Asbury United Methodist Church

Volume 52, No. 7

CIRCUIT RIDER

July 31, 2015

Hey Church!
I was talking with a church member recently about his kids, and he told me how
he had been present for the birth of one of his children, but he had missed his
other kids' births. For one child, he had gone to meet his mother-in-law at the bus
station. For another child, the doctor had sent him home, saying there was no
way the kid came before the next day. Thanks, doc!

Coming events
Sunday, August 9th
Deadline to bring items for our
Stuff the Bus Ministry
Friday, August 14th
9am
Deliver Stuff the Bus School supplies
Saturday, August 15th
5:30 pm
Missions Celebrations dinner

Saturday, August 22nd

1pm - 3pm
Baby Shower honoring Kristen Kennedy

Our church has been blessed with the births of lots of new babies this summerthere's new life popping up all over the place! It's been wonderful to witness once
again how God can knit families closer together, and speak more clearly into our
hearts when we're celebrating new birth.
But it's all got me thinking- is it possible that in addition to the birth of new
babies, God could be birthing something new inside us, or within Asbury? If so,
could we miss it? I believe that our church has a unique contribution to make in
the kingdom of God, or else why would God have led us this far? I believe that
He is calling us to reach our neighbors and communities in such a way that no
other church here is equipped to do. Or else, why is there an Asbury? I don't yet
know every step of God's path, but I can tell you I'm on the lookout, daily, for
what God might be springing up at Asbury. I encourage you to be consistent in
asking and attentive in listening to what God might be trying to start in you, and
in our church too.
Blessings,

Sunday, August 23rd

8:45 & 11:00 am
Blessing of the Students & Teachers
4pm - 6pm
Elementary age Pool Party
@ Sommerfield home
Sunday, August 30th
Noon
Potluck luncheon sponsored by the
Shepherd team
Monday, August 31st
8:30 am
Day School Teacher Breakfast
10:00 am
Day School Orientation
Tuesday, September 1st
9:00 am
1st day of Day School
Look inside for more information
on the above events and other activities here at
Asbury, including Children and Youth events.
and special mission opportunities.

"Save the date now for our next Shepherd/Flock dinner coming up on Sunday,
August 30, after the second service. There will be sign-up sheets for the
congregation to let us know what potluck dish you would like to bring. Start
looking for the sign-up sheets in August. We will be asking you again to sit with
your Shepherd during the meal. We would also appreciate any and all of you
who can help set up/take down the sanctuary with tables/chairs for this time of
fellowship and food. If you have questions, contact your Shepherd. Also, if you
have not been assigned a Shepherd, please contact Maluan Anderson or Linda
Wheat, so we can get you connected."

Asbury United Methodist Church is located at

5354 Space Center Blvd, Pasadena, Tx 77505
Summer Office hours are:
Monday - Thursday 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Phone: 281-484-4814 Fax: 281-998-3438
Keep up with us on the net: www.asbury.cc
Like our Facebook page
Pastor: Rev. Lindsay Kirkpatrick

Welcome:
Luke James McFadden
Born Wednesday, July 15th at 6:27 am
Weight: 7 lbs, 9 oz
Length: 20 inches
Proud Parents:
Ryan & Tiffany McFadden
Big Sisters:
Alison and Brooke McFadden

Welcome:
Joseph Antonio Hernandez
Born Tuesday, July 21st at 5:46 am
Weight: 8 lbs, 10 oz
Length: 22 inches
Proud Parents:
Markie Hellyer & Tony Hernandez
Proud Grandparents:
Mark & Brenda Hellyer

Proud Grandparents:
David & Ginger Biehl

You are invited...

A baby Shower honoring
Kristen Palmer-Kennedy
Saturday, August 22nd
from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
here at Asbury
in the Youth Room
Summer Pool Party!
Kristen is registered at
Babies R Us and Amazon.com
Her little bundle of joy is due
in September
(its a boy!)

Who: Elementary age children

(and parents)
Date: Sunday, August 23rd
Time: 4 - 6 pm
Where: Sommerfield home
4202 Tuscarora (Pasadena)

Hot Dogs, drinks, and watermelon will be served.

