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Truth and action
At First Presbyterian Church of DeLand on Sunday, April 25, Pastor Michael Bodger will teach congregants from 1 John 3:16-24: “Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” The overarching lesson found here states, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”
Acts 4:5-12 offers a complementary Scripture, when Peter declares to questioners, “There is salvation in no one else.”
Clearly, this calls Christians to live by our abiding in Jesus and His abiding in us.
How do we treat people encountered daily? Although “easier said than done,” we broken believers must strive to do that which stands as our mission: to endeavor to show this love and not fall short of the Glory of God, because He is love.
First Pres DeLand holds two on-site services with COVID protocols, the Daybreak Contemporary Service at 9 a.m. in the fellowship hall, and traditional worship at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary. The church celebrates open Holy Communion at both services and invites at-home people to join, also.
Worshippers can join both services through livestreaming on www.fpcdeland.org, FPCD Facebook and YouTube. Also recordings will remain on these sources for viewing, along with other previous Sunday services.
During both services, First Pres offers Children’s Church in the art room of the fellowship hall. Children ages 4-11 are sharing the program titled an illustrated compassion: learning to love like God through Scripture, imagination, coloring and art. Continuing through May, trained teachers guide youngsters to develop and practice compassion in their daily lives.
Also, First Pres offers a nursery for infants through age 3 during both Sunday services. Trained staffers supervise both classes. Call the church office by Friday at noon each week you need to reserve a space.
First Pres supports Family Renewal, a residential program for families, The Bridge Kitchen, and The Neighborhood Center of West Volusia for the abandoned and homeless. In First Pres’s vision to reach into the community, the church supplies personal and material help to these and other community ministries. You’re invited to join the church in its missions!
‘Love Thy Neighborhood’
Mosaic Unitarian Universalist Congregation, while not meeting face to face, is meeting online at 11 a.m. every Sunday. The April 25 service message is titled “Love Thy Neighborhood.”
After a season of practicing spirituality and living our convictions by keeping distance, how now do we come back together? Not just less physical distance, but how do we reinhabit the ways of living that make a sacred neighborhood.
You’re invited to take part on Sunday, April 25, as Pastor Ben Collins leads the congregation in surveying three neighborly disciplines that can help us move back into our own neighborhoods as a presence of love, belonging and justice. We’ll learn and practice the neighborliness of time, food and silence.
Jan Holloway will lead us through the service. Everyone is welcome!
For instructions on how to join the virtual service, email to mosaicuuc@gmail.com.
What Is liberty?
“With liberty and justice for all.” This is the language of the Pledge of Allegiance, taught to all schoolchildren, required of all naturalized citizens, and recited with pride by most Americans. But all Americans don’t agree on the meaning of “liberty.”
The Bahá’ís of DeLand will host a public Zoom discussion in their Practical Spirituality series to explore the meanings of liberty.
“No one’s liberty is absolute,” said Bahá’í Tom Armistead. “My liberty to act is limited by your right to not be disturbed. Peace and social harmony result when we honor each other’s needs and boundaries.”
Bring your thoughts, insights and experience and share them online. You can join the Zoom meeting at https://zoom.us/j/8784245248 at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 25. Call Tom Armistead at 904-651-5836 with questions.
‘Jesus Christ: Our Divine Physician’
The Rev. Elizabeth Carrasquillo brings the message “Jesus Christ: Our Divine Physician” to the 10:45 a.m. Sunday, April 25, service at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of DeLand.
Christine Coulter will provide special music, and the Elder of the Day will read the Scripture, Matthew 9:9-13. Open Communion, individually packaged, is provided for all believers in Jesus Christ.
Masks are worn, and social-distancing seating is practiced.
Sue Brague, First Christian’s Disciple Women’s president, was the representative to the Florida Disciple Women’s Zoom Spring Enrichment Conference. The vivacious keynoter was the Rev. Marilyn F. Williams, president of International Disciples Women Ministries and a resident of North Carolina.
The conference included a Bible study of Luke 13:10-47, which explains the “Bent Over Woman,” an inspirational talk on “Good Trouble,” a Tea Party including a Pretty Hat Contest, and a closing with a Communion service.
Glenda Harper, Florida Disciple Women’s president, moderated the conference, with Michael Junkroski superbly facilitating the more than 20 churches represented.
First Christian continues weekly events, all with masks and social distancing: Prayer Service, at 3:30 p.m. Mondays; Homework Hotspot Tutoring, at 4 p.m. Thursdays; and Zoom Youth Group, at 5:30 p.m. Fridays.
Call the church office at 386-734-0677 for the Zoom link.
‘From Religion to Relationship’
Getting back to a sense of normal can be a real challenge in our current world, but First United Methodist Church of DeLand is trying to do just that. They still check temperatures, wear masks and practice social distancing, but the church is returning to a more normal schedule with regular events and activities.
On Sunday, April 25, First United Methodist will be continuing in the sermon series “Unsubscribe,” by looking at the topic “From Religion to Relationship.”
How easy it is to forfeit the dynamics of a deep and meaningful relationship by getting overwhelmed by the traditions and perceptions of what we have always known or believed. You’re invited to take part as First Church explores how to unsubscribe from our religiousness and how to develop and maintain deeper relationships.
First United Methodist provides in-person worship at 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. in the sanctuary (these are traditional services), and there’s a contemporary service at 9:30 a.m. in the Family Life Center. All three services are streamed live on Facebook on the First Church DeLand page, or they can be accessed through the website at Firstchurchdeland.org.
