Rev. Barbara S. Lee
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I am excited to announce that Bishop Peggy Johnson has appointed the Rev. Barbara S. Lee to Asbury Church as the full-time Pastor of Discipleship and Congregational Care. Barbara will be the pastor in charge of adult small group ministries, other ministries focused on spiritual growth and all aspects of congregational care including hospital visitation, counseling, and other care ministries. She will also be assisting with various aspects of worship including preaching at various times throughout the year.
The Rev. Barbara S. Lee is an ordained elder in the United Methodist church, serving local churches for nine years. Most recently, she served in a one-year chaplain resident position at St. Luke’s University Hospital, specializing in trauma care. She believes that God’s love needs to be embodied by our compassionate presence and work together in community. In her prior appointments, she served as the pastor at Fritz UMC, Bethlehem, and Salem UMC, Slatedale. At Fritz, she developed an innovative Arts program that shared God’s love, while serving underprivileged children on Bethlehem’s south side and utilizing the talents of high school art, dance and vocal students as volunteer teachers. She serves on the Cross Racial/Cross Cultural mentor team for the Eastern PA UMC Conference. Prior to her call to ministry, she served as a journalist, editor, and media relations specialist. Barbara holds a Master of Arts in English Literature from Lehigh University, a Master of Divinity from Missio Seminary, Hatfield, PA, and a Master’s of Theological Studies from Moravian Theological Seminary, Bethlehem, PA. She loves reading, traveling, and bicycling, recently riding in the American Cancer ride from Philadelphia to Atlantic City, NJ. Barbara and her husband, Sam, have three adult daughters, Abby, Ellen, and Katie.
I have known Barbara as a colleague in ministry for the past 9 years. She and I came through the ordination process around the same time. I believe that she will be a wonderful addition to the Asbury staff. Barbara will be starting at Asbury on October 1, 2019. I hope you will join me in welcoming Barbara and her family into the Asbury family.
Unfortunately, in order to stay within the payroll budget at Asbury, we will be eliminating Bill Arnold’s position of part-time Director of Congregational Care and Deb McCleary’s position as my Administrative Assistant. Bill and Deb have been a vital part of the Asbury ministry and I want to thank them for all they have done. Bill and Deb are both very understanding of the need for Asbury to bring in another full time pastor. Bill will be pursuing other opportunities that he has as a counselor in the Lehigh Valley. Please pray for them in this time of transition.
Grace and Peace,
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Jackie Grove
