Observation and Action

While teaching at the seminary outside of St. Petersburg, I would frequently tell students that after they receive, they will need to spend a lot of time observing - the congregation's inner dynamics and spiritual values, the hidden conflicts as well as the hidden potential for growth. I thought that I was giving them good advice that could easily be applied to their situations in congregations. I did not realize just how difficult it would be to be patient....and I've only been here three weeks! Did I mention that I told the students that this applied to their first year?

In some ways the congregation in Novosibirsk is ready for change. As I've mentioned elsewhere, my predecessors did much to lay the groundwork for change; when I visited the congregation in May, the council decided that we would take the big step of starting to worship in Russian this fall. While I'm sure it will take a number of months for everyone to get used to this new arrangement, it is clear that they're making their best effort. I'm especially impressed by the congregation's older members, the ones that really want the German language to be a part of their spiritual life. These older women (and they are all women) could easily say - “I can read my prayers at home in German instead of taking taking a hour or two to ride on two or three buses in order to get to church. I've had enough of this.” Or, instead, they could still come to the prayer house because of the role it played in their past, but could engage (either actively or passively) in resisting the move into Russian. For example, they could show their resistance simply by saying, “We're old, and we can't see very well.  We're not even going to try to follow the worship service.”  They wouldn't even be making excuses, they'd be telling the truth! Instead, though, they search for the words and the notes that are still unfamiliar to them. Their effort really impresses me and witnesses to the fact that their faith and being a part of the worshiping community are more important to them than questions of language or ethnicity.

That said it really will take a lot of time to change the way folks think about the church and their participation in it. Time will need to go by before they are willing to respond to my offers to help them in their gardens, to come over for tea and fellowship, or to attend Bible study. A large part of me wants to be doing these and other new things (more Christian education, congregational involvement in social justice issues, talking with the council about the stewardship of our resources, getting a team together for visits to the sick and the homebound, etc.) in order to feel useful. But I need to keep reminding myself that at this point my feelings of usefulness are not what is most important. Instead, I need to allow time for relationships to develop, and that will do much to improve the likelihood for success of new ministries.

The congregation's prayer house before the congregation arrives

In the meantime, I'm trying to fulfill my need to feel useful in other ways, outside of the official boundaries of the congregation. Besides learning my way around Novosibirsk (you can find a few street scenes below), I'm also trying to develop as many contacts as possible outside of the congregation. Since community and special interest groups are significantly fewer here than in the U.S., I cannot necessarily start with those things I already know or am good at, but instead must try to determine what the needs are here and what efforts are already being made. As it turns out, in a country where new infection rates remain among the highest in the world, HIV prevention is a priority. Later in the week I'll be attending a roundtable discussion to see about participating in an intensive new testing effort in October and November.  

Next week I'll let you know more about how the roundtable went, as well as say a few words and provide a few pictures from my official installation service this coming Sunday. Until then, here are a few pictures from around the city.

One of my favorite scenes in Russia - playing chess in the park. I'm glad to see that they do it in Siberia, too.

This is the "Composer's House" in Novosibirsk. I think it is cool that there is a building specially dedicated for composers to meet and work.

The fountain in front of the Russian Academy of Sciences of library where I do research for my dissertation when I have time.

A typical street scene in the center of Novosibirsk - the enormous, Soviet-era "Theater of Ballet and Opera" is the background while a tram makes its way down the street at about the same speed as pedestrians. On the right is a building under construction.

A picture of the first person in space, Yuri Gagarin, at the subway station named in his honor.

Ascension Cathedral. Russian Orthodox Church.