Youth News
We are so excited to welcome Laurel Waller as our youth director, and Chance Moser as our youth ministry intern. They will begin on
August 2nd, and we can't wait! Pastor Lindsay interviewed them- read below to learn more about our new youth team!
Laurel, how long have you been a member at Asbury? My family joined Asbury when I was in
1st grade so I've been a member for 27 years now!
What do you like most about the church? That as a body, we are truly trying to live a life that
reflects who Christ calls us to be and when a need is presented there is always someone
willing and able to fill it!
What's your favorite part of working with youth? Oh man...I'm not sure I can pick just one but if
I have to narrow it down I'd say my favorite part is getting to build relationships with
some of the coolest people ever...seriously the youth are crazy fun!!!
What are your hobbies? Singing, Playing Guitar, Dessert Baking, Cake Decorating, Hiking,
Fishing (although I don't get to do this one enough) ...there are actually more. I may have
too many hobbies!!
Which spiritual discipline helps you feel most connected to God? I feel most connected to God through Worship, Service (Missions) &
Prayer
What hopes do you have for the youth ministry? How much space do we have here?!? Okay just kidding I'll keep it short! In a nut shell, I
hope to see the youth of Asbury become faithful disciples of Christ, grow in their personal faith and spread the love of God to their
friends, peers, teachers, coaches, etc, etc, ect! I hope they light a fire in this community that is contagious and helps more youth
(and adults) come to know who Christ is and to have a relationship with Him!
What's your favorite part of the Bible, and why? I have always loved Exodus, not only is it the ground work for what God would do for his
people later on through Jesus, in the New Testament but it serves as a constant reminder to me that God never gives up on us no
matter how far I feel I am from Him. God's chosen people complained, argued, disobeyed, lost faith, worshiped other gods, the list
goes on and on and yet God never abandon or have up on them. Since we are part of God's chosen people through the sacrifice of
Jesus, this is a powerful message in my life.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Teleportation through space and time (and anything I touch can come with me!)
Where would you go in a time machine? I don't need a time machine (please refer to superpower question). But if I were to go through time
the old-fashioned way I'd probably over analyze the choices and never actually go anywhere!
What would you do if you won the lottery? There are a few things, but one in particular would be to set up a investment fund to be able to
grow the money for the purpose of supplying endless wells for Living Water International.
Hey Chance, remind me- how long have you been a member of Asbury? I've been a member for about 10 years.
And what do you like most about our church? The tangible sense of community that we have.
What's your favorite part about working with youth? My favorite part would be the unexpected nature of it all, theres never a dull
moment and I love it!
What are your hobbies? Exercising and reading.
Which spiritual discipline helps you feel most connected to God? Definitely studying the Bible.
What hopes do you have for the youth ministry? For everyone to grow spiritually as individuals, and that
they'd grow closer together as a group.
What's your favorite part of the Bible, and why? That's a tie between Psalms and Romans, when I read
Psalms it's almost like some of them were written just for me, and reading Romans helps me
understand what the church is and how I can best fit into it.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be? The ability to turn into a velociraptor, for sure.
Where would you go in a time machine? I'd go back to when the carrot cake was invented and stop that
from EVER happening.
What would you do if you won the lottery? That's easy, I'd become Batman.

sponsored in 2013:

Living Water International is a

faith-based organization that helps
communities in developing countries
access safe drinking water. Asbury sent
a team to Leon, Nicaragua in 2012 and
2013. Here is a statement from 45 year
old fruit vendor Silvia Elena Lopez
Padilla, a community member in that
region, regarding the well Asbury

In the past, we had a lot of problems getting water because

we had to walk a half kilometer to get water. We would
have to shower there, away form our homes, because we
could not carry enough water back for both bathing and
drinking. As a community, we decided we needed to build a
well and so we began by using shovels to build one. All of
the people in the community worked to build the well. It
was an open well, one meter squared, but the water was dirty
and caused a lot of health problems like itchy skin and
stomachaches. However, our need for water was so great
that we had to drink it. The entire community had to get
water from this well. But now we have more people in the
community. The well wasnt enough for all of us because of
this reason, so we applied to Living Water and asked them to
help us to build a well. Now that we have a well, our
situation will change because this water is pure and we
wont have health problems. Also, it wont be as difficult to
get the water we need because we will have the safe water
from the well for our entire community to use. We are very
happy for the blessing you have brought to us with this well.
With this well, we will have better health and well-being for
the community. We thank God for this blessing that you
have brought to us. May God bless the sponsors and those
who came here to help build the well. We are so thankful for
the effort and sacrifice you made. May God bless all who
gave money and participated in this great work.
So Asbury, now an opportunity has arisen for us to team
with Friendswood UM Church to send a team in 2016. We
would all be part of a larger team sent to help dig a deep
enough well so that families in that area will have clean
water to drink and use in their daily lives. If you have ever
considered taking an International Mission trip, this may be
for you! More information will be coming soon on how you
can participate!
For more information about the Living Water International
Ministry, check their website at www.water.cc

Thank You
Dear Asbury Staff,
Thank you all so much for the beautiful plant you sent for
Marcs service. His service was a great tribute to him. He
loved Asbury and the Day School. Thank you for all the
love, prayers, visits and words of encouragement you have
given me over the past 4 1/2 years. We are truly blessed.
Love, Stephanie & boys

Our United Methodist Womens group will

be once again be hosting their Fall Bazaar
and Vendor Market on Saturday, October
3rd. The women are looking for vendors to
host their own craft booth at the bazaar.
This was a huge success last year and they
would like to expand it this year. Currently
there are about 10 vendors, and the UMW
would like to have more. If you know
someone or you would like to have a spot at
the bazaar, just let the UMW know. Vendor applications are
available in the Main Hall!

