asburyfirst.org
(585) 271-1050
Join us in Celebrating Kathy's Ministry June 14 after the 11 am Worship Service
JUNE 2026
Join us in Celebrating Mike's Ministry June 28 after the 11 am Worship Service
The SPRC invites you to celebrate Mike Mullin as he concludes his time with Asbury First. Mike will preach at the 9 & 11 am services on June 28, followed by a reception in the Gathering Center. If you would like to contribute to a departure monetary gift (sometimes called a "purse") please contact the church office before June 28 by calling (585) 271-1050.
NEWS SHEET
You're invited! Join us for upcoming worship, fellowship, and fun.
As we say goodbye, we are reminded of just how much Kathy has meant to so many of us — her warmth, her wisdom, and her unwavering commitment to care. She leaves behind a congregation that is richer, more connected, and more deeply cared for because of her presence. Please join us in the Gathering Center following the 11 am Worship Service on 6/14, to celebrate Kathy and send her off with the love and joy she has so generously given to all of us. Kathy will begin a new appointment on July 1, continuing her gifted ministry at the Williamson and Pultneyville United Methodist Churches.
June’s Chapel Challenge will help fill the “blessing box”, first established at Christmas time to provide easy access to single-serve food and drinks without need for cooking or can openers. The box is located on our front lawn, near East Ave. Some suggestions for donations: tuna packets, Vienna sausages, fruit cups, apple sauce, pudding, bottled water, protein drinks, baked beans, corn niblets, cracker packs. Please avoid foods that will melt or spoil in summer heat. Please drop them off near the rail in the front of the Children's Chapel before or after services.
NEWS SHEET | JUNE 2026
Chapel Challenge: Filling the Blessing Box
The Columbarium & Memorial Garden
NEWS SHEET | MARCH 2026
Pride Sunday is June 21
Spring is here, and with it, a first chance for the Memorial Garden to grow into its new home in the newly opened Columbarium, a sacred place to pray, reflect and meditate. Niches can be reserved for yourself or a loved one. Contact Deb Bullock-Smith to reserve your niche or learn more at dbullock-smith@asburyfirst.org or call (585) 271-1050 x117
At Asbury First, we believe God's love includes everyone — no exceptions. Join us June 21 for Pride Sunday as we celebrate the abundant gift of our diversity and reaffirm our commitment to being a place of refuge and blessing for all people. We remember that each of us — and especially our LGBTQIA+ siblings — is created with divine purpose and dignity. As we worship together, we also honor the courageous legacy of those who marched, resisted, and sacrificed so that love and justice could flourish. Be the rainbow! Feel free to wear your most colorful outfit.
Grocery Bag Ministry Is Now Meeting the Second Saturday of Each Month
Accessibility at Asbury First: Hearing Loop Active
Morning Prayer – Thursdays at 9:30 am
For over 12 years, Asbury First's Grocery Bag Ministry has assembled thousands of grocery bags for families in need across Rochester. Join us the second Saturday of each month at 8 am in the Dining & Caring Center to help pack grocery bags distributed to partner churches and refugee families through the Keeping Our Promise program.
In these turbulent times of shifting headlines and unsettling political events, our pastoral staff feels called to help our community maintain spiritual grounding. We invite you to join us for Morning Prayer every Thursday from 9:30 - 10am in the Meditation Chapel (within the Sanctuary). This simple service offers a space to center ourselves in God's presence, solidarity, compassion, and love. No special preparation needed—come as you are, whenever you can join us.
We are pleased to offer a hearing loop system for those with hearing loss. This system delivers audio directly from our microphones to your personal hearing aid or cochlear implant. Please switch your device to the 'T' (Telecoil) setting. If you do not have a T-coil, please see an usher to borrow a portable receiver.
We're so excited for Asbury First's Summer VBS! Children in grades Pre-K (age 4) through 5th grade are invited to join us August 3–6 from 9 am to Noon for fun, faith-filled days exploring the Bible through arts, crafts, games, and more! Registration fees can be paid online via credit card or bank account through this form, or select "Pay Later" to mail a check to Asbury First United Methodist Church, 1050 East Ave, Rochester, NY 14607, Attn: John Ormsbee. For questions, email programs@asburyfirst.org.
