Dear friends,

The United Methodist Church and the New York Conference in particular have had a deep connection to the people of Haiti over many years. There are Haitian congregations in our annual conference, and numerous Volunteers in Mission teams have spent time in Haiti, befriending and working side-by-side with Hatians on a variety of projects serving this terribly impoverished and violence stricken nation.

The catastrophe that has struck the nation of Haiti today adds to the miseries of people who have already known much misery. I received a notice from United Methodist Communications, and I will keep you informed of the plans being made by our denomination and our annual conference to respond to this disaster.

Meanwhile, contributions may be made directly to the United Methodist Committee on Relief at their online site, and a special collection will be taken at our worship service this coming Sunday, January 17. Donations to the United Methodist Committee on Relief go 100% to direct relief.

Please keep our sisters and brothers in Haiti in your prayers, and please do all you can to suport the relief efforts.

Rev. Scott Summerville

Donate through the United Methodist Committee on Relief to help survivors of the Haiti Earthquake by clicking on the banner above. On the first page make sure to use the drop down to specify this gift be used specifically to the Haiti relief fund or for UMCOR’s general fund. You can choose to give the church credit for your contribution by clicking the check-box at the bottom of the contact information page. On the next page you can choose “New York – Metropolitan North” and Asbury Crestwood should show up when the page refreshes.

Asbury Summer Arts Academy: Day Camp for Youth

A Program of
Asbury-Crestwood United Methodist Church

Rev. Scott D. Summerville, Pastor

Nehemiah Luckett, Director

167 Scarsdale Rd., Tuckahoe, NY 10707

914-779-3722

asburysummerts@gmail.com

Mission Statement

The Asbury Summer Arts Academy (ASAA), a community service program of Asbury UMC, is an opportunity for a diverse group of students from the Yonkers-Tuckahoe-Bronxville areas to express themselves through music, theater, dance and the creative process; a safe and open environment to discuss social issues and produce artistic solutions; and a community dedicated to the development of new, ethically conscious musical theater.

Program Synopsis

The program will run from Sunday August 1, 2010 to Friday August 13, 2010. The program will officially run Monday to Friday for two weeks. We start on the first Sunday for a quick meet and greet and then the students and staff will head down to New York City to see a professional production (exact show: TBA). What better way to kick off an Arts Camp?

Students will be learning improv skills, working on scenes from new and published material, learning music from new and published material, and creating new material collaboratively with the staff and other students. The students will also hear lectures from leading voices on Conflict Resolution, The History of Musical Theater and The Future of Musical Theater. The students will also see at least two professional productions over the course of the two week program.

This is an intensive, high quality camp with a supportive and friendly environment. Each student will be encouraged to find their personal artistic voice and to reach their next level of potential. Students should be highly self motivated; open to new learning styles; and excited to share.