Spiritual Side: Easter services and celebrations in West Volusia

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Spiritual Side: Easter services and celebrations in West Volusia
QUILTERS WANTED — From left, Janice Cornwell, Julia Beckwith, Debby Boyer and Helen Martin stand in front of quilts that were displayed on the back of pews at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in DeLand while being blessed. The group has been making quilts for Third World countries (via Lutheran World Relief) for several decades, but the group is getting smaller. Anyone interested in joining the group, which meets weekly at the church, is welcome. If you can tie a knot, cut fabric and/or sew, the group would love to have you. Call 386-734-2791, and leave a message with your name and phone number. Visit the church’s website at faithlutherandeland.org for more info. PHOTO COURTESY DEBORAH DEGAETANO

Celebrating Easter at Deltona Christian Church

Deltona Christian Church invites you to join them on Easter Sunday, March 31, to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord! They will be gathering for two services — all are welcome to come to one or even both services.

The sunrise service starts at 7 a.m. in the garden. The 9:30 a.m. Celebration Service will be in the sanctuary. There will be a blooming of the cross after each service. Visit www.deltonachristianchurch.org.

Holy Week services at Glenwood Presbyterian

Start your day right with coffee and Jesus at a new Sunday-morning service at Glenwood Presbyterian Church at 8:30 a.m. Morning Glory, a casual worship service in the church’s historic fellowship hall, includes music, meditation, and inspirational messages from our pastor, the Rev. Larry Cuthill. Child care is available.

Holy Week services are as follows: Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service is at 7:30 p.m.; Good Friday Service is at noon; Easter Sunrise Service is at 7 a.m., with a Traditional Service at 11 a.m.

Note: There will not be an 8:30 a.m. Morning Glory Service on Easter Sunday, March 31.

Holy Week services at Lutheran Church of Providence

Lutheran Church of Providence in Deltona announces the upcoming holiday services.

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday Service at 10:30 a.m. March 24. The church celebrates Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem with the Blessing of the Palms and Holy Communion.

Maundy Thursday, the night when our Lord was betrayed, is observed at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 28. This service includes the Stripping of the Altar and Holy Communion.

Good Friday is a solemn service, which commemorates Our Lord dying on the cross for the forgiveness of the sins for all of mankind, fulfilling Scripture. This service is at 7 p.m. Friday, March 29, and includes the Procession of the Holy Cross, the Bidding Prayer and the Tenebrae Sequence.

We celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior on Easter morning at 10:30 a.m.. Enjoy a complimentary breakfast at 9:15 a.m. before the celebration. The joyous service is complete with hymns of praise and Holy Communion.

Easter Eggstravaganza at DaySpring Community Church

DaySpring Community Church in DeLand will have its Easter Eggstravaganza at 3 p.m. Palm Sunday, March 24.

The event will include Easter-egg hunts, bounce houses, face painting, games, and food. It’s all free and open to the community.

For more information, call 386-736-4808.

Classical Jukebox concert at Stetson Baptist Church

Save the date for a Classical Jukebox concert Saturday, April 13, at Stetson Baptist Church, 1025 W. Minnesota Ave. in DeLand. The wrong date was published in the March 7-13 edition.

The doors open at 6:30 p.m. for drawings and a snack bar. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m.

Get ready to be transported through time, as the talented musicians of the Volusia Community Arts Symphony bring classical rock to life.

Tickets cost $20. Go to www.volusiaarts.org and click the Event page to purchase them.

Attention, local churches

The Iota Kappa Kappa DeLand Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., in partnership with the Spring Hill CRA, is sponsoring the Joyce M. Cusack Easter Egg Hunt and Festival noon-4 p.m. Saturday, March 30, at Spring Hill Park, 903 S. Thompson St. in DeLand.

The event includes a kids’ Easter-egg hunt for ages 2-11, divided into age groups; food; refreshments; and booths with representatives of community-service organizations, law enforcement, public safety and local churches.

To reserve a space, email iotakappakappa2020@gmail.com, or call 252-864-8815.

‘Happiness’

“Happiness” is the theme for a Bahá’í picnic in Bill Dreggors Park at noon Saturday, March 23. Area Bahá’ís will host “Food for Body and Soul,” a community potluck picnic, in the west pavilion of Freedom Playground, 230 N. Stone St. in DeLand.

