THE TRUMPET CALL

Our Vision To challenge and encourage everyone in our congregation to know and

follow Christ by:

Growing as disciples through Christ ’s teachings

Connecting with one another in Christian community

Serving Christ by serving others

Praising God as we worship Christ

Sunday Services Traditional 8:30 am

Contemporary 10:45 am

Sunday School/Discipleship Classes 9:45 am

East Stroudsburg United Methodist Church January 17, 2016

Pastors Corner First, I want to thank all of the congregation on behalf of our staff for the wonderful end-of-year "Love Gift," which brought in $3,825 to be distributed among our 16 staff members (plus our unpaid nursery coordinator). This is a much higher amount than the previous year, and we truly are thankful and humbled that you include us in your Christmas giving. We have a great staff, and everyone truly enjoys working here at East Stroudsburg United Methodist Church. I am thankful to God for all of you and for the great staff I have the opportunity to work with every day!

As we start off this new year, we want to celebrate what God has done in 2015. As I announced to the congregation in both services this past Sunday, we finished 2015 "in the black," with income to our general fund exceeding expenses by $2,057. While the amount of income we received is less than previous years, we have been able to be prudent in keeping expenses much lower to match the income, while at the same time providing a high level of service to the congregation and to the community. There are many churches in this day and age which are having to do more with less, and we are part of that movement. If anyone wants to see exactly how our finances were spent in 2015, we now have balance sheets, profit/loss statements, etc. available from our bookkeeper, Sue Mertz (smertz@esumc.net). She'll be glad to provide you copies electronically or in hard copy format.

What has been especially gratifying for me to see is that while our general budget is declining, our mission giving is up. In my experience as a pastor over almost 40 years, there is no greater indicator of overall congregational health than strong participation in God's mission in the world. Our Faith Promise goal for 2015 was $30,000 (up from $25,000 the year before). Toward the end of the year, I challenged the Mission Team with the challenge offered to us by our Bishop, Peggy Johnson. The challenge was to contribute $10 for every person based on average worship attendance toward Imagine No Malaria, the denomination-wide program to

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Bible in a Year 20—GENESIS 40, GENESIS 41:1-40 MATTHEW 14:1-21 PROVERBS 2:12-22 21—GENESIS 41:41-57, GENESIS 42 MATTHEW 14:22-36, MATTHEW 15:1-9 PSALM 12:1-8 22—GENESIS 43, GENESIS 44 MATTHEW 15:10-39 PSALM 13:1-6 23— GENESIS 45, GENESIS 46, GENESIS 47:1-12 MATTHEW 16:1-20 PSALM 14:1-7 24—GENESIS 47:13-31, GENESIS 48 MATTHEW 16:21-28, MATTHEW 17:1-13 PROVERBS 3:1-10 25—GENESIS 49, GENESIS 50 MATTHEW 17:14-27, MATTHEW 18:1-9 PSALM 15:1-5 26—JOB 1, JOB 2, JOB 3 MATTHEW 18:10-35 PSALM 16:1-11 27—JOB 4, JOB 5, JOB 6, JOB 7 MATTHEW 19:1-15 PSALM 17:1-5

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Photo Caption

eradicate deaths from malaria around the world. Since our worship attendance currently hovers around 250, that's an extra $2500 we needed to raise by the end of the year. Not only did we raise the $30,000, we also raised the $2,500 for Imagine No Malaria, and another $3624 on top of that. We now come into 2016 with just shy of $8000 in our Faith Promise account. Praise God! The Mission Team will now prayerfully consider how to best use those funds.

Thank you all for your financial gifts in every area. We will have financial challenges ahead, to be sure, but I now know we have the capacity to meet those challenges. I am confident of this because we have a congregation which listens to the voice of the Holy Spirit and carefully discerns where God is leading our church. With that as the backbone of everything we do, with God's help, we cannot fail! I look forward to seeing you in worship this coming Sunday, as we continue in our series, Where is God When it Hurts?

