ESUMC Newsletter
May 2025
Dear friends in Christ,
Greetings in the name of our risen Lord Jesus Christ, and Happy Easter! It was a great blessing to gather in church over the last two weeks, as together we commemorated the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. I express my gratitude to all our church members who helped to lead our services of worship, by offering special music or accompaniment, reading the Scripture lessons of the Passion, teaching our children, lifting up prayers, and providing for altar decorations and Holy Communion.
And we give thanks to our friends Pastor Wilfried and Jean Nausner for sharing about the ministry of the United Methodist Church in Albania during our special Mission Sunday worship service last week. On behalf of our Missions Coordinator Barbara Gibson, I thank our church members and friends for your support of our ministry of outreach and service.
As you will read in the article below, the renovation of our sanctuary is coming ever closer to completion. It is our expectation that we shall be able to resume worship in the sanctuary in the second half of May. Again we thank the congregation for your patience and flexibility, and together we look forward to returning to our sacred space for worship and praise.
With this newsletter we share information on upcoming events and worship services in the life of the community. I pray that our celebration of Easter will newly inspire you to engage in Christian worship and fellowship, and find ways to love and serve others in the name of our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Lastly, please note below that in partnership with the Fünfhaus Gemeinde, we will host the UMC in Austria Annual Conference from 29 May through 1 June. All church members and friends are invited to participate in any and all sessions of the conference. And be sure to join us for a special worship service led by Bishop Stefan Zürcher on Sunday 1 June at 10:00.
For more information about Annual Conference, including the daily schedule (in German), please follow this link: https://www.emk.at/en/veranstaltungen/2025/jaehrliche-konferenz
May God bless you in this holy and joyful season of Easter resurrection!
Yours in Christ, Pastor John
Pastor
News from the church
Vienna English-Speaking
ESUMC Missions Coordinator Barbara Gibson reviews our recent Mission Sunday worship service, and summarizes the mission projects of the congregation.
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Superintendent Stefan Schröckenfuchs provides an update on the renovation works, which are proceeding according to schedule.
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Pastor, Superintendent
The German-speaking congregation receives a new pastor starting 1 May. Welcome Pastor Antje!
read morePastor
The annual meeting of United Methodist pastors, lay leaders, and members from across Austria will take place in Vienna from 29 May through 1 June, presided over by Bishop Stefan Zürcher. Join us!
read morePastor
In 2025, ESUMC will host Vacation Bible School for children aged 5 to 12 during the week of 21-25 July. The theme will be "Building God's Kingdom." Stay tuned for more details!
read morePastor
The Children & Youth Working Group of our Central Conference is preparing the YouMe 2025 in Cluj.
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Pastor, Kinder- und Jugendwerk
Sei dabei beim YOUthMEeting in Cluj-Napoca (Rumänien) und lerne junge Menschen (16 bis ca. 30 Jahre) aus den verschiedenen Ländern unserer Zentralkonferenz Mittel- und Südeuropa kennen! Mehr Infos kommen im Laufe des Frühjahrs. Interessent*innen melden sich bitte bei Martin Obermeir-Siegrist.
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für Jugendliche von 13 bis 17 Jahren im Landes-Jugendhaus in Losenstein.
learn morefür Kinder von 7 bis 12 Jahren im Landes-Jugendhaus in Losenstein.
learn moreServices
Vienna English-Speaking
Bible texts
- Acts 9,1-6
- Revelation 5,11-14
- John 21,1-19
Our service of worship will be led by the women of ESUMC.
Bible texts
- Acts 9,36-43
- Revelation 7,9-17
- John 10,22-30
Today's message will be given by ESUMC member Daniel Mohr, a United Methodist Global Mission Fellow.
Bible texts
- Acts 11,1-18
- Revelation 21,1-6
- John 13,31-35
Bible texts
- Acts 16,9-15
- Revelation 21,10 und 21,22 – 22,5
- John 14,23-29
Join our sisters and brothers from the Fünfhaus Gemeinde and guests of the Annual Conference for our service of worship. We will worship in English and German, and be led by Bishop Stefan Zürcher. Worship begins at 10:00.
Bible texts
- Acts 16,16-34
- Revelation 22,12-14 und 16-17 und 20-21
- John 17,20-26
Events
Vienna English-Speaking
On the last Tuesday of each month, we open our church doors to neighbors in the community for an afternoon of fellowship. During this time, visitors will be welcomed with refreshments, and will have the opportunity to play board games, engage in community activities, participate in language learning, and enjoy extended conversation and fellowship. Volunteers are welcome to staff the Begegnungsstube. For more information or to volunteer, please send a note to Jutta Dietl at waermestube@emk.at.