Published: March 23, 2023

Wednesdays, April 12, 19, 26, 6-7 pm, Fellowship Hall

Led by Dr. Jeff Brubaker

Many of us know Jeff as the spouse of our Director of Communications, as an expert of ancient church heresies, and as a new dad to Eirene. In addition to these accolades, Dr. Brubaker recently celebrated the publication of his first book, The Disputatio of the Latins and the Greeks, 1234: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary. And while this title may not lend itself to becoming a New York Times Best-Seller, Jeff has put together an enticing 3-session course that will be accessible to all. This course will highlight some of the histories that led up to the “Great Schism” of the East and West churches, and the subsequent conversations of church leaders who ostensibly were working to heal this divide.

Here is an outline of the discussions for each week:

1. A Brief History of Schism (to 1234): What caused the division between the Western Roman and Eastern Greek Churches? History shows that the schism between these two Christian communities was complex and often confrontational. What provoked the initial divergence between these sibling churches? How did these issues evolve over the medieval period?

2. Overtures toward Union: This session seeks to understand the roles of Patriarch and Pope over the Greek and Roman Churches. How did the two communities organize their hierarchies? What impacted their roles in the years leading up to the meeting of 1234? Do the letters between Pope Gregory IX and Patriarch Germanos II shed any light on their intentions or possible outcomes of that encounter?

3. Report of the Friars: Four friars representing Pope Gregory IX left a detailed account of their dialogue with the leadership of the Greek Church in 1234. What does their recollection tell us about how Christians of East and West saw one another? How does their report reflect the larger and longer effort to heal the Great Schism? Can we accept their comments as a faithful account? If not, what causes us to question their account?
 

Contact Mike Mullin (mmullin@asburyfirst.org) with any additional questions. 

Published: March 23, 2023

Sunday, April 23, starting at 11 am, 1040 Sanctuary and 1010 Community Outreach Center

Save the date!! Bishop Héctor A. Burgos Núñez will be preaching during Sunday worship on April 23 in the Sanctuary. Also, join us for an open house of the new Community Outreach Center after the service! More information coming soon!

Click here to learn more about the Bishop.
Click here to learn more about the Community Outreach Center.

Published: March 23, 2023

Rehearsals: March 26, April 2, and April 16, 9:40-10:20 1040 Wesley Hall
Performance: Sunday, April 23 and rehearse on the following Sunday mornings.

You are cordially invited to join the Asbury orchestra in rehearsals this Sunday and then the following Sundays until we play on April 23rd (Minus Easter Sunday). We hope you and any of your musically inclined friends will join us!  

Contact Laurie Kennedy at cellokennedy@frontiernet.net

Published: March 23, 2023

The Morehouse College Glee Club and the Concert Planning Committee extend a heartfelt thank you to Asbury First United Methodist Church family and staff for your outstanding hospitality and support, because of you, the concert was an overwhelming success.

Published: March 23, 2023

In 2020, a short-term Racial Justice Advocacy team formed and spent many hours over several months gathering information about how members at Asbury First could participate in Racial Justice work through education and partnering with local advocacy groups. A newly-formed Racial Equity ministry will be taking on long-term work of building racial equity at Asbury First. One of the first things this group has done is to compile the information gathered by the original team into one accessible place as a resource for our congregation. 

A new section of the website is the Racial Equity Resource Database. It will be updated regularly. Click here to download a PDF of the database.

Visit asburyfirst.org/racial-equity/ for more information on the group or contact Rev. Rachel Dupont at rdupont@asburyfirst.org with any questions.

Published: March 22, 2023

Wednesday, May 3, 1:30am - 9pm, Bennuci's Italian Restaurant—3349 Monroe Avenue, Rochester, NY

Benucci's Italian Restaurant will donate 20% of the entire day's proceeds to support families at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Located at the Pittsford Plaza location. Take-out included. Reservations for dine-in are recommended—call 264-1300.

Click here to learn more. 

Published: March 16, 2023

As we continue to acclimate to our ‘post-pandemic’ life together, we are exploring ways to offer Holy Communion that meet the needs of our congregation. In order to do this well, we would like to equip and empower a team of Communion Stewards.

If you are interested in helping to plan, set up for, and/or clean up after Communion, please contact Rev. Rachel Dupont: rdupont@asburyfirst.org (585) 271-1050 x113

Published: March 16, 2023

The first Sunday of each month after the 11 am service the church library bibliocart will meet you in the church Gathering Space with a full selection of new library purchases and the theme of the month.

