Professional Documents
Culture Documents
I write this having just returned from the National Day of Prayer service held in front of the
Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg. The National Day of Prayer was revitalized last
year after many years of absence in our community. The “official” website for National Day of
Prayer lists this day as a Christian time of prayer, and requests that those who register their
Day of Prayer on the national site agree to have it as a Christian observance. If you were to
go on that site, you won’t find our observance in Stroudsburg listed, because just as we did
last year, we made sure this year’s observance was interfaith. This was something we
grappled with last year, whether to keep it “Christian-only,” or make it interfaith. I was one who believed that
interfaith was a good way to observe this Day of Prayer. There is not a religious faith I know of which does not
include prayer as part of its religious practice.
Following the service, there were photos taken of participants, and I was privileged to be in a photo with (l to r):
Harun Gultekin, Swami ______ (sorry, I didn’t catch his full name, and he requested I call him “Swami!”), and
Rabbi Baruch Melman. It was my first time meeting Swami, but I’ve known Harun for several years and Rabbi
Melman for a little over a year. Harun is a member of Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center in
Saylorsburg, presided over by Muhammed Fethullah Gulen, a well known Turkish Islamic scholar. Baruch
Melman is rabbi at Temple Israel of the Poconos in Stroudsburg. I have always been enriched in my
conversations with these two men and look forward to future faith dialogue.
I’ve always believed that if our own faith is strong enough,
we can have great conversations with anyone who believes
differently than us. The Apostle Paul engaged in
conversation with those whose faith was very different than
his own. In Acts 17, Paul was in Athens at a place called the
Aeropagus, an ancient hill (also known as Mars Hill) which
functioned as the court of justice in Athens. It was here in
399 BC where Socrates faced the charges of his accusers.
500 years later, it was where Paul said, “Athenians, I see
how extremely religious you are in every way” (Acts 17:22).
Paul goes on to witness to his faith when he sees the altar
inscribed to an unknown god and asserts that he knows who
this God is: the creator of the universe!
That story was in my mind today as we met for prayer in front
of our own “Areopagus,” the courthouse of Monroe County.
We were all there today to denounce hate, to lift up peace as
our mutual goal, and to pledge to work together in all the
ways we each understand God. I’m not one to say, “Well, we
all worship the same God,” because quite frankly, often our
conceptions of and belief in God are quite different from
each other. Even so, it strengthens our community when we
can come together for peaceful conversation and dialogue
about how we can all work together to make our community
a better place and a welcome place for people of all races,
nationalities, and religions.
Blessings in the Name of Jesus, Pastor Jim
Eat. Pray. Love. Learn... Save
the Date! An Egyptian Cooking
Experience with Chahrazed (Cece)
Chadil
AA
Keep It Simple
Thursdays &
Saturdays
8:00pm-9:00pm
Serenity House
Saturdays
5:30pm-6:30pm
Sundays
4:30pm-6:30pm
NA
Just For Today
Monday-Saturday
12:00pm-1:30pm
New Beginnings
(Women’s Group)
Wednesdays
6:00-7:30pm
OA
Wednesdays
8:00pm-9:00pm
RESOURCE DIRECTORY
church@esumc.net General questions and/or help; official Church email GRIEF
communications@esumc.net Communications questions, requests and suggestions
trumpetcall@esumc.net eNews subscription requests; TC articles DEADLINE: Wednesdays, 12pm SHARE 3
servantkeeper@esumc.net Servant keeper questions; ACCOUNT GOES LIVE: 06/02/2019 Thursdays
prayer@esumc.net Prayer requests (for our phone, text, or email prayer chains) 6:30-8:00pm
flowers@esumc.net Flower dedications (for the bulletin) DEADLINE: Wednesdays, 12pm Begins 05/30/19
FREE YOUTH EVENT
Jr. High (Grades 5-9) Movie Night
When: Friday May 10th | 6:00 – 8:30pm
Where: East Stroudsburg UMC | 83 S. Courtland Street, East Stroudsburg, PA 18301
Who: All 5th – 9th grade students | Friends welcome—invite someone to come!
