News­let­ter

Ecumenical Service for the Season of Creation – This Sunday, September 20Dear Friends of ESUMC,This is a friendly reminder that this Sunday, September 20, we will host a very special service at ESUMC. The Ecumenical Council of Churches in Austria will join us in celebrating an ecumenical service for the Season of Creation.The service will be led by:Cornelia Richter, Evangelical Lutheran BishopJosef Grünwidl, Archbishop of Vienna (Roman Catholic Church)Tiran Petrosyan, Armenian Apostolic BishopRepresentatives from other churchesThe celebration will feature a large choir, organ and piano music, and a performance by artist Ksenia Lytvynenko. The liturgy is mostly in German. Written English translation will be provided for the message of the bishops. Hymns will be in German and English. Everyone is warmly invited to attend! The service will be broadcast live on television and radio, so it will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m.. Please arrive at the church by 9:30 a.m. if possible and take your seats by 9:45 a.m. at the latest.After the service, all are welcome to join Fellowship Time!Looking forward to seeing you Pastor Stefan, Superintendent

Dear friends and members of the English-speaking United Methodist Church in Vienna!Summer and the vacation season are coming to an end. As your superintendent, I’d like to use this newsletter to update you on upcoming events and changes in the congregation.Thank you, Rev Tom! First, a heartfelt thank you to Rev. Tom Garrison, who preached at all worship services this summer and served as a pastoral resource for the congregation. Thank you, Tom!Welcome, Rev. Mark Jason! I am delighted to inform you of the appointment of a new pastor for the congregation: Rev. Dr. Mark Jason will begin his ministry as the new pastor of ESUMC on December 1. Mark Jason is currently serving as a pastor in the United Kingdom and will take up his post in Vienna on behalf of the General Board on Global Ministries. Mark will be moving to Vienna with his wife, Sarah. Here, your new pastor introduces himself!In the months leading up to early December, congregational life will be led by members of the congregation and pastors from the UMC Austria. Rev. Tom Garrison will also continue to celebrate Holy Communion services with the congregation on a monthly basis.

Greetings and peace and love in the name of our Lord. It is a great honor for me to be able to serve the congregation of ESUMC as your interim pastor for the summer months. I come with joy and sadness -- joy that I am allowed to be with you this summer, and sadness to see Pastor John leaving. I know you have appreciated the ministry he has provided for you through these last years, and I am grateful for the friendship John and I found. The congregation has been extremely blessed to have such a dedicated and caring pastor. I am sure you are telling him how much he has meant to you.I am excited for the congregation as you prepare for your next pastor, and I am sure you will welcome that person with open arms. As we move through the summer, it is my desire that we worship, understand and grow together. It is with the Lord’s help that I will join you to make our worship time meaningful. I also would like to express that during this summer, I am at your service. Please do not hesitate to call on me for your spiritual needs.May God be with us, as we move through this summer season.Blessings, Rev. Tom+ + + + + + +The Rev. Dr. Tom Garrison is originally from Alabama, USA, having first served in the United States Air Force before following the call to serve God. Rev. Tom studied at Faulkner University, Amridge University, Auburn University, and received his doctorate from Columbia Theological Seminary. Rev. Tom holds ordained standing in two denominations: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and the United Church of Christ. He has served congregations in the US and Canada, and also has experience in hospital chaplaincy, university instruction, and counseling. Rev. Tom has written three books of sermons; his latest is, "The Word in Other Words.” In 2016, Rev. Tom retired from active ministry and moved to Vienna with his wife Renata, a native of Vienna.For pastoral care or for information about the ministry of ESUMC, you may contact Rev. Tom at esumc@emk.at or 0660 201 5392.“It is my desire to always speak to the best in people, for in doing so will we encounter God’s grace.”

