Summertime is around the corner, and the Arts Camp Collage at New Covenant Baptist Church, at 1350 S. Blue Lake Ave. in DeLand, is just the answer for students entering first through fifth grades. The theme is “Creating Joyfully.” The camp runs Monday-Friday, June 12-16.
For $40 per child, attendees can enjoy creating art, music, movement, poetry and more each day on a rotating basis. Doors open at 8:45 a.m., and classes run from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Each day closes with a demonstration from one of DeLand’s artists, who will share their artistic passion. Campers will share their work with their family on Friday night at 6 p.m., followed by a hot dog supper.
All staff have been background-checked; teachers are trained. Enrollment is limited for small class sizes and personal attention. There is a discount price for each additional sibling.
A Lenten study has begun at New Covenant Baptist Church and will run 9:45-10:45 a.m. Sundays through April 9. Through music and Scripture, “Sowing Tears, Reaping Joy: The Bible and Brahms’ Requiem” is an exploration of what the Bible has to say about grief and hope in a Christian context. Attendees are encouraged to explore their thoughts and feelings about this subject.
To join on Zoom, email the church office at churchoffice@newcovenant-baptistchurch.org to provide an email address for the facilitator, Phillip Nall, to send a link.
Also, Friday, March 10, is the 10th anniversary of New Covenant Baptist Church. In honor of that, there will be refreshments and fellowship after the 11 a.m. March 12 service, in which Interim Pastor Kevin Collison will focus on what it is like to live by the grace of God.
Southern Gospel Choir to sing at Trinity UMC March 19
The Trinity United Methodist Church Southern Gospel Choir will sing during the worship service Sunday, March 19. The choir rehearses once a month and sings every third Sunday of the month. To be a part of this fun, toe-tapping group, call Conya Hartman at the church office at 386-734-4425.
Also, the third Sunday Potluck Brunch will take place after the worship service. Stay and enjoy food and fellowship, and learn more about the church’s Journey Groups.
The service begins at 9 a.m. at 1401 W. New York Ave., sharing worship space with First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of DeLand.
‘Trans Divinity’
Mosaic Unitarian Universalist Congregation meets online at 11 a.m. every Sunday. The March 12 service is titled “Trans Divinity.”
As anti-trans rhetoric grows throughout the U.S., rooted in violent theologies of white nationalism, let’s spend time reminding ourselves and the world of the ways that trans existence is, at its very core, divine.
Teresa Leary will facilitate our service. Everyone is welcome!
For information on Mosaic, see the website at https://mosaicuuc.org. For instructions on how to join the virtual service, email to mosaicuuc@gmail.com.
‘Giving Up Superiority’
Mac Davis sang, “Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way.”
All of us have encountered individuals who suffered from varying degrees of feeling superior. Scottish author Stephen Batchelor wrote, “The greatest threat to compassion is the temptation to succumb to fantasies of moral superiority.”
Occasional feelings of being better or smarter or more capable than those around us affect us all.
In the sermon series “Giving It Up” at First United Methodist Church of DeLand, the sermon at the Sunday, March 12, service will be “Giving Up Superiority.”
Mark Twain wrote, “The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creatures that cannot.”
Jesus, our example, was God in the flesh and thus, of course, far superior to any with whom He had interactions. Yet time after time, He showed humility in His earthly dealings with those He encountered. We need to follow His example.
L. Whitney Clayton, a prominent church leader, put it this way: “Humility is the essence of repentance. Humility is selfless, not selfish. It doesn’t demand its own way or speak with moral superiority. Instead, humility answers softly and listens kindly for understanding, not vindication. Humility recognizes that no one can change someone else, but with faith, effort and the help of God, we can undergo our own mighty change of heart.”
Being humble is not always an easy thing, but with God’s help, all things are possible.
Plan to join either in-person or online, to learn from God’s Word how to give up any ideas or feelings of superiority that we might have, so that we can be kinder and more gracious with our fellow man.
Acceptance
Observing Daylight Saving Time to spring forward one hour this Sunday, March 12, First Presbyterian Church of DeLand will mark the third week of its Lenten journey toward Easter at the three services.
Parallel to the churchwide study of A Way Other Than Our Own, Devotions for Lent, by Walter Brueggemann, the Rev. Donna McClellan will explore the nature of acceptance. First, by reading Scripture found in Isaiah 42:5-16 and Isaiah 55:6-9, Pastor McClellan will call us, as God’s people, to accept the new song and reality as the slaves of Babylon heard, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord … my ways are higher than your ways.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Followers who feel willing for God to rescue them from the darkness of sin will meet a new life in Christ and a change of direction.
