Celebrating Easter at 1st Christian Church
The Rev. Carlos Perez invites all to celebrate Easter at 10:45 a.m. Sunday, March 31, at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of DeLand. This is the beginning of “Eastertide,” celebrating Jesus’ Resurrection.
The worship service includes jubilant music, uplifting prayers, Scripture and a sermon to guide us all. The service ends with the observance of Holy Communion, with prayers by Brenda Velazquez-Morales and Eddie Wachter.
Ministries for the week include a prayer group in the church library at 3 p.m. Monday; serving the 5 p.m. evening meal at The Bridge shelter, 421 S. Palmetto Ave. in DeLand on Tuesday, April 2; Narcotics Anonymous groups on Wednesdays in the church library at noon and 7:30 p.m.; and the Disciple Women participating in the HOPE program at Stetson Baptist at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 4. On Saturdays between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., the church will receive free bread from Publix for distribution to those in need.
Celebrating Easter at First Church DeLand
On Easter Sunday, March 31, First Church DeLand will celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ at all three services, plus a Sunrise Service is at 6:30 a.m. at Vo-LaSalle Farms, 601 Johnson Lake Road in DeLeon Springs. Breakfast will follow.
The “God and the Underdogs” sermon series will conclude with the sermon “Humanity as the Underdog,” delivered by Pastor Mark Bitner.
The risen Christ gives us hope and joy that although we may have struggles in our lives, life never ends and love never dies. May this Easter inspire your faith and renew your hope.
Don’t forget to sign up the kiddos for Vacation Bible School, which runs June 24-28. The theme is “Scuba Diving Into Friendship With God.” Visit www.firstchurchdeland.org.
Bible study starts at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, in the Life Enrichment Center. Pastor Mark will lead one study, and a small group will meet in Room 113. All are invited to attend.
Celebrating Easter at Mosaic Unitarian Universalist
The congregation of Mosaic Unitarian Universalist meets online at 11 a.m. every Sunday. The March 31 service will be conducted as a small-group discussion. For most UUs, Easter Sunday is not celebrated in the traditional way. How do you celebrate Easter now? How is it different from the way you celebrated it as a child?
Wendell Berry, the beloved poet, advises us “to practice resurrection.” What might he mean by that? Everyone is welcome to come and find out!
Hands
“Alleluia! Jesus Christ is risen today!” The 40 days of Lenten anticipation and preparation reach a culmination of joy this Sunday, March 31, Easter Sunday.
First Presbyterian Church of DeLand warmly invites all to join its celebrations. Three services and a welcoming breakfast await you: Sunrise Worship at 7 a.m.; Open Breakfast at 8 a.m.; Daybreak Contemporary Worship at 9 a.m.; and Traditional Service at 11 a.m. Share Easter’s joyful music and redemptive message along with rich fellowship.
Pastor Michael Bodger will explore the amazing revelation of God’s love in a sermon, “Hands,” sprung from Scripture in Psalm 19 and study found in Elizabeth F. Caldwell’s devotional Pause. Throughout these past 40 days, Pastor Bodger has led the congregation throughout the challenging writing by Caldwell. We have been “spending Lent with the Psalms.”
Ironically, this Psalm of David sings of great silence in God’s revelation, “The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims His handiwork.” (Psalm 19:11) No speech, no word, no voice resounds to tell observers of the work of God’s hands.
The culmination of Lent, however, does not end our quest to become a part of His handiwork, but rather “provides a life-challenging way to move through the year” (a quote from Caldwell).
Pastor Bodger will charge listeners to recognize that the risen Christ invites us “to live differently [and] awakens us to all the possibilities we have in front of us for using our hands.”
Pastor Bodger issues the cue to us to “seek those times and places where our hands continue His care for the world and all its inhabitants!” Will Christ-seekers join in singing God’s praises and pursue His work in the world?
While the church office will close for Easter Monday, regular Bible studies and other groups will meet as usual.
Looking ahead, note that The Bridge provides needy people a takeout meal at The Neighborhood Center from 5 to 7 p.m. next Thursday, April 4.
Also, the church welcomes friends and families for a free night of bingo in the fellowship hall 7-8 p.m. Friday, April 5.
Reflecting the observance of Holy Week, the Chancel and Bell Choirs are planning Music for the Easter Season at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 14, in the sanctuary. In the new pattern of life espoused in Psalm 19, the concert will hold up and actualize our aim of becoming God’s hands in our world. First Pres says, “Join us for that musical revelation!”
‘Love Them Anyway’
Join the Rev. Dr. Tracie Barrett at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, March 31, at First Unitarian Universalist Church of West Volusia in DeLand as she talks about what it means to live the Unitarian Universalist faith and to “love them anyway.” It’s said that the only commandment Jesus gave was to love our neighbor, even the ones we may not like so much.
Barrett lives in Orlando with her husband and three cats and considers herself to be a UU evangelist, sharing the good news about the UU’s liberal and liberating faith. She currently serves as the half-time consulting minister at University Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Orlando.
Unitarian Universalists are an inclusive, freethinking, faith community, where all are welcome, as everyone learns and searches together for truth.
Human Trafficking Awareness Night
The HOPE Team (Helpers of People Enslaved) is sponsoring a Human Trafficking Awareness Night at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 4, in the Stetson Baptist Church Family Life Center, 1025 W. Minnesota Ave. in DeLand. The community is invited.
There will be four speakers: Patrick “Doc” Nave and Rainey Nave, founders of Bikers Against Trafficking in Lake Mary; Christy Gillis, administrator, Circuit 7 Community Development with the Florida Department of Children and Families in Daytona Beach; and Jodi Domangue, executive director of anti-trafficking with One More Child in Lakeland.
