December 6

The great minister and homiletics professor, Fred Craddock, went to see a woman in his church who was facing surgery. She had never been in the hospital before, and the surgery was major. Dr. Craddock walked in the room and saw that the woman was extremely nervous. She started crying. She wanted Dr. Craddock to pray with her, which he did. By her bed there was a stack of books and magazines: True Love, Mirror, Hollywood Today, stuff about Elizabeth Taylor and folks. She just had a stack of them there, and she was a nervous wreck. It occurred to Dr. Craddock, There's not a calorie in that whole stack to help her through her experience. She had no place to dip down into a reservoir and come up with something — a word, a phrase, a thought, an idea, a memory, a person. Just empty.

Then Dr. Craddock thought, How marvelous is the life of the person who, like a wise homemaker, when the berries and fruits and vegetables are ripe, puts them away in jars and cans in the cellar. Then when the ground is cold, icy, and barren and nothing seems alive, she goes down into the cellar, comes up, and it's May and June at her family's table. How blessed is that person.

How blessed we are to have two places — Asbury Memorial and Wesley Oak — that help us fill our reservoir. The songs, the hugs, the handshakes, the prayers, the liturgy, the sermons, the conversations — help create resources that lift us up through hardships in life. When you and I worship, we are building up our spiritual muscles. They are the same muscles that helped the Apostle Paul say, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." That was said by someone who was beaten and imprisoned numerous times. So come to the Asbury Oasis or the Wesley Oak Oasis for some spiritual strengthening as we continue our Advent journey together.

Our great new children's choir, SING, will be performing for the first time in public this Sunday at an event called, "Christmas On Chippewa Square." There will be nine other groups performing at the event that starts at 5:00 p.m. The Gretchen Greene Dancers will also be one of the groups performing. 

Get ready to bring your vittles and other goodies to the Church Christmas Party on Sunday, the 15th. Santa and Mrs. Claus will make their annual trip to be with us. It all begins at 6:00 pm in the great Holliday Hall!

Plan on joining us after worship on the 22nd as we go sing Christmas carols to church members and friends who live in independent or assisted living facilities. It will make your Christmas!!! 

The Asbury Angells Youth Group is again sponsoring an Angell Tree for Christmas gifts and coats for children. This year we are working with P.A.C.K. and Family Promise, two local organizations who help families and children in need. Just pick a tag from the Christmas Tree located on the stage in Holliday Hall and purchase the item on the back of the tag. Please bring the unwrapped item to the Church on or before December 22nd so we can deliver them to PA.C.K. and Family Promise. Please contact Chris Kincade, Beth Tyson, or the church office if you have any questions. 

(Those who may be new to Asbury or Wesley Oak may wonder why we spell "Angell" with two "lls." It's because our youth group is named for our former youth director, Laura Angell, who died at age 55 after courageously battling cancer.)

Due to the busy church schedule in December, the Ten O'clock Hour Study Group will not meet during the rest of December. We look forward to starting back again on Sunday, January 5th. Hope you will join us then!

We will be having a Memorial Service for Dina Consentino tomorrow, December 7th at 11:00 a.m. Dina was a longtime Asburian who touched our lives with her love, her thoughtful birthday cards, and her unforgettable personality. Hope you can join us in celebrating Dina's wonderful life.

Every Christian should know the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. There is a new film about Bonhoeffer's life that I would encourage you to see. United Methodist minister, Adam Hamilton, recently wrote a review about the film that I thought you would find beneficial.

LaVon and I went to see the film Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Assassin last Friday night. I included a link to a review of the film and promised I would share my impressions today. I’ll offer just a few quick thoughts. Like many film adaptations of historical stories and people, it takes some liberties with the story and the filmmakers interpret Bonhoeffer through their own lenses. There are other valid criticisms of the film you can read in other reviews.

Here's what I appreciated about the film: It portrayed how Hitler and the Nazi party managed to convince German Christians that they could embrace both Hitler and Jesus even though these two were incompatible. It gave a glimpse of the myriad ways that Nazism sought to manipulate and control the churches and religious leaders. And it highlighted the struggle some Christian pastors and lay people were willing to embrace in order to oppose the heresy of Nazism. Among the most powerful scenes was when pastor Martin Neimoller preached against Nazism to a packed-out church and is arrested shortly after it.

I also found the film’s portrayal of Bonhoeffer’s own internal debate between his Christian pacifism and his willingness to support the effort to assassinate Hitler. Some have argued that the film’s portrayal of his role related to the plot to assassinate Hitler may be overstated. Perhaps. But I still appreciated the film capturing the struggle which Christians experienced between loving their enemies and stopping them from harming others.

The film invites us to think about the ways in which Christian faith can be distorted to justify and support unchristian leaders in the light of what happened in Germany under Hitler. It points to the allure a powerful and charismatic political leader (Hitler) had to some German Christians. It also makes clear that there were real Christians who were willing to risk a great deal to oppose Nazism. And it begs the question today: What “cost” would Christians, pastors, and laity be willing to pay to speak up were history to be repeated?

Republicans and Democrats, Conservatives and Liberals, can appreciate the importance of this film and asking the questions is generates.

— Rev. Adam Hamilton

I want to thank those of you who turned in a Commitment Card for your financial pledge to the church and its ministries for 2025. We can't be doing all that we're doing without your support. Thank you.

If you have not yet made your 2025 commitment, would you take a few minutes today, tomorrow, or in worship on Sunday to make your commitment to the ministry of our church for 2025? Remember, no pledge is too small.....AND no pledge is too large! (LOL) You can make your pledge online or in person with a commitment card on Sunday. 

Also, as we come to the end of the year, the church finds itself fiscally short of its budget need. We will need to use funds from our church savings. If you are in a situation to make any special gifts or donations to the church as we come to the end of the year, it would be greatly appreciated.

Don't forget to check out the new December Newsletter. I want to thank Chris Kincade for all of his work editing the Newsletter. I also want to say a special thank you to Rev. Richard Allen who wrote a monthly article on "Stewardship" for every newsletter in 2024. 

Lastly, thank you to all of you who attended our Annual All-Church December Zoom meeting. It was a great meeting! We left feeling very blessed to be part of these two great congregations. I appreciate all of the kind words said about our staff. It is an AMAZING staff — those who are part-time and those who are full-time. Thank you for all of the love and support you give all the staff. Our full-time staff members will be leading us in the lighting of the Advent Candles on Sunday.

Love,
Billy