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St. Joseph Catholic Church

Christmas celebrations vary, during COVID-19

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Some churches are issuing tickets for admission.

Many are limiting seating.

At least one is offering drive-in services, and many places of worship plan to conduct candlelight services.

And, based on internet searches, it appears the vast majority have some sort of safety protocols in place, in light of COVID-19.

Some churches have already had their Christmas services, opting to celebrate the weekend before Christmas.

And, at least one — First United Methodist Church of Dade City — has decided to drop its traditional Christmas Eve service and its Sunday service Dec. 27 because of uncertainty of crowd size, according to a posting on the church’s Facebook page.

Still, those who are seeking to attend a religious service to celebrate Christmas will have plenty of options across The Laker/Lutz News coverage area.

Beyond traditional scriptural readings, some churches will offer special music and will feature festive decorations.

Some will have services indoors and out. Many will offer remote streaming options.

Chances are, you’ve already made your plans to celebrate — after all Christmas Eve is this coming Thursday and Christmas Day, on Friday.

But, if you’re still considering your options, be sure to visit your preferred church’s website to be certain you have current information. Also, you’ll need to check ahead to guarantee you can still get tickets if you need them, and can become familiar with any precautions you’ll need to take, to comply with the church’s COVID-19 protocols.

There are literally hundreds of churches across the newspaper’s coverage area. So, here’s a sampling of some churches in our coverage area, and their Christmas plans — based on Facebook and website postings — for this year.

LUTZ

  • Christmas at Idlewild, 18333 Exciting Idlewild Blvd.: Dec. 22 at 7 p.m., face coverings recommended; Dec. 23 at 7 p.m., masks optional; Dec. 24 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., masks optional. Tickets are available through the church’s website.
  • First United Methodist Church of Lutz, 960 W. Lutz Lake Fern Road: Dec. 24 at 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., following guidelines for sanitizing and social distancing. The website notes: “We respectfully request everyone wear a mask while at church.”
  • First Baptist Church of Lutz, 18116 U.S. 41: Online and in-person candlelight service on Dec. 24 at 6 p.m. According to the website: Balcony is mask only; auditorium is mask optional.
  • Bay Hope Lakeshore Campus, 17030 Lakeshore Road: Dec. 23, at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Dec. 24 at 4 p.m., 6 p.m., 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. Streaming on Bay Hope TV on Dec. 23 at 4 p.m., 6 p.m. 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.
  • St. Timothy Catholic Church, 17512 Lakeshore Road: Dec. 24 at 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; Dec. 25 at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. The service will be held in the main church sanctuary, with livestreaming to the parish hall and an outside courtyard. Eucharistic ministers will distribute communion in livestream areas.
  • Crosspointe Family Church, 919 DeBuel Road: Christmas Eve services on Dec. 24, at 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.
  • All Saints Lutheran Church, 5315 Van Dyke Road: Family candlelight service on Dec. 24 at 6 p.m., candlelight worship on Dec. 24 at 9 p.m.
  • Unity North Tampa, 19530 Holly Lane: Burning Bowl Service, Dec. 27 at 11 a.m. A ceremony to release what is unwanted in your life and affirm new blessings for the New Year.

LAND O’ LAKES

  • Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, 2348 Collier Parkway: The church is following guidelines for sanitizing, social distancing and masks. There’s an outdoor mass on Dec. 24 at 4 p.m., no signup is required. Other Christmas Eve masses are: 6 p.m., signup and livestream; 10 p.m., signup; midnight, signup and Life Team. On Christmas Day, the mass times are 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., which are both signup; and 11:30 a.m., which is signup and livestream.
  • Harvester United Methodist Church, 2432 Collier Parkway: Dec. 24 at 4 p.m., candlelight worship service with communion.

