Tomsk in Winter

   Earlier this month my call to as the organizer of the "Equipping for Service" program took me to one of my favorite Russian cities, Tomsk. (It's a very photogenic city, so I'm going to scatter pictures around this post randomly. There the weather (freezing, windy, sunny) and food (meat-based everything) remind me of Montana. It made me miss home a bit...and I tried to cope with that by buying some ice cream Baskin Robbins for the first time in many years. I treated Lilia, the elderly women I was staying with, to some Old Fashion Butter Pecan. Although deep in my heart I would have preferred at that moment to be sharing ice cream with one of my one grandmothers, Lilia did as well as she could to make me feel home throughout the week.

St. Mary's Lutheran Church

In Tomsk there is the constant contrast of old and new

Yes, that is a wooden shovel he is using to clean off the roof in order that everyone can see the Apple ad.

   But the reason I'm writing this blog entry is not only to share my mood, but at least a little about the work I was doing there. My hope was to spend the week in Tomsk both with the congregation and with the wider community. One of the ways I hoped to do this was by offering a seminar - “Conflict: One Christian's View.”  The topic is one that is on the minds of many these days - why does conflict occur (on all levels, from personal to political) and what can people of faith do about it? I obviously wasn't going to solve the world's problems, but the hope was that it might be possible to have fruitful conversation and think of some initial steps that might be taken.

  This idea was very well received at a meeting that I thought would likely be peripheral in my time in Tomsk – a meeting of the Inter-religious Dialog group that meets at Tomsk State University. The group was kind enough to change their typical format a bit in order to accompany my visit, and the group's leader in particular asked for more contact with our church in the future.

Inter-religious dialog. Former church council President Ludmilla.  

  Unfortunately an attempt to cover similar themes with the wider community and with the congregation did not attract a significant number of participants. There might be various reasons for this, but I'm pretty certain that the topic itself is interesting for people here, and I'll be making more attempts in the year ahead to look at this theme (including a seminar in Novosaratovka in March, where I'll be teaching for a few hours together with the main teachers from Germany and Russia..more on that later.)

The Russian-German Cultural Center in Tomsk at night.

So while the seminar itself did not have the impact that I had hoped, there was a good turnout for morning Bible studies on Philippians, and there was a good crowd for Sunday worship.

...Or Saturday worship, as is the case when I visit the village of Kozhevnikovo, two hours away. In the early 1990s this town had a flourishing congregation, but now there are just a few elderly women left. They are few, but very faithful; they meet regularly for prayer and hymns, with or without a pastor. They try to pass on their faith to their children and grandchildren, so this year, like last, I was asked to baptize a young child. I hope that Tomsk's next pastor has the opportunity to work more with the children of the village; perhaps God will work a miracle there and bring alive the dormant faith of younger generations.

Rusalina, baptized 2/14/2015 in Kozhevnikovo

The pillars of the village congregation.

  The Tomsk congregation, too, had been waiting for Holy Communion since October, when my colleague Chris Repp visited the congregation. There we had another baptism, and both the newborn's family and the congregation came out in full force. It was a good sign of hope that the congregation has stayed together as they patiently awaited the arrival of their new pastor, an ELM-educated Russian-German, who should arrive in Siberia shortly. 

Polina, baptized 2/15/2015

Installation of Dietrich Brauer as Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia (ELCR)

Just over a week ago, I had the privilege of being present at the installation of Dietrich Brauer as Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia. There was a really impressive number of guests - so many, that if I began to list them here, it would probably mean that you'd stop reading this post! I believe that such a show of support is a result both of the fellowship other churches in Europe feel with the Lutheran church in Russia and the good work that Bishop Brauer and his staff have been doing over the past years (when he was holding the job as “acting Archbishop.”) In his sermon for the installation, he showed the critical (and self-critical) spirit that is in such short supply in church life here. At the same time, he underlined the power of the Good News to change the lives of individuals and wider society.

St.Peter and Paul Lutheran in Moscow.

Participants in the installation receive instructions before the service.

Dean Elena Bondarenko (former staff at the Theological Seminary) and Viktor Weber (2010 seminary graduate, currently pastor in Moscow and head administrator of the office of the church in European Russia) led the liturgy.

I was asked by my boss, Asia Secretary for Evangelical Lutheran Mission in Lower Saxony (the Hermannsburg Mission) to represent ELM at the installation. As a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, I also was in some way representing American partners as well. It was a priviledge and a joy to see the continued growth of one my former students at the Theological Seminary in Novosaratovka, and my thanks goes out to all of you who have contributed to this important development in church life.  

Fall Seminars

  The past months have been filled with new opportunities for the “Equipping for Service” educational program for which I am responsible. The core idea of the “Equipping...” project remains the same – “to maximize accessibility to quality educational opportunities in the Evangelical Lutheran Church through a program that is collaboratively planned, flexible, and decentralized,” but in marked contrast to the events of the first part of the year, recently I've been engaged not only in teaching, but also in organizing events.

