English-Speaking

United Methodist Church of Vienna May 2018

Celebrating Women Stories of Women in Mission On the second Sunday in May, ESUMC recognizes and honors the ministries of women in the Church. Today women hold offices and provide leadership in every facet of church life—bishops, pastors, lay leaders, committee chairs, teachers, and many other positions. We give thanks to God for women in our community and throughout the Church who work tirelessly to share the Good News of Jesus Christ through preaching, teaching, and social action. We remember our foremothers who persevered in the faith to care and advocate for the poor, the immigrant, and the marginal-ized. In the celebration of 200 years of United Methodist mission, we share two stories of wom-en in mission. First Filipino President Of Harris Memorial College Prudencia L. Fabro, the first Filipino President of Harris Memorial College, was one of the most outstanding woman leaders in the Methodist-related institutions. Her major contribution was the training, molding and forming of young wom-en who answered the call to serve as deaconess-es in the Methodist Church. She was sent as Crusade scholar to Drew Univer-sity in New Jersey (USA) for her Master of Arts Degree in Rural Sociology. She returned to join

the Harris faculty in 1948. In 1951, Ms. Fabro was ap-pointed as the first Filipino director of Harris Memorial School, replacing Ms. Mary Evans, the last American mis-sionary to head the school. In recognition of her out-standing leadership in the training school, she was con-ferred an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Kansas Wesleyan University.

In 1968, the school community celebrated its recognition by the government as a four-year college institution. Dr. Fabro became its first president. With courage, integrity, spirituality, quiet dignity and humility, Dr. Fabro was the most influential figure in shaping the direction of Harris Memorial College, particularly in the for-mation and transformation of young women for deaconess service during her time.

One of the First Western Trained Medical Doctors in China Kang Cheng, also known as Ida Kahn, was born into a poor family in Jiujiang (Kiukiang), Jiangxi province, China. She was adopted by Gertrude Howe who left school to work as a missionary in Jiujiang before completing her degree. During Kang’s childhood, she studied at Rulison-Fish Memorial School, established by Howe. In 1892, upon graduation from the Jiujiang girls’ school, Kang and her close friend Shih Mei-yu were sent by Howe to study medicine at the Uni-versity of Michigan (USA). The two were the first Asian women to graduate from Michigan in medi-cine, receiving their de-grees in 1896. Upon graduation, Kang and Shi returned to work in Jiujiang as medical missionaries of the Woman’s Foreign Mis-sionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and treated over 2,000 patients in the first 10 months in their one-room hospi-tal. They started to propose a new hospital project in 1898 but the project had to discontinue due to the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. In 1901, she returned to Jiujiang again helping Shi Meiyu to establish the Elizabeth Skelton Danforth Hospital. Two years later, Kang left Jiujiang and set up a new hospital in Nanchang. Kang was frequently involved in social welfare and relief work. Her hospital at Nanchang treated thousands of refugees and wounded soldiers dur-ing the revolution of 1911 and the Northern Ex-pedition of 1926. She served as a member of the Tianjin Christian Union Flood Relief Committee to help the needy when a flood struck Tianjin (Tientsin). In addition to taking care of patients, she was concerned about medical education, evangelistic work, and women’s issues. Kang was finally burned out by long-term heavy work. Her health was getting worse since 1926. In 1930, she died in Shanghai at the age of 58. For more stories of women in mission, visit www.methodistmission200.org.

Past Happenings and Community News

New Church Leaders Elected Several new church leaders and committee members were elected at ESUMC’s church conference on April 28. Newly elect-ed committee members are:

Church Council—Maria Tobler-Kudaya, Grace Sseruwagi Finance—Vanessa Nassiwa, Joseph Mangan Pastor-Parish Relations—John Mikulski, Kit Leung-Rogner,

Martin Schulzer Nominations—Shelly Brauneis, Olivia Gaisie Auditors—Jane Greiman, Nancy Wonisch Property—Omomayowa Shewu

Additionally, church council chairperson Oscar van Rooy was elected to the post of lay leader. According to our church law, the lay leader is “the primary representative and role model of Christian discipleship and faith lived out in the church and in daily life. The lay leader works with the pastor to fulfill the mission and vision of the congregation.” The position is required by church law. Van Rooy will also remain church coun-cil chairperson.

Pastor Participates in Greek Study Tour Pastor Matthew participated in a special study tour in Greece from April 16-22. During his trip he joined other pastors to visit Athens, Delphi, ancient Corinth, and the Meteora monasteries. The tour was organized by the Association of International Churches in Europe and the Middle East, of which ESUMC is a member.

Baptisms Congratulations to the Appiah and Arthur families on recent baptism of their children. On April 29, Kendrick, Edwin, and Nathaniel Appiah were baptized as well as Alexa and Raymond Arthur. We welcome them into the Church!

