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.
By Sarah Brubaker Communications Coordinator
Newfound Fellowship
April 29, 2020
While the weeks of sheltering in place continue to drag on, we are starting to become weary of the technology that allows us to connect with others. It can be draining to go to meeting after meeting or class after class interacting only through Zoom or Facetime. But, during all of the online meeting fatigue, there is one meeting that has been increasingly refreshing to join. The Fellowship ½ Hour immediately after church on Sundays has opened up so much more connection than I normally would have discovered. The attendance averages about 40 people each week, but the break-out groups make it a little easier for meaningful interaction in such a short time. One week, I learned about the art of Smørrebrød, a traditional Scandinavian open-faced sandwich. Andrea and Claude Adair compete weekly with Andrea’s family on who can make the best sandwich. Each week they have a theme and send photos of their sandwich to an appointed judge and vie for the best presentation and sandwich. Above, you can see a few of the sandwiches the Adairs have submitted including the following: #1 A layer of sauteed mushrooms, a layer of Jarlsberg, then sliced apples on one side and pickled cucumbers with dill on the other; #2 Wasa bread with hummus, red onion, roasted peppers, spinach, and pickled beats or with hummus, cucumber, harissa, and chopped scallions; #3 Wasa bread with whipped pecorino, roasted garlic, peas, parsley, and dill; and #4 Broiled cheddar cheese crisp topped with tomato, cucumber, chickpea, Nicoise olive, and garlic bruschetta. If it had been a regular Sunday in the Gathering Center, I may not have discovered this incredible, edible art! (Continued on next page) Another week during our group chat, we discussed different ways people were taking time for self-care and we learned that Emily Cady reads Adirondack Life magazine to de-stress. As soon as she shared this, Anne Francis mentioned that her daughter-in-law, Kelsey Francis, recently wrote an article for the exact same magazine! It was amazing to find out such a small thing could connect us. I also learned from Jeanne Strong and Laurie Kennedy, that teaching a music lesson over Zoom is extremely difficult due to the video delay and the fact that Zoom automatically censors out long, sustained sounds. So, initially Laurie had an issue when she would see the student playing, but only heard chirps coming through the audio. On Easter Sunday, we were lucky enough to have Daniel Wandtke join us from Heidelberg, Germany. Last year, he was an exchange student living with the extended Church family and liked our Easter service so much that he made sure to tune in to the live stream this year. It was a special treat for him to also come to the Fellowship ½ Hour, where we were able to check in with him and a few members even practiced their German language skills. Without these meetings and breakout groups, I would never have gained a closer relationship with these incredible people. Even though it feels like the weekends have disappeared, we hope that our live stream Sunday service and Fellowship ½ Hour continue to be a beacon of normalcy during a strange time. Please join us this Sunday after worship to recharge by growing closer to people who are physically spread apart.
Here are a few screen grabs from the many virtual meetings we have had as a church during these isolating times.
#1
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#3
#4
COMMUNITY
Newfound Fellowship, ctd.
Above, left: To read Kelsey’s article in Adriondack Life magazine, visit www.adirondacklifemag.com/blogs/2020/04/08/the-property/. Above, right: An Easter surprise visit from Germany with Daniel Wandtke (center). Below, left: Learning the ins and outs of online music lessons. Below, right: Learning about fantastic open-faced sandwiches and edible art.
Baking this week was so much fun! Don't forget to share some of your cookies with your family or maybe give some to a neighbor (from a safe distance). If you weren't able to join us or you ate all your cookies and want to bake these again, search for the "Easy Sugar Cookies" recipe from allrecipes.com. Have a favorite cookie recipe you want to share? Let us know and maybe you can be our celebrity guest chef next time we do this! — Summer Sattora, Asst. Director of Youth Ministry
Master Chef Youth Group Edition
CHILDREN AND YOUTH MINISTRIES
This Sunday during Children's Time, Miss Paula called for us all to join in and play Amazing Grace using whatever instruments we had. The children (and adults) were happy to play along!
Music with Miss Paula
Yummy cookies baked by (from left) Ellie Cady, Anne Nutter, and Finn Mahan.
If you missed it, go to our archive at www.asburyfirst.org/worship/video-archive or see our post on Facebook.
OUTREACH
Last week, we dropped off donations to the Dining and Caring Center. They were very pleased and grateful for the bounty of gifts. The final bounty was: 100 loaves of bread/rolls, 10 large tins of coffee, oreos, grapefruits, and 1000 hot to go cups! It was a great day filled with so much generosity. — Margaret Tobin
Sharing Loaves of Plenty
The To-Go Cups were donated by C&R foods in Mt. Morris. Thank you!
Thanks so much for the generous donations from the (clockwise) Mahan family, the Neubert family, and the Flynn family!