  The first of these came together at the last minute – “Two Issues in Christian Ethics,” held

in the congregation in Krasnoyarsk. This is an active congregation that values educational opportunities, so I knew that it was possible to try an experiment there - we would talk about Christian ethics. In a society that leans towards either a legalistic or a nihilistic approach to ethical questions, Lutherans sometimes would prefer to avoid the question altogether. But given the conflict between Russia and its neighbors and the influx of refugees from Donbas that have come even to Siberia, it seemed important to me to help our congregational members use their faith to engage these questions. While I hoped to look at the question of "Peace and War," in our two evenings together we only had time to look at the more general question of whom we help and why, which lead us in to the underlying question of how we go about moral decision making in as Christians. The two evenings brought together a total of 24 participants, which I consider to be quite successful given that people needed to take public transport to the church after work in order to attend. I was also very pleased to see congregational members interested in applying their faith to concrete ethical and social questions that surround them. I plan on doing more work in this sphere.

  The second event was south of Krasnoyarsk, in the region of Khakasia.  The region has 10 congregations spread over a 150 mile radius; most of them get only monthly visits from their pastor, Dmitry Schweitz, who was instrumental in helping organize this retreat, which we called "I am a Servant." The

main idea was to support the team of people leading congregations on a week to week basis. We hoped to reach this goal both through fellowship and through thinking about the following questions together - “What does it mean to serve? When do I feel like a servant? How can one serve effectively?” In the process we talked about the way service is understood in society and in the Bible, Jesus as a model of service, love at the center of Christian service, the Lutheran understanding of internal and external call, and our communal call as the church in this place. A number of concrete ideas were raised that the leaders intend to bring to realization – e.g., fund-raisers to help those in acute need, printing fliers about Lutheranism for distribution, and a cooperative attempt to form a new youth group in one of the congregations.  

  And this last month I was very pleased to welcome Pastor Chris Repp back to Russia.Chris had been my mentor when I came to Russia at as a seminary intern in 2001. About 2 years later, he passed on to me the position of teacher of Church History, Systematics and Ethics at the Novosaratovka Theological Seminary. When the opportunity arose to invite him for participation in an academic conference co-organized by the church, we decided that it would be great if he could also have contact with others through the “Equipping...” program. Chris and I chose to lead two 3-day seminars, one in Omsk (Siberia) and one in Ulyanovsk (in European Russia on the Volga). We thought that the title, “Law, Gospel and the Lutheran Confessions Today,” would attract mostly pastors and students. We did have participants from these groups, but it turns out that the topic had wider appeal than we might have expected. In Omsk there were 9 full participants (along with 7 others who were in and out) and in Ulyanovsk a week later we had a very large number – always more than 20, and most of the time around 30. Although the theme of the seminar was the same, Chris and I had to seriously adapt our material to the different audiences we saw, but in both cases I believe that the time we spent together was meaningful. 

  In Omsk the main thrust of my teaching was to help participants see that we do have official confessional documents, though we are far from familiar with their contents and that we need to familiarize ourselves with them in order to decide for ourselves what role(s) they are to play in the life of our church. Chris Repp focused on the issue of Law and Gospel as address in the Augsburg Confession and the Apology, demonstrating why this was important and how it applies to the interpretation of Biblical texts. (In this he has been influenced by the theological approach of the Crossings Community). In Omsk Seminary President Anton Tikhomirov was also with us and he first spoke about the confessions as a textual expression of Luther's Reformation break-through and then traced the development of Western (especially Protestant) theology from that time forward. In Ulyanovsk we kept things simpler, giving the most attention to the uses of the law and Biblical interpretation. In both places local leaders (a special thanks to Tatyana Muramtseva in Omsk and Vladimir Provorov in Ulyanovsk) did an excellent job of solving logistical issues.

Seminary participants in Omsk. Seminary President Anton Tikhomirov is 2nd from left; Chris Repp far right.

Seminary participants in Ulyanovsk. Pastor Vladimir Provorov (red, center) was our host. 

  Many thanks to you for your prayers and support (through the Hermannsburg Mission and the ELCA.) If any of you or your congregations are interested in making a special gift to help cover the expenses related to the “Equipping...” project, you can learn more about that through the ELCA's “Always Being Made New” initiative.

News from the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Russia

In my days (Sept 17-19) spent as a non-voting delegate at the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Russia, the church in which I serve, I was struck by two themes - peacemaking and mission. 

Bishop Alfred Eichholz from Kyrgyzstan, representing the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (i.e., the association of Lutheran church bodies in most of the states of the former Soviet Union), spoke about peacemaking during the sermon at opening worship. Bishop Eicholz chose a timely theme, since all of us continue to be greatly concerned about the situation in Ukraine. It would not have been possible, I think, to find one common position among even the small number of delegates that attend the synod assembly, but it was at very least helpful to be reminded that as those who have been reconciled with God through Christ, we are to be engaged in the ministry of reconciliation. 