Marriages Congratulations to Adetokunbo Aganga-Williams and Adedayo Ajilore on their recent marriage. The couple was married in a civil ceremony on April 6 at Palais Schönburg in Vienna. The groom is the son of ESUMC members Adedeji and Atinuke Aganga-Williams.

UMC Celebrates 50th Anniversary April 23rd marked the 50th anniversary of The United Methodist Church. The church formed from the mer-ger of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical Unit-ed Brethren Church in 1968. The EUB Church was es-tablished by German immigrants to the United States and emphasized holiness and evangelism. The Meth-odist Church grew out of John Wesley’s Methodist movement in Great Britain. We pray God’s blessings upon our church.

Bishops Meet to Discuss Way Forward United Methodist bishops will meet in Chicago April 29-May 3 to propose and discuss plans to the denom-ination’s impasse on human sexuality. The church leaders are currently divided on issues of same-gender marriage blessings and the ordination of openly gay clergy. We pray for the Holy Spirit’s lead-ing in the proceedings and wisdom and courage for the bishops and the wider church.

Pastor Matthew baptizing Alexa Abena Arthur during

worship on April 29. Photo by David Lee.

Adetokunbo and Adedayo were married on April 6. Photo provided.

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

Looking Ahead

African Drumming on May 5 The next Fellowship Breakfast is Saturday, May 5 at 09:00. ESUMC member Emmanuel Antwi will present on African drumming with live demon-strations and a hands-on workshop.

Women’s Sunday is May 13 ESUMC women’s Sunday is May 13. Deborah Koll-Petty and Jennifer Meidl will preach.

2 Important Church Holidays in May The United Methodist Church observes two im-portant church holidays in May. Ascension (Christi Himmelfahrt) is May 10; the day celebrates the departure of Jesus Christ from earth into the presence of God. Ascension occurs 40 days after the Resurrection and is chronicled in Mark 16, Luke 24, and Acts 1. The other important May hol-iday is Pentecost (Pfingsten) on May 20. Acts 2 tells how the disciples were gathered in a room when the Holy Spirit came upon them. Pentecost comes 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection.

ESUMC Hosting Annual Methodist Mtg ESUMC will host the Austrian Methodist annual conference from June 7-10. The annual confer-ence is the top decision-making in Austrian Meth-odism and is comprised of pastors and represent-atives from every congregation. Doreen Ighama will represent ESUMC at the meeting. Bishop Patrick Streiff will chair the meeting. The theme of the meeting is “Building Bridges for Multicul-tural Congregations”. Rev. Terry MacArthur will lead a special workshop on worship music. ESUMC is responsible for organizing hospitality and worship for the event.

Vacation Bible School Announced The 2018 Vacation Bible School will be August 12-17. Diana Mangan is the lead organizer. The theme is Rolling River Rampage with the Bible verse "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you" (Isaiah 43:2 CEB).

Beatitudes Bible Study Continues The Wednesday evening study on the Beatitudes continues throughout May. The topic of the study is the Beatitudes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5. Pastor Matthew is leading the study. The group will meet on Wednesday evenings on May 2, 16, 23, 30. There will be no Wednesday evening study on May 9 due to the Ascension holiday. The study begins at 18:30 with a light supper. Email the church office for info.

Women‘s Fellowship Meets May 19 The Women‘s Fellowship will meet in the evening on Saturday, May 19th. If you need child care or want more information, please contact Rachel Al-len at allenrachelf@gmail.com.

2 OT Study Sessions Remain The ESUMC special study entitled “An Introduction to the Old Testament” continues in May and June. Pastor Martin Schulzer teaches the study. Two more sessions remain which will cover the topics of Old Testament history and archaeology and an-cient Near Eastern context. The next sessions are May 18 and June 1 from 18:00-21:00. The Scherer family hosts the study at their home at Reihergra-ben 18, A-3400 Klosterneuburg. A light meal will be served before the study session.

Long Night of Churches is May 25 The annual Long Night of Churches program is Fri-day, May 25. ESUMC along with Fünfhaus UMC will jointly sponsor an evening program.

18:30—Methodism 101—Information Ses-sion about The United Methodist Church and our two congregations

19:00-20:00—A special concert “Oyfn Weg” with singer Jasmin Meiri-Brauer and pianist Pablo de Pino. They will perform Jewish psalms, songs, and memoirs.

20:30-22:00—A musical Frauenmesse (women’s service) organized by the Ecumen-ical Forum of Christian Women in Austria

Possible Israel/Palestine Trip in 2019 Are you interested in visiting Israel/Palestine in 2019? Pastor Matthew is considering organizing a study trip to the Holy Land to visit religious sites as well as learn about the current situation. Travel dates would be in October or November 2019. There may be an option to visit Jordan. If interest-ed, please contact Pastor Matthew.

2018 Harvest Festival Date The Harvest Festival will be Sunday, October 14.

English-Speaking United Methodist Church of Vienna

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

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

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