E-Newsletter of Asbury First
“
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 a weekly e-newsletter that will highlight the unique stories 
of our amazing community.
Sean's Morning Show
May 27, 2020
We knew that school was probably going to be canceled. When the announcement came out from the Governor, Sean was devastated. We had hoped that we could go back, but when the official announcement came out, he was sad for all of the things he was going to miss. One of the things he was missing was the morning show. Every day, the school has a morning show with announcements that tell you what is coming up, the weather, and what is for lunch. I was talking to a friend of mine who is a teacher, and she suggested he do his own morning show. I asked Sean and Finn about the parts that make up the show and started a script. Sean pays great attention to detail, so some of the words weren’t quite right. So, we sat down together and came up with a script that has the right words. The first one we did was Monday, May 11. I sent an email out to a few people to do a trial run. I wanted to keep it small and asked a few Asbury First families to join. On Monday at 9 am, we went live and it went really well. It started with the weather and then we talked about Mother’s Day. The regular school announcements include what all is happening around the school, but since school is out, we added a few different things. Sean included his top five Disney movies, and shared some good news from around the area. It lasted about 3-4 minutes. It was well received and was a nice way for Sean and everyone to start off the week. (Continued on next page) They liked it so much that they suggested doing it every day, but I felt it would lose its novelty, so we are doing it once a week. We do the pledge and the other announcements, to include a little bit of his routine, and to reach out to other people. When I invited the different families, I asked what they were having for lunch, so that Sean could include it in his show. We are working on the script now and will finish up on Sunday. In this first one, Sean asked the people to: “send me any good news, and your lunch count by Sunday.†Sean has Autism and this is helping to keep some of his routine during this time. I sent this out to a friend who also has Autism and her husband is a superintendent in the district. He even had an announcement to include about where students can go if they need tech support. When this pandemic first started, Autism Speaks sent out a picture of a kid holding up a sign reading: “You don’t like it when you’re world is disrupted. Now you know how I feel.†It really shows how disruption can affect all of us. Sean is happy to have his school announcements again and to spread a little cheer.

It was well received and was a nice way for Sean and everyone to start off the week.
Here are a few screen grabs from the many virtual meetings we have had as a church during these isolating times.
By Johanna Mahan
School Announcements, ctd.
Giving Lifeblood to Our Community
COMMUNITY
Sean Mahan works on the script for his Monday morning School Announcements.
If you'd like to donate, please go to www.redcross.org to set up an appointment.
On Friday, May 22, 37 people arrived in the Gathering Center to offer a donation. The result was a collection of 32 units, which exceeds the Red Cross goal of 23 donations. This result is incredible in view of the pandemic currently shutting down all normalcy in our lives. In recent years Asbury has sponsored two drives per year, one in June and one in December. There have been 19 drives, with the average drive collecting 29 units of blood. The total number of presenting donors has been 599, and total donations have been 556 units. Our donations potentially served the needs of over 1,500 patients, as blood can be separated into plasma, platelets and red cells. The Red Cross truly appreciates our sponsorship of these events, and we are thankful for those who come forward to donate, whether your participation is frequent or for the first time. — Ed Ristau
Asbury First is privileged to enjoy the talents of a dedicated musical staff, and perhaps now more than ever we've had a chance to experience some of them up close. Over the next few weeks we'll profile each of our soloist/section leaders, as well as our Organist Duane Prill. This week we feature Tenor Dan McInerney.
Question: Tell us a little about your musical background? 
Answer: In high school, I was a clarinet player, and went on to major in Music Education in college. I was drafted into the college choir on the second day of my freshman year. Well, let's just say I liked it — and I've been singing ever since.

Q: When did you join the Asbury First musical staff?

A: I don't remember when I first came to Asbury First as a substitute section leader, but my best guess is about 20 years ago. I became the "full-time" tenor section leader in 2011. 
Q: Tell us about an experience at Asbury First that 
has really stuck with you:

A: It's not a single experience, but rather the Asbury First Experience. The depth and strength of Asbury First's ministries, the staff, the programming, and the fellowship are incredible. I'm proud to call Asbury First "home."
 Q: Do you have a favorite musical moment, 
either here at Asbury First or elsewhere?

A: There are so many, but "Envisioning the Passion" 
on Good Friday is always a deeply moving service (with great music), and it was great fun to sing some of the tenor solos from Messiah with Bill Weinert and the Sanctuary Choir a few years back

Q: What do you do when you're not singing 
at Asbury First?

A: I work at UPS, Monday-Friday starting at 3:30 am!
I also work part-time for the choral ensemble Madrigalia doing arts administration work. I volunteer quite a bit, too, especially with the Eastridge Lancer Marching Band. 
Q: Tell us what's been helping you stay sane while sheltering at home:

A: I'm fortunate that my work schedule at UPS has remained the same, and I'm used to doing my other work from home. Our "kids" range in age from 18-25, and three of the four are at home with us, so there's lots of cooking and baking going on, occasional movie nights, and Face-timing our oldest daughter in Denver. I'm also calling my mom much more frequently!
Featuring Tenor 
Dan McInerney
Get to Know Asbury First's Musical Staff
COMMUNITY PROFILE
More families recently got in on the pretzel making fun! Norah Carroll-Nellenbeck (above), and Sam, Jacob, and Emma Parkes (right and below) did a great job. Those pretzels look yummy! If you'd like to make pretzels at home with your child you may click here for a pretzel dough recipe. If you don't have time to make dough, Wegman's pizza dough works well.
More Pretzel Magic
Recently, Boy Scouts Nicholas and Nathan Perrone dropped by some posters off for Rev. Mike Mullin to display at Asbury First to help them fulfill a requirement for the BSA God and Life program.
CHILDREN'S AND YOUTH MINITRIES
God Call All Types of People
The Boy Scout God And Life program is the study of Paul and the book of Acts. Part of this program is a service project on how God calls all types of people to serve. I would like to make a banner/ poster that shows how God does this. While I am not a member, I have come to services at your church and am familiar in how you open the doors of the church to many types of people. We discuss God's call in our life but sometimes we do not recognize it. This project helped to demonstrate that God Calls All Types of People regardless of past performance, training, or occupation. We can be ordinary, imperfect people but we have a job to do. God helps to make change possible. We need to accept God's plan for our lives. Let God direct us. — Nicholas and Nathan Perrone, 
Boy Scout Troop 167, Pittsford
OUTREACH