The replay of today’s Church Council update meeting is available to watch below.
Slides from the meeting:
Church Leadership
The replay of today’s Church Council update meeting is available to watch below.
Slides from the meeting:
Asbury’s Church Council has announced that in-person worship will resume on a weekly basis beginning on Sunday, February 21, 2021, with one service being held at 9 AM in the Sanctuary. Registration is required and space is limited to allow for proper social distancing. Learn more at asburylv.org/inpersonworship.
Volunteers are needed! Contact Laurie Wallace Theisen, Director of Lay Ministries, if you’re willing to help!
Streaming-only worship will continue to be offered at 10:30 AM.
Church Council will be hosting a meeting via Zoom on Sunday, February 7, following the 10:30 AM streaming worship service to share updates on Asbury.
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
Please visit
asburylv.org/ChurchCouncilUpdate
to register now. Following registration, you’ll receive an email with information on how to join the webinar.
Church Council is announcing an extension to the suspension of in-person worship services based upon the elevated level of cases of COVID-19 in Lehigh County. The decision included consultation with leadership at Lehigh Valley Health Network. Church Council will continue to evaluate this decision on a two-week basis.
A letter from Asbury’s Board of Trustees regarding the 2018-2020 Capital Campaign
To the Asbury Community,
The Asbury Board of Trustees would like to formally announce that the Capital Campaign projects have all been successfully completed. The last piece, the roof above the original part of the church, was completed just a few weeks ago. On behalf of all church leadership, Trustees would like to again thank everyone who faithfully contributed to this campaign. Not only did we, as a church, raise the necessary funds to take care of the roof, the Memorial Garden retaining wall, the Sanctuary wall, and several HVAC issues, but we are happy to say that these projects have also come in just under budget.
As we celebrate the completion of these projects, we’re also looking forward to celebrating the 100th birthday of Asbury Church this October! While the Church gathered in various places in Allentown for the first 55 years, we’ve called our current facility home for 45 years. With any facility the age and size of our Springhouse Road building, Asbury continues to have ongoing facility needs. To address these needs, a Capital Improvements Fund was established last year. This fund gives the Trustees some reserve funding to be able to tackle any emergency repairs without having to dig further into the annual church budget or into the church’s banking accounts. Accordingly, we respectfully ask that you consider contributing to this fund as you are able. This will help ensure the maintenance and upkeep of the church building for many more years to come.
Again, our sincere thanks for all that you do in support of Asbury and its ministries. We certainly cannot do what we do without you.
Asbury’s Board of Trustees
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!…
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.”
– Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)
The words of the ancient prophet echo to us in these challenging days, as the whole world waited in darkness for the birth of our Savior. Today, more than ever, we cling to the promise that God has, is, and will do a “new thing” as Jesus comes onto the scene. Though we may be feeling broken and weary of the pandemic, we continue to trust that God is at work bringing peace, light, and hope!
As we hang on to that amazing hope, we communicate the following difficult decisions, which were made after much deliberation at the December 2 Church Council meeting:
• All in-person worship services are suspended effective December 6 and continuing through January 31. This suspension includes in-person Christmas Eve worship.
• Asbury’s preschool will begin an early Christmas break on December 18.
• The building will still be available for streaming worship preparation and recording. The online-only service will continue to be streamed at 10:30 AM.
• The scheduled final Bazaar pickup on December 12 remains on as planned.
• Our commitment to provide a meeting spot for Alcoholics Anonymous remains, and they will continue to meet on-site with additional precautions.
These decisions were not made lightly and included consultation with a leader in a local healthcare system. Additionally, our Bishop, Rev. Peggy Johnson, has encouraged all churches in the Conference to hold online services rather than in-person services.
Please be encouraged that these are temporary measures, taken for everyone’s safety and physical well-being. During this suspension period, Church Council has committed to regularly review the COVID-19 infection trends and will reevaluate when to safely resume in-person worship.
We still have some great events coming up as we prepare to celebrate the coming of our Savior and King! Watch for more information to be announced about:
• A no-contact outdoor “Drive-thru Nativity” being planned for Saturday, December 19.
• A streaming Christmas Eve service, which will be announced this Sunday in worship and in communications to follow.
The Asbury leadership asks for your continued prayers for wisdom and for suggestions for how we can continue to stay connected and support one another through this difficult time. We are all looking forward with great hope to the time when we can gather in person again.
Dear Asbury Friends,
If you are gathering with family and friends OR traveling to visit family and friends over the Thanksgiving holiday, church leadership is requesting that you please refrain from attending in-person worship services for two weeks (14 days). In light of the increased COVID-19 infection rates locally and around the country, the church leadership recently met to consider how to move forward. At this time, we would like to continue to offer in-person worship services, but we are depending on our members to cooperate strictly with instructions and protocols to prevent infection. To that end, in keeping with recent PA state recommendations, we are asking that anyone traveling or visiting with family or friends outside of their immediate household, would refrain from attending in-person worship for two weeks. Also, please listen carefully and comply with the ushers’ instructions while at the service. Your safety and well-being is our top priority, and together we hope to be able to continue with our in-person worship experience. If you have any concerns for your health and safety, please consider worshiping with us online from home. Leadership will continue to monitor the risks the in-person gatherings pose in our effort to keep all our members safe and well.
