Deanery Visit to Magadan

  In the first days of February, my duties as Area Dean of the Far East took me to Magadan and Sokol, a region I last visited in 2016. You can read about that trip here. In the two years since I have the impression that while the economic situation in the city might have improved slightly, in general the area constantly feels the effects of a tragic history, isolation, and continuing emmigration.
 The flight from Moscow to Magadan in northeast Russia takes eight hours; if going so far it might be desirable to stay for longer. During my visit I did not have as much time to explore the area as I might have liked, but meetings with key local leaders were at the center of my attention. The situation in the congregation in Magadan has occupied the thoughts and prayers many of us connected with the deanery lately; even before this visit it was relatively clear that we would be moving toward closing the congregation.

  St. Marks has run into various disappointments throughout the years in regards to spiritual leadership. At present the Magadan congregation is served by lay preacher Andrey Ozols; however during my visit I went to see Andrey at the hospital after a minor stroke. His age and health concerns, unfortunately, make it unreasonable to count on his being able to lead the dwindling congregation forward. Faith is very important for those few people who are left (picture, right), but it seems that it might be in their best interests if they could find a more vital congregation, even if it is of a different denomination.

In Sokol (below) the congregation is relatively vibrant for a a house church - approximately 10 people meet weekly in lay leader Elena Romanova's apartment. Here, too, however, but it is does not seem wise to invest the significant funds and time needed to develop the congregation when Elena does not plan on staying in the area for the long term and there are no other clear leaders on the horizon.

These conversations are not easy to have, but we held them in the context of thankfulness for what the Lord has given and that God brings us through death and in to a new and different kind of life. In the coming months I will continue to work with the people in the region to try to see that they find alternative sources of spiritual care and also to sell the Magadan congregations apartment and invest those funds in other parts of the deanery as the Lord and common sense direct us.

Just outside of Magadan from the air.

Clinical Pastoral Care in Russia

Pastoral care and Counseling is one of the areas to which our church has been dedicating special attention throughout the years. Russia and its neighbors have lived through upheals and historical shifts that have affected generation after generation. This fact has led to many people carrying trauma in their lives, with no real tools with which to move toward healing. Out of desperation, some turn to the church for help; experience has taught us that lives can be changed if we are prepared with the skills we need in order to respond appropriately to cries of help.

With that in mind starting in 2017 an experiment program was initiated in order to see whether or not the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) approach that is the standard for many churches doing pastoral training in the West  could prove fruitful here. This is the first time the methods of CPE have been attempted on Russian soil. While the “clinical” aspect of CPE was not as formal as it would be in America or Germany – after all, it is next to impossible to find institutions where our people would allowed to act as chaplains – in other aspects we were able to replicate the growth in knowledge, skills and self-understanding that is necessary for quality “care of souls” (using the literal translation from the Russian.) Having completed the first cycle of training seminars with 8 graduates of the program, I can say I could hardly be more pleased with our progress.

While students evaluations in Russia tend to avoid specifics, I saw a pattern of positive results in what they wrote: “I learned how to listen;” “I saw how important it was to avoid giving direct advice and to instead accompany the care-seeker as he/she finds his own solutions;” “I now realize that... empathy is at the center of pastoral care.” “My job as a pastoral care giver is to be a sojourner along the path of life that the Lord has given us.”

For some of the participants the seminar was transforming on a personal and professional level: “I understood that pastoral care is interesting to me, is a gift God has given to me;” “Before this seminar I saw pastoral care from a different perspective and what I learned is really valuable and important;” “This... was a turning point in my understanding of the means and methods of pastoral ministry;” “I thought about...aspects of my life that I hadn't considered before;” after this seminar “I feel healthier spiritually and physically. I've been sleeping like I haven't slept since I was a child. Many thanks once again for accompanying me on the way, for caring about the healing of my soul.”

I look forward to continue to work with our German friends and the Russian head of the pastoral care committee, Pastor Oleg Shtulberg, as we plan next steps in the further development of this critical area of ministry.