WELCOME TO ASHFORD
A church with a history and relevance to now. Join us in historic downtown on the corner of Harden Hill and Main. We'd love to meet you!
Ashford Memorial Methodist Church has an opening for our Senior Pastor position.
A NOTE FROM OUR PASTOR
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” Psalm 139:7 (NIV)
We are always in the presence of God. It is as though we never leave the Church even though we leave the sanctuary because there is never a non-sacred moment. God is still with us. I have felt that in a fresh way ever since we began having outdoor worship behind Oconee Well Drillers three and a half months ago. Our Lord’s presence never diminishes – perhaps our awareness may falter, but the reality never changes. Instead of the familiar pews with cushions, we have chairs that come in a bag. Instead of stained glass windows and air conditioning, we have nature’s trees providing shade on a lush lawn of green. And God is there.
David is not the only Bible writer to testify to the possibility of a constant sense of God’s presence. St John records (17:23) that Jesus was praying for his Disciples (then and us now), “I will be in them and you will be in me so that they will be completely one. Then the world will know that you sent me and that you loved them just as much as you loved me.”
While outdoor services remain in our immediate future, we too can rejoice that God’s rich presence will be with us on the freshly mowed lawn, as well as when we return to our freshly refurbish sanctuary.
Grace and Peace
- Larry -
Lowrie J. Welton, Pastor
MUSIC AND WORSHIP
Worship Service on YouTube and Facebook
Our outdoor services will continue to be streamed through Facebook Live at Ashford's Facebook page, Ashford Memorial Methodist Church. There will be a link on our website to view the video recording of the service, and Tyler Stampe will also put the recording on YouTube.
September 20th ORDER OF WORSHIP
16th Sunday After Pentecost
Rev. Dr. Lowrie J. Welton Presiding
Welcome and Invocation
**Hymn: "Amazing Grace" v. 1, 3, 5
*Apostle's Creed:
I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen
*Scripture Lesson: John 15:12-17
Meditation: ''Jesus, Lover of My Soul"
Pastoral Prayer & Lord's Prayer
Anthem: "No Greater Gift"
Sermon: "The Power of Love"
*Benediction
**Benediction Response: "Four-Fold Amen"
*Congregation standing, please, if able
** Masks on while singing, please
ANNOUNCEMENTS
UPDATE ON ASHFORD'S RESPONSE TO COVID-19:
The CoVid Committee met via Zoom on Wednesday, August 19th to discuss the latest CDC & US government recommendations regarding the CoVid pandemic. After a healthy discussion, our committee unanimously agreed to continue our outdoor services for the month of September. We felt the risks to our members and pastor far outweighed any potential benefits to hosting within the walls of our church home. The committee also agreed to reassess this situation monthly.
In the interim, we encourage ALL members of our congregation to attend the 9:00 a.m. outdoor services on Sunday mornings. We feel the outdoor services provide a safe place to worship and commune with our Christian family. As a reminder, families should sit together and are strongly encouraged to wear masks during the singing portion of our service. Special care has been made to ensure families are at least 6 feet apart. Our goal is a safe and healthy congregation. We encourage all members to do their part.
FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER our worship services will continue to be held at 9:00 a.m. outdoors at Oconee Well Drillers, 1331 Greensboro Highway, Watkinsville, and will be streamed through Facebook Live and the recording will be available on YouTube. Watch for weekly e-mail updates, guidelines, and order of worship for each week's service.
Thank you for continuing to support Ashford financially. We are blessed to be able to continue to support our missions, service people, and ongoing church expenses. Pastor Welton, the care team, and the entire congregation is available for support, encouragement, and prayers.
Pastor Welton is available by phone at (706) 338-4323 and email at ashfordpastor@bellsouth.net
TITHES AND OFFERINGS
Ashford now has a PayPal account. If you choose to use PayPal, please use the donate button below.
As always, checks can be mailed to P. O. Box 344, Watkinsville, GA 30677.
SANCTUARY FLOORING PROJECT UPDATE
The hardwood floors are complete, the carpet is in, and the sanctuary furniture has been moved back in. It looks beautiful!
We will be installing updated audio and video recording equipment and finishing up a few other odds and ends.
We are blessed to have covered the entire cost of the project by the contributions received. We are so thankful.
PASTOR SEARCH COMMITTEE
The Senior Pastor Search Committee and the Board of Directors continue working on our search process. As described previously, we have interviewed several "finalist" candidates. With our church not in normal operations, we are trying to arrange additional visits by candidates.
This past Saturday we held a "drop in meet and greet" for Board members to meet one candidate under consideration. The event went very well.
As you can imagine, being in the middle of a global pandemic makes it more difficult to conduct this process and for pastors to commit to moving their families at this time.
We do have a lead candidate that is very interested, and we are continuing discussions with him. Please keep our process in your prayers.
Patrick Lucas
BOARD MEETING will be held on Wednesday, September 2nd at 7:00 p.m. in the fellowship hall and via Zoom.
SUNDAY EVENING LADIES BIBLE STUDY
Angie Smith, author of the fabulous Bible study Seamless, has written her latest study, Matchless. All ladies are encouraged to participate in this 8 week study on "the beautiful story of our matchless Savior." The first session will be Sunday, September 13th at 5:30 p.m. on Zoom. If you would like to participate, please contact Ellen Elder and purchase your book online.
MONDAY MORNING LADIES BIBLE STUDY will meet on Monday mornings at 10:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. They will not meet on Labor Day, Monday September 7th. Please email Beth Kraps if you have any questions.
AMMY will resume September 13th. More information will be announced soon. If you have any questions about AMMY please email Julianne Blackburn.
MISSIONS
Ashford Memorial Methodist actively supports many local and international missions. You can view our recent and upcoming activities in our September Missions Newsletter.
Contact our missions coordinator to find out how you can help.
CONTACT US
1 South Main Street
P.O. Box 344
Watkinsville, Georgia 30677
Office (706) 769-6928
Fax (706) 769-0995
ashfordchurch@bellsouth.net
ashfordpastor@bellsouth.net
THE CHURCH OFFICE HOURS
8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Monday through Friday
© 2015 by Ashford Memorial Methodist Church