Larry and I moved to Allentown as newlyweds in 1971. We asked Mrs. Mucklow (Dave’s mother), one of the teachers we worked with, about any Methodist churches in the area. She told us about her church, Asbury Methodist in downtown Allentown.
The first Sunday we attended that huge church, someone stopped us on the way out and asked if we were new visitors and then introduced us to Pastor and Mrs. Carver, who invited us to their house for dinner! We attended Asbury whenever we were in town (we went back home a lot in those days).
On a beautiful fall day in 1972 we watched from our apartment, the smoke and flames as Asbury Church burned. One thing I remember from that time is the emphasis that the building burned, but the church was still alive. The other thing I remember is the effort that Pastor and Mrs. Carver put forth to keep young adults active during the transition period. We are still friends with people we met through those efforts.
Once we moved into the new building, Associate Pastor, Barry Wolfe and Director of Christian Education (DCE) Cheryl Barnes, put an emphasis on small groups. Larry and I both joined a group – Larry joined an early morning men’s group and I joined a multi- generational women’s group. These groups helped both of us grow in our faith and become active participants in the life of Asbury.
Our lives have been blessed by our participation at Asbury and by the friends we made at Asbury. We are so grateful for the pastors and staff that have been part of our Asbury journey.
– Margie and Larry Kelly