Upcoming Events

Saturday, Nov. 4

~ Daylight Savings Ends, turn

clocks back one hour

Sunday, Nov. 5

~ Preacher: Rev. Wes Neal

“All Saints Day”

Monday, Nov. 6, 13, 20, 27

~ Prayer Time at 10:15 am in

Sanctuary, & Mat Ministry in

Ralph Mitchell SS Class (Every

Monday)

Sunday, Nov. 12

~ Preacher: Rev. Wes Neal

Commitment Sunday (bring

cards to worship)

Sunday, Nov. 19

~ Preacher: Rev. Wes Neal

Walltown Neighborhood

Thanksgiving Service, 3 pm

Monday, Nov. 20

~ UMW meeting at 7 pm

Tuesday, Nov. 21

~ Church Council Mtg., 7 pm

Wed.—Fri., Nov. 22-24

Church Office Closed

Sunday, Nov. 26

~ Preacher: Rev. Wes Neal

“Christ the King Sunday”

Asbury United Methodist Church

Senior Pastor: Rev. Wesley M. Neal, wneal@nccumc.org

Administrative Assistant: Ms. Marie Phelps, Asbury.umc@frontier.com

Preschool Director: Ms. Nancy Lehman, asburypreschool@ncrrbiz.com

Nursery Attendant: Ms. Felecia Griffin

Custodian: Mr. Tommie McDowell

806 Clarendon Street Durham, NC 27705 www.asburyunitedmethodist.com asbury.umc@frontier.com 919-286-0711

Asbury in Ministry is published monthly. Request an electronic version by sending an email to: Asbury.umc@frontier.com

Growing in grace and thankful for it!

Volume 7, Issue 10, 2017

Asbury in Ministry

Faithful

In the background of each of our lives is a story of faithfulness. It is often an overlooked story, discounted as just what was expected at the time, but the story is most always there. It is faithfulness that

often makes all the difference.

Maybe it was a friend who stayed faithful when everyone else seemed to assume that the stories people were telling were true.

Maybe it was a mother or father who decided, through the challenges that come to every couple, to stay faithful to the marriage vows which they made.

Maybe it was a parent or grandparent who was always at church and made sure that you were always there too – the person who you only knew later was faithfully praying for you the whole time.

Maybe it was a teacher or preacher who saw the gift God had put in you and did not stop faithfully pointing you toward choosing to make that gift the work of your life.

Maybe it was a spouse who, even when you did not know if you would survive the diagnosis, continued to encourage you and stay by your side.

(Continued on page 2)

Faithful (Pastor’s article continued from page 1)

If you ask most people to tell you who are the people who have made the most differ-ence in their lives, you will likely get a story of faithfulness. Faithful people can be quiet or outspoken; direct in their help or working behind the scenes. It is rare that our lives are influenced by one flashy moment of inspiration. Usually, our lives are shaped by a long story of somebody’s faithfulness.

The same can be said of a church like ours. In the background of the life of our church are hundreds of stories of faithfulness. You have been kind to share some of these with me through the first months of my being your pastor. I have heard stories of softball coaches who insisted, “If you want to play, you have to pray.” I have heard about a Lay Leader who could convince anybody to do anything. I have heard story after story of parents who built their lives around faithfulness to Asbury Church. I thank God for each of these stories, and for those which I hope to hear in the weeks to come.

Because over the next few weeks, we will be reflecting on faithfulness as we renew our commitments to the ministry and future of Asbury Church. We will reflect on the faithfulness of God, share stories about those who have been faithful witnesses in our lives, and ask what stories people will tell about our faithfulness one day.

On Commitment Sunday, November 12, you all will be invited to make a financial commitment of giving for the coming year. This is not just a chore that we have to do each year. It is a chance for us to share the faithfulness that is in the background of our story with those who do not yet know what a difference faithfulness can make.

So be faithful in worship over the next month. Be faithful in praying for our church and the world. And be faithful in your giving to the life and ministry of our church. You never know in whose life you may be the faithful one in the background.

Pastor Wes

Did you know?

You can give stocks or bonds

to the church from your

investment portfolio?

Speak with your financial

advisor about the benefits

and tax implications.

E-Giving is now available through our

website. Please go to our website at

www.asburyunitedmethodist.com/donate

and follow the link.

Walltown Neighborhood Ministries

Assist with Walltown Food Pantry. Ministry

opportunities include assisting with shopping

and organizing food for distribution.