WESLEY CHAPEL

  • Atonement Lutheran Church, 29617 State Road 54: Christmas Eve in-car service on Dec. 24 at noon, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., and on Dec. 25 at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. RSVP, first come, first served. Those signing up on the church’s website are asked to indicate if they are driving a car, an SUV, a truck or a van. They also are asked to indicate how many people will be receiving communion. RSVP by calling 813-973-2211.
  • Bridgeway Church, 30660 Wells Road: Service on Dec. 23 at 5 p.m., and on Dec. 24 at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Faith Lutheran Church, 27221 Foamflower Blvd., Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, Dec. 24 at 6 p.m.
  • Cypress Creek Church (meets at North Tampa Christian Academy, 5585 County Line Road): Christmas with the Family Christmas Eve service on Dec. 24 at 5 p.m. The church’s website notes: “We have the restaurant rule. You are required to wear a mask as you step on and off the church campus, but once you are at your seat you may take off your mask.” Church staff and its Dream Team will wear masks as they serve. Also, temperatures will be taken, before each person enters the building.
  • First Baptist Church of Wesley Chapel, 29716 State Road 54: Christmas service on Dec. 24 at 6 p.m.
  • Grace Community Church, 7107 Boyette Road: Candlelight service on Dec. 24 at 6 p.m.
  • St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (Previously known as Wesley Chapel Episcopal), 38356 Flatiron Loop, Suite 101: Dec. 24 at 10:30 p.m., with a musical prelude at 10 p.m. Masks and reservations required. Incense will be used during the service.

ZEPHYRHILLS

  • St. Joseph Catholic Church, 38710 Fifth Ave.: Dec. 24 services at 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.; Dec. 25 services at 7 a.m., 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Its website notes that masks are required for every person at every service and social distancing is required, too.
  • ZFA Church, 36322 State Road 52: Dec. 24 at 6 p.m., Christmas Eve candlelight service.

DADE CITY

  • First Presbyterian Church of Dade City, 37412 Church Ave.: Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion Service, Dec. 24 at 5 p.m. Services also available via Facebook and YouTube.

SAN ANTONIO

  • St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, 32885 Rhode Island Ave.: Services on Dec. 24 at 5 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. On Dec. 25, the service will be at 10 a.m., and it will be livestreamed on Facebook.

Published December 23, 2020

Local woman hopes to make faith-filled impact on national level

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Zephyrhills resident Michele Bowman, raised in the Catholic Church, has always embraced faith as her life’s foundation.

“Really, it has given me everything,’’ Bowman said.

Now, she has a rare opportunity to give back.

Bowman recently was elected as one of nine National Directors for the Catholic Daughters of the Americas (CDA), an organization that promotes spiritual growth, charitable giving, community service and sisterhood.

Zephyrhills resident Michele Bowman recently was elected as a National Director for the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, becoming the fourth Floridian to reach that level in the organization’s 117-year history. (Courtesy of Michele Bowman)

In the CDA’s 117-year history, Bowman is the fourth National Director from Florida.

Bowman, who worships at St. Joseph Catholic Church, has been active as a charter member of the 43-woman Court Mother Teresa in Zephyrhills. The chapter is one of CDA’s 1,150 local chapters. She has held several CDA positions on the state and local level, but said she’s looking forward to making connections on the national level. She’s beginning a two-year term.

“It’s a big deal and quite an honor for Michele,’’ said Kathy Brady, a regent with Court Mother Teresa. “She will be able to give her opinion and be a liaison at the highest level of our organization. She will be hands-on with a lot of big issues, and it’s going to be a great experience.’’

Bowman grew up in North Tampa, where her home parish was St. Mary Catholic Church in the Lake Magdalene area.

During her initial time as a Zephyrhills resident, she attended Our Lady of the Rosary in Land O’ Lakes when it was a small church, then saw it grow exponentially as the area’s population increased.

For nearly three decades, she has called St. Joseph home. When she first heard about the formation of Court Mother Teresa, she joined immediately. It became an important factor in her spiritual maturation.

“It appealed to me to be around a group of Catholic women, to grow in faith, to be of service to the community,’’ said Bowman, who was elected by mail voting as part of the CDA’s 58th Biennial National Convention, which was scheduled for Dallas but held remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was a great way to meet people in my parish. I thought the faith-based emphasis, plus the service and social aspects, were really nice,” Bowman said.

“But, it became more than I would have imagined. It has really extended my self-confidence in speaking to people and meeting new people. At one time, I could look around my church and hardly not know anyone. Now, I look around and I know so many people, their stories, their backgrounds. I will now get a chance to do that on a national level. I wasn’t super shy, but this sort of involvement has made me more outgoing.’’

