Faith Archive

People from across Navarre came together Thursday, May 22, to bless Navarre Beach for the upcoming tourist season and beyond.

The annual event, known as Blessing on the Beach, is organized by the Navarre Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and features a pastor from a church in Navarre as the main speaker. This year’s speaker was Pastor Stacy Clearman of East Bay Church.

Each Sunday, just before opening, Crabs on Pensacola Beach welcomes guests not to eat but to worship. The restaurant is home to Central Christian Church’s Pensacola Beach branch, led by pastor Jack Kale.

It isn’t everyday you have a Dove award winning, Christian musician lead your worship service.

Mike Weaver of Contemporary Christian band Big Daddy Weave performed worship music for St. Paul United Methodist Church’s Sunday service May 18, alongside other members of his family.

It wasn’t long ago that Lance Whorton was preaching from a cafeteria stage at West Navarre Primary School on Sundays. Now, he preaches the Good Word out of a small, leased space off East Bay Boulevard.

Standing at 6’7”, it’s hard to miss Akok Chan (pronounced shawn) when you see him on or off the basketball court. Originally from Sudan, he first arrived in the U.S. in 2020 on a student visa and became a scholar-ship athlete at Lighthouse Private Christian Academy, a school in Midway. He was 16 at the time.

Ahead of Mother’s Day, Ignite Church is holding a car wash to raise funds for Pregnancy Resource Center of Navarre. “Clean Cars, Safe Starts” will take place Saturday, May 10, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Ignite Church (8173 East Bay Blvd. Unit B) in Navarre. The fundraiser is being done through donations.

Easter is a time of death and renewal.

For the Catholic Church, this symbolism of Easter was especially poignant this year as Pope Francis, the Bishop of Rome, died at 88 years old Monday, April 21.

Plans have been submitted to Santa Rosa County for a new church building at 7484 Autumn Trace Blvd., near Harvest Village in Navarre. The church, Bethel Community Worship Center, has been around in its current form since 2018, meeting at Betty J. Pullum YMCA for services. The 0.674-acre Autumn Trace property has been in the church’s possession since 2020, but it is currently vacant.

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Gulf Breeze recently said goodbye to their interim pastor, Steven Simon and his wife Dottie. Simon had been serving in the pastoral role at the church since October.

Here is a list of Easter services and events this weekend in Navarre. For more specific information on each service or event, please reach out to the churches organizing them.