Dearest members and friends of ESUMC, 

Greetings and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Following the announcement shared in worship this past Sunday by Doreen Ighama, ESUMC’s Church Council chairperson, I just wanted to write this note.

As Doreen announced, next summer my term of service as pastor of the congregation will come to an end.

As a missionary of our United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, I arrived in Vienna in August 2020 on an initial three-year term of service. In the summer of 2023, this term of service was extended for an additional three years.

After much discernment and prayer, I have decided to retire as a Global Ministries missionary when my current term of service expires in August 2026.

This has been a difficult decision to make. Serving as your pastor has been an incredible joy and the richest of blessings. Our time in ministry together—in worship, fellowship, and service—has been an important and meaningful part of of my own faith journey and Christian growth. Our congregation, and especially members of our lay leadership team, have been incredible partners in mission. Serving as your pastor these past five-plus years has been a gift from God.

However, after more than 25 years of life and mission abroad, the time has come for Noel and me to return to the United States. In June 2026, we plan to relocate to the U.S. midwest, to be closer to our two sons and to Noel’s parents and extended family. As my last duty as a missionary, I will perform a season of itineration in the U.S. next summer, visiting churches that have been in support of my mission service and the ministry of ESUMC, to offer a word of thanks and to encourage their continued partnership in mission. After fulfilling that commitment, I shall see to what form of ministry and service God will lead me.

My last Sunday with the congregation shall be 31 May 2026. Between now and then, over these next six months, I pledge my continued commitment to the ministry of ESUMC. And I will provide every resource and measure of support to the Church Council and Pastor Parish Relations Committee as they cooperate with Superintendent Stefan and the Board of Global Ministries to prepare for the coming transition.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven,” Ecclesiastes 3:1.

Yours in Christ, Pastor John