Church Family,
Cheri and I are about to head down to Epworth by the Sea on St. Simon's Island for the Southern Lights Conference hosted by Brian McLaren and Diana Butler Bass. We're looking forward to the lectures, presentations, and to being with about 600 other people seeking to learn more about living out the message of Christ.
We will be back in time for Sunday's worship service where our biblical text will be John 2:1-11 - the well-known story of Jesus changing water into wine at a wedding. I recently saw the depiction of this scene in the television series, The Chosen. The actors and the production team did a tremendous job of weaving creativity and authenticity into this story to present a powerful and thought-provoking scene. Do yourself a favor and watch the 10-minute scene. It will not only be a blessing for you now, but it will also be helpful for you when we talk about the story on Sunday Here is the link for it. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3R0Mkx8rrc
There are many wonderful things coming up that I'm excited to tell you about. Here we go:
You're invited to walk in the MLK Parade on Monday, the 20th, with members of other congregations that are apart of J.U.S.T. (Justice Unites Savannah Together).
For those planning to join us, our walking group will be staged on Liberty Street between East Broad Street and Randolph Street. Our group entry number is 244. Look for the bright neon green sign with Group #244 that Rev. Claire Marich will hold up to identify our group. Please aim to arrive no later than 9:50 AM. The walk will take approximately 55 minutes. If you have any questions or concerns, contact Claire via email or phone at 912-376-9131.
S.I.N.G. will be having their Winter Concert on Sunday, January 26th!
SING (Savannah Inspiring the Next Generation) is the new children's community choir that we helped start at Asbury. This will be their first official concert! The concert will be at Asbury at 3:00 p.m. on the 26th. This will be a great day for Asbury Memorial and for Savannah. Let's do all we can to support these children.
The TV Show, "Clean Slate" (filmed at Wesley Oak) will be making its debut on February 6th.
The show stars comedian, George Wallace, and Laverne Cox, who starred in the show Orange is the New Black. Clean Slate was producer Norman Lear's last project before he died. Like his past shows, like All in the Family and The Jeffersons, Clean Slate is a comedy that bravely looks at sensitive issues. Spread the news. We would love for the show to do well and for it to give more recognition to Wesley Oak. Here is the trailer for the show. It looks great! Remember...February 6th!
Cheri and I will again be hosting a Renewal of Vows Service on February 14th, Valentine's Day.
The ceremony is for ALL married couples and will be held at 6:00 p.m. in the sanctuary. We are hoping to livestream the ceremony for those who cannot attend in person and for those who live far away. Cheri and I have been hosting this event for about 30 years. It's one of our favorite things to do for each other and for others.
Ray Ellis and Mark Rand will be starring in a two person show at the end of March!
We are excited to announce that Ray and Mark will be starring in the musical, Story of My Life. It be performed at Asbury the weekend of March 28th. There are a lot of incredible details to be shared about this production that I will be sharing at a later date. All I can say right now is that this is a God-driven production and is going to be a very special experience for all of us.
I will be offering an Online Book Study during the season of Lent.
We'll be using Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan's great book, The Last Week. We will be meeting on Thursday evenings at 6:30 p.m. during March and the first part of April. I'll give the exact dates next week. It would be helpful for you to have a copy of the book. Here is the link to purchase it on Amazon:
I TOLD YOU THERE WOULD BE A LOT OF EXCITING NEWS! I haven't even mentioned the youth's Pancake Supper on Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Wednesday Night Suppers, and our wonderful Taizé Services But we'll tell you more about those things as we get closer to the season of Lent. Let's first focus on going to a wedding on Sunday to experience some mighty fine wine! Hope to see you there!
Love,
Billy