Work Please contact the church office if you

would like to serve with the Walltown Neighborhood Food

Pantry in either preparing the bags for distribution, or helping

distribute the bags on the fourth Thursday of every month.

Donate Asbury is now collecting food items during office

hours and the third Sunday of each month for Walltown

Neighborhood Ministries. Keep up the good work. They

are in need of: pasta, dry milk, peanut butter,

canned meat and canned fruit and vegetables.

United Methodist Women

Asbury’s UMW has a strong tradition of mission. Contact

Fran Boyd at franboyd@nc.rr.com for more information on

UMW or call the church office. We look forward to seeing

everyone at our next meeting on Monday, September 18, at

7 pm.

Led by the UMW, our congregation packed shoeboxes

for Armenia. The shoeboxes were collected through

September 17 and blessed in our worship service.

UMW continues to purchase food items for the

Walltown Neighborhood Food Pantry.

**Additional team members are needed on our

ministry teams for Urban Ministries, Walltown

Neighborhood Ministries, to serve as acolytes

(anyone), ushers, lay readers, nursery workers,

media team, and greeters. If you have been consid-

ering joining one of these ministry teams please

contact the church office for details.**

BRING YOUR CHILDREN! Nursery is open Sunday Mornings from 9:30 to 12:30 for all children age 4 and under.

Lay Readers

11/5: Kathy Elkins

11/12: Jack Dailey

11/19: Sam Freakley

11/26: Mercy Neal

Nursery Parents

11/5: Ginger Mann

11/12: Chris Boyer

11/19: Gail Johnson

11/26: Teresa Knight

Media System

11/5: Mason Pennuto

11/12: Josiah Neal

11/19: Max Elkins

11/26: Josiah Neal

Acolytes

TBA

Greeters

11/5: Ruth Roberts & Anne

Hemmerle

11/12: Cookie Bell & Teresa Knight

11/19: Margaret Averett & Loretta

Pulley

11/26: Sharon Ellison & Ginger

Mann

Ushers 11/5: Jimmy Pulley, Don Utley,

John Knight, Sonny Morris

11/12: Ruth Roberts, Margaret

Averette, Willena Warren,

Cookie Bell

11/19: Denise Glymph, Ginger

Mann, Sharon Ellison, Gail

Johnson

11/26: John Elkins, Todd

Herrington

Bobby Wingate, Hank Woods

WORSHIP

Joys and Concerns: Doug Hood, Mary Hooke Quashie,

Bob Bromhal, Joe Boykin, Linda & Tommy Hunt, Lena Elkins,

L.C. Meachum, Marie Robeson, Hank Woods, John, & Willena

Warren, Janice Beeson, Wallace Beeson, Elbert & Lois Wethington,

Bill & Connie Simpson, Patsy Hemmerle, Amy Edgerton, and Isaiah

(young homeless man). We pray for grace, hope, and healing in

body, mind, and spirit and for all our unspoken prayer requests.

Financial Update

In the month of September, the offerings received to-

taled $17,880. We received $560 in UMCOR dona-

tions for the month of September. We also received

$1,800 in contributions from the Asbury Preschool.

The current balance of the General Fund is: $5,351.

We have paid a total of $19,012 to our 2017 ap-

portionments. Let us all be faithful in giving of

our tithes, talents, and time to our Lord and

Savior.

MISSION

Daylight Saving Time Ends,

Sunday, November 5. Turn

your clocks back Saturday

night!

"Make Us Instruments of Your Faith"

For your blessing we thank you, God: faith in you.

Increase it, we beg, so that we no longer doubt.

Drive out all our miserliness, so that we do not refuse you anything.

Increase our faith, for the sake of those without faith.

Make us instruments of your faith, for those with only a little.

Fill our bodies with faith, our bodies that work for you all our days.

Help us to avoid the enemies of faith, or to overcome them.

You are with us in confrontations; this we believe.

In your hands we place ourselves, and are secure.

Make haste to enter our hearts; make haste.

Masai Prayer, Tanzania

From: An African Prayer Book

MONDAY MORNING GATHERINGS

Don't forget that there is a gathering of Asbury members and friends each Monday

morning from 10:15-10:30 in the sanctuary to hold the members of our congregation,

their loved ones, our church, and our community and world up in prayer. If you have

prayer needs that you would like to be included on the prayer list, call the church of-

fice. There is also a group of our members and friends who gather in the Ralph Mitchell

Sunday School class to crochet mats for the homeless on Mondays immediately follow-

ing our prayer time. Please come and be a part of this time of ministry and serving one

another in our neighborhood.