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

“People often have a posture problem. We are leaning away from God at the exact moment when we should lean into God. While God is reaching for us, we are examining our options. There are so many things to do in life besides doing God’s will or living God’s way.”

Bishop Tom Berlin

Bargains & Blessings Update

Bargains & Blessings thrift store began 11 years ago with the purchase of two old, rundown buildings in downtown Wildwood. Over the years, as Bargains & Blessings ministry has grown, and abundantly blessed by our community support, we’ve been able to acquire two adjoining buildings, bringing our total to four.

Recently, all four buildings received a major exterior facelift. They were freshly painted in a base color called Amazing Gray, accented by an added 16-inch stucco band painted in Indigo Blue that visually ties the buildings together. Six double faux windows and shutters were added to three of the storefronts, greatly enhancing the appearance along the main street. Updated external B&B signage was installed, including a new sign for our Family Outreach Ministry, allowing for more awareness and visibility. 

Inside, we continue to make improvements. In December, the main building will receive new ceramic tile flooring to replace the worn painted concrete, giving it a brighter and more durable finish.

We also addressed a long-standing flooding issue in our donation drop-off area. By installing a 100-foot French drain system and creating a new drainage retention area, we’ve successfully eliminated the problem.

These renovations have not only revitalized our buildings but have also contributed to improving the overall revitalization of the downtown area. City officials have expressed their appreciation for our efforts and the positive impact Bargains & Blessings and Family Outreach has had on the community.

Volunteers are always needed to support the work of the ministry. Applications are available on the church website or contact Tina Landers, Assistant Manager for Administration at (352) 330-3333. 

Saturday Contemporary Worship Finds a New Home!

Beginning Saturday, November 22, our 5 PM Contemporary Worship service will move to the newly renovated Fellowship Center!

This refreshed worship space features a state-of-the-art sound system and an impressive video wall, designed to elevate the modern worship experience with clarity, warmth, and creativity. The Fellowship Center offers a welcoming atmosphere perfectly suited to our intimate Saturday congregation, providing a fresh sense of closeness and energy.

We invite everyone to come early and fellowship before worship begins. Come experience this exciting new chapter in a space designed for connection and modern praise!

Women’s Monthly Gathering (November 2025)

“Thanksgiving Bells and Blessings”

Thursday, November 20 from 10 AM – 11:30 AM (with lunch to follow)

"Come ye thankful, people come!" The November Women’s Ministry program facilitated by Lynn Van Veelan will help us ring in the Thanksgiving season with bells and blessings. We’ll ring for joy with a fashion show and rejoice to the sound of bells by the Village Ringers under the direction of Bonnie Fisher — and there’s more! We hope that you will join us!

If you wish to donate to the mission project this month, we ask that you bring a can of Campbell’s soup or any other brand to be donated to local area food pantries.

Menu: Campbell’s Tomato Soup with all the Fixings, Three Cheese Sandwiches – grilled to perfection – with garnish, and Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream. (Menu subject to change based on food availability.)

Registration is required ($12). If you have any questions or need help with registering, please contact Pat Hill, Care Coordinator - Discipleship.

Christmas Concert Series at New Covenant

The joy of the season fills the air at New Covenant! Join us throughout December for a beautiful lineup of concerts celebrating Christmas through music and community:

The Villages Flute Choir – “Holiday Fantasy: A Flute Choir Celebration”

Tuesday, December 2 at 7 PM

Village Ringers – “Christmas and Candlelight”

Friday, December 5 at 7 PM

“Wooten Hill Christmas”

Sunday, December 7 at 7 PM

Net proceeds benefit our 2026 Night to Shine event.

Christmas at New Covenant – “This Is Christmas”

Saturday & Sunday, December 13 & 14 at 5 PM

Featuring Mary McDonald, conductor, with the New Covenant Chancel Choir, Praise Ringers, and Orchestra, joined by members of the Community UMC Chancel Choir (Fruitland Park), Morrison UMC Chancel Choir (Leesburg), and Christian Voices United

“Slide Into Christmas” – A Bunch of Bones

Tuesday, December 16 at 12 PM

Choralettes – “Christmas Is Coming!”

