The United Methodist Church has a deep historic connection to the continent of Africa. The New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, of which Asbury church is a part, has strong ongoing Africa. Our own congregation has been connected to Africa in some very special ways. In 2004 two of our members participated in a mission trip to Ghana. Out of that journey came a special connection with a woman, Caroline Ross, living in a refugee camp for displaced Liberians. Caroline suffered from a disfiguring congenital condition. Through the efforts of one of our mission team members she came to the United States and has had a series of major surgeries to correct this condition. In the process she has become a part of the Asbury church family. A number of church families are immigrants or refugees from Africa, and to their life experience we have come to be touched very deeply by the agony in the hope of the people of Africa. This congregation also joins with all United Methodist congregations in its active and ongoing support of Africa University in Zimbabwe.

Volunteers in Mission:  Ghana 2010

The Dorcas Methodist Clinic Project, in its sixth year, is a cooperative venture involving the United Methodist Church, the people of Yipala, and the health services of the nation of Ghana.  The Dorcas Clinic, opened in 2009, is serving an area of rural Ghana where previously the most basic of health services were unavailable.  Asbury United Methodist Church has participated in this project since its inception.  A team from Asbury Church departs September 26, 2010, to visit the site and to assist in the construction of living quarters for the health workers.  The Mission Team:  Nehemiah Luckett, Sam Hedrick, Rev. Scott Summerville and Rev. Mary Ellen Summerville.