English-Speaking

United Methodist Church of Vienna September/

October 2019

Past Happenings and Community News

ESUMC Youth Attend Camp 8 ESUMC youth attended the Austrian—wide UMC camp from 18-24 August. The camp was organized by the Children and Youth Department of The United Methodist Church in Austria. A new program for youth ages 13-16 was added this year. Pastor Matthew along with ESUMC members Melissa Scherer and Martin Schulzer served as camp counselors. During the weeklong camp, the children and youth learned about Joseph from the Book of Genesis. They engaged in Bible study and prayer to-gether. They also did outdoor activities and hiking, created videos, danced, and any other fun activities. ESUMC Shared Ministry Funds (Apportionments) sup-ported the camp as well as scholarship assistance grants.

ESUMC youth and adults at camp. Photo by Livia Stiller.

Congratulations Graduates! ESUMC honored its recent graduates on 28 July during worship.

• Kofi Amartey Mensah received his Matura in October 2018 and began university studies at TU Wien in engineering.

• Natalie Scherer received her Matura from the WSK and will study law at the University of Vienna in the autumn.

• Jarrod Mangan received his Matura from HBLVA17 Rosensteingasse. He will continue his studies at the FH Campus Wien.

• Chloe Kathryn Stones graduated from Strathclyde University in Glasgow in June with a BA with Honors. She will be taking a year out to work while deciding further educational studies.

• Simone Viljoen graduated from TU Wien at the end of May with a MS Diplom Ingenieur degree in Spatial Planning. She is hoping to find a job in sustainable and green planning.

• Adenike Aganga-Williams graduated from Karl-Franzens-Universität in Graz in May with a Mag. Pharm. = Magistra phar-maciae. She is currently working on her year-long apprenticeship in pharmacy.

• Martin Schulzer graduated from the University of Vienna in October 2018 with a PhD in Protestant Theology.

More past happenings and community news continues on page 4

Special Mtg Elects Leaders, Approves Reorganization Motion A special churchwide meeting called a church conference was held by Superintendent Stefan Schröckenfuchs on 21 July. The meet-ing took place at the end of worship. All ESUMC professing members were eligible to vote. During the meeting, the nominating committee presented two names for elections—Adetokunbo Aganga-Williams as chair of the pastor-parish relations committee and Andreé van Rooy as mission coordinator. Both were elected unanimously. Additionally, Doreen Ighama presented an oral report from the annual conference. In her report she detailed the work of the last conference in Graz at the end of May. The gathering focused on ‘what to teach?’ this year and heard sever-al lectures from Dr. Joerg Barthel from the Reutlingen Methodist Theological School in southern Germany. On behalf of the ESUMC pastor-parish relations committee, Ighama presented a resolution for organizational review. The resolution stated:

The nominating committee shall evaluate the current organizational structure and shall report back on it strengths and weaknesses and make proposals to the superintendent. These findings will be discussed at a joint session with the superintendent, pastor, church council, pastor-parish relations committee, and nominations committee in autumn 2019. The superintendent shall engage a trained moderator to lead the joint session and the process of visioning for ESUMC.

The resolution passed unanimously.

Blessing of Backpacks, Sunday School Opening on 8 September The annual blessing of backpacks and Sunday School opening will be 8 Sept. Bibles will be presented to children entering grade 5 on the same day. Children’s Sunday School resumes its normal schedule on Sunday, 1 September. Church Hike Set for 14 September The annual ESUMC hike and barbeque is Saturday, 14 September, beginning at 10:30. We will be hosted by ESUMC member Andrew Stones at his home in Grünbach (Am Richardschacht 3, 2733 Grünbach am Schneeberg). There are two different hikes planned for the day (easier and harder). You are welcome to come and only enjoy the outdoors and attend the BBQ. No hiking is necessary. Bring a food dish to share at the BBQ. Women’s Group, 21 September The next women’s group meeting will be on Saturday, 21 September at 15:30 at the Viljoen Family home (Telefonweg 368, 1220 Wien). The theme will be giving thanks for the year’s harvest. Pumpkin soup will be pro-vided. Bring a sweet snack or drink to share. Pastor on Holiday, 25 Sept.—5 Oct.

Pastor Matthew will be holiday from 25 September through 5 October. He will be unavailable during this time. Contact Pastor Stefan for pastoral care or emergencies. His mobile number is +43 699 114 84210. Pastor Tom Garrison will preach at ESUMC on 29 September.

Gospel Choir Resumes in September The Vienna International Gospel Choir will resume their rehearsals on Friday, 6 Septem-ber. The choir meets every Friday evening at 18:00. They gather for fellowship, singing, and fun. All are welcome to join the choir as they sing and praise God.