Summer VBS is coming!
A Note on Sound in the Sanctuary
We are aware of concerns with the temporary sound system which will be in place until a new permanent system can be installed. Our Tech Team is doing its best to adjust the system to our needs. If you find yourself seated in an area of the nave where the sound is muddy, please don't be embarrassed to get up and move to an area where you can hear more clearly. Thank you for your patience!
Interested in connecting with our high schoolers as they travel to West Virginia for their mission trip this July? Please consider signing up to be a Prayer Partner! In addition to keeping them in your prayers throughout the week, Prayer Partners write a letter to their assigned youth that will encourage them while they're on the trip. Please contact Alex at ahunt@asburyfirst.org to sign up or for more information!
Mission Trip Prayer Partners Wanted
KOP is seeking 4 groups of 3 volunteers each to be part of a caring circle for new families. Under the Welcome.US program, we can help, but we officially need three volunteers per family. This will guarantee a family $1,000 per person in resettlement funds within 2 to 3 weeks from the Welcome Corps. Please reach out to friends and community members if you can help by being part of a caring circle. For more information, call or text Cindy Malone at (585) 645-4060.
Keeping Our Promise Seeking Volunteers
VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES | JUNE 2026
Connecting Through Volunteering
Looking for a deeper way to connect? Volunteering at Asbury First is more than helping out—it’s about building friendships, discovering joy, and growing in faith. Our Volunteer Engagement Committee is here to match your gifts and schedule with opportunities across the church. Whether you have an hour once in a while or time each week, there’s a place for you: greeting on Sunday mornings, singing in the choir, teaching, cooking, office help, or serving with Outreach ministries. The best part? Volunteering is flexible and rewarding. You’ll bless the church with your presence—and find yourself blessed in return. Ready to find your place? Reach out to the Volunteer Engagement Committee and discover the joy of serving together. Call the Church Office to be connected with someone who can help you find your place at (585) 271-1050.
ARTICLES | MARCH 2026
Financial Sustainability Update: 2026 Pledge Campaign Results What you will learn: Results of the 2026 pledge campaign Key risks we face What’s ahead- and how you can help As promised, we are sharing more detail about our 2026 pledge campaign results. Because of your generosity, we saw a remarkable growth in pledges. This has helped reverse a decade-long trend and strengthened our ability to live out our mission. Highlights 2026 pledges are on track to sustain the significantly increased level of giving seen in 2025 The number of pledging households increased for both the General Fund and COC Many households are now supporting both areas (“dual pledging”), helping lead the way in generosity Dual pledgers not only give more overall, but they also contribute more to the General Fund Over two years, total pledged support (General + COC pledges) has grown from $1.2M to $1.8M This is worth celebrating. It reflects deep commitment, shared vision, and growing engagement across our community. Where We Still Face Risk At the same time, we want to be transparent about what this data also tells us. 45 households account for 48% of all pledged income- this concentration is not healthy or sustainable We continue to experience turnover in pledging households each year Giving is heavily concentrated among older members 25% of our pledged income is from those age 80+ Less than 10% comes from those under age 50 In other words, while we are stronger today, long-term sustainability will depend on broadening participation and deepening engagement across all generations. Our Focus Going Forward We are committed to: Strengthening relationships and retaining current pledging households Inviting more households into first-time or renewed pledging Encouraging broader participation in both General Fund and COC giving Building pathways for younger and newer members to engage in generosity Working together to make all of this happen Every pledge matters. Every household matters. Everyone can help encourage others in this effort. We also welcome your questions and feedback. Please reach out to finance@asburyfirst.org. Thank you for your continued support. With gratitude, Dawn Riedy, Finance Committee Chair Tim Mahan, Financial Sustainability Task Force Chair
ARTICLES | JUNE 2026
