New Around the Mission

St. Philip’s Orlando goes to the Marketplace

January 27, 2011

By the Rev. Paul Jagoe

The Rt. Rev. John Miller dedicates St. Philip’s new warehouse office park location.

A joyful crowd in Orlando, Florida, gathered on December 19th for the dedication of St. Philip’s Anglican Church’s new worship space. The Rt. Rev. John Miller was there to dedicate office-warehouse space and set it apart for worship and the work of ministry. Friends, supporters, parishioners, and fellow clergy were present to celebrate the occasion.

A church in a business park you may ask? “That’s where God put us,” said the Rev. Paul Jagoe, founding rector of the now three-year old church. “Our congregation is excited to reach out and be a light in this area. We hope that we can be something like a chapel on a college campus where we can be the presence of God for everyone who works in the area. There are hundreds of people tucked away in the corners and behind desks who are stressed out with finances, family, and who secretly long something more in this world.”

St. Philip’s wants to offer hope and encouragement for life by building caring relationships and trust and introducing them to the Lord Jesus Christ. In the coming new year, plans are being laid for this space to become a place for development of life and faith, community meetings and conversation, a center for chaplain services to the business world, and simply a platform for the presentation of the Gospel.

One of our visitors was amazed to see a church sitting in the place where her father once ran his company. A member of our parish who used to work in this very building, Ed Davi, used his training as an architect to help us turn an idea into a reality.

In many ways it still looks like a warehouse. The metal girders can be seen on the ceiling, and a painted basketball half-court can still be seen on the floor. The cinderblock walls are still evident, and air-conditioning ducts are still exposed. Yet, in this warehouse-turned sanctuary hangs a large wooden cross on freshly constructed curved wall behind the altar. It is a symbol of the redemption of an ordinary workplace building, an ordinary space made holy by worshipping in it. It is a reminder, too, that our purpose is to have an active redemptive presence in that business park.

“We still have a few things to complete in the building, but we wanted to open and get ministry going. It has been a huge step of faith, going very far out on a limb as Bishop Murphy has called us to do. At the same time we are eager to see what the Lord is going to do now that we have a place from which to go out to the world,” Fr. Jagoe added.

Learn more about St. Philip’s Anglican Church.

Posted By: Rev. Paul Jagoe
Categories: Faith in Action