Asbury’s Leadership
As part of his journey to becoming an Eagle Scout, Asbury member Matt Barraco has completed a bridge between the parking lot and playground.
View the letter of thanks from Asbury’s Trustees to Matt.
Asbury’s Church Council held a webinar on Sunday, August 30, to share updates on Asbury, including information on an in-person worship service beginning on Sunday, September 13 (registration details TBA), preschool reopening, and direction for small groups going into the fall. The replay of this webinar can be viewed below; and a link to the slide presentation as a PDF follows.
A project is underway to replace the bridge connecting the parking lot to the playground. Matt Barraco, an Asbury member, will be completing the project as he works towards the rank of Eagle Scout. If you would like to learn more about the project, including how you can provide financial support, view Matt’s video at asburylv.org/footbridge. For specific project details, the project plan is available at asburylv.org/footbridgeplan.
Church Council will be hosting a meeting via Zoom on Sunday, August 30 following the 10 AM streaming worship service to share updates on Asbury.
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
Please visit
asburylv.org/ChurchCouncilUpdate
to register now. Following registration, you’ll receive an email with information on how to join the webinar.
A note from Pastor Eric
As many of you know, Stephanie Cramer accepted a position as co-pastor, along with her husband, at Grace-St. Paul United Methodist Church in Jim Thorpe, PA. Therefore, Stephanie resigned her position as part-time Director of Youth Ministry at Asbury. I hope you join me in praying for Stephanie and her family during this transition.
Although we will miss Stephanie’s leadership with our youth, I am excited to announce that Pam Unrath will now take on a new role as the Director of Children/Youth ministry at Asbury. Pam has done a tremendous job in leading Asbury’s children’s ministry over the past 7 years and she is excited for this new opportunity to lead Asbury’s youth as well.
Since Pam will be the director of both children and youth ministry she will need more volunteers to work with our youth and children. In the coming weeks, Pam and Pastor Barbara will be evaluating both the youth and children’s programs and determining where help will be needed. If you are the parent of Asbury youth, please pray where you could assist.
Asbury’s Church Council held a webinar on Sunday, June 7, to share updates on Asbury, including the steps Asbury will take as Lehigh County moves into the “yellow” phase of reopening. The replay of this webinar can be viewed below; and a link to the slide presentation as a PDF follows.
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Church Council will be hosting a meeting via Zoom on Sunday, June 7, at 11:30 AM to share updates on Asbury. Registration for this meeting is REQUIRED. Register below to receive meeting access details via email.
UPDATED June 7, 2020 – Registration for this event is now closed.
Stephanie Cramer, Asbury’s part time youth director, has been appointed co-pastor of Grace-St. Paul United Methodist Church in Jim Thorpe, PA. Stephanie will be pastoring the church with her husband. Although it was only for a short time, Asbury’s youth have been blessed by Stephanie’s ministry. Stephanie will be leaving May 31st after she completes teaching the confirmation class. Pastor Eric will be setting up a video conference meeting with all parents of Asbury youth next week to discuss how we will move forward with youth ministries. Please look for further details about the meeting. Please keep Stephanie and her family in your prayers during this transition.
In the midst of a challenging time, we still have much to celebrate! Thanks to your amazing generosity, we have reached our goal for the Capital Campaign of $350,000! Praise God!! Thank you to all who supported this important initiative; and continue to watch for updates on project progress in the coming months.
View past updates at asburylv.org/capitalcampaign
At a special Charge Conference held on Friday, April 10, Asbury’s Church Council voted to approve a motion to apply for a loan via the CARES Act. If secured, this loan will provide payroll protection for Asbury’s over the coming months.
We’ve made great progress in the Capital Campaign. In fact, we’re nearing the goal! But we still need your help!
Here’s where the 4 projects of the Capital Campaign stand:
Sanctuary Wall: COMPLETE!
The Sanctuary wall was completed along with the pressure washing and sealing of the entire exterior of the building.
Cost: $51,000.
Memorial Garden Retaining Wall: Bid approved!
The Trustees have approved a bid for the retaining wall by the Memorial Garden. We hope that work will begin shortly given the light winter that we had.
Estimated cost: $23,000.
Roof Replacement: Bidding in progress; target of spring replacement
Invitations were sent out to 8 prospective bidders, and we received 4 bids. The Trustees have that information and will be meeting shortly with the bid review committee. The projected timing for replacement is spring.
Cost: TBD
HVAC Replacements: In progress
We’ve replaced nine units in various rooms/ offices as well as the entire HVAC system for the Wesley Center addition hallways.
Cost as part of the Capital Campaign: $40,000.
Here’s where we need your help: as of today, the in-hand amount is just $27,022.67 short of the goal of $350,000 for this campaign. We’re so grateful for all of your generosity and are again asking you to prayerfully consider a contribution to this campaign to help it reach completion!
You can help Asbury change lives! Digital (Electronic) giving makes giving meaningful, simple, and fast! With giving to the Church with PushPay you can choose the frequency, just one time or recurring. Recurring giving can happen every week, every 2 weeks, monthly, or bi-monthly. WIth PushPay you are in control! Contact the church office or visit www.pushpay,com for more information!
Numbers through the end of 2019 are compiled and the total amount received is now $318,372.33; leaving $31,627.67 to reach the goal of $350,000.
