Southern Ossetia

After 70 years of particularly cruel treatment by Soviet authorities, this mountain people (for centuries subject to one or another of its stronger neighbors) longed to gain independence. And, as was the tradition amongst nearly all the peoples of the Caucuses, they were willing to take up arms to defend themselves. The fight frequently looked like clan-warfare – kidnappings and public executions, pillaging and rape, blood feuds that could simmer for decades, waiting for the time to be ripe to reap revenge. Yet, this was more than a local conflict – larger powers (with their larger geo-political and economic interests) were involved, carefully planning the course for their goals to be met, regardless of what happened to those ordinary folks who called this mountain country their home.
These words apply not only to the violence in Southern Ossetia and Georgia. Sadly, they could be used to speak of many conflicts (the most well-known of which are the wars in Chechnya) in the past 15 years.
The understanding (and, even more so, the media coverage) of these conflicts look quite different from those writing on different sides of the struggle; western and Russian sources each seem to enjoy painting a black-and-white picture of events that turns one side into a hero and the other side in to “the aggressor.” But what is clear from here is that both sides were aggressive – Russia in laying all the groundwork for war by giving people in break-away regions outside of their country Russian passports (thereby having a reason to come to “the defense of our citizens”) and by resisting changes to the status-quo of de facto independence for Southern Ossetia and Abkhazia, which de jure remained Georgian territories. Russia was even less adept in finding an opportunity to improve its image abroad in its response to what apparently was a military operation initiative by Georgia – instead of remaining as actual peacekeepers, it is clear that the Russian military desired to punish Georgia and, particularly, its president, for trying to re-integrate these regions. Russia’s response was clearly over the top if it were truly interested only in how the peoples of these lands were living. Yet, clearly Russia alone is not at fault. The status quo, no matter how bad it was, was less violent that the all-out war of the early 1990s; these small ethnic groups did truly desire independence and suffered under Georgian rule. It seems that Georgia’s supporters in the West, directly or indirectly, gave the Georgian President reason to think that he could and should take a “now or never” opportunity to bring the territories back into Georgian control. However, Georgia succeed only in pushing the republics further (much further, no matter what one might think about Russia’s recognition of independence for the two territories) away.
And while all of this politics is going on, thousands of refugees pour in Russia from Tskhinvali and surrounding regions, while the Russian military causes enormous damage as it pounds its way through Georgian cities, villages and ports far from the actual zone of conflict.
The last weeks have been filled with two countries’ PR-campaigns, each selling its own version of the war. One sells the story of a victim, beat up by an aggressive bully-of-a-neighbor with no respect for international law or even human life. The other side tells the story of delusional president whose love of power at home (while boot-liking abroad) led him to attempt a “genocide” of one (or two) of the proud peoples of the Caucuses. If one thinks even for a moment about the positions the two sides take in other conflicts (e.g., Kosovo, and especially if one considers the West to be unconditionally supportive of Georgia, as is frequently portrayed here), one loses any illusion that either side is defending any sort of moral principle; instead, each defends their own self-interest (and interest in making the other look bad) at the expense of the simple people who are most affected by these political games.
The human suffering has already been great. The ripple effects are likely to be wider – Georgia is today threatening to cut diplomatic ties with Russia. Does that mean that the young woman the Georgian Lutheran Church who was planning to send to study at our seminary will not be able to make it? Will the rhetoric eventually simmer down, or will we continue to see headlines such as “Will there be War with America?” as one popular and respected Russian news weekly asked on its cover this week?
I would ask you to pray for all political leaders involved in the conflict in one or another – they will need great wisdom to bring the people of the region safely out of the mess that has been made. Prayers, too, that the political conflict does not take on an even more distinct ethnic character – if it does, the up to one million Georgians in Russia and the thousands of Russians in Georgia could become the target of violence. I’d ask you to pray for the churches here, that they could raise a collective and prophetic voice in defense of those who suffer.
As I write this, it seems to me that the worst days of this conflict are behind us. I pray that, by God’s will, I am right.

Turkish Coffee Gone Bad

Once you've developed a taste for it, it's hard to resist Turkish coffee. In my first years in Russia, this stove-top coffee was just going out of style, making way for the much cheaper and faster Nescafe instant. And now that a second coffee revolution is taking place, expensive European espresso is easier to find than the gritty, old-fashioned coffee associated with places further south and east.

Recently, though, we've learned to make Turkish coffee at home; it helps me get through the sleeper hours after noon. There's just one problem - making it. It takes time. Three teaspoons of coffee, one of sugar, mix and put over medium flame until just starting to boy. One really should simply stand next to the stove and wait in order for it to turn out right, because if you don't time it right, the result is what you see in this picture. And the coffee's not any good either. It happens to me no less than once a week.

