Published: Sept. 1, 2023

Asbury First is delighted to welcome Gwen Paker as our new soprano soloist/section leader. Gwen is an award-winning singer, equally at home on the operatic stage and in the concert hall. Gwen holds Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Voice Performance from the Eastman School of Music, as well as a Certificate in Arts Leadership. She won first prize in the 2022 Friends of Eastman Opera Competition, and won the voice department Concerto Competition in 2019. She made her professional debut starring as Gertrude Stein in Virgil Thompson's The Mother of Us All with the RPO, and starred in several Eastman Opera Theatre productions. Her passion for music extends beyond performance; she is a member of the voice faculty at the Hochstein School, and works as an arts administrator with Finger Lakes Opera. Gwen's first Sunday with us will be September 10. We are grateful to Bess Phillips, who returned to Asbury First during the summer to serve as interim soloist.

Published: Sept. 1, 2023

Beginning September 4, 2023, the Rev. Rachel Dupont, our Minister for Christian Formation and Director of the Discipleship Project, will move from a full-time to a half-time appointment at Asbury First. This move comes at Rachel’s request as this fall she will be entering the University of Rochester's School of Medicine and Dentistry's program of Marriage and Family Therapy. As an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, Rev. Dupont will attend this program, focused on family systems therapy, toward opportunities to provide healing leadership both within and outside congregations and ministries. This move is supported by Asbury First leadership and blessed by the Bishop, who holds all appointive authority at Asbury First. In addition to Sunday mornings, Rachel will normally be in the office on Mondays and Wednesdays and will focus primarily on empowering leaders for the Discipleship Project (our small groups ministry) and providing pastoral leadership for the Racial Equity Team.

Published: Aug. 25, 2023

Sunday, September 10, 11 am

It’s time to dream again as a congregation! Join us for Together in Ministry Kick-Off Sunday on September 10 as we celebrate all that God has accomplished through us in the last several years and begin to dream together again about who God is calling us to be in the years ahead. Together in Ministry Sunday is our traditional kick-off for the programmatic year and an opportunity to come back to worship in person (or online), to invite a friend, to sign up for a small group, to volunteer for a new role (outreach, hospitality, administration, etc.), and, this year, to dream again! Come and share your dreams! We hope to see you then!

Published: Aug. 24, 2023

Sunday, September 10, 12 pm, Front Lawn

Join us in celebrating our traditional kick-off for the programmatic year with live music and lunch! After worship on Sunday, September 10, join us as we enjoy hot dogs and live music from the Melody Masters Big Band. It will be a swinging event and a great opportunity to come back together in ministry and fellowship. For more information, contact Paula Dugan at pdugan@asburyfirst.org or at 585-271-1050 x111. See you there!

Published: Aug. 24, 2023

Sunday, September 10, 10 am, 
Fellowship Hall

Come on Sunday, September 10, at 10 am to the Adult Sunday School open house in Fellowship Hall [final date and location subject to change] and we’ll tell you not only where they’ve gone but where they might be going AND plans for upcoming Adult Sunday School programs. For more information, contact Mike Mullin at mmullin@asburyfirst.org or at 585-271-1050 x105.

Published: Aug. 23, 2023

Monday, August 28, 4-7 pm, Granger Lawn

We hope that you will come out next week, Monday, August 28 from 4 to 7 pm for the FINALE of the NOTA Farmers Market. It has been a fun 3 years doing our best to create a neighborhood market that would become a weekly habit for customers in the surrounding neighborhoods. Unfortunately, there isn't enough customer interest in the market and we will be closing up shop for good following the market next week.

We hope you will stop by the lawn at Asbury First and shop with the vendors who have taken time out of their weeks to bring their products into the city each week this year and help thank them for all of their hard work.

Published: Aug. 23, 2023

Wind-driven wildfires on Maui prompted evacuations and caused significant loss of life and widespread damage. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) awarded an emergency grant to the California-Pacific Annual Conference, which includes the Hawaiian UMC, to provide shelf-stable food, water, hygiene items, and tools to help survivors recover their belongings. 

As first responders continue to provide initial aid, please join UMCOR in prayer and by making a gift to this and other disasters in the U.S. You can give by sending a check to the church office with the note "UMCOR Maui", or by visiting asburyfirst.org/give-online with the note "UMCOR Maui". We will collect all donations and send them on to UMCOR for use in relief.

