Risk

There are times here in my ministry that I feel like I'm one of the armies in a game of Risk, being

shifted from "Russia" to "Urals" to "Siberia" to "Irkutsk" and back. (I'm still waiting for the opportunity to be shifted to the real Yakutsk or Kamchatka...too bad we don't have any congregations there!) Last week I had the rather odd series of experiences: transversing the continental divide between Europe and Asia 4 times in two days, visiting one of Russia's most vibrant provincial cities (Ekaterinburg) and one of its rather depressed (but in its own way beautiful) industrial neighbors (Nizhny Tagil), of spending time with a congregation that has been without a pastor for almost two years and in the congregations in the "capitals" of Russian Lutheranism, Omsk and Moscow.

The topics of two of the short seminars that I led fit well with the image of "Risk" - Conflict and Introduction to Christian Ethics. I led the latter in geographically-European ELCUSFE congregation in Polevskoe. I've know the congregation's pastor, Denis, for quite a long time, both as a student at the Theological Seminary in Novosaratovka and as a colleague. Since he and his wife live in nearby Ekaterinburg (officially in Asia) our hour-long bus rides took us to a new continent. Denis is quite open-minded, and it seems to me that a small city like Polevskoe particularly needs people like him; there our congregation can be a place both for those with German-Russian roots and for "lost souls" seeking a community.

After two days there I went to visit a fellow missionary living and working two hours north of Ekaterinburg. Mattias and his wife Lena have committed themselves to the "long haul" in circumstances that are far from easy. It was wonderful to share with them a moment of joy along the way; after a few years of meeting in an apartment, the congregation has been given the opportunity to use a former store as their center. They've done renovations there that make it very comfortable, even if the surroundings outside of the walls are not. I will hope and pray that this opportunity for their congregation will open up new doors form them in ministry.

South and east (already outside of "Urals" and in to "Siberia"), Tjumen is a quickly developing city thanks to income from gas and oil in the north part of the state ("oblast") of which it is a capital. The congregation there, too, is a mix of elderly Russian Germans and younger folks who felt attracted by our congregation for one reason or another. People from both of these groups were engaged participants in short lessons that I led about images of Christ and about conflicts.

Fun facts about Tjumen: 1. During WWII Lenin's body was evacuated from the mausoleum on Red Square and brought secretly held in a building of the regional Institute of Agriculture. 2. Rasputin's hometown is not far from Tjumen. Although I didn't make it there this time, I've heard that it is run by a man whom claims to be the grandson of that wild-man monk. 3. Apparently the abundance of newly planted pine trees in the city is a result of influence of a local bureaucrat whose family name ("Yelkin") shares a root (pun intended) with the Russian word for the tree ("Yelki").

And overnight's trip further east still (but still part of western Siberia, 3 hours ahead of Moscow

time), Omsk is a familiar and friendly place (OK, at least the congregation there is. Not everyone gets that excited about the city itself), and I was happy when the newly-appointed Dean of the region, Vladimir Vinogradov, talked with me about the possibility of running a number of seminars there. My experience, though positive overall, convinced once again that it is difficult to give even a short introduction to Christian Ethics in one, 5-hour day.

Catching the plane back west early the next morning, I arrived in Moscow to see that Spring had sprung while I had been away. That said, despite the green grass appearing everywhere, the day was scattered with snow storms. At worship I was privileged to witness a joint service of the "local" congregation and the francophone Protestant congregation that has been celebrating its 15th anniversary.

The theme for the discussion planned with extension education students in Moscow - “Jews and Christians – Paschal Reflections” came about as a result of my experience with inter-religious dialog in Tomsk. There a representative from the local Jewish congregation mentioned that from his point of view, there was no need for the Incarnation, death and resurrection of Christ. While on the one hand this was obvious, I decided that it would be worthwhile to explore the question of what believing Jews of the 1st century might have said about this, especially regarding the sacrificial aspect of Jesus' death and the way various movements did or did not expect bodily resurrection and why. However, we had to keep my program short because of an extra-long worship and because the opportunity arose to make a group excursion together with the congregation's confirmands to Moscow's main synagogue. (Perhaps more about that later). It seemed to me that it would be better to use this opportunity to meet representatives of the Jewish community instead of just hearing me talk about Judaism, and I don't regret that decision. The topic still interests me, though, and I hope that I'll have the opportunity to further develop the material and use it one day.

Now I'm firmly back near the border with "Scandinavia," and have a couple of weeks to recoup before my next turn - headed south for my first visit to the deanery of the North Caucuses. More about that in May.

Lutherans and the World's Largest Lake

One of the natural wonders I have had the privilege to visit here is Lake Baikal in southeast Siberia. The deepest and perhaps the most ancient large lake in the world, it contains approximately 20% of the planet's unfrozen fresh water. When we recently planned a retreat of our church's Central and Eastern Siberia region to be hosted by the nearby congregations in Irkutsk and Shelekhov, we thought that we should start by taking out-of-town guests (many of whom had never been to Baikal before) for a visit.

  It was my 3rd trip to the great lake, and I was struck again by how at the most accessible location (the source of the Angara River near Listvyanka) you don't really realize how unique the lake is. A stop at the natural history museum changed that impression, thanks especially to a great tour guide – a researcher in the area of climate change. I was most struck by what he had to say about the lake's 1000+ endemic species, i.e. those organisms that live in Baikal and nowhere else on the planet. They all have adapted to their environment so well that they are unable to survive elsewhere. When I heard about the fat and lovable Baikal seals,

the golomyanka fish (mostly transparent, gives birth to live young, able to survive at most any depth), and the supreme-water-cleaning crustaceans , all of which have no home other than Baikal, I felt overcome with sadness. It was a completely illogical reaction to scientific fact, I know. Maybe it has something to do with the volatile emotional environment of life in Russia at the moment. Or maybe it is because I couldn't help but comparing endemic organisms to our Lutheran church in Russia. Our approach to Christian faith originated in Europe and has adapted very well to north European and North American environments... it seems to be on the way to adapting to the warmer waters of Africa...but what about here, in the world's largest “lake,” Russia? Can it survive here?

I didn't have much time to contemplate that question, however, because we soon had to leave Baikal in order to make it on time to the “Blue Spruce” center, where we would meet for our retreat.

My time with congregational members did much to disperse my doubt regarding the viability of our church here. There I saw people (almost 40 of them!) who strove to grow and develop, to apply their faith to everyday life, even if the environment is not particularly welcoming. The theme that our staff in Omsk, Natasya Razinkova and Natalia Sivko, chose for the seminar - “Ironman” - fit very well for this group. Participants were also well supported (both in logistical and in spiritual questions) by Pastor Thomas Graf Grote and by me as the person responsible for the “Equipping for Service” project. Even if we had a limited amount of time together, we were able to hear something new, to reinforce some of what we already knew, to share with one another, pray with one another, and to sing together... Actually, regarding music, I must say that there wasn't too much “together”-ness. It turns out that the development of various singing styles is part of the local adaption that takes place in each of our congregations in its own way.

After the seminar was over, I would have been happy to visit Baikal again. Next time, you see, I'm sure that I won't feel sad. Instead I know understand that God created nature (and us together with it) with the capacity to find new paths to abundant life, wherever we may be. Maybe our church is just one tiny “microorganism” in this enormous country, but it also has an important place here. Without it, the environment would be poorer and would suffer. I think we can embrace this identity and go forward in the confidence of the Spirit's accompaniment of us along the way.