I'm looking forward to journeying with you through Holy Week beginning with our Palm Sunday Service. Everyone is invited to meet in the church courtyard before the service on Sunday so we can process in together on the opening hymn. You will receive a palm and a bulletin in the courtyard. Once inside the sanctuary, we will process in and place our palms on the altar rails at the front. So, we won't begin our service this Sunday with announcements, but instead with the Call to Worship and the Palm Processional.

The choir will be singing three great anthems in the service:

And Can It Be — a song designed for tenor and bass voices 

The Lord's Peace — our traditional way of closing the Palm Sunday Service
 

My sermon title this Sunday is, What Does Your Cross Look Like? 

When most of us think about Jesus dying on the cross, we often equate it with Atonement Theology — that is, Jesus died on the cross so our sins can be forgiven by God the Creator. That understanding of the cross is probably what was taught to us by Sunday School teachers and ministers. It's the message conveyed in so many of our hymns and anthems. But my studies and faith journey have taken me to a different place in my understanding of the cross. I will share part of that journey on Sunday, but more importantly, we'll examine the kinds of crosses we are called to bear. For remember, Jesus calls us to follow him and to carry our own cross. Thus, the sermon title: What Does Your Cross Look Like? 

It's the first Sunday of the month and time for our BIG Coffee Hour after the worship service. The church supplies some food for this event, but for it to be as successful and delicious as we hope it will be, we need church members to help out. So, if you are able, please bring food item(s) to share with others. You can drop your food off in the kitchen when you arrive before the church service. This is a great opportunity for your church family to taste some of your wonderful cooking. But if you are like me and not a great cook, share one of your favorite items from a favorite deli, grocery store, or bakery. Thanks!

Church member, Bob Francischetti, faced major adversity during the pandemic. He lost his dear husband of many years, Bobby Soletto, from Covid. Bob, himself, spent a long time sick in the hospital during the pandemic. It has taken a lot of time, work and patience for him to get back in the groove of life. Bob's 80th birthday is this Sunday, and I have heard that Bob is going to do everything possible to get to church on his birthday. I hope that you can be there to see Bob and to wish him a happy birthday.

As I am writing you, Travis Dodd is receiving a new kidney at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Travis, son of Asbury's Gretchen Dodd and brother of Trina Dunn, was in Asbury's very first theatrical production of The Pirates of Penzance in 1994 when he was in high school. Travis and his family have helped us tremendously over the years with liturgical dance in our worship services. Unfortunately, Travis' health has been declining due to a need for a new kidney Yesterday, Mayo Clinic called and said they might have one for him. Things have matched up, and the doctors are literally working on Travis right now. Please be in prayer for him, his Surgery Team, and for Travis' recovery. 

Here is the schedule for the services during Holy Week at both campuses.

I strongly encourage you to attend the Maundy Thursday Service and the Good Friday Tenebrae Service. The services at Asbury will be live streamed. The Good Friday Service at Asbury is a service of shadows and is not designed for children as there is darkness, silence, and sounds of Jesus' crucifixion. 

Palm Sunday — April 2nd, 9:30 a.m.

Maundy Thursday Service — April 6th, 6:00 p.m.

Good Friday Service — April 7th, 12 Noon

Easter Egg Hunt — April 8th, Wesley Oak Campus, 10:00 a.m.

Easter Services — April 9th, 9:30 a.m.
 

Palm Sunday — April 2nd, 11:15 a.m.

Maundy Thursday Service — April 6th, 7:30 p.m.

Good Friday Service — April 7th, 7:30 p.m.

Easter Egg Hunt — April 8th, Wesley Oak Campus, 10:00 a.m.

Easter Services — April 9th, 11:15 a.m.
 

Our Children & Family Ministry will be sponsoring an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 8th, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. It will be held at our Wesley Oak Campus on the corner of Victory Drive and Mechanics Avenue in Thunderbolt. Although this event is design for children, we hope everyone will come out to see and support them...and have some Easter fun!!! 

Please try to attend the Nehemiah Action event on Monday, April 24th at First African Baptist Church. The lot at the Civic Center will be made available for parking. This very important event is sponsored by JUST (Justice Unites Savannah Together). We will be meeting with city leaders to focus on two main issues: Affordable Housing and Education. We are hoping that more than 700 people from various congregations in Savannah will be in attendance to show how important it is for action needs to be taken in these areas. Please try to attend and sit with the Asbury/Wesley Oak group. Let's have at least 50 plus people from our congregation in attendance.

I hope to meet you in the church courtyard on Sunday morning for our Palm Processional If you are not able to join us in person, please join us online!

Love & Blessings,
Billy