Asbury’s Health Ministry Team will meet from 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM on Sunday, March 9 in Room 231.
All who have an interest in the health of the church community are invited to attend.
The mission of the Health Ministry Team is to integrate health and faith through encouragement of individuals to live healthier lives in mind, body and spirit. Visit the Health Ministry Team page to learn more about the team and their impact.
UPDATE: Thanks to your generosity, 3,917 diapers were donated to Everlasting Life Ministries!
Help our downtown Allentown neighbors who are down-on-their-luck by donating to a March collection of baby diapers (any size) & wipes. These supplies will be distributed by Everlasting Life Ministries. Donations can be left in the marked bins at Asbury.
Registration is open now for a 6-week study during the Lenten season, exploring six of the most important themes in Jesus’s teachings, why they matter, and how they speak to us today. Learn more and register now: asburylv.org/TheMessageOfJesus.
Information on Today’s Worship Services
Due to the winter weather, the following changes are being made to today’s schedule:
The in-person 9:30 AM service has been canceled. If you’d like to worship at that time, please join us for a special online streaming service, with a message Pastor Eric gave on the difference between being a fan of Jesus and being a follower of Jesus. This service will be streamed at live.asburylv.org.
The 11 AM service is on as scheduled. Join us as Pastor Rick begins a new sermon series, “Hospitality.” If you prefer not to join us in person, this service will be streamed live at live.asburylv.org.
Children’s and Youth Sunday School classes have been canceled
Join us for a solemn day of the remembrance that “[we] are dust, and to dust [we] shall return” (Genesis 3:19, NRSV).
Worship services are being held at 12 PM and 7 PM in the Sanctuary, both including an imposition of ashes. Please note: the 7 PM service will be streamed live at live.asburylv.org. The 12 PM service WILL NOT be streamed.
Asbury’s Health Ministry Team works to help educate Asbury’s congregation on all things connected to health. Read their recent article on Income Inequality and Health; and visit the Health Ministry Team page to learn more about the team and their impact.
The final gift from Asbury’s 2024 Christmas Eve offering to the work of translating the Old Testament into the Awa Pit language was $16,993. Thank you for your generosity and for supporting the missionary work of Kevin and Kathy Bruce in Ecuador through this offering!
ABOUT THE CHRISTMAS EVE OFFERING AT ASBURY CHURCH
Each year, Asbury Church donates the offering collected on Christmas Eve to a mission partner. The following is a list of recent recipients:
2023: Mobility Worldwide ($16,426)
2022: Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania ($23,543.11)
2021: Afghan Refugees (Split between UMCOR and Bethany Christian Services) ($19,187)
2020: Salem Food Pantry (over $17,000)
2019: Healthy Women, Healthy Liberia (Dr. Chris Hena) (50% of the offering, $5,301)
2018: Youth P.E.A.C.E. Ministries (50% of the offering, $6,151)
2017: Through These Hands (60% of the offering, $6,867.00)
Asbury’s Health Ministry Team is planning a blood drive and needs your commitment to giving! If you’re willing to give blood through a blood drive at Asbury via the Miller-Keystone Blood Center, please complete the form below. Please submit individual entries for each person in your family who plans to give. You’ll be contacted when the event is scheduled.
The mission of the Health Ministry Team is to integrate health and faith through encouragement of individuals to live healthier lives in mind, body and spirit. Visit the Health Ministry Team page to learn more about the team and their impact.
Educators, this small group is for you! “Grace Changes Everything” is a seven-week Bible study written by Bonnie Kathryn Hunter and Bethany Fleming. This Bible study will be facilitated by Jeff Dutt and will “help educators grow in knowledge of God’s grace for them and understand how to apply His sufficient grace in their classrooms.”
Sessions will be held on Zoom on Thursdays beginnings on February 20 at 6 PM.
Learn more and register now: asburylv.org/GraceChangesEverything
The life-changing ministries at Asbury only happen because of your generous financial support. If you intend to continue to be a part of impacting the Lehigh Valley and the world through the mission and ministry of Asbury via your monetary giving, we want to encourage you to complete a financial pledge card for 2025 to help Asbury’s Finance Committee as they create the church budget. You can complete the card virtually at asburylv.org/PledgeCard.
Looking for a way to help those affected by the destructive wildfires in California? The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is a great resource to turn your donations into action. Read an article from UM News on how United Methodists in California have been affected; and visit asburylv.org/UMCOR to donate now and learn more about UMCOR (link redirects to UMCOR’s webpage on the UMC Global Missions site).
The period for 2025-2026 scholarships through Asbury Church is beginning! Review the options below and watch for additional scholarships to be announced.
The UWIF CLARA D. KOCH STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP is available to members of Asbury UMC, Casa del Rey UMC and St. James A.M.E. Zion. To qualify the applicant must demonstrate: scholastic achievement with at least 2.0 grade point average and motivation for continued education; leadership, good citizenship and Christian service; be an active member of his/her named church and display a definite financial need.
Applications are available below:
The completed applications are due no later than Tuesday, April 15, 2025 for the 2025/2026 academic year.
Please return completed applications to Linda McCreight (uwifscholarship@asburylv.org) or by a physical mailing to the church.
