Production Suite After
Many of us have been there. You move houses or apartments and find that you’ve accumulated so much that you need to clear it out before you can even begin to pack. Imagine you’ve lived in that house for almost 70 years. How much would you need to clean out before you could upgrade your space? For Asbury First’s Broadcast Room, this was an incredible undertaking. (continued on next page)
A church is more than the building, and the members 
of Asbury First are proving 
this time and again. We aim 
to keep connected with 
an e-newsletter that will 
highlight the unique stories 
of our amazing community.
E-Newsletter of Asbury First
After a year of working to upgrade the Broadcast Room 
and improve our live-stream quality, the Tech Team, Sextons, and volunteers helped clear the way for the Production Suite.
May 26, 2021
A CLEAN SLATE
Broadcast Room Before
By Sarah Brubaker
22
Balcony After
Over the last year, the Technology Team, Justin Ocello, of Ocello Systems our IT company, and Chuck Hanrahan (among many others), have been diligently working to upgrade our live-stream capabilities, which includes a re-imagining of the Broadcast Room. After months of planning, the team was able to clear out some outdated technology to make way for the rebranded Production Suite. “The hardest part was sorting through years of accumulated gear, and parting with the stuff that was still working well,†Rick Church said. “We tossed a lot of low-value electronics...and all of the high-value electronics were donated to the Antique Wireless Museum in Bloomfield.†Clearing out the space wasn’t the only difficult aspect of the upgrade. “I think the hardest part was adapting the space,†Chuck Hanrahan mentioned. “A lot of wires needed to be run, and that meant creative ways to manage them without it looking like a huge mess.†While the Production Suite creation was underway, the deadline of Holy Week soon approached, which meant some serious cleaning needed to take place. Over the course of a week, and right up until the Good Friday Family Prayer Night, an incredible amount of work went into clearing out the piles of electronics from the balcony. Property Care Manager James Flack worked tirelessly with volunteers, staff, and more to get the space ready for a return to in-person worship. “I would like to give a shout out to the volunteers — staff, contractors, and congregation members — for their willingness, and hard work to make the Narthex, and balcony presentable for Saturday’s Meditative Service,†James said. “It truly could not have happened without them, and I am greatly indebted to them all for their support.†Their incredible work paid off, and those who were able to attend the Good Friday Family Prayer Night and the Holy Saturday Service of Meditation, enjoyed a clear and welcoming space to connect with the holy. The other success from this incredible feat was the rebranding of the Production Suite, a name that was voted on by the Technology Team. An enthusiastic technology crew were happy to enjoy the upgrades during the Holy Week services. Kenny Bailey was excited for the “multiviews to quickly see the status of the live stream, on-air and timing messages to the stage screen, and the Production Suite controlling of the sanctuary TVs.†He said he was sure he was forgetting a number of new features, but that he enjoyed the new camera controller that can modify the speed at which the cameras pan, tilt, and zoom. Kenny isn’t the only one to appreciate the new Production Suite. “The new audio board and system is fancier and more capable than the older system,†Rick explained. “The room is a lot neater and cleaner than it was, and that's a good thing.†Now that the Production Suite is up and running, we can all enjoy the fruits of the labor as we watch a wonderfully produced worship service from the comfort of our homes. Maybe this will prompt some clearing and cleaning in our own spaces.
A Clean Slate, ctd.
COMMUNITY
96
People Worked Cleaning and Sorting
BY THE NUMBERS: 
BALCONY CLEAN UP
Hours Worked Cleaning and Sorting
100% of High-Value Electronics Donated to Antique Wireless Museum
Cleaning Up the Balcony
Paul Angotti Kenny Bailey David Berg Jake Schwartz Julianne Burch Rick Church Don DeMarsh Miriam Derivan James Flack Dale Griswold Carl Johengen Paula Kuempel Rick Kuempel Donna LaMura Chris Lee Jim McNerney Justin Ocello Ruth Phinney Bev Schuman Bob Schuman Dean Woolever Sue Wynings
Thank You to All Who Helped Clean!