Pastor Jim

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Help is Available! Things happen in life that cause great pain and suffering. Many attempt to put on “happy faces” to hide the extent of their woundedness. What is keeping you from asking for help? Is shame, guilt,or pride keeping you from taking the first step? Are you afraid of what others may think if you accept care during this difficult time in your life? Stephen Ministers are committed to Christian care giving and confidentiality, and are sensitive to those who are in need of support during a difficult time. Please prayerfully consider your situation and take that first step to receive help. Having a Stephen Minister walk beside you may be God’s 2016 gift to you! For further information about Stephen Ministry, contact Peggy Strack, 570-421-3280, ext. 1023.

Members of ESUMC who are no longer able to attend church, always enjoy hearing from you! Cards and notes of encouragement may be sent to:

Nancy Strauser Mrs. Bush’s Personal Care P.O. Box 327 Kunkletown, PA 18058

Hearing Assistance Devices are Here! ESUMC now owns several hearing assistance devices which can be worn to improve your ability to hear our worship services. Please contact an usher to pick up your hearing assistance device and return to an usher after use.

Stephen Ministry

The Bible in a Year

In the first week of our 2016 Bible reading challenge we read through the creation story in Genesis and a number of Psalms of worship. Where I found myself really intrigued was in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapters 3 and 4. Now we put the chapter markers of the New Testament centuries later, but I see this as one continuous story. At the end of Matthew 3 we find that Jesus has made his way to the River Jordan to be baptized by John. But John disagrees, thinking that Jesus should baptize him instead. Jesus says “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” John agrees, and as he is baptizing Jesus a voice from heaven speaks: "This is my Son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased." This has huge implications because it is an official proclamation: Jesus is Messiah, Jesus is the son of God! It also leads into the story that we read in Matthew, Chapter 4 where Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting for 40 days and 40 nights the tempter comes to Him in His hunger and says, “IF you are the son of God tell these stones to become bread.” If we don’t pay attention we miss the whole point. The tempter starts out with this one small word “IF “and it’s just dripping with evil. He is attempting to disorient Jesus, to change things up by trying to place just the slightest seed of doubt in Jesus. The Truth is that we all live in a world full of “IFs “that can make us doubt who God says we really are. We question, “IF I’m good enough, IF I’m successful enough, IF I’m smart enough, IF I’m loved and even forgiven enough. These doubts often ring in our ears like a relentless case of tinnitus. These “IFs” have a way of burrowing down into the deepest part of who we are. But here is the good news. Hope prevails, and it comes from Jesus’ response to the tempter. He replies, “It is written that man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. IT IS WRITTEN. Jesus goes straight to what is true and what orients him to the Father. And that’s why we read this Book; because in all the things we face in our walk of life, scripture is a way to orient us in this difficult and challenging world. So my friends - read on!

Rev Bob Hachtman

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Church-Wide Study

January 10th - February 2nd

Classes continue on Sundays and

throughout the week at various times/

places

It’s not to late to join a class! The Youth Bells are off to a ter-

rific start. They played Christmas Eve and did a great job! However, we are still in need of ringers-three to be exact. They meet every Tuesday, at 5:30-6:00PM, in the bell room. Players need to be in 5th grade or up. This would include adults who want to try to play too. If you have any questions or would like more information, contact Chris Perfetti @ 610-3400 or 610-442-8277.

Teacher Day of Study Time Location

Rosenberger & Brown Sun. 9:45am church basement, # 8

Lee Karchner Sun. 9:45 am church basement, #10

Kelli Mercurio Sun. 9:45 am church basement, # 6

Peggy Strack Sun. 9:45 am church basement, choir rm

Lynn Pappalardo Sun. 9:45 am church, bridal lounge

Cathy Saunders Sun. 9:45 am 2nd floor office building

Rich & Jenni Poole Sun. 6:30 p.m. 229 Whitetail Ct., Stroudsburg

Karen Todd Mon. 11:00 a.m. 2nd floor office building

Tom & Kathy Hinkey Tues. 10:00 am 348 Jade Ave., E. Stbg.

CATCH is a program for invitational evangelism, which will show us

how to attract visitors to our church, connect them with our faith

community, and help them learn to know, love, and serve God! Join a

study today! Call Peggy , 570-421-3280, ext. 1023 to get your daily

devotional book.