It has also given Bowman ideas about growing an organization.

At Court Mother Teresa, the group has worked with Meals on Wheels and the Trinity Cafe. It has organized a Christmas Toy Drive for children of migrant workers. It has held yard sales and bunco games to raise money for charities.

Fundraising is good.

Charity is good.

But, Bowman wants to expand those concepts. The membership must grow. And, it needs a youth movement.

Court Mother Teresa is one of only seven courts in Florida.

“There should be more, I think, probably many more, but getting things going might be a little harder than it looks,’’ Bowman said. “I think as a national director, that’s part of my job, but it’s part of all of our jobs, really. You have to continually reach out to people, go to parishes, ask the priests if you can give a talk. You try to get the interest going.

“There are many benefits not only to the church community, but to the individuals as well. I would absolutely like to see us increase our membership, and I believe we must attract some younger women. It’s a problem when your membership starts to age out. We may have to change the way we approach things, and I’d like to have a voice in this because I believe it’s a big issue. We should be proactive.’’

As a national director, Bowman will have oversight of several states and interaction with the CDA’s big-picture issues.

But, she knows local involvement is the key to growth.

“I would tell people who want to join a court that it’s a great way to make lifelong meaningful friends with like-minded values,’’ Bowman said. “It’s a way to provide service to others. You become unified in your faith and it empowers you in a way where you know you can make a difference.

“We’re connected by our Catholic faith. By working together, we reach out to each other, encourage each other and enhance our own faith. It’s always nice to pray together. You see how someone professes their faith and strength, how they handle themselves. We are always stronger when we work together. That’s always what I want to encourage,” she said.

For more information on Court Mother Teresa, contact Brady at (813) 625-5556 or Bowman at (813) 838-3804. For more information on the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, log onto CatholicDaughters.org.

By Joey Johnston

Published September 02, 2020

Finding creative ways to express faith at Easter

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Instead of having thousands of members arriving for Easter services at Idlewild Baptist Church, in Lutz, Senior Pastor Ken Whitten expects they’ll be tuning in instead.

The church’s 15,000 members will be able to watch on Vimeo, Facebook or Idlewild.org the services, which will be presented in English and American Sign Language, and translated into Spanish.

First United Methodist Church of Land O’ Lakes will be livestreaming its Easter service. Many churches are using different approaches this year in light of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. (B.C. Manion)

Those presenting the service will be social distancing, Whitten said.

“We’ll be 6 feet apart. From the praise band to the camera people and myself, there’s never any more than 10 people,” he said.

COVID-19 has presented unique challenges, the pastor said.

“In all of my life, I’ve never ever experienced anything like this. We’ve had hurricanes, where we’ve missed two Sundays, but this will be our fourth Sunday doing online church,” Whitten said.

Being unable to connect in person is difficult for people, Whitten said.

“God made us for relationships, and God made us to want to be together.

“So, there’s something inside of us — I think an ache — inside the whole world right now,” he said.

Legally, the church could hold its large gatherings, because despite a Stay-at-Home order issued by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, religious assemblies are deemed an essential service.

“We might by law be able to congregate,” Whitten said. “Here’s the question, ‘Is that even the right thing to do?

Jesus said the two greatest commandments are “to love the lord thy God with all thy heart, mind and strength” and “to love your neighbor as yourself.

“I don’t think you can fulfill that second commandment and be a vector of infection, and bring a disease to people you are saying that you love,” Whitten said.

“The reason we’re not meeting is because we’re trying to do our part.

“Keep in mind, the church is not the only one who has been asked to stand down. We have no sports. We have no NASCAR.

“It doesn’t matter, no matter what you are normally used to, (it) is not there.

Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church created a more personal touch for its online services, by asking parishioners to submit photos of themselves, so the officiants can look at them, while saying the Mass. (Courtesy of Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church)

“There’s no Master’s. March Madness didn’t happen. It became March sadness, didn’t it,” Whitten said.

COVID-19 has created a medical and economic crisis.

In the midst of that, Whitten said, “I think the message we need to give people right now is this: Live one day at a time, with trust, trusting that God’s got this. That he hasn’t taken his eye off us. He knows what tomorrow brings.