Balcony Before
As you can see, the balcony was used to clean out the Broadcast Room and also as a staging area for the new equipment 
for the upgraded Production Suite.
Good Friday: 
Envisioning the Passion
For a chance to come back into our space 
of worship after over a year away due to the pandemice, the sanctuary was opened up 
for a special self-guided service of meditation.
Thanks to the amazing work of our soloists, tech team, and Lucy Durkin, Envisioning the Passion brought the crucifixtion stunningly to life.
Good Friday: Family Prayer Night
HOLY WEEK RECAP
About 40 people took advantage of the Holy Saturday and enjoyed some time taking 
in the beauty of our stained-glass windows.
Holy Saturday
Rev. Dr. Stephen Cady led us in a virtual Communion experience for the second year in a row.
Happy to be back at church, the Family Prayer Night was a success with 18 families and 66 people enjoying some prayerful activities together.
Maundy Thursday
Who would have guessed that we'd have two years in a row of online-only Easter services. But, this only goes to prove that the church is made up 
of the people, not the building. Enjoy these behind-the-scenes pictures from what will hopefully be our last virtual Easter Sunday.
Obligatory “did you catch me running around the service today†pictures. Hehe. This week’s slippers of silence are cute, sleepy owls. Happy Easter everyone!
Where's Sarah?
HOLY WEEK RECAP — EASTER SUNDAY
CHILDREN'S AND YOUTH MINISTRY
Vacation Bible School — August 2–5, 2021
Thankfully, our Youth Groups were able to meet in a hybrid fashion this semester and had some great fun, fellowship, and friend-making in person. They played noodle hockey in the Gathering Center, enjoyed a game of Large Throw Throw Burrito, and had a great day with our new 6-foot inflatable soccer ball while playing a giant game of kickball at Mendon Ponds.
Please join us at “Be the Seed†Vacation Bible School (VBS), where kids ages 4 through 6th grade have fun together learning to be the seed. Be the Seed will take place August 2-5 from 9 am to noon, on the front lawn of Asbury First UMC. We are excited for an outdoor COVID-safe camp where kids just have fun being the seeds of care, joy and compassion. To register, visit www.asburyfirst.org/betheseed.
Be the seed!
Youth Group Fun!
The Dining and Caring Center has enjoyed learning about Ethiopian traditions from one of our new volunteers, Ten Say. Here she is along with volunteers Dan and Anne-Marie.
The Storehouse (with the leadership of Cindy Connell and Wendy Cohen) has been working hard to update their processes and make sure they are working efficiently during the pandemic and preparing for reopening when they are able to do so safely. Recently, they purchased a laptop and a printer that they plan to use to receive referrals submitted through an online form. Eventually, when they are able to be open to guests again, they will schedule/track appointments, and track referrals and other data. Many thanks to Cindy and Wendy for their leadership and all of their behind-the-scenes hard work. During the pandemic they, along with a small group of volunteers, have been sorting donations and fulfilling emergency needs while the Storehouse 
is closed to guests. Thank you for all you do!
Storehouse Computer Update
CGI Clothing Drive
CGI Company made a wonderful donation for their 'Miracle March' goal, which was to take care of the community and give back. CGI partnered with us to run a clothing drive for our locals that are in need. While working on the "Better Together: Bring It Home" video, they got the chance to see first hand the impact Asbury First has on our community. That video helped us in our fundraising goal, putting proceeds towards renovations for our new Outreach Center that will be breaking ground soon! Thank you to all at CGI for the amazing donation.
OUTREACH — Storehouse
Amanda Ryan, the videographer for our recent "Better Together: Bring It Home" video campaign, led a clothing drive to support the Storehouse in March.
Dining & Caring Center
Watch the video CGI created about the clothing drive.