ESUMC News­let­ter

Dear friends in Christ, 

Greetings and peace to you all, and I pray that the fall season has started with blessings upon you and your loved ones. 

We have been richly blessed over the last few weeks. Our annual barbecue and hike in Grünbach was a great success and a time of spirited fellowship, with more than 100 members and friends joining in the day, thanks to the generous hospitality of Andrew Stones.

We have also inaugurated our new Sunday School year, with three new teachers joining the teaching team; we give thanks to Sunday School coordinator Shelley Brauneis and all our Christian leaders who serve this vital ministry.

As the number of small children in our community is increasing, we are looking to hire persons with childcare training to regularly provide childcare in our nursery during worship. If you are interested in this opportunity, or could recommend someone, please speak with Shelley or me.

Related to our education ministry, as previously mentioned we are planning to hold a Confirmation course for youth aged 14 to 18. The course will begin in January 2026 and will culminate with the liturgy of Confirmation in worship on Pentecost Sunday, 24 May 2026. I invite the families of our youth in this age range who have not yet been confirmed to speak with me as soon as possible. The exact schedule and format of the course will depend on the number and ages of youth who enroll in the course. Thank you for your support and participation!

Our newsletter below is filled with information about upcoming opportunities for worship and fellowship. We look forward to the celebration of our Harvest Festival during our service of worship on Sunday 19 October. Please kindly bring a dish of food to share with others. And we ask volunteers to join us on Saturday 18 October at 14:00 to help prepare our sanctuary and fellowship area for the festival; if you can help out for an hour or two on Saturday, please let me know.

Lastly, below please find two articles in German, as the Fünfhaus Gemeinde formally celebrated the installation of Pastor Antje, and the UMC in Austria invites all youth to a ski holiday event in early January.

I wish you a blessed month, and look forward to seeing you in worship.

Yours in Christ, Pastor John