Church Council
Asbury’s leadership held a webinar on Sunday, March 7, to share information on the upcoming merger with Salem UMC (Allentown). The replay of this webinar can be viewed below; and a link to the slide presentation as a PDF follows.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
We’ve rolled the $50K Challenge into the overall Capital Campaign report, which means that the Capital Campaign as is now at nearly 86% of the goal ($299,875 of $350,000). Thanks for your continued generosity! Visit asburylv.org/capitalcampaign for more information on the campaign.
An opportunity has come for Asbury to purchase a lift that would assist with maintenance duties around the church. Currently the custodial staff needs to erect scaffolding to service lights and some equipment in the Sanctuary and Wesley Center. The parking lot lights have to be serviced by a contractor because of our inability to reach the light standards with the equipment we have on-hand. The purchase of this lift will allow these tasks to happen more quickly and safely by in-house staff. The Finance Committee is looking for an Asbury “angel” who would be willing to fund the purchase of this lift. The cost of the lift is $6,000. If desired, the person or group who funds this purchase will have a small plaque attached to the lift to commemorate their generosity. Please direct all questions to Israel Olivieri, Asbury’s Business Manger, at iolivieri@asburylv.org.
The following is a letter from Tim Lebrecht, Chair of Asbury’s Church Council:
Several weeks ago we had a Congregational Chat to get feedback on the facility closure and door locking policy that was started in September. I thank everyone for sharing their thoughts and stories – both positive and negative. The door locking and facility closing time were rolled out as part of the safety and security process within the church. The feedback was clear that we had enhanced security, but at times was at the expense of accessibility of the facility. To better address the balance of security, accessibility, and hospitality, a joint meeting of the Trustees, Church Council and the Spiritual Focus Team (a new group focused on the health of small groups within the church) was held.
I am glad to report that we have come to a compromise and believe this will better allow us to further the mission of the church while maintaining the safety and security of those using our facility. Effective January 1, 2020, we are making the following changes:
· The building closing time will be 9 PM, moved back a half-hour from the prior 8:30 PM. A request is made that all groups attempt to be finished by 9 PM.
· For groups with Asbury members that have a need to stay past the 9 PM closing time, we have created a way to allow that exception: those groups can identify key people within their groups to be trained on how to close the area of the building their group is using. These people will be trained on the closing procedure, which is currently being drafted by a joint team of the group that met on November 26 and will be administrated by Asbury’s Business Manager.
· Doors will remain unlocked until 8:30 PM. Upon the locking of the doors, the custodians will start the facility closure procedure.
· The lights in the parking lot are on a timer and will remain lit until a time that will be between 9:30 PM and 10 PM.
We believe this will allow the mission of Asbury to be furthered and allow us to be a better host to those using the church facility. Further communication will come about this change. Thank you again for your feedback to this point, and please continue to provide insights and feedback by contacting myself and other members of Church Council at churchcouncil@asburylv.org.
Tim Lebrecht, Chair of Asbury’s Church Council
As a congregation, we’ve matched over 75% of the $50K Challenge! If you’re not familiar with this challenge, an anonymous family made a $50,000 contribution to Asbury’s Capital Campaign, but with a challenge to the congregation to match that amount. We’re so grateful for your contributions to this challenge so far. Asbury’s Church Council, Trustees, Finance Committee view this as Asbury’s top priority and if you have not yet contributed, ask that you’ll consider making a donation to this cause a priority in your giving so that we can celebrate its completion by collecting the remaining $12,425 by the end of 2019.
Get more information on the Capital Campaign, and the $50K Challenge, at asburylv.org/capitalcampaign.
November 26, 2019 Update:
Thanks to your generosity, the amount needed to complete the $50K Challenge is now down to $2125.00!!
