Weekly Update// Pastor Chris
Dear Asbury Family,
I sure hope this email finds you well. By the time you open this message, Pastors Will, Barbara and I will be at Annual Conference in Lakeland. Annual Conference is a yearly gathering of United Methodist lay and clergy leaders from around our region. We meet to worship, pray, listen to inspiring and heartfelt messages, hear and receive reports, and make decisions that impact our Annual Conference, which spans all the way from Tallahassee to Key West. Asbury has two lay delegates who represent us at Annual Conference, Lori Nadler and Letha Heulitt. I would ask that you please pray for our gathering, particularly for the Clergy Session that will happen later this evening. At this gathering, Pastor Will is going to be voted on for commissioning as an elder (an important step in the process toward full ordination). Should Will be approved, he will be commissioned at the licensing, commissioning, and ordination service in Branscomb Auditorium at 10:30am at Florida Southern College on Saturday. If you’re able to attend that service in person, wonderful! If not, we will send out a link so you can join online.
I want to thank you for the money you donated toward the Bishop’s Offering for Annual Conference. By God’s grace, we raised $1100! These funds will go to support two causes. More information about these causes can be found at the end of this message. Additionally, if you’re curious to learn more about the proceedings of Annual Conference, I invite you to attend our next Laity Council meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, June 20 at 7pm in the Welcome Friends room. We will invite one of our lay delegates to give a report. If you prefer to attend that meeting online, please email Carol Minish in our office for a Zoom link (projectmanager@asburymaitland.org).
This Sunday in worship, Pastor Will is in the pulpit. He’ll be preaching a message about the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives (a good follow-up to our recent church-wide Bible study on the Holy Spirit, which 69 people attended!). I hope you’ll join us for what’s sure to be an inspiring Sunday. Oh, we will also welcome in a new member at the 11am service! It’s always a blessing when new folks join and choose to make our congregation their official church home.
Have a wonderful weekend, and we will keep you posted about Annual Conference!
Blessings,
Chris
Rev. Geraldine Williams McClellan Endowment Scholarship at Gammon Theological Seminary, honoring the life and legacy of Rev. Geraldine McClellan. In 2021, the Florida Conference set a $100,000 goal and collected $54,000. Our Conference can finish the good work that we began and help students prepare for ministry. This scholarship supports students attending Gammon Theological Seminary who will provide future pastoral leadership in The Florida Conference. Gammon is a historically Black seminary whose students will benefit greatly from your support. Like many historic Black colleges, universities and seminaries, Gammon does not have the large endowment enjoyed by other United Methodist seminaries that is used to provide scholarship assistance to students. As we give to this scholarship, we honor Rev. McClellan, who, in 1982, became the first woman of color ordained in The Florida Conference. We help strengthen the Black churches in our Conference as well as all churches these clergy will serve in the future.
The Warren Willis Camp and Conference Center is celebrating its 75th year of ministry. There is no better time to invest in the transformation of young people than now. The camp provides a safe place for children and youth to be introduced to a relationship with Christ and grow deeper in their faith. Every summer hundreds of campers attend Warren Willis and their lives are transformed. The conference center is a sacred space for people of all ages and is used throughout the year. This year’s offering will help the camp upgrade their programs, expand their reach and provide scholarships to students who may not be able to attend on their own resources.