ORLANDO — "Many singles say, ‘It’s so hard to motivate myself to get out of the house,’ " said Arlene Shannon, director of the Florida Conference Single Adult Leadership Team (SALT) and director of singles ministries at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Orlando.

Despite that fact, nearly 275 single adults from different denominations and as far away as Texas and Indiana were motivated to attend the "Adventures in Orlando" Singles Expo Oct. 1-3.

The event was sponsored by the Southeastern Jurisdictional Singles Association, the Florida Conference, the Orlando District and St. Luke’s United Methodist Church.

"This gives singles the opportunity to get to know each other and just plain get out of the house," said Shannon, who led planning efforts for the event.

Although many singles join ministry groups to meet people, the goal of this event was not entirely social, according to the Rev. Nancy Wood, a deacon assigned to the Florida Conference’s singles ministry.

"The main mission of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Singles Association is to provide training, networking and resourcing for leaders of single adult ministries," Wood said.

The expo offered workshops to help leaders strengthen their churches’ singles ministries and to help individuals deal with issues related to relationships, grief, anger and parenting.

In any group of singles, however, there is going to be an emphasis on relationships, Woods said. "Many singles are looking for information on how to find and maintain a good, loving relationship. We try to support that."

Don Doxtator, a member of Ocala Word of Faith Church in Ocala, said he enjoyed the self-help classes, but the reason he attended the event was "to meet people."

The event’s keynote speaker was Susan Page, author of the book "If I’m So Wonderful, Why Am I Still Single?" Page’s presentation, titled "Seven Strategies of Successful Singles," gave tips and strategies on being "single and happy, and looking."

Page advised singles to look for others who want the same thing from a relationship, find ways to increase the flow of single people in their lives, keep their standards high and stay away from "better than nothing" relationships.