Published: Aug. 19, 2023

Thursday, September 7, 7 pm, 1040 Gathering Center
Monday, September 11, 7 pm, 1010 Red Room

Shock for Life instructors are coming to the Asbury First on September 7 and 11 for trainings using our AED systems. This will be an opportunity for our ushers, ministers, staff, and volunteers in the Community Outreach Center to be trained on the use of our AEDs and CPR training. People can attend either session and do not have to attend both. Questions? Please contact Deb Bullock-Smith at dbullocksmith@asburyfirst.org or by calling 585-271-1050.

Click here to register

Published: Aug. 19, 2023

Sunday, September 10, 10 am, Education Wing

Children’s Ministry will Kick-Off the Fall with an Open House on September 10 at 10 am. Come visit us on the second floor and see what’s happening for children this school year. You can register your child for Sunday School, tour our classrooms and children’s music room, and hopefully get to know some other parents. We will have a brochure and flyers with more detailed information. After touring our Open House you can take your children to a bounce house outside on the lawn while enjoying live music from the Melody Masters Band! For more information, contact Paula Dugan at pdugan@asburyfirst.org or at 585-271-1050 x111. We hope to see you there!

Published: Aug. 19, 2023

Auditions: Wednesday, September 13, 6 pm, Fellowship Hall

Our Youth Musical this Fall will be Godspell! Auditions begin in September with show dates of November 10–12, 2023. After the incredible success of The Sound of Music, we cannot wait to put together another incredible musical experience. For more information, please contact Larry Dugan at ldugan@asburyfirst.org or by calling the church office at 585-271-1050.

Godspell is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hymns, with the passion of Christ appearing briefly near the end.

Published: Aug. 18, 2023

The Asbury Ringers have a few openings for ringers, starting this fall. We are looking for enthusiastic musicians who can read music, are open to learning bell techniques (or know bell technique from previous experiences) and can commit to our rehearsal and playing schedule. Rehearsals are Wednesday evenings from 7–8:30 pm. If you are interested and can make this commitment, please contact Elizabeth Church at echurch@asburyfirst.org or by calling the church office at 585-271-1050 and we'll have you come visit to see if the choir is a fit for you!

Published: Aug. 18, 2023

Drop off supplies Sunday mornings from August 27–September 10.

When you are out and about shopping in the next few weeks, think about picking up some school supplies for our supply drive that supports School 17.

Items needed include: backpacks, 24-count pencils, colored pencils, erasers and eraser tops, 
ink pens (blue, black, and red), crayons, color-safe markers, highlighters, child-safe scissors, glue sticks, pencil boxes or pouches, index cards, sticky notes, solid-color folders with pockets, three-ring binders, composition books, graph paper, hand sanitizer, and tissues. Many thanks to YOU for your support! For more information, please contact John Smalt 
at (585) 924-8624, or at jhsmalt@gmail.com.

Published: Aug. 11, 2023

Wednesdays, September 13, 20, 27, 6-7 pm, Room 205 and on Zoom

Did you know that the Bible has been banned? What about To Kill a Mockingbird, Huckleberry Finn, The Grapes of Wrath, and even Goodnight Moon? In 2022, there were 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources, up almost double from 2021, and nearly ten times from 2020. Of those, 90% were attempts to censor multiple books, targeting a record number of 2,571 unique titles. The majority were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community or by and about Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color. What does it mean for a book to be censored or banned? Is this something we, as Christians, should care about? And if so, what could we even do? Come to our class in September, led by our newly formed Banned Book Team to find out. For more information, contact Mike Mullin at mmullin@asburyfirst.org.

Sept. 13 — Why should we care about challenged and banned books?
Sept. 20 — What are some books that have been challenged or banned?    
Sept. 27 — Where do we go from here?

Published: Aug. 10, 2023

Please join us in welcoming Ly Tran. She will be working with Sarah as our new Communications Assistant. Ly is currently a student at RIT studying Graphic Design. Originally from Vietnam, she has been a Rochester local for the past 11 years. She is an enthusiastic and talented designer and we are excited to have her join Asbury First. Ly can be contacted at ltran@asburyfirst.org or at 585-271-1050 x108.

Published: Aug. 4, 2023

The Asbury First Library is so grateful for the outpouring of used book donations, but we now have MORE than enough and cannot accept any more! 
However, we are looking for some bibliophiles (or even market enthusiasts) to help sell books at the NOTA Farmers Market on Mondays from 4–7 pm. For more information or to volunteer, contact Mike Mullin at mmullin@asburyfirst.org or (585) 271-1050 x105.