ASBURY FIRST MONDAY READER | SEPTEMBER 1, 2025

CONTENTS: CONNECTION SUNDAY – CONNECT, GROW, DO MORE GOOD.

PRAYING FOR MINNEAPOLIS BY BISHOP HÉCTOR A BURGOS-NUÑEZ

Fall is the perfect time to reconnect, re-engage, and renew your spirit! On Sunday, September 7, we’re inviting everyone at Asbury First to join in for Connection Sunday — a chance to discover all the ways you can connect, grow, and belong this year.

After both worship services, the Gathering Center will feature tables packed with fliers, brochures, and friendly faces representing our ministries, programs, and opportunities. Whether you’re looking for:

• Fun and fellowship with new friends

• Spiritual growth through study or prayer

• Opportunities to make a difference

• Community and connection in small groups or classes

…there’s a place for you! Stop by, ask questions, meet leaders, and see what’s ahead this fall. Come ready to discover how you can connect more deeply with God and with one another. We can’t wait to see where this season will take us—together!

And that’s not all—later in the month, you'll have an opportunity to explore ways to share your time and talents through volunteering as we continue to host our Fourth Sunday Volunteer Engagement Table in the Welcome Hall. 

Let’s connect. Let’s grow. Let’s do more good.

Praying for Minneapolis

Today, I grieve the innocent lives lost and the many wounded in the tragic shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. Children were praying, and instead met deadly violence. My heart aches for their families, for a community shaken to its core, and for every soul scarred by this unimaginable pain.

God of mercy, cradle these children in Your eternal peace. Bring comfort to the grieving, healing to the injured, and strength to those bearing the weight of this trauma.

Let this not be another moment of silence that fades into forgetfulness. We pray for action: for responsible gun control & ownership laws that place the safety of our children above distorted arguments of “freedom” that bind our society to deadly cycles of violence. Mental health checks must be part of this conversation, because prevention is compassion.

May love speak louder than violence. May courage rise in the face of tragedy. And may we never grow numb to the cries of the innocent.

Amen.

Bishop Héctor A. Burgos-Núñez