“Seek ye the Lord while he may be found … for He will freely pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6-7)
This requires us to live life on the terms of a loving God rather than our own, accepting the truth of His blessings.
First Pres reminds the DeLand community that living out our vision to reach up, reach in and reach out finds reality in the life of our church community.
On Saturday, March 11, from 9 to 11 a.m., First Pres will offer God’s Bathhouse for showers, hygiene kits, towels, fresh clothing and fellowship in the courtyard near the Mission Room. First Pres invites homeless guests to this event, usually twice monthly. Church members also assemble and offer manna bags and sleeping mats made by volunteers.
On Saturday, March 25, another free Farm Share food distribution drive-thru will begin at 9 a.m. in the church parking and pavilion area. This involves cars driving through from Pennsylvania Avenue to receive boxes of both perishable and nonperishable items.
Members are carefully planning and preparing for two mission trips. One trip goes to Cuba in March. Contributions of over-the-counter pain relievers, vitamins and anti-diarrhea medicines are needed to share with the Taguasco congregation. Place donations in the baskets in welcome areas and in the church office.
In June, missionaries will set out to LaFinca Camp, a Vida Joven Young Life camp in Nicaragua, to resume longtime assistance and relationships to support the youth in that area. Mary Hoffmann and Ron Allison manage this trip.
The many ways First Pres reaches out into our DeLand community involve events like worship services with accompanying fellowship, fulfillment of prayer requests, an IDignity event in April, monthly birthday fellowships, cooking for The Bridge on first Thursdays, bingo on first Fridays, the community garden, various Bible studies, church school/ youth groups, counseling, and the Fourth Wednesday Cookout in the pavilion with provided and potluck food.
Save the date of Saturday, April 1, for the return of Eggsperience from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. on the First Pres campus for great times, with a petting zoo, bounce houses, arts and crafts, snacks and egg hunts divided by age. First Pres freely welcomes all for a great time of fun!
DeLand Quakers host Zoom discussion about schools and teachers
The DeLand Quakers recently hosted a Zoom discussion about the impact of recent legislation on public schools and teachers in Florida. More than 30 Friends from Central and North Florida attended and participated in this discussion, which was led by two teachers from the St. Petersburg area. Topics included the impact on teachers and their concerns for their personal future, the impact on students, and how Quakers as a group can support teachers in their efforts to educate all students of all races, ethnicities, genders and abilities.
The DeLand Quakers meet at 10:30 a.m. Sundays at The Dreka Theater in Downtown DeLand for silent worship, where, as a group, they seek guidance. The theater is at 112 E. New York Ave.
On Tuesday evenings, there is a Zoom meet to discuss spiritual issues and topics where Quakers can make an impact.
Quakers believe that there is an inner light in all people; therefore, all people are equal in God’s sight and must be equal in our sight, and we must treat each person as our equal.
For more information, go to www.delandquakers.org.
1st Christian Church activities
The Rev. Carlos Perez of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of DeLand will have as his sermon at 10:45 a.m. Sunday, March 12, the sixth of the Beatitudes stressing “The Pure in Heart” from Matthew 5:8. God wants us to strive for inward purity, not just showing we are outwardly pure.
Barbara Polomsky provides special music, with Donna Mozley assisting as the song leader. Elder Brenda Velázquez- Morales guides the elders for the weekly Communion part of the service.
Dr. Janet Raney extends an open invitation for a gathering with coffee and pastries at 8:15 a.m. that includes prayer, Scripture and Communion in the kitchen foyer.
At 9:30 a.m., the adult Sunday-school class meets in the church library, studying Matthew 18:1-9, “The Greatest in the Kingdom.” This quarter of study reveals what it means to live in the kingdom of Heaven, both in the present and in the future we anticipate.
Other activities include bingo at 7 p.m. Friday, March 10, benefiting RAAO (Rising Against All Odds); the Saturday, March 11, Men’s Breakfast at Big Rig Two (reservations at 386- 734-6078); and the 3:30 p.m. Monday prayer in the church library.
Activities at 1st UU in DeLand
On Sunday, March 12, worshippers at First Unitarian Universalist Church of West Volusia in DeLand will hear the program “Where We Have Been, Where We Are Now, Where We Are Going.” The program will be led by member Linda Newman. The congregation will take the first step in learning about the proposed changes to Article II of the bylaws of the Unitarian Universalist Association national organization. This church is a member congregation of the UUA.
A completed study was submitted Jan. 20, and includes the Study Commission’s recommendations. After the coffee/tea hour, the congregation will return for a discussion on the subject presented.
