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The Story Of Moses Is Told In Musical 'Are We There Yet?'

Photo by JACKIE PETTIS

Julia Darnell, playing the Golden Calf, is surrounded by the 40 young actors and singers at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church during the musical “Are We There Yet?”

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By BARBARA ROUTEN

Tribune correspondent

Published: January 28, 2009

BRANDON - About 40 students from kindergarten through sixth grade recently performed "Are We There Yet?" at St. Andrew's United Methodist Church. The musical, directed by the church office manager, Jackie Pettis, told the story of Moses leading the children of Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land.

"There was never a dull moment," said audience member and media coordinator Barbara Kemp. "The audience laughed and received a unique picture of this Bible favorite as they watched the children perform."

The church has had a children's musical ministry sharing Bible stories with audiences of all ages for more than 15 years. For information about this and other programs at St. Andrew's, contact the church at (813) 689-6849 or go to www.standrews brandon.org.

Area Women Invited to Lunch

The Brandon Christian Women's Connection invites all women to have fun and make new friends at the group's monthly luncheons and programs. The next luncheon will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 9 at Bell Shoals Baptist Church, 2102 Bell Shoals Road.

The inspirational speaker will be Ann Combs of Ocoee, Fla., and Becky Carey of Lithia will sing.

Carey's polished, edgy, pop sound and lyrics made her a top-five finalist for a 2008 Momentum Award for Contemporary Artist of the Year from the Christian Independent Alliance. Her songs have been created in the crucible of life.

"Many nights, in the midst of heart-breaking despair, I cried out to God to heal and change the hurtful and stressful situations in my life, but things kept getting worse," Carey says in her online bio. "After coming to the end of myself, emotionally exhausted and out of ideas, God showed me that I was carrying burdens that were His, not mine, to carry and to solve."

The cost of the luncheon is $12. Free child care will be available for kids age 5 and younger with advance reservations.

To reserve space at the luncheon, call Bobbi Gardner at (813) 657-8632, or e-mail her at Barbara_gardner4@ yahoo.com. For a preview of Carey's music, visit www.beckycarey.com.

Musical By Youth Wins Awards

TAMPA - The musical "How to Eat Like a Child," directed by senior Elaina DiMonaco of Brandon and performed by Troupe 5742 of Blake Magnet School of the Arts, won Best Play and three acting awards at the annual Florida State Thespians District 9 One-Act Festival, held the weekend of Jan. 15 at the University of South Florida.

It also was one of four plays selected from 19 entries to go to the Florida Thespians State Festival 2009. The other productions that will go on to the state festival are Riverview High School's "Mother Hicks," Alonso High School's "Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know" and Wharton High School's "Cyrk!"

District judges select the four best plays, and all four go to state, said Glenn (Jordy) Hines, musical theatre director at Blake.

When asked why the student-directed show earned one of the Best Play awards, Hines said, "The show was very well directed by Elaina. She had a solid vision of what she wanted, and she stuck to that. She kept it simple. ... She also has great leadership qualities. She wasn't afraid to take charge of her peers, and they seem to really respect her as a director. And, of course, she had great talent to work with. The entire cast is solid."

Three other awards were garnered by Blake actors. Luis Herrera of Riverview received the All-Star Cast award. Amanda Buck of Carrollwood was selected Best Supporting Actress, and C.J. Celeiro of Brandon won Best Supporting Actor.

Dance The Night Away!

RIVERVIEW - A free dance lesson will be offered by Bernice and Art May from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. Friday at the Summerfield Community Center, 13011 Summerfield Blvd. It will be followed by a $4-per-person Night of Dancing until 9 p.m.

For details, call Chelsea Greene, Summerfield's program administrator, at (813) 671-4568 or the Mays at (813) 634-3205.

Award Recipient's Life A Good Example

ST. PETERSBURG - Bishop Robert N. Lynch of the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg recently presented several area residents the St. Jude the Apostle Medal for their exceptional, long-term assistance at their home parishes.