Financial Sustainability Update: Fixed Asset Replacements What you will learn: What is meant by fixed assets Why there is a problem What is the work ahead Fixed Assets On the Asbury First campus we have several million dollars’ worth of fixed assets- the equipment, machinery, building elements and information technology that make our ministries possible. All of these assets have an expected useful life and will eventually need to be replaced. Replacement costs range from 100’s of dollars to 100,000’s of dollars (or more). The Problem In recent years, fixed asset replacements have been funded by reserving dollars in our Property Fund. Dollars come from two sources—the General Budget (this year $75,000) and distributions from restricted property care endowments (this year $33,000). While these amounts are sufficient to cover some fixed asset replacements, they are not sufficient to cover “big ticket” items such as a new roof, 1040 windows and other major HVAC or IT expenses. Therein lies the problem: we do not currently have a comprehensive plan for funding all of our replacement needs. The Work Ahead As we shared in ourfirst 2026 update,planning for fixed asset replacements is key to achieving long term financial sustainability for Asbury First—and developing such a strategy and plan will be the 2026 focus of the Financial SustainabilityTask Force. This work will take time and will involve the input and expertise of our staff as well as multiple governance committees and teams, including Property Stewardship, Finance, and Legacy Giving, to name a few. We welcome your questions, ideas and feedback. Please reach out to finance@asburyfirst.org. We look forward to sharing our next Financial Sustainability Update with you in early September. Thank you for your continued support. With gratitude, Dawn Riedy, Finance Committee Chair Tim Mahan, Financial Sustainability Task Force Chair
Asbury First has been participating in Youth Missions for decades (we have records dating back to at least 1977). Destinations have included the Bahamas, James Island (South Carolina), Navajo Nation, Mexico City, Portland (Maine), Belize, Asheville (North Carolina), New York City, Chacocente (Nicaragua), Red Bird (Kentucky), Cuba, Texas City, Chicago, and Rochester (just to name a few…). These trips have provided youth with the opportunity to participate in urban missions, in disaster relief, in rural home repair, and in cultural immersion experiences. Despite the different locations and the different projects, every trip offers our youth the opportunity to expand their worldview. We often reflect that the people who are most changed on our mission trips are the missioners themselves. When we set aside an entire week to sleep on the floor of a school gymnasium, to eat simple meals, or to dig holes in 100-degree heat, we are able to more fully appreciate the things that truly matter in life. Our friends and our community are our support systems that will continue to carry us through life. Just like we travel to support strangers across the nation and the world, we come away with that same sense of wholeness and connection. Mission trips offer us a glimpse into the church at its best: a community willing to show up and support one another. One of the other important lessons that can be drawn from every mission trip is that we do not need to travel to a faraway destination to make a difference. It is true that separating ourselves from the usual distractions is beneficial, but it is also a reminder that there is plenty of need right in our own backyard, and many of our youth have returned home from mission trips ready to get more fully involved in our Community Outreach Center and other local agencies and ministries. This year’s trip brings all of these lessons into sharp focus. Our high school mission trip will be traveling to Nicholas County, West Virginia to work with Appalachia Service Project (ASP). ASP has been around since 1969 working to help meet the immediate need of homeowners in the Appalachian region, while also working to address the systemic challenges that lead to some of the deep poverty in the area. While on a trip with ASP, the youth get to interact with both of these realities as well. They will have the opportunity to learn more about the history that has led to the lack of resources, and they will learn of the importance of not only applying a bandage (which might be an accessible ramp or a new roof), but also in advocating and working for structural and systemic change. As the youth prepare for their July trip to West Virginia, they will be sponsoring one more fundraiser to invite you vicariously into the process. The youth have numbered and decorated envelopes from 1 through 100 that will be displayed in the Gathering Center starting this week until Youth Sunday. You are invited to take an envelope and then return it with a dollar amount equal to the number on the envelope. There will also be a document inside each envelope with more detailed instructions. We hope that you will consider supporting our youth as they prepare for this meaningful journey. This Sunday, you'll find our "wall of envelopes" fundraiser in the Gathering Center! To support our youth's summer mission trip, all you have to do is take an envelope from the wall and return is with a donation matching its number($1 to $100). Details are inside each envelope. Can't attend in person? Reach out to Jo Urriola-Schonewolf at jurriola-schonewolf@asburyfirst.org or Mike Mullin at mmullin@asburyfirst.org.