Dear friends in Christ, I wish to begin this newsletter introduction, my final one as your pastor, with simply a word of thanks. After six years of ministry with you, my tenure as pastor of ESUMC will come to an end on Sunday 31 May. Having spent the last 26 years as a UMC Global Ministries missionary, this summer I will return to the United States. In the coming months, my wife Noel will also conclude her United Nations assignment in Ukraine, and we shall relocate to the midwest United States, to be closer to our two sons, to my mother, and to Noel’s parents and extended family.These last few months have been filled with meaningful moments of transition: the final meeting of our Bible study group, the conclusion of the busiest-ever season of the Wärmestube, reflections with our various church committees, last home visits to church members and friends, funeral services for our beloved church members Paulina Analena and Nenette Coudek. These occasions, and many more, have provided an opportunity to give thanks to God for the blessings of faith and community.As bittersweet as these gatherings have been, I am truly excited about how we shall mark the coming weeks, my final month with the congregation.On Sunday 3 May, we will celebrate the two sacraments of our church - Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. On this blessed day, we will truly experience the wideness of God’s mercy, and witness the spaciousness of the Kingdom of God, where there is plenty of room for us all.On Sunday 10 May, Women’s Sunday, the women of ESUMC will lead the congregation in worship, with Tinu Aganga-Williams offering the message for the day. This service shall remind us of the extraordinary witness of the women of our church, and the blessings they bring to our community every day, throughout the year.During 14-17 May, our lay leaders and I will be in Salzburg to participate in the Annual Conference of the UMC in Austria, as Jerry Barton shall give the Sunday message at ESUMC. I am grateful for this final gathering with my clergy colleagues and other leaders of our church in Austria, as I express my thanks for their support and partnership over these years.My final two Sundays will be particularly meaningful. Join us on Pentecost Sunday 24 May, as we celebrate the Confirmation of Lisa Ekeh and Nana Ampia-Addison. As part of the sermon presentation, Lisa and Nana will share brief reflections on their Christian faith. During the ritual of Confirmation, members of the congregation will pledge their support for the confirmands as they begin this new stage of their faith journey.Lastly, I invite you to attend our service of worship on Sunday 31 May, my last service as pastor of the congregation. During the hour of worship, Superintendent Rev. Stefan Schröckenfuchs will lead the congregation in the Order of Farewell to a Pastor. Following the service, we shall gather in the sanctuary for a congregational potluck meal and an afternoon of blessings. Please kindly bring a dish of food to share with one another as we gather in thanksgiving. Given that I arrived in Vienna in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic, and we were not able to worship in person or gather for community fellowship, it will be a joy to conclude my time with you with a congregational meal in the sanctuary following this final worship service.As I think back on my six years of ministry with you all, I am grateful for so many people and so many blessings. I will miss all of you, the good people of the English-Speaking United Methodist Church of Vienna. I shall remain inspired by the members of this church who pray for one another, bear each other’s burdens, and offer Christian care and hospitality to one another and to their neighbors. I will remain in prayer for the continued unity of this body of Christ, a community where the doors are open to all and in which there truly is “neither Greek nor Jew” nor any other distinction that divides God’s people. I shall give thanks to God for the harmony and respect among the lay leadership of our congregation, how our Church Council and committee chairpersons carry out their work in a spirit of mutual love and common purpose. I will always have in my ear the joyful noises of our choirs, our special musicians, and all who have shared their gifts and talents in our worship.Thank you, friends, for the privilege of serving as your pastor. See you in worship in May!Yours in Christ, Pastor John

Dear friends in Christ, As we continue together along our Lenten journey of faith, I bring you greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! The last few weeks have been a meaningful time of worship, reflection, and service. Our Sunday morning Scripture readings have encouraged us to turn to God, with honest and hopeful hearts, and receive God's gifts of grace and forgiveness. In worship on Sunday 1 March, our District Superintendent Rev. Stefan Schröckenfuchs preached on the importance of "loving boldly," then led us during our annual Charge Conference in a reflection upon how we as a congregation can boldly love others in our community. Every Tuesday evening in Lent, more than a dozen church members have gathered via Zoom to learn about John Wesley's means of grace, those ordinary moments, such as worship or Bible reading, through which God offers us the blessing of divine grace. And this week we are bringing our winter Wärmestube ministry to a close, with thanksgiving to all our volunteers who have helped us serve a record number of meals this winter.This Sunday we shall gather in worship to celebrate Palm Sunday, the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem for the last time; our children will lead our celebration of worship with their procession of the palms. Then we shall commemorate Holy Week with a series of worship services: Maundy Thursday service of foot washing and Holy Communion on 2 April at 18:30;Good Friday service of prayer and penitence on 3 April at 17:30;Holy Saturday service of the procession of the holy fire into the sanctuary (hosted by the Fünfhaus Gemeinde) on 4 April at 20:00;Easter Sunday celebration of Jesus' resurrection on 5 April at 11:15.Please see a complete list of Holy Week and Easter worship services.As our Lenten journey comes to a close, may God bless you and your loved ones. I pray that through your spiritual disciplines in this season, you have found close communion with God, who has pledged to remain with us and never forsake us. May this truth give us assurance and hope, and the courage to confess our sins and receive God's great gifts of forgiveness and salvation.Lastly, please note that on Sunday 12 April starting at 10:30, we shall celebrate our annual Joint Worship Service with our sisters and brothers of the German-speaking Fünfhaus Gemeinde. Please note the earlier starting time and join us for this festival day of worship.May God's blessings and peace be with you all, and I look forward to seeing you in these most holy days ahead.Yours in Christ, Pastor John