They are Carmen Connors of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Seffner; Sylvia Caballero of Nativity Catholic Church in Brandon; Philip Winn of Resurrection Catholic Church in Riverview; Orasio Ramon of St. Anne Roman Catholic Church in Ruskin; John Cortese of Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Sun City Center and John and Rita Joyce of St. Stephen Catholic Church in Valrico.

The Joyces moved to Riverview in 1993. John and Rita, married 33 years, played Santa and Mrs. Claus for children and shut-ins at Christmastime. John was a fourth-degree knight and color guard officer of the Knights of Columbus, distributed Holy Communion as a Eucharistic minister and directed traffic at the church's Spring Jubilee. In 2003, he became special events coordinator for the parish.

Less than two months after the award presentation in November, on Jan. 1, John Joyce passed away.

The Rev. William Swengros, pastor of St. Stephen, said Joyce always did whatever needed to be done at the parish. "He was a man on a mission," Swengros said.

Joyce's previous pastor, Msgr. Patrick Irwin, now pastor of St. Cecelia Catholic Church in Clearwater, said he was a greater giver than receiver who "taught us all a lot."

Rescue These Homeless Beagles

SEFFNER - Tampa Bay Beagle Rescue, a volunteer, foster-based, nonprofit organization that rescues, rehabilitates and finds homes for surrendered or abused beagles, will bring 10 to 20 pre-screened dogs to an adoption event from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Mango Dog Park, 11717 Clay Pit Road.

The public is invited. This is an opportunity to talk with the beagles' foster families, compare the dogs off leash and choose one based on age, looks, behavior and personality.

Owners of other beagles also are welcome to come with their dogs to play for the morning.

People may take home a pup only if they fill out an application ahead of time at www.tampabaybeaglerescue .org. Photos, descriptions and comments about the dogs written by their foster families also are online.

The cost of adoption ranges from $100 to $400, based on the beagle's age.

Nearly all of the members of the rescue organization are beagle owners and know something about the temperaments of beagles, which "allows us to better match a particular dog with a particular family and provide the new family with guidance on behavior issues that may arise after the beagle has been adopted ... regardless of how long ago they adopted their beagle," said Jack Novoselski, president of Tampa Bay Beagle Rescue.

When asked why he got involved with the group, which expects to place its 1,000th beagle in 2009, Novoselski said, "When these beagles are in jeopardy, usually through no fault of their own, they are not able to phone for help, report their abuse to animal control or get on a bus and leave town. These animals need someone to help them, and I believe that God has given me the skills and resources to save these beagles and blessed me by allowing me to do so.

"When I go to a shelter, where they are forced to kill animals every day to attempt to control dog and cat overpopulation, I may find one or more sick, filthy, undernourished and terrified beagles who would be among those killed if we did not agree to rescue it. When I get them to my SUV I give each one a hug and kiss and assure them that no one will ever hurt them again."

He bathes the dogs, cleans their ears, clips their nails and takes them to the veterinarian for tests and vaccines. When the dogs are then adopted into loving families, he said, "I am simply overwhelmed with the satisfaction of knowing that I had a direct hand in saving that particular dog's life."

Nancy Williams of Valrico is fostering Thunder, a 6-year-old male whose Clay County, Fla., owner lost his home. Bob Po-Chedley of Riverview is fostering Tuli, a 3-year-old beagle mix also from Clay County.

Christine Lacasse of Valrico is fostering Valerie, a 5-year-old female that was abandoned in Tuscaloosa, Ala., after giving birth to a litter of puppies. Jill Poor of Brandon is fostering Frances, a lost 21/2-year-old female from Jacksonville whose owner was never located.

For information, write to info@tampabaybeagle rescue.org.

Send news and photos of community interest to Barbara Routen at The Tampa Tribune, 505 W. Robertson St., Brandon FL 33511, e-mail neighbors@tampa bay.rr.com or call (813) 657-4531

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