Turkish coffee has become a symbol for me of the difficulties I face in mission here. On the one hand, I try to accept the gift this culture has presented to me (this new drink); on the other hand, my multi-tasking, American self has a hard time waiting and watching closely so that I might enjoy the gift to its fullest. The same goes when contributing to the two-way exchange that is mission - those gifts I try to share are not always accepted in the way that I had hoped; not always is it possible for the other to wait at the stove while the grinds transform into a the intended gift.

Once again I'm convinced of the crucial need for patience. May the Lord grant it to me and all of those I'm trying to make coffee for.

Ministry at the Novosaratovka Theological Seminary

Internships
The Theological Seminary has been operating for much of the last two years on a significantly reduced theological faculty – from five teachers in 2005 to three now (we are hoping for a fourth teacher to arrive from Germany this autumn). Our most severe need is in Practical Theology; since we don’t have a person directly responsible for this area, I’ve been asked to direct the seminary’s contextual education.
Fall was filled with calling bishops and congregations and talking with them about the possibilities of arranging an internship in their church; the early winter months were spent working out details. As February was coming to an end, we were able to complete the final step before internship – a short seminar with students to help them in the difficult (and quite quick) transition from seminary student, concentrated on his/her final exams, to congregational intern. In the first weeks of March, then, all 11 students were able to leave for their internship sites and begin what for many of them was the goal of seminary education – on-the-ground pastoral ministry; at the same time, it will be for some of them the most difficult and frightening part of seminary – engaging their theological ideas with ordinary people in the often difficult realities of parish life.
Together with this newsletter, you’ll find a map of the former Soviet Union. There you’ll find blue tacks on those cities where we have an intern, and get a sense of the incredible distances that are a part of church life in ELCROS. From west to east the internship cites are: Odessa (Ukraine), St. Petersburg, Kharkov (Ukraine), Moscow, Volgograd, Kazan, Perm, Astana, Pavlodar (both Kazakhstan), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), and Vladivostok.

Graduate Update
For those of you who have been reading my newsletters for some time, you might be interested in reading about the ministries of recent seminary graduates.
There were five graduates in 2007. One of these, Igor, was from the extension program; he was ordained in the summer and continues to serve in my former congregation in Novgorod. While none of the other graduates are yet ordained, most are engaged in interesting work: Sofia has received grants from the ELCA and German parachurch organizations to work on developing a Christian website for children; Menzer is back in her native Azerbaijan, where, along with her quiet evangelism efforts, she has received support from a Norwegian missionary organization and UNICEF to work with children in at-risk families; Andrey is back in his native Siberia, where he is working for the synod office and the congregation in Omsk as director of educational programs and publicity, and where he also does pastoral work (without ordination – he feels like he’s still too young to be ordained, and has asked his church not to rush things!) Our final graduate, Dmitri, began to serve in Belarus this fall. Unfortunately, Dima has already had to give up this position. While very talented academically and with a very deep sense of the need to make the church more “local,” (i.e., less tied to German language and traditions) Dima’s enthusiasm for church reform was too much for the congregation to which he had come. Regrettably, Dmitri’s case is not unique, and the seminary continues to struggle with finding ways to help its students develop a firm sense of theological identity while at the same time not imposing their views on congregations, even despite the lack of mature, healthy development in many congregations of this church. Dima is taking some time off, and hopes to return to church work in a year.

Classes
This spring I have had the opportunity to teach in areas that I thought belonged already to the past – English (which I am teaching in order to cover a temporary gap in our staffing and which I taught as recent college graduate 10 years ago, but not since) and Systematic Theology (which has been in the hands of my Russian colleague, Anton Tikhomirov, for the past three years). In terms of the latter, this year we’ve decided to add a seminar-style course on the history of doctrinal development, and it has been particularly enjoyable for me as the students (whose academic qualifications are higher now than they have been compared to other recent courses) and I read together classical theology texts and try to come to an understanding of how the church’s teachings developed over time.

Easter Greetings!

When and how do we celebrate Resurrection? It is a natural question for missionaries in Russia in years like this one, when the calendars of the Russian Orthodox Church the western churches differ by so much that we celebrated Easter just as our brothers and sisters were becoming adapted to the rhythms of the Great Fast (Orthodox Lent).
Being in Lent and Easter at the same time - this situation, it seems to me, reflects the state Christians are to be in at all times - standing before both the cross and the empty tomb, meditating and acting upon both the reality of death in our world and the anticipation of God’s coming kingdom.
In these spring days, I wish you an ever-deepening sense of what has been done for us in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the subsequent joy and new hope that only the Resurrection life can promise. Bradn