This month (April 2) the focus is on Easter with numerous books on this topic. You can check out the books—for free—right there at the bibliocart—just in front of the piano. Stop by and check us out on this first Sunday in April: April 2, just one short week before Easter.

Published: March 16, 2023

Wednesday, April 26, 6-9 pm, Memorial Art Gallery

Please join Keeping Our Promise at our fundraiser gala, Road to Resilience at the Memorial Art Gallery.  Road to Resilience provides gala guests with an intimate view of the incredible journey wartime ally individuals and families take to escape the life-threatening situation they are in for serving US interests in Afghanistan. 

KOP does not receive any government funding and relies solely on private funds and fundraising events to accomplish our work. We invite you to join us for our upcoming Road to Resilience Gala fundraiser on Wednesday, April 26. Tickets are now available! For more information and to purchase tickets please visit our website here. 

Published: March 16, 2023

Shows:

• Friday, May 5, 7 pm, 
• Saturday, May 6, 7 pm, 
• Sunday, May 7, 2 pm

Tickets are now on sale for Asbury First's production of The Sound of Music! Based on the true story of the Von Trapp Family Singers, this play captures a personal tale of growth and hope amidst the horrors of World War II. Our multi-generational cast is working hard to bring this stellar musical to life. 

You can help support this production by buying advertising space in the program or becoming a sponsor of our project. We also have opportunities to support your favorite cast or crew member(s) with a special message in the program for $25 each. For more information, contact Larry Dugan at ldugan@asburyfirst.org.

We hope to see you there!

Click here to buy tickets

Published: March 9, 2023

Sunday, March 19, 9 am – 12 pm, 1040 Fellowship Hall  

It's pretzel time! One of the Asbury First Lenten traditions is Pretzel Sunday. From 1977 to now kids have enjoyed making pretzels at Asbury First and learning about their connection to faith and prayer. Join us on Sunday, March 19 from 10 am–12 pm in Fellowship Hall for fun, fellowship and all things pretzels. For those parents that aren’t attending a Sunday School class, you are invited to the Gathering Center for fellowship, coffee, and treats.

For more information contact Paula Dugan at pdugan@asburyfirst.org. 

Published: March 9, 2023

It’s time to make the dough! Click here for the recipe for the pretzel dough the children will need to make pretzels on March 19. Please bring the dough to the church by 10 am on the 19th. Thank you!

For more information contact Paula Dugan at pdugan@asburyfirst.org. 

Published: March 9, 2023

Sunday mornings, Starting March 19, 1040 Welcome Hall, OR during the week at the church office (1050 East Ave)

Do you want to show off your Asbury First spirit on cold days? Well now you can with the "Do More Good" knit cap! Thanks to an incredible donation by Brian and Joanne White, 100% of the proceeds will support the new Community Outreach Center. The hats cost $15 and will be available for sale on Sunday mornings starting on March 19 in the Welcome Hall, or during the week at the church office.

For more information call the church office at 585-271-1050.

Published: March 2, 2023

It has come to our attention that some of our staff and members have been receiving text messages or emails from Stephen with odd requests, usually asking for money or gift cards. Please ignore these requests. The Asbury First staff will never ask you to send cash immediately or to give your personal information over an open email.

Here are a few guidelines to recognize scam/phishing emails or texts:

• Be suspicious of urgent demands for information. Often spoofed e-mails will make some form of urgent request.
• Look for misspelled words or grammatical errors in the message and/or hyperlink.
• Avoid e-mailing personal and financial information.
• Be watchful of general greetings.
• Contact Asbury First directly to verify the request before responding.
   

Another way to avoid them is to check the email address and make sure it has @asburyfirst.org at the end. If it does not, immediately delete the email before opening it as the staff will only contact you using official email addresses. For more information, please contact David Strong at dstrong@asburyfirst.org.

Published: Feb. 23, 2023

The UR Well Clinic is in need of additional TB test (PPD) readers on Sunday mornings for about one hour. You would be meeting with patients in our new Outreach Center with a greeter to assist you. You will be oriented to Asbury First’s process and you would not be needed any more than once a month or possibly less.

Certification will be available at MCDH TB Clinic or if you are certified to read PPDs at your place of work you will qualify. If you are a licensed medical professional, active or retired, we welcome you to join our team.

For more information please contact Lin Vanderstyne RN, Reading Coordinator, at ljv@frontier.com.