It has been a hard couple of years for the pastor. He wasn't exactly sure about the idea of getting ordained to begin with; though a seminary graduate, he was too young to be a pastor, he claimed. Andrey was able to convince church leaders of this for a couple of years. While working as a member of synod staff, though, they heard him preach, saw him work with youth and participated in his Bible studies. Eventually it became clear that there were congregations that needed his pastoral leadership. In the end Andrey agreed that the church's call was God's call, that it was time to stop resisting. And so he and his new wife would gather their things and move in order to fill a vacancy in one of our church's oldest congregations.
But “old” in no sense equals “easy.” In fact the experience of our church is generally the opposite. So, despite good support from the church's leadership, it was a challenging call. Besides adapting to a new city and new people, he had to deal with unrealistic expectations and with a congregation that wasn't exactly sure they wanted him there – he didn't speak German, after all, and at times his blunt words struck at bit too closely to home. One step at a time, though, he worked his way through some of the congregation's simmering conflicts; they were able to find peace with the question of language (3 Sundays Russian (and only Russian), one Sunday German (with a Russian sermon)), to bring a degree of stability to the question of their place of worship, to attempt to begin social service ministry in the congregation and Andrey preached clearly every week about God's love and our response to that love.
And yet, while he continued to do his daily work, Andrey could no longer see what was next – the battles (and they were battles) of the recent past were too fresh in his mind. It was almost as if he didn't notice (though notice he did) that the congregation had, slowly but surely, gotten younger. I saw it when I came to meet the newly elected church council, with over half its members 35 years old or less. But by then Andrey was ready to move on - this call had reached its conclusion.
That does not mean Andrey's call to ministry was done, however. Instead he saw a path forward for himself through further education...and for the congregation through a change in pastoral leadership. And so, he'll be leaving in some weeks time to Germany. In two years he should have a master's degree as well as new skills and experiences for helping his church develop.
The congregation? Well, the reaction was telling. Some were still living in a dream world where Germany sends pastors to all in need. Others seemed to note with guilt that they might have made life easier for their pastor and might have done more together with him. Most were worried about what would happen next – they know that pastors are significantly fewer than vacancies. And the young folks? Their reaction to the news brought me hope - “Good for you, pastor! I hope you have a great time and learn a lot! Keep in touch!... And now we'd better ask ourselves what it is it that we'll have to do to keep our congregation going. What might we do that is new to help us develop further?”
Thanks in no small part to my former student and current colleague, Pastor Andrey, it will be a joy for me to accompany that congregation as it continues on its journey.
But “old” in no sense equals “easy.” In fact the experience of our church is generally the opposite. So, despite good support from the church's leadership, it was a challenging call. Besides adapting to a new city and new people, he had to deal with unrealistic expectations and with a congregation that wasn't exactly sure they wanted him there – he didn't speak German, after all, and at times his blunt words struck at bit too closely to home. One step at a time, though, he worked his way through some of the congregation's simmering conflicts; they were able to find peace with the question of language (3 Sundays Russian (and only Russian), one Sunday German (with a Russian sermon)), to bring a degree of stability to the question of their place of worship, to attempt to begin social service ministry in the congregation and Andrey preached clearly every week about God's love and our response to that love.
And yet, while he continued to do his daily work, Andrey could no longer see what was next – the battles (and they were battles) of the recent past were too fresh in his mind. It was almost as if he didn't notice (though notice he did) that the congregation had, slowly but surely, gotten younger. I saw it when I came to meet the newly elected church council, with over half its members 35 years old or less. But by then Andrey was ready to move on - this call had reached its conclusion.
That does not mean Andrey's call to ministry was done, however. Instead he saw a path forward for himself through further education...and for the congregation through a change in pastoral leadership. And so, he'll be leaving in some weeks time to Germany. In two years he should have a master's degree as well as new skills and experiences for helping his church develop.
The congregation? Well, the reaction was telling. Some were still living in a dream world where Germany sends pastors to all in need. Others seemed to note with guilt that they might have made life easier for their pastor and might have done more together with him. Most were worried about what would happen next – they know that pastors are significantly fewer than vacancies. And the young folks? Their reaction to the news brought me hope - “Good for you, pastor! I hope you have a great time and learn a lot! Keep in touch!... And now we'd better ask ourselves what it is it that we'll have to do to keep our congregation going. What might we do that is new to help us develop further?”
Thanks in no small part to my former student and current colleague, Pastor Andrey, it will be a joy for me to accompany that congregation as it continues on its journey.
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| With Pastor Andrey on a too-cold spring morning at the train station in Anzhero-Suzhdensk, one of the cities in his parish. |
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