“Human happiness is founded upon spiritual behavior,” says Bahá’í scripture. “Material progress and spiritual progress are two very different things. Material progress alone does not tend to uplift man. On the contrary, the more he becomes immersed in material progress, the more his spirituality becomes obscured.”

Picnic participants will engage in readings, discussions and activities around the theme. The public is welcome to join and participate.

The Food for Body and Soul potluck picnic is usually held on third Saturdays throughout the year. All are welcome.

How to think like a philosopher

Join Dr. Joshua Rust at the 10:30 a.m. service Sunday, March 24, at First Unitarian Universalist Church of West Volusia in DeLand.

Dictionary definitions are useful if you want to get a sense of what a word means. For example, Merriam-Webster defines “sandwich” as follows: “Two or more slices of bread or a split roll having a filling in between.”

However, philosophers (and lawyers) are interested in more rigorous and tightly defined definitions. How might a philosopher critique Merriam-Webster’s definition? Come and find out!

Rust is a professor of philosophy at Stetson University and the author of two books, John Searle and the Construction of Social Reality and John Searle. He is also a co-author of several articles in empirical philosophy concerning the behavior of ethicists as compared to other academic professionals (Mind, Review of Philosophy and Psychology). His areas of interest include social ontology, John Searle, experimental philosophy, meta philosophy and social construction.

Unitarian Universalists are an inclusive, freethinking, faith community, where all are welcome, as everyone learns and searches together for truth.

‘Psalms for the Soul’

The congregation of Mosaic Unitarian Universalist meets online at 11 a.m. every Sunday. The March 24 service is titled “Psalms for the Soul.”

Join Jess Delrie, inspirational speaker and coach, for a Sunday message to encourage you as we near Easter Sunday. Delrie will look into the history of Palm Sunday, and what it means for us today, both Christians and non-Christians. Everyone is welcome!

1st Christian Church activities

The Rev. Carlos Perez of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of DeLand is encouraging his congregation and the community to participate in all of the faith activities during Holy Week, March 24-31. It starts Palm Sunday, March 24, with a distribution of palms to all who attend worship at 10:45 a.m.

Marge Jones, Kathy Porr and Janet Raney facilitate Communion during worship.

The Easter Special Day Offering is received March 24 and 31, supporting many of the ministries of the denomination.

Monday, March 25, at 3 p.m., is the time of special prayers for the week. Maundy Thursday commemorates the washing of Apostles’ feet and the Last Supper at 7 p.m. March 28, a combined service with Trinity United Methodist Church, who shares the campus.

Good Friday’s, March 29, commemoration is provided by Trinity United Methodist in the Journey to the Cross throughout the church building, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and 4-7 p.m. The series of interactive stations leaves all participants with an awe-inspiring faith experience.

Saturday, March 30, at 10 a.m., Vanessa Perez will provide an Easter Egg Hunt.

Saturday evening after 7:30 p.m., and all day Sunday, Easter crosses will be on display throughout Downtown DeLand that are decorated by individuals, organizations and churches.

Easter Sunday, March 31, commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The worship service is at 10:45 a.m., led by the Rev. Perez. Brenda Velazquez-Morales and Eddie Wachter will provide prayers for Communion, offered to all.

A flowered cross can be found outside by the glass entrance door as a backdrop for Easter photographs.

Trinity UMC activities

Trinity United Methodist Church will be hosting an Easter Event 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, March 23. This will be at the church’s new property, 1338 W. Plymouth Ave. in DeLand. Be sure to look for the signs! There will be crafts, Kona Ice, a petting zoo, an egg hunt and more! This is a free event. Trinity UMC does ask that you bring your own basket if you wish to participate in the egg hunt. It’s fun for the entire family!

Trinity would love to spend Holy Week with you. There are several opportunities to worship together. Palm Sunday, March 24, will be celebrated with a procession of palms.

Maundy Thursday, March 28, will have a Tenebrae worship service at 7 p.m. with First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of DeLand. This is a special service with readings and candles. As the last of the lit candles is extinguished or taken away, a loud sound (called strepitus in Latin) is made to convey the sense of total loss of God’s presence and the effect of the death of Jesus on the universe.

The final story of the burial is read in near darkness. Worshippers leave in silence to ponder the impact of Christ’s death and await the celebration of the coming Resurrection.

On Good Friday, March 29, there is a Journey to the Cross self-guided experience. This is a special time, as you walk through different stations and remember Christ’s journey to the Crucifixion. There are readings and meditations to ponder, and you may spend as much time as you need at each station. There are two come-and-go sessions available. The first session is 10 a.m.-1 p.m., and the second session is 4-7 p.m.

