|
Message in a Minute
Click the image above to hear from Pastor Harold and to learn about the three Key Announcements for this week!
| | |
Spiritual Reflection
“Rather than ask God to change your circumstances, ask Him to use your circumstances to change you.”
Max Lucado
| | |
Legacy Fund
In 2007, New Covenant established an Endowment Fund, now known as the Legacy Fund. This fund provides the opportunity for members to make gifts which become part of this permanent fund to support ministries and church growth far into the future.
The good news about the Legacy Fund is that it does not require you to make a payment now. It just requires a little planning now. Often referred to as “Planned Giving.”
Each week in the WeeklyWord and on the screen is a short tidbit about Legacy Giving, such as:
- “Less than two percent of people leave anything in their will or trust to their church.”
- “Over 50 percent of people die without a will. Do you have one?” If you do, have you updated it or discussed your intentions with your family? It’s also a great time to add your church as one of the beneficiaries.
There are numerous ways to give a gift to the Legacy Fund, such as:
- A gift of cash or stocks & bonds while you are still alive.
- As mentioned, by including the church as a beneficiary of your will or trust.
- Name the church as one of the beneficiaries of a life insurance policy.
- A gift can be made from your IRA either now or as a beneficiary of the IRA.
There are also ways to make a gift now and continue to receive the income for the rest of your life. You do not have to be wealthy to leave a gift. Legacy Giving isn’t just about money — it’s about faith, stewardship, and ensuring that New Covenant’s mission continues for generations.
If you have already included New Covenant in your planning, we would like to know about it or if you would like to receive more information as to how you can contribute to the Legacy Fund, please contact Linda Stubits in the church Finance Office. You will also want to discuss it with your attorney.
| | |
Bargains & Blessings Truck
Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 8
The Bargains & Blessings truck will be on the church campus to accept donations next weekend (the first full weekend of June) before worship services. If you have large items to donate, please call Bargains & Blessings at (352) 330-3333 for information about donation pick-up.
We appreciate your ongoing support of this important ministry. Each item donated and sold helps to support children and families in our local community. We greatly appreciate your willingness to support this ministry.
The ministry is also in need of drivers on the first weekend of each month to drive the truck to the church and back to B & B. If you are interested, please contact Charles Stuart.
| | |
Prayer Ministry
New Covenant wants to pray for you! We hope that you will utilize the ways to share with us your prayer concerns. We have prayer cards all over the church campus. Please complete one and leave in the receptacle for the prayer cards.
A much easier method is by completing a prayer card online! These come immediately to our prayer partners by email! Please consider using this format to get a request seen right away!
Praying for our church, our families, and our friends is paramount to us so please allow us the privilege to pray for you!
| | |
Celebrate Our Gleaning Ministry
New Covenant’s Gleaners provide a valuable food source for food pantries and soup kitchens in our local communities. This is all done in partnership with SoSa, the Society of Saint Andrew. They are a nationwide, faith-based, ecumenical, nonprofit ministry operating a variety of programs to fight hunger in America. The Gleaning Ministry travels to the fields or groves on the church bus from early October to late May picking sweet corn, strawberries, cabbage, potatoes, etc. Last year 26,892 pounds of food was shared with 17 food pantries and soup kitchens in Marion, Lake and Sumter Counties.
Gleaning refers to the practice in ancient Israel that allowed the poor, foreign residents, widows, and orphans to follow behind harvesters and collect leftover produce from the fields, vineyards, or orchards.
If you are interested in volunteering with the Gleaning Ministry, please contact Leon Schein, Ministry Chair.
| | |
Why Give to My Church?
- The local church teaches you.
- The local church will prevail.
- The local church is important.
- The local church is wise.