Make your New Year’s Resolution stick! As the New Year begins many of us have made resolutions to read the bible daily, quit smoking, lose weight, exercise more, manage money more wisely, pray daily, or spend more time with family. These are all great goals to set. But, we are challenging YOU

to invest in your mind and soul as part of your New Year Resolutions. Choosing to make fellowship and friendship with God’s word a part of resolution will give you the strength to succeed in all areas of your life! See green flyer for course offerings, leaders and descriptions. At welcome desk and in Narthex.

A note from someone who recently attended our Community Meal on a Monday night:

What a beautiful, wonderful, Savior we have in Jesus!! An awesome praise and worship was done unto our Father this evening at the UMC soup kitchen on South Courtland St. in East Stroudsburg, PA. The little children took the lead while being trained up in the way they should go by those who watch over their souls doing unto the least of us as unto God, and they gave cheerfully! All praises to our Lord and Savior as He fed the masses through prayer, placemats, delicious food, and the children's eagerness to serve. Hallelujah! The Jesus in me thanks the Jesus in you. Thank you for letting your light so shine. And thank you East Stroudsburg UMC for all you do for the community and for the fulfilling spiritual and physical food you serve. Thank you for doing unto us as unto God’s Love.

Your sister-in-Christ,

Angelique Cannon

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Events

SWAT Meeting: We always try to schedule SWAT on the fourth Monday of the month, as we do this month, January 25, at 9:00 a.m. thanks to all that committed to this worthwhile work around our Church. See you January 25 at 9:00 a.m. in the conference room.

HIKING: We will attempt a hike on Sunday, Jan. 24. Meet in the Church parking lot at 12:30 pm. We leave at 12:45 SHARP. Call Bob at (570) 223-7076, the day before scheduled hike to see if weather permits our getting out there.

PA Optical Clinic

Providing eyeglasses for as low as $40 for single vision and lined bifocals to low and moderate income people of any age… See flyer in various locations around the church, or call the office (570) 421-3280.

Clinic at Career Link—Route 611, Merchants Plaza, Tannersville

February 1, 2016—9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Call 1-800-901-1912 to make an appointment

Walk-ins welcome until 12 Noon.

2016 MEN’S RETREAT—”KEEPING IT REAL”

Friday, March 11th—5:00—6:00 p.m. arrival Program: 6-9 p.m. Dinner provided Saturday March 12th—8:00 a.m. Breakfast Program: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Lunch and dinner provided Join us for Fellowship, Food, Games, Discussions, Testimonies, Teamwork and Spiritual Growth. Tri-fold information and sign-up fliers available from team members, church office and at Welcome Center. Team Members— Tim Malefyt, Doug Malefyt, Mike Ragonese, Dave Thompson, John Hollister and Doug Ritchie

East Stroudsburg United Methodist Church

83 S. Courtland St.

East Stroudsburg, PA 18301

www.esumc.net

Contact Us

Church Office (570) 421-3280 church@esumc.net Hours: 9 am to 3 pm Mon thru Fri Pastor Jim Todd jtodd@esumc.net Ext. 1014

Secretary Maria Ragonese mragonese@esumc.net Ext. 1010

Congregational Care Peggy Strack pstrack@esumc.net Ext. 1023

Youth Ministries Scott Kuhnle skuhnle@esumc.net Ext. 1013

Children’s Ministries Erica Dorsch edorsch@esumc.net Ext. 1017

Finances Sue Mertz smertz@esumc.net Ext. 1015 Financial Secretary Cyndie Faunce cfaunce@esumc.net Ext. 1025

Maintenance William Mack wmack@esumc.net Ext. 1018

Organist/Traditional Music Pauline Fox foxes@esumc.net

Audio/Visual Joe Dorsch josephdorsch@gmail.com

Contemporary Music Doug Malefyt dmalefyt@esumc.net

Technology Support Michael Corey mcorey@esumc.net Ext. 1012

Scan QR to ESUMC Website

Recovery Meetings Available in The Community Room of Office Building Basement

NA MEETINGS – Monday through Saturday – 12:00 P.M. to 1:30 P.M. Just for Today

Wednesday – 6:00 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. New Beginnings (Women’s Group)

AA MEETINGS – Thursday & Saturday – 8:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. Keep It Simple