Dear friends in Christ, In this holy season, I pray God's blessings on you and your loved ones. As we embark on the Lenten season, we bear in mind the reality of our sinfulness and our mortality. But in so doing, we turn to God for the forgiveness of our sins, and for the assurance that our faith leads to life everlasting. May this season of penitence and prayer bring each of us to a greater understanding of the love and grace of God.I give thanks for your participation in the events that have marked the start of this solemn season. One week ago, on Ash Wednesday, we gathered in our sanctuary for a quiet service of the ashes. As each of us received the mark of the ash on our forehead, we remembered our mortality, and embraced God's gift of forgiveness.Last Saturday, it was our blessing to host the annual Ecumenical Study Day, a yearly event sponsored by the community of English-speaking Christian churches in Vienna. About 45 persons from four congregations met together for a day of learning, sharing, and fellowship. Our guest speaker was Father Elias Carr of Klosterneuburg Stift (photo below), who gave a series of presentations on the life and scholarship of René Girard. We give thanks to Father Elias and our friends from our sister congregations for their participation in the day. And we express deep appreciation to our own Farzad and Sadaf for preparing a beautiful and delicious meal!This gathering reminds us that even in the season of Lent, we are invited to celebrate the gift of life and rejoice in the blessings of God. In that light, we invite all members and friends to our congregational Talent Show this Saturday 28 February, starting at 17:30 in the sanctuary. Please bring a finger food to share with others, and come to enjoy the talents of your fellow sisters and brothers in Christ.And on Sunday 1 March, immediately following the worship service, we shall gather in the sanctuary for our Charge Conference, the annual meeting with Superintendent Stefan to reflect upon the ministry of our congregation. This gathering offers the opportunity to celebrate the good that God is working in our church and our lives, and to reflect upon the ministry and mission to which God may be calling us in the coming year.May God's blessings and peace be upon you in this holy season, and I look forward to seeing you in worship and fellowship.Yours in Christ, Pastor John

Dear friends in Christ, Greetings and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus. I wish to begin by offering my heartfelt thanks for your many words of support and kindness, following the recent announcement that my ministry with ESUMC will conclude at the end of May.It remains a bittersweet moment, as I enter these last months of ministry: grateful for all we have shared together in our worship and praise of God, sad to contemplate saying farewell, and yet excited for the new callings to Christian ministry that await me and all of you, the congregation of ESUMC.However, there is no need to look too far ahead, as God is present with us here and now, and God continues to invite us to engage in ministry together in our community and world.As we continue our shared journey of faith as a congregation, in this Epiphany season of revelation, we are grateful for the upcoming activities and programs that will bring us together for worship, fellowship, and study. In this newsletter you will find news and information about the following:a Clothing Exchange and fellowship evening hosted by the ESUMC young adult group on Monday 9 February, starting at 19:00;the annual celebration of Faschingsfest, hosted by our friends in the Fünfhaus Gemeinde, on Saturday 14 February from 14:00 to 17:00;our Ecumenical Study Day, hosted at ESUMC and sponsored by the English-speaking churches in Vienna, on Saturday 21 February from 10:00 to 14:30;our Ash Wednesday service of worship on Wednesday 18 February at 18:30, marking the start of the season of Lent;a special Lenten Bible study on the means of grace, every Tuesday evening at 19:00 via Zoom starting 24 February, with contributions from across the UMC in Austria;our beloved Talent Show and finger food potluck evening on Saturday evening 28 February, starting at 17:30;our Charge Conference, the annual meeting of the congregation, with Superintendent Pastor Stefan Schröckenfuchs following worship on Sunday 1 March.Additionally, we are happy to gather for Soup Fellowship on the second Sunday of each month through the winter season. This time-honored tradition brings ESUMC members and friends together for a sit-down meal of soup and sandwiches. We thank the Zahraman family for leading this ministry, and we welcome volunteers to help serve and your donations to offset the costs of the meal.We also celebrate the return of Youth Sunday School. On the third Sunday of every month, our youth aged 14 to 18 will gather during the worship service for a time of conversation and learning designed especially for their interests and needs. We are grateful to Noussi and her team of adult volunteers who will be leading these monthly meetings.We welcome your participation in all of these events, as well as your continued support of our weekly Tuesday Wärmestube ministry.We give thanks to God for the spirit of joy and celebration in our community of faith, as we proclaim the love of God to the world.Yours in Christ, Pastor John(Below is a screenshot from the recording of my recent conversation with Amelie Haslinger about John Wesley's means of grace, the theme of our Lenten Bible study series starting Tuesday 24 February. Read the article below for more details, and join us!)