THE HARRY & MOLLIE DILCHER TRUST provides grants for deserving Asbury Church college and university students. The Center for Scholarship Administration (CSA), a non-profit, independent organization is the Facilitator of the scholarship fund. Applications will be accepted starting on January 23, 2025 and ending on March 20, 2025. Scholarship candidates will apply online at www.csascholars.org/dilcher. Additional Resources: More Information | FAQ
INTERNATIONAL STUDIES SCHOLARSHIP: The objective of this $3,000 scholarship is to provide opportunities for students to study internationally and to develop an appreciation for other cultures and other countries. The scholarship is available for juniors, seniors, or graduate students who will be studying outside of the United States for a full semester. Specific requirements// Applications (hard copies available in the Church office). Application deadline: December 31.
Want to learn more about the church? At Asbury, we have a session called Adult Inquirers which gives people the opportunity to spend time with the staff, learn more about the church, our ministries, and possibly join the church (you’re also welcome to take the class for informational purposes without becoming a full member).
The next session is being offered on Saturday, February 22, from 9 AM – 11:30 AM in the Aldersgate Room (on the lower level of the church near the Church Office).
Learn more about Adult Inquirers, register for the next session, and contact Laurie Wallace Theisen, Director of Lay Ministries at asburylv.org/adultinquirers.
Asbury’s Health Ministry Team works to help educate Asbury’s congregation on all things connected to health. Read their recent article on Chronic Kidney Disease; and visit the Health Ministry Team page to learn more about the team and their impact.
If you’re grieving the loss of a loved one, we invite you to join Asbury’s Grief Support Group. Pastor Evelyn Stupp, Asbury’s Pastor of Bereavement and Care Ministries is a certified grief counselor and leads the group.
Meetings are held monthly on Tuesdays at 1 PM in the Parlor. Email Pastor Evelyn (estupp@asburylv.org) or contact her in the church office (610-398-2577) with any questions.
Upcoming Session Dates:
The Men’s Group will tour the LCTI Logistics Training Facility on Wednesday, January 15. The group will meet at the Asbury rear parking lot at 8:30 AM and carpool to the LCTI offices for check in. The facility handles basic school supplies for school districts in Lehigh and Carbon counties. The group will observe students learning skills in the warehouse and supply chain industry. Tour should last about one hour. If school is delayed or cancelled due to the weather, the tour will be postponed to another date.
Click to contact the group and get connected!Group contact: David Torrey
Join us this Christmas Eve as we celebrate the seemingly random elements that God used to usher in a new hope: the birth of a Savior!
We’ll be celebrating with services in the Sanctuary at 1 PM (Contemporary), 3 PM (Children’s and Youth), 7 PM (Traditional), and 9 PM (Traditional). The 1 PM, 7 PM, and 9 PM services will be streamed live at live.asburylv.org.
Visit asburylv.org/ChristmasEve to learn more about the services and message.
THANK YOU!
Gifts were delivered on Monday, December 16 to a very grateful staff at Ramos, who will facilitate distribution to families. Thank you for your generosity!
Over 90% of families of attendees of Ramos Elementary School live below the poverty level; and teachers and counselors at Ramos have identified a few families in especially great need. Each Christmas, Asbury helps to spread Christmas cheer by supporting these families by helping to purchase gifts identified by the families with assistance from the counselor at Ramos.
Priscilla Circle will meet on Tuesday, December 10, at 7 PM in Room 217
Cyndi Frank will lead discussion on the book The Journey/Walking the Road to Bethlehem by Adam Hamilton.
Following the lesson, there will be a time of fellowship with Christmas cookies and light snacks. Members may bring a snack to share.
All women are welcome. For more information, contact Judy Whitby or Brenda Baxter.
Complete this form to contact group leaders Judy Whitby and Brenda Baxter to receive more information.————————–
Upcoming 2024-2025 Priscilla Circle Meeting Dates: January 14, February 11, March 11, April 8, May 13, June 10
Sunday, December 15, at 4 PM in the Sanctuary
The Jubilation Ringers of Asbury United Methodist Church are pleased to present their annual Christmas concert: Christmas “Bronze and Brass.” Their guest artist this year is Ken Brader’s Holiday Brass Quartet—a trumpet quartet founded by the late, legendary trumpeter, Ken Brader.
Director Jackie Grove says “we will be pulling out all the stops in celebration of this joyful season: several selections will combine the bronze (bells), the brass (trumpets), the organ, and your congregational voices. Expect the rafters to be raised!! We look forward to seeing you at what promises to be a triumphant festival of Christmas joy!”
No tickets required. A free-will offering will be taken to defray expenses.
About the Jubilation Ringers
The Jubilation Ringers make music on one of the world’s largest church-owned collection of bells and related instruments: seven full octaves of English handbells, two octaves of Silver Melody Bells, three octaves of Dutch handbells, and six octaves of handchimes. That is 220 instruments in all!
In addition to worship services and annual Christmas concerts at Asbury, the Jubilation Ringers have offered music at other church services, handbell festivals, weddings, and formal concert engagements both in the Lehigh Valley and out of state.