The joy of Easter Sunday doesn't fade when the lilies are packed away — the Church continues to celebrate the Resurrection for a full fifty days, and we are still right in the heart of that season! Easter is not a single morning but a sustained festival of life and light, stretching from that triumphant Sunday through Pentecost on May 24. In these weeks, we are invited to keep living into the good news that death has been defeated and new life is breaking forth — in our worship, in our community, and in the world around us. This year we were blessed to have photographers with us to capture the spirit of Easter Sunday at Asbury First, and what they caught is nothing short of beautiful. Browse through the images below and relive the energy, the warmth, and the wonder of that morning — the faces, the fellowship, the worship. We hope these photos remind you that what we celebrated together was real and it is still unfolding. The risen Christ is still in our midst. The season is still singing. Pentecost is just around the corner.
We are excited to announce that Alex Hunt (he/they/she) has been hired as Asbury First’s Associate for Age-Level Ministries. In this role, Alex will join Jo Urriola-Schonewolf and incoming associate pastor Dee Finch in planning and running ministries for children, youth, and families. Alex (youngest child of Martha and Douglas Hunt, sibling of Andrew Hunt, grandchild of Donna Brown Steele and Winthrop Steele) grew up in Fairport, NY and was baptized and confirmed here at Asbury. Alex was a youth leader “back in their day,” participated in youth bell choir and outh choir, served with the COC Friday breakfast team for three years, and currently plays with the adult bell choir. Alex attended the University at Buffalo, earning a BA in English (and also finding her husband, Anthony!). Alex has worked with books and children for a decade, first as a children’s bookseller at Barnes & Noble, and most recently in the Discovery Room at the Brighton Memorial Library. Alex loves reading (of course), writing poetry, drawing, spending time with family, friends, and his two cats (Asher and Blueberry), drinking coffee, and being in nature (but not bugs so much). And Alex really looks forward to working with everyone here at Asbury First UMC! Please welcome Alex to their new role at Asbury First!
Spring is finally here, and last Wednesday, May 13, we celebrated the season at our Older Adult Spring Gathering at Asbury First! The Gathering Center was filled with sunshine as we came together for worship, shared a delicious meal, and enjoyed each other's company. These gatherings are a beautiful reminder of how the depth of wisdom and experience our older members bring enriches our entire church family. Just as spring awakens the earth with new life and the promise of growth, we treasure the opportunity to learn from one another across generations, discovering together the breadth of God's love through the wonderful diversity present in our community. What a joy it is to gather, to celebrate, and to grow in faith together!
I’ve always been the kind of person who can never do just one thing. This was normalized (and even praised!) when I was in school, as my list of extracurriculars was as long as my arm. Even in college and graduate school, I found myself taking on work alongside my studies and rehearsals. This is, in part, why children’s and youth ministry is so appealing to me: there’s always at least three things happening at once and I get to participate in them all. The same was true for my time in seminary. While I was taking classes at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC, I also worked with the astronomy education team at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall. I primarily worked in the planetarium and with our telescopes, but I also got the chance to wander around the museum off-hours and have the exhibits to myself. I’ve spent hours of my life visiting artifacts like the Wright Brothers' flyer, the telescope that discovered Pluto, and astronaut and cosmonaut suits. Something you notice right away when you visit Air and Space is how influential the military has been in our discoveries about flight and space travel.The rockets that took our astronauts to the Moon were designed by scientists who were brought to the US duringProject Paperclip, meaning that they got their experience building rockets during World War II. Many of our astronauts have military training. Funding for many of the exhibits comes from companies that today make weapons of war. Knowing that this experience was brought to you by Nazis and Raytheon really puts a damper on your sense of awe and wonder at the vastness of space. I love astronomy and astrophysics. I love thinking about the universe beyond our planet. I dream ofteaching on Marsone day. And, at the same time, I have to be honest with myself: some of my dreams have been built by people whose work ended other people's lives. It seems strange to say, but this knowledge truly challenged my faith. How could anything good come from such violent roots? I’ve wrestled with it over the years, but I’ve come to truly believe that God is with us, in good times and in bad. God is with everyone whose lives and family and homes are threatened by war right now and God is with us. God is with us when we dream and hope and explore and God is with us when we destroy. But God's presence with us and God's message to us is different in different situations. We are blessed when we are peacemakers and we are called to account when we are not. We are called to stop violence in all its forms, to repent, and to repair what we can, to turn the weapons of war into tools for growing things. When you think of all we as people can accomplish together, the International Space Station, Hubble and the JWST, the Apollo landings, remember what we as Christians are called to do. Choose to make good and beautiful things. Make good and beautiful things that mend the brokenness of violence and sow the seeds of wholeness. When we do this, then the Spirit of God can come among us and take our hopes and dreams to places we’ve never gone before.
