While many area houses of worship have reopened their doors for in-person services after being shut down due to COVID-19, a few churches are starting to experiment with outdoor worship. Lake Deaton United Methodist Church formally launched its monthly outdoor worship with services this past Sunday at 6500 Wesleyan Way in The Villages. Church senior co-pastor the Rev. Jim Divine said the service was launched after previously experimenting with it. “We did a special outdoor service back on Oct. 4 to commemorate World Communion Sunday,” he said. “Congregants loved it so much that they asked us if we could keep it going. We decided to continue outdoor worship on the first Sunday of the month.” Lake Deaton UMC has set up an area on the east side of the church to place a stage platform. Congregants have the option of watching the services from the comforts of their cars, golf carts or lawn chairs. The church also has an FM transmitter for people to listen on their car radios, as well as an amplifier for those in carts or chairs. Worship also continues to be available online on Lake Deaton UMC’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
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