and involve around 6,800 people.

The report also revealed that one third of those participating in Methodist Fresh Expressions are children.

The initiative, which aims to 're-engage' the church, was launched in 2004 by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, and Rev Tom Stuckey, the then President of the Methodist Conference.

The Rev Martyn Atkins, current President of the Conference, says, "Fresh expressions of church have always emerged out of a Christian desire to love and serve God in the world. What is wonderfully encouraging today is the growing commitment of Methodist people to explore fresh ways of being church in all sorts of places around the country.

"The breadth of imagination and enthusiasm with which people are responding to the challenge of creating fresh expressions is really exciting. As a result we can bring the best of our old ways of being church, together with these new ways into the task of bearing witness to our faith and serving our society."

Figures show that 39 per cent of Church of England parishes have started a Fresh Expression since 2000. All over the country, Christians are beginning new initiatives to connect with those who are currently outside church, and many are using Fresh Expressions as a key component in this innovative mission work.