Wednesdays, 10–11:30 am , 1010 Red Room and Zoom (zoom.us/j/8924819492) PW 578697) This group meets on Wednesdays morning between Labor Day and Memorial Day. It is primarily a book group that is open to all. The group considers and chooses the books to read for the coming year each spring. They spend several weeks on each book, focusing on a few chapters each week. For more information, please contact programs@asburyfirst.org
Lectio Divina
CONTINUING CLASSES, GROUPS, AND EVENTS
Fridays, 1 – 3 pm, 1040 Room 205 (upper level, bell choir room) Meeting on Friday afternoons, the Asbury Women's Art Class explores creation through a variety of art mediums. Please email Linda Clemow at soulsourcestudio1@gmail.com for more information and to register.
Tuesday Women’s Fellowship
Looking for a way to stay connected to your Asbury First friends during the week? Want to meet new Asbury First friends? All women, all ages, are welcome to join the Tuesday Women's Fellowship via Zoom, 9:30–10:30 am each week. Bring your coffee or tea, and perhaps a treat, zoom in and enjoy an hour of devotion, sharing, and connection. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Elizabeth Church, coordinator, at emchurch418@gmail.com. Hope to see you soon!
Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30 am, Zoom (zoom.us/j/8347173468 PW 200)
Lectio Divina is a contemplative practice on reading scripture. A passage of scripture is read, then there is silent meditation, then the passage is read again, then more silence, and then discussion. The silence is an opportunity to reflect upon what you experienced in the scripture. This half hour opens and closes with prayer. All are welcome. For more information please contact Rev. Dr. Michelle Bogue-Trost at mboguetrost@asburyfirst.org or at 585-271-1050 x125.
Wednesday Morning Study Group
Tuesdays, 8:30–9 am, Zoom (zoom.us/j/8347173468 PW 200)
Asbury First Women's Art Class
Tuesdays, 2:15 - 3:15 pm, Zoom (zoom.us/j/8347173468 PW 200)
Men of all ages are welcome to join us on Wednesday mornings via Zoom as we discuss topics of faith, life, and more. Each week, a different member of the group leads us in a devotion for our time together. These can be instructional, reflective, conversational, and more. This is a wonderful group to make and build connections, and we hope that you will drop in to join us! For more information, contact programs@asburyfirst.org
Have you ever wondered what the Bible really says—and if it truly has any meaning for us in modern times? If so, then you’re not alone. Most Christians have never really read the Bible, and many wonder if its antiquated teachings truly transcend time. If you would like to grapple with these questions, then you are encouraged to join in the Disciple Bible Study. Disciple IV spends the first half the year looking at the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament, and the second half of the year focused on the Gospel of John and Revelation. The Disciple IV Bible study will be starting later this spring. For sign-up or more information, contact programs@asburyfirst.org
Disciple IV Bible Study
Men’s Devotional Group
Wednesdays, 7 am, Zoom (zoom.us/j/8347173468 PW 200)
Yoga at Asbury First
Tuesdays, 3 pm, Gathering Center, $10 pay at the door
Join us for our weekly sessions of Gentle Yoga. This gentle attention can help both to bring inner awareness to your body, as well as clarity and peace to the mind! Classes are an hour long and open to participants at any level. $10 at the door, you're encouraged to wear comfortable loose-fitting clothes, and to bring a towel and water with you.
