June 1

Holliday Hall and the Education Building have been transformed! 

Everything looks amazing! Sunday evening, the children of Asbury Memorial and Wesley Oak will be heading to CAMP FIRELIGHT — this summer's VBS program at Asbury. Thank you to those of you who have been making preparations and getting everything ready for the big week!

During our worship service on Sunday, we will have a special "Blessing" for all the helpers and leaders working with the children, so if you are helping with VBS, I hope you can be at church this Sunday. 

This year we have made an effort to extend an invitation to children throughout our community to come to VBS. If you know of any children who have yet to register, but would like to attend, I'm sure that Chris Kincade and the VBS leaders will find space for them....so bring them on! We are going to have a wonderful week!

Since we'll be starting VBS on Sunday evening, we will not have our Big Coffee Hour after the worship service. The Social Hall is all set up for the VBS suppers and programs.

Due to VBS, we are moving our BIG Coffee Hour back a week to June 9th. We'll have a lot to celebrate that day. Not only will be celebrating a wonderful week at Vacation Bible School, we'll be welcoming a great group of new members. So don't bring your goodies this Sunday. Wait and bring them on the 9th. 

I'm sure that many of our members have guns that you enjoy for sport shooting, hunting, or you use for protection. Though I am not a gun owner, I support your right to have and use guns in these ways. I also have officiated many funerals that have involved people who were killed by those who should not have had access to guns, or by guns improperly stored, and by guns used in suicides or against others in moments of rage. For these families touched by violence, and others who will be in the years ahead, I appreciate efforts to encourage gun safety and to reduce gun violence. Next Friday, June 7th, is National Gun Violence Awareness Day. You are invited to wear orange to draw attention to the issue and as a way of remembering those who have died from senseless acts of violence.

Yesterday, a church member asked me if I had any book suggestions for summer reading. Since I was going to be sending him some suggestions, I thought I might as well include it in my weekly email. I'm afraid I can't help you with novels — I am a theological-spiritual junkie. Though none of them are novels, some of them are in essay form and short stories. I'll give you some past Summer Reads, books I'm currently reading, and books I plan to read this summer.

The Wounded Healer by Henri Nouwen

Traveling Mercies by Anne LaMott

Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman

Falling Upward by Richard Rohr

The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr

Love Wins by Rob Bell

Naked Spirituality by Brian McLaren

Craddock Stories by Fred Craddock

The Cherry Log Sermons by Fred Craddock

Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne

Texts of Terror by Phyllis Trible (Not for the fainthearted)

The Magnificent Defeat by Frederick Buechner

Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl

Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg

The Heart of Christianity by Marcus Borg 

The Lilac Tree by Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch 

The Second Mountain by David Brooks

Life Worth Living by Miroslav Volf

The Light We Give by Simran Jeet Singh
(Simran was one of the speakers we heard at the conference on St. Simon's Island last January. He is of the Sikh religion.) 

Some of you are about to go on vacation. Some of you are Snow Birds flocking up North to cooler lands. Safe journeys and traveling mercies to all of you! Don't forget to tune into our services while you are away. Please let us know how you are doing. Stay in touch!

Love and Blessings to all!
Billy