E-Newsletter of Asbury First
A church is more than the building, and the members of Asbury First are proving this time and again. We aim to keep connected with a weekly e-newsletter that will highlight the unique stories of our amazing community.
LIVE STREAM DREAM TEAM
April 9, 2020
If you would like to make a special donation to the live stream fund, you can make your gift by on our website at www.asburyfirst.org/give and note “live stream” in the memo.
Our incredible Tech Committee has been working above and beyond to ensure we keep our community connected with our live-stream worship. In a time of disruption and isolation, they are some of the unsung heroes. We are grateful for all of the insight, effort, and passion they've poured into this project. Each week, they increase the quality a little more using upgraded hardware and software. Read more about it on the next page!
Here are a few screen grabs from the many virtual meetings we have had as a church during these isolating times.
Justin Ocello works to finalize the new video set up in our sound booth.
There has been a significant amount of work going on behind the scenes at Asbury since the stay at home order has gone out. Though we were far ahead of many other churches, the changes made in the past two weeks should make our online presence even more polished. — Rick Church
OUR COMMUNITY
Left: Justin works on installation. Right: Kenny Bailey works with the new video set up.
With the webcast as the main vehicle of delivery of our worship services, we are looking to up our game with a more professional web presentation. Our present HD system, while functional, has a fairly cumbersome software production system that is hard to update on a weekly basis. We also found that we had startup issues on an almost weekly basis, as the various parts started up at different times, and software-based systems reacted in a less than predictable manner for our volunteer staff. With this in mind, we engaged Justin Ocello of Capstone Systems, who designed, ordered, and directed the installation of a new, more significantly hardware-based video production system. The hardware has changed from just two small rack trays with an Apple Macintosh computer, to overlaying three new tabletop racks of monitors, three Apple computers, dedicated recorders, a new ethernet switch, and uninterruptible power supply. The software upgrades now allow remote monitoring and control capability, and most significantly, a more powerful, creator- and user-friendly graphics package. While no changes to the cameras were made, the ability to monitor them for color balance and white and black levels, along with the recent sanctuary lighting changes, should make for a more consistent picture quality between all cameras. No significant changes to the audio system were made, though the tabletop rack of audio processing, switching & distribution was moved from the operator's table to a new perch atop the sound reinforcement rack. There are a few monitoring enhancements made, so consistent audio levels (or lack thereof) should be more evident to our operators. — Rick Church, for the Tech Committee
LIVE STREAM DREAM TEAM cont.
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The old set up for sound and video.
A Grateful Heart!
Gillian Allen — God Griffen Allen — My church family Lydia, Elliot, Anna, and Jonah Beach — Mom and Dad Jane Beamish — Our pets that keep us company Charle Bohrer — Parents, grandparents, and all loved ones Charlie Cady — My Dad and Mom Ellie Cady — Her Mom Lee Carmardello — My Mommy Josiah Colton — My Mom and Dad Joscelyn Crawford — My family Violet Dunlavey — Friends, family, and nature Jack Giordano — My teachers Lea and Addison Hakiel — Mommy and Daddy Mallory and Ethan Hildreth — Grateful for their health Sean Mahan — My brother, Finn Bennet Marsigilio — My Dad Poppy Marsiglio — My family Aurora Mullin — Jesus, Mom, Dad, Olivia, Max and Loren Nora Carroll-Nellenback — Family and friends Jacob Parks — My family and stuffed Lammie Riley, Madden and Will Parent — Family and friends Meredith Pixley — Exuberant Paula Harper Temming — His cat, gecko, and peppermint tea Kristina Tourje — Grammie Dominic Tourje — Pops Jessica Schwartz — Miss Paula Maddie White — My family Loren Varble-Bielewicz — My family
On Palm Sunday, Paula Dugan, asked the children to share whom/what they are grateful for in these strange times. Here are some of their responses:
CHILDREN AND YOUTH MINISTRIES
By Michele Cooley Director of the Dining & Caring Center
We have about five volunteers each day, most of whom have been guests at the Dining and Caring Center. We only allow three people in at a time. It is a very orderly production. I sign guests in, they sanitize their hands, and then they proceed to the coffee station and then to their bag of food which is prepared individually for each person to ensure that the food is hot. Each bag takes about five minutes to prepare. In addition, we have a box with bread and pastries that they can take on their way out. Included in the bags are a hot item — either a ham, egg, and cheese sandwhich, or a bacon, cheese, and egg bagel or croissant — a hard boiled egg, avacado and chips, fruit, pastry, and milk for breakfast. Sunday dinner last week included a hot pulled pork sandwhich with special sauce, peppers, onions, and cheese, with a nice dessert, fruit coffee, and chocolate milk. There were rave reviews for this meal! This Sunday we will be serving goulash. Guests miss the community setting and the haircare, laundry, and comaraderie of the Dining Center. One guest shared that it is such a nice atmosphere here. It is still a great atmosphere but has changed dramatically. Guests are very appreciative of the efforts we are making to ensure that they receive a complete meal to last them through the day. We are serving 40 to 50 bags of food daily compared. Our volunteers and staff are happy to help those who are in need in the community. We are considered an essential team here at Asbury First, and are fortunate to be able to continue to help.
OUTREACH
Dick Nagel and Terry Elkins are ready to serve!
Above: Sylvester Norman and Freddie Daniel prepare food bags for our guests. Below: We wish a Happy Birthday to our guest Charlie!
Continuing to Feed the Hungry