Carvers of Hope is a wood carving ministry that helps people who find themselves in the very difficult places of life. Its members carve handmade crosses as a reminder of the hope Jesus brought to us through the cross. All materials, wood, and carving tools are provided, as well as carving lessons. No prior skill is needed to carve crosses with this group. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact John Smalt at jhsmalt@gmail.com.
4th Tuesday of the Month, 6:30–8 pm, Room 203
As The Spirit Moves Us
Prayer Shawl Ministry
Asbury First's LGBTQ+ Advocacy Group continues to hold meetings seeking new ways to support the LGBTQ+ community. Meetings are held in the Youth Room (in the lower level of the church). Anyone affiliated with LGBTQ+ community and allies are welcome to attend. We will be planning for events, outreach, and educational opportunities in our community. Youth and adults are welcome! For more information, please contact Deb Bullock-Smith at (585) 271-1050 x117 or at dbullocksmith@asburyfirst.org.
4th Wednesday of the Month, 3–4:30 pm, Library
3rd Sunday of the Month, at 9:45 am, 1040 Youth Room (lower level)
LGBTQ+ Advocacy Meeting
Sundays, 9:45–10:45 am, Room LL03 and Zoom (zoom.us/j/6174865464 PW Disciple) As The Spirit Moves Us is a class founded on forming a welcoming community to study Biblical events through scripture as well as Christian-based literature. All are welcome, and every voice is heard as we become better together. For sign-up or more information, contact programs@asburyfirst.org
Carvers of Hope
A prayer shawl is a simple shawl or a lap blanket knitted by members of our group. It is symbolic of an inclusive, unconditionally loving God. The knitting itself is very simple and we have “experts” on hand to help you if you are a beginner. The group meets monthly on the fourth Wednesday. Clergy and lay members of our church identify those who may benefit from our ministry and a shawl, and they're delivered by ministers or congregation members. Questions? Contact Meredith Pixley at meredithpixley@gmail.com.
To submit an announcement, email communication@asburyfirst.org, call the church office at (585) 271-1050, or fill out the online form at asburyfirst.org/bulletin-announcement. If you'd like to receive regular paper communications, please call the church office at (585) 271-1050.
ALTAR FLOWERS The flowers on the altars are given to the glory of God and in gratitude of past and present church members. If you would like to place flowers on the altars, please contact Jeanne Ristau at (585) 223-4356, preferably two weeks ahead of requested date. Prayers and Concerns We offer our prayers and concerns for all those who are ill at home, hospitalized, or in hospice care. Our hearts and prayers are with the family of Beth Woolever, who died on May 20. A Memorial Service to celebrate her life was held on Friday, June 12. Our hearts and prayers are with the family of Mason Fitch who died on May 14. A Memorial Service to celebrate his life will be held on Monday, June 15 at 1 pm in the Sanctuary. We are saddened to share news of the death of Ed Ristau. As we give thanks for his life, we hold Ed's family and friends in our prayers and in the loving embrace of this congregation. May God's grace sustain them, and may cherished memories bring comfort in the midst of sorrow. Details about a Memorial Service will be released at a later time. We are saddened to share news of the death of Jim Papazissimos. As we give thanks for his life, we hold his wife, Ann Williams, his family, and friends in our prayers and in the loving embrace of this congregation. May God's grace sustain them, and may cherished memories bring comfort in their sorrow. We want to be able to visit and pray with those who are in the hospital. If you know someone who is in the hospital and would like a pastoral call, or if you yourself are in the hospital or have a date for surgery, please call the church office so that we can find someone to be with you in that moment. (585) 271-1050.
Celebrations and concerns
Stay up-to-date with events, links, and information with our online calendar, or call (585) 271-1050.
asburyfirst.org/events