If you can’t trust your church with your money, why on earth are you trusting it with your soul? Financial and spiritual realities go hand in hand. Remember Jesus’s words: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
(Matthew 6:21)
| | |
Legacy Giving
Remember New Covenant in your planned giving.
| | |
New Members
We welcomed these new members into our family this past weekend.
| | |
Rick Acosta
The Village of Amelia
John & Pat Affleck
The Village of Santiago
Herb & Diane Andrade
The Village of Amelia
Deb Ardman
The Village of Santiago
Thomas Auten
The Community of Stonecrest
Craig Cannon
The Village of Santiago
Nancy Cannon
The Village of Santiago
Frank Naylor & Ruth Emory
The Village of St. James
| |  | |
Jamie Hartlage
The Village of Woodbury at Phillips
Charlie & Carol Hersh
The Village of St. James
Doug & Sharon Langenberg
The Village of Mira Mesa
Glenn & Jane Miller
The Village of Santo Domingo
Richard & Rosemary Powell
The Village of Palo Alto
Rob Reeves
The Village of Santiago
Carol Shipman
The Village of Sunset Pointe
Lynne Siegel
The Village of Polo Ridge
| | |
Love Your Neighbor Days
Wednesdays — June 4, June 11, June 18, June 25
Each Wednesday in June, we will have a “Love Your Neighbor Day” for middle schoolers and older. Students should be dropped off at 7:30 AM and the bus will depart at 8 AM. They will participate in food distribution to the neighbors of Lake Panasoffkee UMC. Lake Pan distributes food from 9 AM to noon. After helping at Lake Panasoffkee, the group will have lunch at a nearby restaurant to share about their morning.
After lunch, they will head to Banyan Tree Residential community near the New Covenant church campus on CR101. The students will interact with the residents by playing games and other fun activities. After Banyan Tree, the students will return to New Covenant for snacks and fun until picked up by their parents at 4 PM.
We are so excited about this wonderful opportunity to help our neighbors! Registration is required. Students may register for one day, two days, or all days.
| | |
Solo Sisters in Spirit
Thursday, June 12 from 4 – 6 PM in Classroom 6 & 7
Our guest speaker will be Kari Walker from The Villages Health presenting Stress Management Techniques. She will help us to learn how to reduce our anxiety.
We will not meet in July or August. Our next group will meet on Thursday, September 11 from 4 – 6 PM.
There is no cost for this session, but registration is requested so we have enough chairs for everyone. If you have any questions, please contact Sharon Weimert.
| | |
Backpacks4Kids presents “Aspects of Love”
Sunday, June 22 at 6 PM in the Christian Life Center
Love is never just one thing. It is sacred and sensual, fragile and fierce, playful, tragic, and transcendent. In this richly varied program, soprano Cynthia Fisher, soprano Deanna Peden, and tenor Mark Schmidt explore love in all its shifting shades — through the soaring melodies of opera, the wit of Broadway, and the lush lyricism of song. Sean Pollock will be at the piano, bringing color and nuance to every note.
From the spiritual ecstasy of Thaïs to the glittering irony of Candide, from the light-hearted joy of I Could Have Danced All Night to Puccini’s luminous La Canzone di Doretta and Verdi’s iconic La donna è mobile, each performer brings a distinct voice and emotional palette to the evening.
Whether you come for the purity of Caro Nome, the tenderness of Somewhere, or the triumphant swell of Nessun Dorma, you’ll find yourself moved by the many facets — the many aspects — of love.
A suggested donation ($20) at the door helps to support the vital work of our Backpacks4Kids Ministry, providing school supplies for children in our Wildwood community. Come be inspired — and help make a difference!
| | |
Celebrate America 2025: The American Journey
A Concert of Hope, Justice, and Song
Sunday, June 29 at 5 PM in the Christian Life Center
Backpacks4Kids presents a powerful musical celebration of our nation’s spirit and story. Hosted by Angie Rose and Sean Pollock, this moving event features The Chancel Choir and special guest soloist Russell Stephens, performing a dynamic blend of patriotic, gospel, Broadway, and Americana favorites.
A suggested donation ($20) at the door benefits Backpacks4Kids, providing school supplies and backpacks to help children in Wildwood schools thrive in their education.
| | |
Wildwood Middle High School New Mentors Needed
New Covenant’s Mentor Program annually has around 35 Mentors working with Mentees from ninth to twelfth grade, primarily at Wildwood Middle High School.