GIRLS MOVIE: Soul Surfer BOYS MOVIE: Indiana Jones: Raider of the Lost Ark
***For more information , please contact Scott Kuhnle, Director of Youth Ministries at skuhnle@esumc.net.***
OVERVIEW
ESUMC members are being invited to become part of our A/V ministry. As you may know, we are investing in
many exciting improvements and repairs to our Audio and Video ministry. These include new equipment and the
creation of a streaming online presence. These improvements have been lead by Charlie Rajnai, working closely
with the Worship Planning Team and Trustees. Now we seek to include more of our members in becoming a vital
part of the improved ministry. This is a new opportunity for anyone interested or curious about the technology.
GOALS
1. Make the Audio Visual ministry an inspired and exciting part of the worship experience for more members.
2. Offer one on one training by our current staff and volunteers who have years of experience.
3. Teach rewarding skills in audio, video and computers that can be carried into other fields of work and lei-
sure.
4. Offer opportunities to active members who are of high school age and up.
5. Current and future students of ministry, communications, music, design, or graphic arts are highly encour-
aged as are current professionals and retirees of the same.
SPECIFICATIONS
• Using Computers, either MAC or Windows. Both is a plus.
• Know the run of the elements of the 8:30 and/or 10:45 services; the key parts of a worship service at
ESUMC.
• Good vision and good hearing.
PLUS
• A deep interest in either spiritual music, photography, graphic design, or audio/video and a desire to
learn how we do it at ESUMC.
• Regularly attends Sunday and holiday services as a part of their spiritual dedication to God and following
Jesus our Savior.
BONUS if you have experience in two or more of the following:
• Musician, vocalist, or live/studio sound production background at any skill level.
• Video creation and editing of any type, including YouTube/TikTok/Instagram or other amateur video edit-
ing and uploading.
• Worked with Presentation Software like PowerPoint.
• Understanding of Google suite: gmail, sheets, and docs.
• Basic understanding of network drives, WiFi setup.
• Basic understanding of audio equipment.
METHODOLOGY
Training
The A/V volunteer will:
1. Work one on one with one or more of our current A/V experts in a hands on approach to learn:
• Operation of the ProPresenter video software, SQ6 sound mixer, and other equipment.
• The end to end process for building and presenting the Sunday services.
• How to support and partner with the Worship Band during rehearsals and services.
• Behind the scenes responsibilities like microphones, video screens, cables, etc.
2. Under direct supervision, hands on coverage of the responsibilities of a typical Sunday of worship
S U N D AY S E RV I C E S & TI M E S
8:30 AM Traditional Worship 9:45 AM Equipping Hour 10:45 AM Contemporary Worship
Church Office
Monday-Friday, 9am-1pm Director of Student Ministries Director of Congregational Care
church@esumc.net Scott Kuhnle Rachel Thompson
(570) 421-3280 skuhnle@esumc.net rthompson@esumc.net
Ext. 1013 Ext. 1011
Pastor
Jim Todd Director of Children & Family Ministries Audio/Visual Technician
jtodd@esumc.net Erica Dorsch Charles Rajnai
Ext. 1014 edorsch@esumc.net charlesrajnai@gmail.com
Ext. 1017
Church Administrator Financial Secretary
Jill Teaford Director of Traditional Music/Organist Accepting Applications
jteaford@esumc.net Pauline Fox esumcjobs@gmail.com
Ext. 1015 foxes@esumc.net
Facilities Manager
Administrative Assistant Director of Contemporary Music Accepting Applications
Kathy Ravago Doug Malefyt esumcjobs@gmail.com
kravago@esumc.net dmalefyt@esumc.net
Ext. 1010 Weekday Sexton
Director of Choir Accepting Applications
Director of Communications Joe Dorsch esumcjobs@gmail.com
& Spiritual Life Development josephdorsch@gmail.com
Bethany Mills Sunday Sexton
bmills@esumc.net Director of Bells Craig Banner
Ext. 1023 Chris Perfetti jteaford@esumc.net
perfetti3@ptd.net Ext. 1015