Staff
Rev. John Taliwaga
Directing Pastor
Pastor John M. Taliwaga is a native Filipino born on June 16, 1977. He is married to Mary Rose M. Taliwaga, a Filipino Deaconess and Kindergarten Teacher. They are blessed by God with 3 children: Merry Deborah Gratia M. Taliwaga, Jedidiah Reign M. Taliwaga, and Cornelius David Blessing M. Taliwaga. In 2000, John started his ministry as Candidate to the Ministry. In 2001, he became a Certified Local Pastor. In 2007, he was ordained as an elder. The Lord blessed him as an appointed District Superintendent from 2011-2016.
John's passion in service was not confined inside the district, it was extended to a special ministry. From 2015-2017, he was commissioned as a military officer in the Chaplain Service of the Philippine Air Force. During this time, there was an internal arrangement with the Bishop to supervise the district and have ministry in military service. But after two years, John resigned from military ministry service because it was hard for his family to be separated.
In 2017, John was re-appointed by the Bishop to Tarlac City UMC as the Senior Pastor. He has been appointed to different UM churches since 2001. Most of these appointments have been in large churches with a multicultural set-up. He shared ministry to fulfill the flagship program of their conference: “Know Jesus Christ and to make Him Known”. They were able to introduce the 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.
John is friendly, teachable, and flexible. He is dedicated to the ministry of the Lord. He loves building strong relationships and working in a group, as he believes good results are fuitful through 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
Charlee Thornton
Office Manager
Charlee Thornton is from Trilla, Illinois. She loves spending time with her 2 dogs and 6 cats. In her free time, she runs her small business, Handmade Haven, where she sells her items on her online pages and sets up at local craft and vendor shows with her grandmother, selling sewn and crocheted projects. She also runs a dog care business, where she watches and takes care of dogs in her community. She loves learning new crafting techniques and traveling.
She loves it here at Centenary United Methodist!
Jerry Starner
Organist
Serving as our organist is Jerry Starner of Effingham. She also serves as one of the organists at St. John's Lutheran, Effingham. Her training started at age 6 with piano lessons, continued with singing in Mrs. Cathleen Cranalall's Aufillerettes, started band in 4th grade, had musical training under Mrs. Donna Kerley, and continued in high school band under direction of Marilyn Bennett. In later years she performed with the ladies singing group, "Voices Unlimited," also under the direction of Marilyn Bennett. Jerry has always enjoyed sharing her music and encourages all parents to offer their children music lessons to enable them to express their talents and build their confidence. She was from Farina originally but has lived in Effingham for over 40 years. She has 3 children, 12 grands, and 3 great-grands. Jerry thanks God every day for her musical training through the women listed above and cannot imagine life without music. She feels closest to God when playing music!
Kurt Beals
Organist/Pianist
Born and raised in Effingham, Kurt received his Bachelor of Music degree from Millikin University in 1986. Following a 30+ year residence in Atlanta, GA, he returned home in 2022. Since then, he has actively participated in the music department and as well as holding the position of Co Chair of the Outreach/Witness Committee at Centenary.
Amanda Moloney
Choir Director
Handbell Choir Director
Our hallelujah and handbell choirs are directed by Amanda Moloney. Amanda is the current Taylorville junior high school music teacher. You may have also seen her performing with numerous groups in the area throughout the years. Amanda is also a sought after adjudicator for many music festivals. The experience she brings to Centenary truly adds harmony to our worship services. Not to mention annual Christmas and Easter performances, and our spring tradition: Bagels & Bells.
Sierra Poppe
Director of Youth Ministries
My name is Sierra Poppe and along with teaching our Senior Youth I am also a fourth grade teacher! My husband’s name is Robert and we met while I attended college at Anderson University. We lost touch for a little bit due to me moving back home to work on my Master’s through Greenville University while he was training to become an infantry officer for the Army National Guard. Thankfully our love of baseball and soccer brought us back together. We welcomed our son, “little” Robert, last year and he has been the biggest blessing. Though I have taught in many leadership roles throughout my lifetime, I will forever be thankful that God has called me to be a wife and a mother. My favorite Bible verse is Daniel 3:18 which says “and if not, He is still good”. What a wonderful reminder of how good our Father is!