I begin my communication with you today as a doting and jealous grandfather. But the jealous part is going to get cleared up this week. (I'm afraid you'll still have to put up with my dotingness!) 

Why am I currently jealous? 

Cheri has been in New York with the newborn King for a week now while I have to settle with pictures. That's going to all change on Tuesday as I make a quick trip to New York to see the Messiah myself. Instead of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, I'll be bearing gifts of honey, clown dolls, and pecan pies! (Some of you are probably betting that the pies will not make it to Bethlehem before I devour them.) 

If I seem a little off my game tomorrow at church, be patient with me. It's been hard to concentrate. I feel like a child who has been given homework on Christmas Eve!

For those of you who are fairly new to Asbury/Wesley Oak, the couple in the picture above is my daughter, Chelsea, and son-in-law, Chris. They, of course, are holding the Prince of Peace — Anson Augustus Bradt!

We had a bit of a renaissance with the Asbury Clown Dolls last Saturday. There were many visitors from out of town for Gordon Baker and Tom Lewis' wedding at the church. (Congratulations again, Tom and Gordon!) After the ceremony, as people headed to Holliday Hall for the reception, there was a lot of commotion in the hallway. Come to find out that people were raving about the clown dolls and wanted to know all about them. They purchased several of them. Randy Canady took a little video of the excited group. We'll be posting it somewhere soon. Thank you to the Asburians who make these dolls that bring people so much joy!

We are blessed again to be able to offer honey, pecans, and pies for this wonderful fall season as we prepare for Thanksgiving. Pecans and honey will be on sale after church tomorrow, and orders for Pecan Pies can be made after church or online. Pies will be available to be picked up after the church service on Sunday, the 20th. Thank you, Asbury Busy Bee workers, suppliers, cooks, and servers for helping us enjoy God's harvest.

By the way, thanks to Chris Kincade, we now have an "Asbury Store" online! Check it out! https://asburymemorialchurch.com/ 

Chris is also doing a wonderful job with our monthly newsletter. It is on our website, or you can just click on this link and go directly to the newsletter:

Now that we are learning more and more about how to cope with Covid, so much is starting to happen at the church. And we want you to be part of it. 

Be sure to learn about:

One of the benefits of reading Asbury's Newsletter is that you also see Wesley Oaks' newsletter. Be sure to see what's happening on our Wesley Oak Campus! And a lot is happening there, too!

In fact, they are celebrating their HOMECOPMING tomorrow at their 9:30 a.m. Service. Wesley Oak was started just one year after Asbury — Asbury in 1909 and Wesley Oak in 1910.

Later in the day, starting at 4:00 pm, they will be having a Low Country Boil with proceeds going to help replace the roofs on the sanctuary and the Joy Cottage. Tickets can be gotten from Claudette at the church tomorrow! Go get some good shrimp!!!

I am really looking forward to tomorrow's worship service. Our Finance Chair, Temperance West, will be presenting the 2023 Church Budget. Our Finance Committee, Staff Relations Committee, and Church Council have worked hard to trim our budget - making needed adjustments due to the pandemic. The new budget is considerably less than last year's; however, it still will be challenging. We are still "pandemic influenced" and will be for a while. But the Committees felt that if we trimmed any more, it would greatly hurt our ministries. So, it's very important that the members and friends of Asbury participate in making a financial pledge to next year's budget. Our pledges help us determine if our annual budget is realistic.

You should soon be receiving Asbury's Pledge Card in the mail. A great big "THANK YOU" goes to Mimi Mangrum Numer for designing the Pledge Card while juggling responsibilities with her twin 3-year-olds!

Thank you also to Helen "Tinker Bell" Downing and the Stewardship Committee for all of their tremendous work.

The Pledge Cards are to be brought to the church on November 20th for our Commitment Sunday. It will also be the Sunday before Thanksgiving, one of our favorite services.

The choir will be singing two great songs: "Poor Man Lazarus" and "In This Very Room." As you might guess, one of the scripture readings is about Lazarus. This is not the Lazarus that Jesus raised from the dead. This Lazarus is a subject in a parable that Jesus told, about a poor man and a rich man. It's one of my favorite stories in the Bible.

Well, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. As I said, this is my last Sunday with you before getting to be in the presence of the King of kings and the Lord of lords!

I hope to see you tomorrow as we come to church thankful, prayerful, and anticipating the movement of God's Spirit in our lives!

Love, Peace, & Blessings,
Billy