A Unique Community for Artists
Dan and Helen DeBevoise
Vital Stats
Basics: D.Min.’87 for Helen,
D.Min.’86 and Th.M.’87 for
Dan.
Children are Hannah, graduate of Stetson University; Donald, high school graduate; and
John Daniel, high school junior.
Path: Co-pastors for five years
in Lynchburg, VA, then 19
years so far at Park Lake. Very
involved in leadership in the
presbytery.
Helen (D.Min. ’87) and Dan (D.Min./Th.M.’86) DeBevoise have been working together at Park Lake Presbyterian Church in Orlando, Florida, for nineteen
years. In 2003, the church bought the motel next door, mostly in order to use its
parking lot. As Helen journaled about creativity in worship and how to use the
property, she hit on the idea of using the motel rooms as artists’ studios. Now, the
church has partnered with Orlando’s arts community to hold monthly events, including liturgical dance, drumming, and a jazz trio. These “concept events” help
introduce people to the space, called the Faith Arts Village, and “get that energy
going,” Helen said. Artists will soon begin using the rooms regularly, and the ultimate vision includes using the motel’s restaurant space as a café where artists can
have shows or demonstrations, putting a labyrinth outside for meditation and inspiration, and turning the filled-in swimming pool into a village green.
The Faith Arts Village has blossomed into “something of a new church development,” Helen said. “It’s starting to attract really non-connected people,” including some homeless folks, people who have been hurt by the church, and those who
are spiritual but have not been part of a faith community. As one of many arts
communities in Orlando but the only one with a spiritual element, the Faith Arts
Village attracts those who “seem to have a genuine interest in finding a way to
express their faith in the community,” said Dan.
“The assumption is not that everybody’s coming to do Bible study,” Helen
said. Instead, “something is tugging at them, nagging at them,” and the church
wants to make a space for them to explore it. That effort is “bringing a lot of energy into the congregation,” Dan said, and the church is excited to be “reaching
out to the community in an authentic way.”
Links: Church: http://plpc.org
Faith Arts Village: http://faithartsvillage.com
Orlando Sentinel article on FAVO: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-0420/news/os-ucf-faith-arts-village-20120417_1_motel-office-orlando-motel-motelbuilding
Fun facts: Helen enjoys long
walks and quilting. Dan loves
being outside, working in the
yard, jogging slowly and listening to HBR and Homebrewed
Christianity podcasts. Both are
avid readers.
Book recommendations: The
Pastor: A spirituality by
Gordon Lathrop; March by
Geraldine Brooks; Feasting On
the Word commentaries.
Pre-church ritual: “Trying not
to get in an argument on the
way to church. Trying to remember who’s doing what.
Hoping we didn’t forget anything.”
The Union effect: First of all,
they met at Union, so that’s a
big one. The DeBevoises were
shaped by Union’s emphasis on
preparing to serve the church
“as the place where God’s people are just trying to live and
grow every day,” Dan said. It
also gave them the chance to
spend time in local churches,
which made them very aware of
the body of Christ and the connection between all ministries.