“The best thing we can do is to continue to put our trust in him and continue to be an encouragement to the people around us that need that trust,” Whitten said.

Others using technology to share Easter services include NorthPointe Church, 19862 Amanda Park Drive; Bay Hope Church, at 17030 Lakeshore Road; St. Timothy Catholic Church, at 17512 Lakeshore Road; and, First Baptist Church of Lutz, 18116 U.S. 41, all in Lutz.

Land O’ Lakes churches using that approach include Land O’ Lakes United Methodist Church, at 6209 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., and Harvester Community Church, 2432 Collier Parkway.

Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, 2348 Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes, will be using technology, too, but to make it more personal, the church has placed enlarged photographs of church members on chairs within the church.

Meanwhile, Myrtle Lake Baptist Church, at 2018 Reigler Road in Land O’Lakes, will be having Drive-In Church on  April 12 at 10:30 a.m.

Members of Grace Community Church will be celebrating together, while staying apart, in drive-in church services on Easter. (Courtesy of Grace Community Church)

“You will simply drive into our parking lot and tune in on an FM channel (which will be displayed on our slide truck) and worship with us from the comfort of your own car.  We will celebrate communion together with commercially purchased, prepackaged, individual communion elements and collect our offering in free-standing receptacles as you exit the parking lot,” the church’s website says.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the county, Grace Community Church also will be having  drive-in services.

Normally, members would arrive in their Easter finery, celebrate their faith together and pose afterwards for family portraits, said Pastor Jeff Olsen.

But, this year, they’ll drive to the church 7107 Boyette Road in Wesley Chapel, and they’ll stay in their cars — for either the Sunrise service at 7:15 a.m., or the 10:30 a.m. gathering.

Instead of spending a couple of minutes at the beginning of the service greeting each other personally, they’ll take out their cellphones to text or call other members who are there; or reach out to church members who couldn’t make it to the service.

Jessie Koschman and her family, left to right, Jessie, Kaylei, Christopher and Greg, pose for a selfie inside their car. This will be a new twist on a traditional Easter family portrait at Grace Community Church in Wesley Chapel. (Courtesy of Jessie Koschman)

Then, at the conclusion, instead of posing for family portraits, they’ll whip out their cellphones and take family selfies.

Even though the service could be livestreamed, Olsen said he prefers having the congregation there — even if they need to stay in their cars.

“It seems like there’s more that can be done when we’re in a common space,” the pastor said, noting the church has already tried out this model and it seems to be working well.

Olsen said the central message of the sermon he plans to deliver will be something like this: “Because the grave is empty and Jesus is alive, we have living hope — even when things seem hopeless.”

Others are adapting services, as well.

AdventHealth Zephyrhills will have its 35th annual Easter Sunrise Service online, instead of on the hospital’s lawn.

The service will be streamed online on Easter Sunday, April 12 from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., and will be available for replay on the hospital’s Facebook page, according to a hospital news release.

Pastor Dennis Harmeson, of Awake Wesleyan Church, will deliver this year’s sermon and Darling Giordani will provide a musical selection.

The shift to online breaks an East Pasco tradition that dates back for more than three decades.

It was done, according to the hospital, “out of an abundance of caution to protect the safety and well-being of the community due to the spread of COVID-19.

“AdventHealth is committed to caring for the community – body, mind and spirit, as we live out our mission of Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ,” a release says.

At St. Joseph Catholic Church, at 38710 Fifth Ave., in Zephyrhills, videos of Holy Week and Easter services, featuring the Rev. Allan Tupa, will be available on the church’s website.

On that website, the pastor told parishioners, “Your safety and health are my primary concerns as we confront the sobering and unsettling realities of this pandemic.”

He added: “This severe moment that is unfolding throughout the world enables us to see the profound truth underlying the season of Lent: Life is fragile, and our flesh is weak. Yet scripture assures us in Psalm 46 that God is ‘an ever-present help in time of distress.”

The Seventh-day Adventist Church, at 7333 Adventist Church, at 7333 Dairy Road in Zephyrhills, will continue to hold online-only services through April 30.

Published April 08, 2020