Tuesday, December 16 at 6 PM

“A Quiet Christmas” with Angie Rose & Ryan Loeckel

Friday, December 19 at 3 PM & 7 PM

Christmas Eve Candlelight Services

Wednesday, December 24 at 4:30 PM & 7 PM

Tickets are available on the website. Those needing assistance can visit the Ticket Kiosk in the West Narthex after Saturday night worship service and between services on Sundays. 

Why Give to My Church?

1. The local church teaches you.
2. The local church will prevail.
3. The local church is important.
4. 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

Rooted in faith, blessings for tomorrow, as we give thanks today.

Fall Food Drive for Wildwood Food Pantry

Saturday, November 15 and Sunday, November 16

Please support the Wildwood Food Pantry's Fall Food Drive. Volunteers pick up your bags of food donations this weekend (November 15–16). Please place the bag of food next to your car or golf cart.

Also, throughout the week, there are bins that are conveniently located in both the East and West Narthexes for food donations.

Current needs include: canned fruit, canned soups, canned tuna and chicken, canned vegetables, cereal, flavored pastas (Hamburger Helper, Rice-A-Roni, Pasta Sides), macaroni & cheese, peanut butter & jelly, SpagettiOs, RavioliOs, etc., and spaghetti sauce.

Let's help families thrive, not just survive by supporting the food drive.  

Registrations

Just a friendly reminder about event registrations. Most of our church events — except for concerts — require registration. You can easily find registration links on our website or right here in the Weekly Word email each week.

Registering ahead of time helps us tremendously! It allows us to keep track of attendance so we can share accurate counts with our chef and facility staff, ensuring every event runs smoothly and everyone is well cared for.

Please remember, each of us has the ability to have a portal account. A portal account makes the registration process go more smoothly by automatically populating your information when you are registering. 

If you experience any trouble registering for an event or need help creating a portal account, please just call the church office and someone will assist you.

Thank you for helping us to plan and prepare well by taking a moment to register. Your participation and cooperation make all the difference!

Giving in the Spirit

During the New Covenant Season of Giving, you have the opportunity from November 1 – 30 to give a monetary donation to an outreach ministry that impacts so many in our community, both locally and around the world. Giving in the Spirit provides a very meaningful way to bless others and share the joy of Christmas through giving to 19 different ministries.

To participate, pick up a booklet at the Welcome Center, at an entrance to the Christian Life Center during weekend worship, or in the Administration Building during the week. Complete the form inside the booklet and put the form and your donation in the envelope by Friday, November 28 to the Administration office, or place it in the offering basket during worship services by Sunday, November 30.

You may also make a donation online by Sunday, November 30 using the button below.

The total donations to all outreach ministries that were listed in the booklet last year was $94,000.

Celebration Brass Band “Versatile Brass”

Sunday, November 23 at 6 PM in the Fellowship Center

The Celebration Brass Band presents "Versatile Brass," a concert presenting a potpourri of original works for brass band along with skillful arrangements and transcriptions. This stunning concert will dazzle you with true versatility including compositions by Gustav Holst, Bruce Broughton, John Williams, Joseph Jenkins, James Curnow, Ken Downie among others as well as a piece featuring Mr. John Morgan, Principal Euphonium.

The Celebration Brass Band is modeled on a British Brass Band tradition dating from the mid 1800's. As the Industrial Revolution emerged in the British Isles, factory, mill, and coal mine owners began forming social groups for their newly hired workers that would keep them from drinking their wages away and provide interest and purpose. Competitions between sponsoring owners became a serious challenge, resulting in an increase in musical proficiency. The tradition soon spread to other parts of the world. In the USA the North American Brass Band Association (NABBA) has 70 registered British-style brass bands. Many compete in the Spring of each year through graded sections for the coveted title of that section's NABBA Champion.

The Celebration Brass Band has been in existence for over 16 years and is made up for the most part of Villagers who have either made their career in music, or have established themselves as brass or percussion players. The season begins in October and consists of weekly rehearsals and performance opportunities through the end of April.