Confirmation Class Dates Set Dates for the confirmation class meetings have been set. The class will meet on 8 September, 15 September, 10 November, 17 November, 24 November, 8 December, 15 De-cember. Confirmation is for youth ages 13 years old and up. Together with Pastor Matthew, the youth explore Christian faith, vows made at their baptisms, and our congre-gation’s traditions.

Harvest Festival on 20 October The ESUMC Harvest Festival is Sunday, 20 October. This is the church’s largest attended worship service of the year. The service includes music by ESUMC choirs. A special music combo is being organized for the service. Individual offerings will be made by procession. Everyone is invited to bring food to share for the large international food buffet after worship. The service begins at 11:15 as usual. Invite your friends to join us in this wonderful celebration. Introduction to Methodism, 2 Nov. Pastor Matthew will teach a class on “Introduction to Methodism” on Saturday, 2 November, beginning at 09:00 and ending at 12 noon. The class will offer students a brief overview of Methodist history, doctrine and theology, and polity. The event is free. All Saints’ Sunday, 3 November ESUMC will celebrate All Saints’ Sunday on 3 November. We will remember those who have died and thank God for their lives. If you like, bring a candle to light in memory of a deceased saint. Leadership Retreat Set for 23 Nov. Members of the church council, pastor-parish relations committee, and nominations com-mittee will meet for a special all-day leader-ship retreat on Saturday, 23 November. Website Manager Needed ESUMC is looking for a volunteer website manager to maintain and update the ESUMC website. If you are interested, please contact Pastor Matthew.

Looking Ahead

Does our church believe in saints? United Methodists believe in saints, but not in the same manner as the Roman Catholic Church. We also recognize and celebrate All Saints' Sunday (the Sunday on or after 1 November) and "all the saints who from their labors rest." All Saints' Sunday is a time to remember Christians of every time and place, honoring those who lived faithfully and shared their faith with us. Our church does not have any system whereby people are elected to sainthood. We do not pray to saints, nor do we believe they serve as medi-ators to God. John Wesley believed we have much to learn from the saints, but he did not encourage anyone to worship them. Wesley's focus was entirely on the saving grace of Jesus Christ. United Methodists call people "saints" because they exemplified the Christian life. In this sense, every Christian can be considered a saint.

English-Speaking United Methodist Church of Vienna

Sechshauser Strasse 56, 1150 Wien • office@esumc.at • +43 1 895 81 75 • www.esumc.at

The Reverend Matthew A. Laferty • +43 664 466 94 75 mobile • matthew.laferty@emk.at

Donations accepted at www.esumc.at/give • IBAN: AT23 1200 0006 2016 1208/BIC Code: BKAUATWW

Past Happenings and Community News, continued

Families Leaving ESUMC said good-bye to two families this summer.

• The Valente family (Ricardo, Elisangela, Theo, and Lara) left Vienna in June. The family moved to Regensburg, Germany, where Elisangela took a research position at the Universitätsklinikum Regensburg.

• The Boylan family (Andrea, Greg, Grace, and Abigail) returned to the United States in early August. Greg and Andrea are returning to Washington, DC, for work. The couple is expecting their third child in November.

Baptism Alexander Peppiatt was baptized on 11 August at ESUMC. He is the son of Ella and Christopher Peppiatt.

Interested in Membership? Are you interested in church member-ship? Throughout the year new members are admitted at ESUMC. Please speak with Pastor Matthew if you are interested.

VBS Was Out of This World! The 2019 Vacation Bible School was held 12-16 August at ESUMC. The theme this year was ‘To Mars and Beyond’ and focused on the stories of Queen Esther, Daniel and the lion’s den, Jesus’ healing of the 10 leapers, and the parable of the Good Samaritan. Nearly 20 children and youth participated in the week-long event. The students also visited the Planetarium at Prater as well as the climbing center at Mar-sweise. Each day the students learned through Bible stories, arts and crafts, science, music, and outdoor activities. Thank you to all who helped make VBS successful!

Pastor Matthew holding Alexander after his baptism, flanked by Alexander’s parents Chris and Ella. Photo provided.

VBS students outside the Vienna Planetarium at Prater. Photo by David Lee.

Pr. Matthew Elected to Int’l Body On 12 June, Pastor Matthew was elected as a delegate to the UMC General Conference. He was elected by his home conference in Ohio, USA. The General Conference is The United Methodist Church’s top international legisla-tive body and meets every four years. There are several significant issues to be decided by the next General Conference: a new state-ment of the theology of the church, a new Social Principles statement, pension issues, the ordination of openly gay pastors, and same-gender marriage blessings. Pastor Matthew joins Austrian delegates Pastor Stefan Schröckenfuchs (Vienna) and Thomas Fux (Linz) at the international gathering which meets 5-15 May 2020 in Minneapolis, USA.

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