The idea of assembling a faith community full of misfits began in 2011, when First United Methodist’s senior pastor Owen Stricklin began to realize the decline of attendance in the younger generations. Ben Collins (pictured below right), adjunct religious studies professor and associate pastor of First United Methodist, had already begun to collaborate with Clark Orr, Louise Rigdon, Renee McCullough and Mike Furlong, and established what would become to be known as “Collective.”

The ultimate beginning to Collective was when Owen Stricklin and Ben Collins brought their visions together, and with the support of First United Methodist, Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church and group members, they were able to acquire and renovate a building at 111 S. Alabama Ave. Finally, Collective began their weekly services there in February 2013. Previously, they had been hosting Sunday night services at other DeLand night spots, including Café DaVinci, and the former DeLand Artisan Inn and Bonkerz Comedy Club, to name a few.

What is Collective? “Collective strives to welcome individuals from diverse traditions, backgrounds, or beliefs,” said Collins. “The purpose is to provide a place for those who don’t feel like they belong in traditional organized religion—“misfits.”

Pastor Ben Collins said, “Collective welcomes all guests to come as they are.” The service is every Sunday at 5 p.m. at 111 S. Alabama Ave.

Collective has a house band, pictured above left, that performs nontraditional service music, silent meditation, readings, videos and conversation to challenge and inspire.

“I like that it’s a group of people who are very open-minded and not opinionated about the way someone looks, their level of theological background, what beliefs they have,” said Robbie Carelli (pictured with guitar, above far left), Stetson alumnus and weekly worship performer, as well as brewer and co-owner of DeLand’s new Persimmon Hollow Brewing Co. ”It’s a space for everyone to feel welcome. I get to be a part of the service as a musician and also sit in and listen to the messages and ideas. It’s an environment with a lot of opinions and people and I like being able to grow with that,” he said.

In addition to the community being involved in Collective, a dozen Stetson students, alumni, and even faculty attend. Collective gives Stetson students an opportunity to explore their spirituality without pressure to conform to organized traditions.

“It doesn’t feel like a church in the traditional sense,” said Sebastian Jones, Stetson sophomore. “You come closer to God in a way that feels natural. I haven’t felt comfortable attending church in a very long time, but that all changed when I was invited to Collective.”

“Collective is an inviting community and family that really support each other and is working hard to develop and further their positive impact on DeLand,” said Stetson student Katie Holmes. “I also love the perspectives and interactive services, not to mention the house band is beast!”

The worship band at Collective is made up entirely of Stetson alumni, students, and the director of academic success Stacy Collins, who is also a double Hatter alumna. Other Stetson faculty who have led services are Peter Begalla, adjunct professor of Family Enterprise Center, Lindsey Graves, assistant director of Interfaith Initiatives, Mayhill Fowler, Ph.D., assistant professor of History, and Kandy Queen-Sutherland, Ph.D., professor of religious studies.

There are also four current Stetson interns: Deana Carr, Elizabeth Fuller, Chad Granier, and Jason Terry.

“I’ve known Ben Collins since his student days at Stetson,” Queen-Sutherland explained. “Among many attractive characteristics, Ben’s openness to people from all walks of life stands out as particularly appealing. This is the draw of Collective, a place where people from various faith traditions, or none, feel welcome. Over the years Ben and I have shared numerous conversations about worship and the work of the church. He understands worship as a verb and the work of the church, both inward—the caring and nurturing of all those seeking to lead faithful lives, and outward—active engagement in naming and addressing the pain of those struggling among us in our larger community.”

Jason Terry is vice president of Kaleidoscope, Stetson’s LGBTQ+ organization, which has recently established a partnership with Collective in creating “Collective Cares,” an LGBTQ+ Safe Zone and Ally Community. Collective Cares is a new community center that will be launched officially in the fall.

“We’re hoping to create a community base, where people in the LGBTQ+ community, their family, friends and allies can find safe space and find their voice. We currently open two days per week for two hours at a time. The space (at Collective) is open just to stop in, grab coffee, talk or not, with our safe zone and ally-trained volunteers. We also offer discussion groups on Saturdays and processing groups on Thursdays for those looking for more engagement. We’ll be rolling out a resource center and hope to create a mentoring program in the first year of opening,” Collins explained.

To learn more about Collective, check out the Facebook page.

By Grace Aguda