Easter Sunday will begin with a Sunrise service on Trinity UMC’s Plymouth Avenue property, 1338 W. Plymouth Ave. in DeLand. This meaningful service will start at 6:45 a.m. You may wish to bring a chair and have a light with you as well. Afterward, come to the location at 1401 W. New York Ave., where there will be a potluck brunch and fellowship time.

At 9 a.m., there will be another worship service in the sanctuary. Missed the first brunch time? It will be offered again after the worship service.

All are welcome at Trinity, and we look forward to sharing the Easter season with you!

Thanksgiving

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”

These familiar words come from Psalm 118, sung by worshippers entering the temple in Jerusalem in ancient times. The Rev. Michael Bodger will spring from this song of thanksgiving to engage listeners in his sermon this Palm Sunday, March 24, at First Presbyterian Church of DeLand.

On Palm Sunday, we celebrate Jesus’ humble path into Jerusalem, riding a common donkey on his way to the passionate events of Holy Week. Most often a communal prayer of old, Psalm 118 voices predominately one individual’s cry to God. Then that writer reflects on God’s steadfast love (HESED in Hebrew) and sings exuberantly of his thankfulness for that love.

Despite the vagaries of this life, do we reflect on God’s HESED, similarly filling our lives with thanksgiving for all that God has done? This psalm brings us into Holy Week and what we recognize transpired long ago. In the end, God overcomes the frightening darkness of the Crucifixion by light — as always. Do we live life accordingly?

First Pres invites all our community to begin Holy Week with us as we shout, “Hosannah!” and parade into services with waving palms to remember the day Jesus walked that path to the difficult days ahead.

As our congregation has learned from Elizabeth Caldwell ’s Pause during Lenten study, we invite you to join our thoughtful activities throughout this upcoming week.

On Saturday, March 23, God’s Bathhouse begins at 9 a.m. to offer showers, clean towels and clothing, manna bags, and friendliness on the courtyard circle. We stand open to any and all who need this help.

Also on March 23, at 2:30 p.m., the annual Eggsperience welcomes families to enjoy the fun of the free spring celebration. Throughout the church campus, families will find age-appropriate egg hunts (Bring your baskets!), arts and crafts, games, bouncing houses, refreshments, and neighborly fellowship.

First Pres will have several services during Holy Week. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are at 6 p.m. in the sanctuary. Easter can be celebrated in several ways Sunday, March 31. At 7 a.m., a Sunrise Service begins on the front lawn, followed by a breakfast open to all at 8 a.m.

Contemporary Worship starts at 9 a.m. in the fellowship hall, with a Traditional Service at 11 a.m. in the main sanctuary. First Pres promises you will find richness in the words and music with which this church celebrates the Resurrection.

‘Jesus as the Underdog’

On Palm Sunday, March 24, First Church DeLand will continue the sermon series “God and the Underdogs.” Pastor Mark Bitner’s sermon title is “Jesus as the Underdog.”

Despite His divinity and humanity, Jesus is the ultimate Underdog. Hailed as the new king, riding on a donkey’s colt, He was beginning a journey that would inevitably end at the cross. Join First Church DeLand to hear this inspiring sermon.

Stations of the Cross on Good Friday, March 29, will depict Jesus’ passion and death on the cross. Twelve stations will reflect His journey through sacred art, prayers and reflections, followed by Communion. This is a self-guided individual tour, beginning in Building 2 and ending in Building 1, and will take place 4-7 p.m.

Journey to the Cross is a family Easter event. Experience Easter in a new way 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, March 30. Hear eyewitnesses who will share their experiences as you join in the activities. This takes place in the Life Enrichment Center, Building 4. An Easter Egg Hunt will follow.

— For church locations, worship times, group meetings and contact information, check out the Religion Directory on Page 2B. Send weekly church news and sermon information to margie@beacononlinenews.com.

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Raised in Miami Beach, Margie moved to DeLand after graduating from Florida State University. She has a master's degree in community mental-health counseling, and retired after 12 years in substance-abuse treatment. Having worked at the DeLand Sun News during the 1980s, Margie came to The Beacon in 2002 in search of a second career. She helps the reporters; compiles obituaries, the calendar of events and religion news; and deals with a mountain of emails each day. Margie is the proud Nana to two grandchildren, Sophia and Alex.

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