As Music Director Lew Buckley says, "We always enjoy playing at New Covenant United Methodist Church, and our audience is so appreciative. This concert will again delight the listener while sharing the uniquely wonderful sounds and textures of the British style Brass Band." Get your tickets now; you don't want to miss out!

Men’s Ministry Holiday Event:

Dinner, Christmas Sing-along and Trivia Contest 

Thursday, December 4 at 6 PM in the Fellowship Center

Join your friends and come to our Men’s Ministry holiday event — dinner, Christmas sing-along, and trivia contest. Join us for a night of good food, fellowship, and fun! Test your knowledge against other teams and tricky Pastor Randy.

Registration is required ($15). For more information, please contact Randy Cooke, Teaching Pastor.

Hope and Healing Service

Sunday, December 7 at 3 PM in the Chapel

The Hope and Healing Service is a meditative time to reflect on the emotions of the holidays as well as the loss of a loved one. We are grateful to offer this time together as a time of healing and hope to soothe your soul.



For any questions, please contact Sharon Weimert, Care Coordinator, using the button below.

Wesley Heritage Tour 2026

John Wesley was a man with tremendous Christian conviction and meaning. In the early 1700s, little did he realize he would start a movement that would evolve into the Methodist church. His vision would impact millions of people around the world. Pastor Harold will lead a tour from September 23 to October 1, 2026 that will trace our Wesley heritage and visit some of the key sites that influenced the early Methodist Church. If you are interested in knowing more, you can pick up a trip brochure located at “Welcome Center” in our East narthex or you can click on the link below and download the brochure.

Pastor Harold is planning an information meeting to give more details about this tour to England on Wednesday, January 14, 2026 at 9 AM in the Chapel. (If you can’t attend in person, the meeting will also be live streamed for your convenience on the New Covenant website.)

MOAMI Class of 2026

Thursdays, January 15 – March 26, 2026



MOAMI (Moving On: Always Master Inspired) is a powerful hands-on-class that uses Biblical principles to help women strengthen their relationship with God, develop supportive friendships with other women, learn strategies to successfully move through changes, discover their unique gifts, explore their purpose, and have fun with like-minded women.

The first class (January 15) is a Kickoff from 11 AM – 4 PM, and the last class (March 26) is a Celebration from 11 AM – 4 PM. All other classes are from 1 PM – 4 PM.

Registration is required ($45). If you have any questions or need assistance registering, please contact Pat Hill, Care Coordinator - Discipleship. If registration fills, you will be added to a waiting list.

Pickleball Players Needed

Sundays at 3 PM at Pimlico Rec Center

Recreational Pickleball takes place at Pimlico Rec Center. Following our fun play time, we enjoy a light dinner and good fellowship at a local fast-food restaurant. Beginners are welcome! For more information on Pickleball, please contact Roger Kassing. To see what other recreation opportunities New Covenant has, please click the Recreation button.

“Blessed to Be a Blessing” T-Shirts

What a rewarding weekend we shared during our New Covenant Blessed to Be a Blessing Service Day! It was so inspiring to see so many of you out in the community, serving and shining brightly in your orange shirts.

We’d love for our online worshippers to join in the fun too! You can purchase a “Blessed to Be a Blessing” t-shirt and help spread kindness wherever you are. Snap a photo of yourself wearing your shirt in your community and send it our way – we’d love to feature our extended New Covenant family living out this message near and far.

T-shirts are just $20 each. Let’s keep showing the world how we are truly blessed to be a blessing! To order a shirt, please contact Ashley Hill using the button below. (We are out of large shirts.) 

Please click on the link to send your photos to Ashley Hill. Thank you.

Weekly Prayer Concerns

The Prayer Quilts on the Altar are for:

Harriet, who has leukemia.

Nancy, who has multiple physical ailments.

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...

Bill Aitken, family and friends on the passing of his wife, Clare Aitken.

Altar Flowers

Flower orders must be received by noon on Tuesday for flowers to be delivered that weekend. To place an order for altar flowers online, please use the button below.