Church is beginning to feel more and more “normal” every Sunday. It has been a delight to meet some of you for the first time, and I am so excited that you are back to attending worship!
Since my arrival eight months ago, your leadership and I have been conferring about how best to manage the COVID pandemic and what the “new normal” church will look like when we come out of the pandemic. One thing is abundantly clear – online worship is here to stay, though we will continue to work on what exactly online worship will look like in the future.
In navigating a new normal, we have discussed a variety of worship time options, including a return to our previous schedule. However, we have concluded that the following worship schedule will give AUMC the best opportunity to grow and become the church that God is calling us to be:

9:00 – 9:50 a.m. Connexion Worship in Asbury Sanctuary
10:00 – 10:50 a.m. Sunday School for all ages
11:00 – 11:55 a.m. Traditional Worship in Wesley Sanctuary

Our first Sunday under this new schedule will be July 11, 2021.

The Sunday before, July 4th, we will have a single combined service at 10:00 a.m. followed by an all-church 4th of July Celebration in the gym (more details to follow soon).

Allow me to share some of the reasons behind the decision for a time change. One of the things I heard in all of my small group Zoom meetings when I first arrived was a desire for a single Sunday school hour. It came up in every session at least once, and often multiple times. It has been my experience (and studies show) that churches, with strong adult Sunday Schools, are healthier and are better able to disciple their adults. This does not minimize the importance of small groups. They, too, are essential to a good discipleship program. The best churches have a “both/and” approach to growing disciples.
I have served in churches where we had two children’s Sunday school hours and, inevitably, one hour was much stronger than the other. That was indeed the case here, pre-pandemic. By having one Sunday school hour, we can focus our efforts on one excellent hour for all of the children. Having two children’s Sunday School hours required twenty volunteers each Sunday. With the new schedule, we will only need to recruit ten volunteers for ministry per Sunday.
I know that change is difficult but, after prayer and careful study, the Administrative Board, your pastors, and staff feel that this new schedule gives our church the best opportunity to grow the Kingdom of God and this Body of Christ. 

Thanks be to God for all He is doing in the life of this great church!

Peace and Blessings,
Pastor Mike Tyson