Our current Mentors “move up” with their Mentees each year, but because of how popular the program continues to be, we have more students who are asking for Mentors. Each year, we recruit adults who have a heart for teenagers and a sincere desire to provide love, patience, guidance, and support over a period of four years as the Mentee journeys from ninth grade through graduation. The Mentor Program focuses on four foundational areas: physical, spiritual, behavioral, and academic/career needs.
If God is leading you to this special program and you would like more information, please use the button below to contact Anne Foote Hill, Director of Administration.
| | |
Digital & Production Ministry Volunteers
Have you ever wanted to give back to your Church in a very tangible and impactful way? Then consider joining the Digital & Production Ministry!
Volunteers in the Digital & Production Ministry help make sure that Worship and other church events go smoothly. Whether it’s displaying graphics for the Message, or lyrics on the screen to help the congregation follow along during hymns, or operating a camera for our in-person and livestreamed worship services. Your help is greatly needed!
If you’ve ever used a computer before, or taken pictures or videos with your phone, then you can use our equipment. Seriously! Our knowledgeable staff will work with you to train you on the specifics. If you’d like, we can arrange to have you shadow one of our existing volunteers to see if this ministry is a good fit for you. No commitment required!
If you are even a little technologically inclined, we need you. This Church would not be as effective in its Worship services, concerts, and other events and ministries if it were not for the Digital & Production Ministry. Please consider joining.
For more information, contact Branden Paul, Technical Manager.
| | |
Summer Volunteers Needed at Bargains & Blessings
Bargains & Blessings Resale Shop volunteers are needed to help fill vacant spots during the summer months in all areas of the store (cashiers, sales floor, intake, Family Interface, etc.).
If you have a few hours and would like to serve with us, please contact Barb Holevinsky, Bargains & Blessings Assistant Manager of Administration, or stop by the store at 301 N. Main St. to complete an application.
| | |
Voyages of Paul Cruise
October 24 – November 4, 2025
Rev. Harold Hendren will be leading an upcoming “Voyages of Paul Cruise” Tour.
The pilgrimage will be highlighting the key locations where the Apostle Paul launched many of his first century churches such as Corinth and Thessaloniki.
The trip also includes time in Santorini and Mykonos, as well as Athens, one of the most historic cities in the world.
To learn more and to register, please use the buttons below.
Cost: starting at $4,298
| | |
Holy Land Trip
April 13 – 22, 2026
Pastor Harold will be leading another Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land next year.
The tour will include Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the Sea of Galilee, Jacob’s Well, Samaria, Emmaus, Megiddo, Mount Carmel, Jericho, Qumran, Masada, and the Dead Sea.
For more information, please click the button below to read the full brochure.
To learn more and to register, please use the buttons below.
Cost: starting at $4,298
| | |
Monica Blick
Doug Bonebrake
Deborah Carter
Robin Coe
Pam Frederiksen
Betty Guertin
| | |
Ralph Hartke
Pam
Pat Parrott
Mike Ryan
Bonnie Smith
| | The Prayer Quilts on the Altar are for: | | Barbara: medical concerns | | | | Prayer quilts are made by a dedicated group in our church and throughout our community who envision the quilts being a special gift of love for people experiencing life-changing challenges. If you would like to order a prayer quilt, please click the button below. | | |
Our prayers, love, and sympathy are extended to...
Mary Levitt, family and friends on the passing of her husband, Jim Levitt.
For upcoming Celebrations of Life at New Covenant United Methodist Church, please click the button below.
| | |
Altar Flowers
Colin & Marian Cameron in memory of our son, Brad Cameron.
Gene Murray in memory of my wife Mary, and our anniversary.
Flower orders must be received by noon on Tuesday for flowers to be delivered that weekend. To place an order for altar flowers, please contact Ginny Davis, Ministry Assistant, using the button below.
| | | | |
