Staff
Rev. John Taliwaga
Directing Pastor
I am Pastor John M. Taliwaga a native Filipino born on June 16 1977; I am married to Mary Rose M. Taliwaga a Filipino Deaconess and a Kindergarten Teacher. We are blessed by God with 3 children Merry Deborah Gratia M. Taliwaga, Jedidiah Reign M. Taliwaga, and Cornelius David Blessing M. Taliwaga. In 2000, I decided to enter the ministry and was accepted as Candidate to the Ministry. In 2001 I was as Certified Local Pastor. In 2007 I was ordained as an elder. The Lord blessed me from 2011-2016 as I was appointed a District Superintendent.
My passion in service was not confined inside the district, it was extended to a special ministry. From 2015-2017 I was commissioned as military officer in the Chaplain Service in Philippine Air Force. During those times, it was an internal arrangement with my Bishop to supervise the district and at the same time to have a duty in the military service. But after two years, I decided to resign in the service because it was hard for us as family to be departed from each other.
I was re-appointed in the local church by my Bishop in the 2017 to present at Tarlac City UMC as the Senior Pastor. I have been appointed to different United Methodist churches of our conference since 2001. Most of these appointments have been in large churches with multicultural setup. I shared ministry to fulfil the flagship program of our conference that is to “Know Jesus Christ and to make Him Know”. We were able to introduce our beloved church to the society by confessing “A Mega Faith - Mega Church”. It was also a great opportunity and joy to be elected as the principal delegate to the General Conference in 2016 and in 2019.
As to my personality, I am friendly. I am a teachable person and flexible as well. I am dedicated to the ministry of the Lord. I love building a good relationship as much as I can, and I love working with a group because I believe there will always be good results whenever there is much cooperation and unity.
Education:
Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics, 2001; Tarlac Agricultural University Philippines
Master of Divinity, 2004; Wesley Divinity School- Wesleyan University Philippines
Doctor of Missiology, 2021; Philippine Christian University
Malia Stephens
Secretary
Malia Stephens is from St. Elmo, Illinois and has been married to her husband, Art, for over 24 years. They have 4 children and 5 grandchildren. After 25+ years, Malia happily retired from the Illinois Department of Corrections. In her off time, you can find her spending time with her family, going on Mission trips, traveling/exploring new places and meeting new people, she has many hobbies, and her newest passion has been taking and painting pictures of the places she's been.
She is excited to be a part of the staff here at Centenary United Methodist Church.
Jeanlyn Stockman
Nursery Worker
Jeanlyn (Sechrest) Stockman was born and raised in Effingham. She is a lifetime member of CUMC, having been baptized and confirmed in this church. So that means she has been a member of CUMC for over 50 years!
Jeanlyn's main job is that of a Travel Agent. She has worked as a travel agent since 1984. She has worked for a couple different travel agencies, right now she works at Travel Quarters in Effingham. She has worked in the nursery off and on since the late 70's or early 80's.
Jeanlyn is married to Steve. They just celebrated their 25th anniversary June 26. They have 1 daughter, Bayleigh who is now living in Atlanta. In her spare time, Jeanlyn loves to travel, sew and spend time with family.
Jerry Starner
Organist
I was introduced to music as early as 2 - as soon as I could sit on my Dad's knee at the piano.
It was then he taught me various nursey rhymes as well as a love for big band songs. I took piano lessons for 3 years starting in 1st grade. In 4th grade I began in band on the clarinet which I still play to this day. I attribute most of my music teachings to Donna Kerley and Marilyn Bennett as they were the best music teachers Farina LaGrove had and I know I was blessed to call then my mentors and my friends. As a young teen, I played piano and organ at my home church, Freidens Church of Christ, also in Farina. In the 70's I played organ at St Peter Lutheran, St Peter, Holy Cross Lutheran , Vandalia and at Edgewood Church of the Nazarene. In 1979 I moved to Effingham and became one of the organists at St John's Lutheran. During my music life, I have played for many conferences, as well as weddings and funerals. I strongly feel God has richly blessed me with this gift of music and find it difficult to say no when asked to play for any event.
I've been married to my husband Jim for 7 years. Together we have 5 children, Bill Strullmyer of Appleton, WI, Kurt Strullmyer and Sheila Braun, both of Effingham, Shannon Starner of Altamont, and Jeremy Starner of Louisville, KY. We have 15 grandchildren and are also blessed with 1 great-grandson with another great-grand on the way.
I was thrilled to be asked to become your organist. I've enjoyed working with Julie Slifer in the office at St John's and feel we make a good team to bring the gospel with our gifts of music to your congregation.
And I also feel honored to play for one of your members and my biggest fan - my Mother, Betty Nelson.
Amanda Moloney
Handbell Choir Director
Amanda grew up in Northwest Indiana after living in both St. Louis and Pittsburgh with her mom and dad and older sister.
After graduating high school, she attended Millikin University where she graduated with a degree in Music Education. That degree brought her to Effingham county where she was the band director in Altamont for many years. After a brief career in music retail through Paige's Music in Indianapolis and Samuel Music in Effingham, she was called back to the field of teaching. Amanda taught K-12 music in Sandoval, IL for 3 years before landing as the band director for Vandalia CUSD #203. Amanda started teaching in Vandalia in 2017 and still serves as the band director there. Amanda is also a trumpet player in the community, playing with the Kaskaskia College Bands (Centralia) and has played in other area ensembles including the FACE orchestra, and the Centralia Philharmonic Orchestra. In her spare time, Amanda enjoys cooking and travel.