February 5, 2022

I am excited about so many things that are happening at the church. Besides Jamie Lee Curtis, other cast members, and the production team for a movie using our Social Hall and parking lot this past week as they filmed near the church, the rest of us at Asbury have been in production mode, too. We just had a wonderful Worship Team meeting to start planning services for Lent. This coming week we'll be having a Council On Ministries meeting to plan programs and ministries for the year, and the Theatre Committee will be meeting to talk about the possibility of a future collaboration with another theatre in Savannah. Godly Play is starting tomorrow for children, the youth are sponsoring a Coat Drive, and we're just about to start a new study on Wednesday evenings. It sure sounds like we've turned a corner and are picking up steam! Hallelujah!!!

Our youth are encouraging us to bring new or gently used coats, jackets, or blankets to the church. The coats and jackets will be taken to area shelters and the blankets to the Savannah Humane Society. The items can be brought to the church and placed on the stage in Holliday Hall. The Drive will go through next Sunday, February 13th.

We're excited to announce that our Godly Play program for children up through the 5th grade will start tomorrow. If you're not familiar with Godly Play, just think of it as a Montessori version of Sunday School. We have missed having this special way to experience God and the stories of the Bible. But now it's back! Children are to start with us in the sanctuary for the worship service. We will then invite them to Godly Play early in the service. Parents, on your way back home, be sure to ask them about what they experienced. I bet you'll learn a thing or two!

Rev. Claire Marich will be facilitating an 8-week study that will be on Wednesday evenings starting on February 16th, based on the Julia Cameron book with the above title. You don't have to be a member of Asbury to participate, and you don't have to live in Savannah because it will be a Zoom study. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to learn, grow, and connect with others. Please read the article on the front of the February Newsletter about the study and how to register for it. The newsletter can be found on our website. 

We are blessed to be having Bob and Mickie Townsend joining the church tomorrow. If you are vaccinated and you have a strong immune system, I hope that you will be at church to welcome them. Bob and Mickie started attending Asbury (along with their daughter, Karen, and grandson, Benjamin, during the pandemic). This dear family lives in Statesboro, Georgia, and travels over 100 miles to church and back almost every Sunday. Wow!

Tomorrow is the first Sunday of the month so we will be celebrating Holy Communion. Those of you who will be worshipping at home, please participate with us in the Lord's Supper. All you need to have with you is bread or crackers and juice or water. The opening hymn for the service will be, Break Thou the Bread of Life. It's a hymn I used to sing a lot at my childhood church. For some reason, we haven't sung it often at Asbury over the years. I forgot how beautiful and meaningful the hymn's words are. Here are the lyrics: 

Break thou the bread of life, dear Lord, to me,
as thou didst break the bread beside the sea;
beyond the sacred page I seek thee, Lord;
my spirit pants for thee, O Living Word!

Bless thou the truth, dear Lord, to me, to me,
as thou didst bless the bread by Galilee;
then shall all bondage cease, all fetters fall;
and I shall find my peace, my all in all.

With love & peace,
Billy
Rev. Billy Hester