Manna Bag Mission

For I was hungry and you gave me
something to eat, I was thirsty and you
gave me something to drink.
Matthew 25: 35
We are continuing to put together Manna Bags, filled with
food and comfort items to be given to homeless people in the
Houston-Pasadena area. If you would like to donate items
for the bags, there is a box on the table in the Main Hall.
A list of needed items is also located on the table.
Thank You for your support!

Stuff The Bus Ministry...Join

our annual drive and help
local children in need to get
ready for the new school
year! The drive will run
through August 9th.
The drive benefits several
schools in the Pasadena area.
supplies is available in the

A list of needed school

Main Hall at Asbury.
Delivery of the supplies is scheduled for Friday, August
14th. Everyone is welcome to participate in delivering the
supplies. Please come join us! We will meet at the church
at 9:00 am. Contact the church office (281-484-4814) for
more information.

On Saturday, August 15th

Asburys Mission teams will
host the annual Mission
Celebrations dinner at the
church. Everyone is invited.
Dinner, dessert, coffee, and
tea will be provided by our
Mission teams.
The missions we are involved in are more than going on
Mission trips. There are several ways that you can
participate locally, or without going very far.
Come hear about all the different mission opportunities
Asbury has to offer. Maybe you will want to participate in
one of them soon.

We seek to honor our covenant through our Prayers, our Presence, our Gifts, our Serving, and our Witness...
Prayer Concerns:

From the Finance Committee:

Continued Prayers for:

Ross Bissonnet - Baywood Cr ossing

2015 is proving to be an exciting year at Asbury with much

to celebrate. From a financial aspect . . . So far in 2015. . .

Pray for those who have recently lost loved ones,

especially for the fam ily of Tommy Moser , the fam ily of
Dale Biehl, and the family of Bill Hilton.
Please pray for our members and friends affected by
cancer and other health concerns as well as all family
members and friends currently serving in the Military.
A weekly updated list of prayer concerns can be found in
the Main Hall on the table to the right, before you enter
the sanctuary.

PRESENCE . . .
Sunday, June 14, 2015
8:45 am Worship Service
11:00 am Worship Service

73
88

Sunday, June 21, 2015

8:45 am Worship Service
11:00 am Worship Service

71
99

Sunday, June 28, 2015

8:45 am Worship Service
11:00 am Worship Service

54
107

Sunday, July 5, 2015

8:45 am Worship Service
11:00 am Worship Service

84
99

Sunday, July 12, 2015

8:45 am Worship Service
11:00 am Worship Service

74
135

Sunday, July 19, 2015

8:45 am Worship Service
11:00 am Worship Service

59
93

Sunday, July 26, 2015

8:45 am Worship Service
11:00 am Worship Service

68
116

We have established an emergency fund ($10K) to

prepare for potential situations in which operating cash is
insufficient to meet payroll, pay current bills, or cover
unforeseen urgent expenses; we have not yet been in such a
situation this year, therefore have not had to spend from this
emergency fund.
We have paid $9.5K toward 2015 apportionments (total
2015 apportionment commitment is $43K).
In addition to apportionments, designated giving
enabled Asbury to donate $3K toward the Ambassador
Endowment; we hope to accomplish this goal each year in the
future.
General Fund giving to date is $234K (to support
Asburys 2015 budget of $502K).
Fundraising efforts and designated giving (beyond
General Fund donations) have enabled Asbury to support
several incredible outreach ministries.
New staff positions (Director of Childrens Ministry, Youth
Director & Intern) have been filled within planned budget.
Were remaining current on payment of expenses, including
long-term debt payments; we currently owe $835K on our
land, building & capital improvement projects; donations
toward paying down this debt can be made through designated
gifts to Debt Reduction (a designated fund account).
While operating cash balance has sufficiently covered
expenses, we have not experienced surplus operating cash;
managing cash flow is an ongoing challenge (which explains
why we have not paid more toward apportionments).
Bottom line a good first half of the year still a ways to go
from the perspective of 2015 financial goals.

General Fund Snapshot

2015 Budget
$501,965.00
Received thru 07/26/15
$240,602.81
Still Needed:
$261,362.19

Asbury extends sympathy to the Moser family on the

death of Terry Mosers brother Tommy Moser on June
19th.
Asbury Remembers
Bill Hilton
member since 2005

Asbury extends sympathy to the Biehl family on the

death of David Biehls brother Dale Biehl on July 4th.

Hearts that love and Hands that serve as Disciples of Jesus Christ