This was not unrelated, of course, to the theme of mission, which we spoke about more explicitly later in the day. Particularly important in this regard was the paper presented by the General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, Martin Junge. Dr. Junge gave a lecture that challenged synod delegates to think hard about the goals and limits of mission. Initial discussion seemed to indicate that there is a need to integrate at a deeper level that mission is not something we do, but that God does, not something that is one task of the church among many, but that in everything we do we would be seeking to work together with God to make God's love manifest.

A slide from Bishop Brauer's presentation on how
he imagined what our church could look like.

Such an understanding of mission, if I understand correctly, is held by Dietrich Brauer, my former student at the Novosaratovka seminary, Bishop of European Russia and recently the "Acting Archbishop" of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia. Electing Bishop Brauer as Archbishop (without the limited time frame and scope of responsibilities that the word "Acting" suggested) will help this church go forward in a way that puts the theme of mission squarely in front of the whole church.  It was after hearing his report (not so much about the work that has been done as about his proposals for a common vision of our identity and call) that I realized that our church is making slow but significant steps forward, coming into its own, even as many long-term challenges remain with us for the time being. 

My responsibility at this synod was to speak about one of the ways we are addressing the church's long-term needs - education. I presented an initial report on my experience this year as the leader of the "Equipping for Service" project, an attempt to address the need for education in the church by organizing events (retreats, seminars, etc.) throughout this vast land. I've been blessed to have the opportunity to run this program so far, and am thankful for all of those (including some that might be reading this blog) who have helped support it.

My official commissioning as head of the "Equipping...." project.

Synod delegates, staff and guests

I will conclude this post by including here the note I wrote to Bishop Brauer on the day after his election as Archbishop. More than anything else it summarizes my feelings about the General Synod and my hopes for this church's future. 

* * *
Dear Bishop Brauer,

As a rule I usually feel quite awkward about either receiving or giving congratulations in the context of ministry in the church. It doesn't fit, somehow – after all, we acknowledge that our achievements here are not our own. We believe that successful ministry happens because in God's great mercy we have been provided with what is necessary to bring about that success – the right circumstances, the appropriate gifts, the proper skills, education, and character. Whether dealing with difficult situations or finding ways to take full advantage of new opportunities, we trust that the Spirit is guiding us. In moments like this, then, when we see before us a concrete manifestation of grace, my first reaction is to be thankful.

So instead of congratulating you, dear brother Dietrich, with your election as Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia, I would like instead simply to express my feeling of deep gratitude to God for providing you and others to help lead this church as it seeks to share the gift of Christ's love for a hurting world.

My thanks also goes out to you, personally. You have been a faithful steward of gifts that you have been given, setting an example (perhaps it is even appropriate to speak of a standard) of excellence in ministry. Your compassion, commitment, energy and vision for mission have already had a significant impact on the church here, and I consider it a privilege to have the opportunity to continue the journey of ministry together.

Yours in Christ,

Bradn

  

Sanctions and Hope

It is an interesting and strange time to be living in Russia. While the country has changed much over my dozen years here, much of what has happened over the last weeks and months has surprised me a great deal. Many of the changes we have seen could be considered progress. For example while there was a time when it was difficult to find a good Internet connection, lately you could find free wifi in St. Petersburg's center; as of last

Our last jar of p.b.

week, though, in order to log on to that free network you'll need to provide your passport information. Another example - years ago I would have never imagined that you'd be able to easily find (American) peanut butter and marshmallows on the shelves...but even less would I have imagined a time when those items would disappear from store shelves (together with a number of other things our family enjoys, from Finnish cheese to Spanish oranges) as a result of Russia's answer to Western sanctions. A different selection in the supermarket is no big deal, of course; more significant is the change in atmosphere caused by this current conflict. Once again Russia has become a place for me that is not always predictable, and that's not always comfortable.... 

And as soon as that thought comes in to my head, I am reminded that being comfortable never was the goal. The goal was to be with the people, to both hear and share about our faith, whatever the circumstances. That means that it is particularly important for me at this time to stick with the country and with the small minority which is the Lutheran church here.

It can be challenging to continue the journey filled with hope. In fact much of the time I distrust even positive signs (e.g., those coming out of Ukraine right now?) and most of the time I feel powerless to bring about positive change. Thinking about the wider world (Iraq and Syria, Gaza and Ebola) can bring one right up to the edge of despair. 

Spending time together with Russian Christians has helped me find my center again. Over the past two weeks I have had the opportunity to teach at a seminar for our church entitled “Introduction to the Spiritual Life.” 14 participants from around European Russia have listened to me as I've taught about Christian spiritual practices, healthy congregations, a short history of Christian monasticism, and one of the writers that has most influenced me, Thomas Merton. (Finally, almost 15 years after taking a course on him in seminary I had an excuse to share my interest in Merton with sisters and brothers here!) Along the way they've shared with me their own thoughts about the church, theology and their own spiritual life. It was here, in and outside of the classroom, that hope was reborn, hope that by turning to central relationship of our faith, by seeking to affect positive change in the world from inside out, believers really can make a difference. Another way of putting this is to say that instead of concentrating on acting like a Christian, this course has reminded me that these efforts are likely to do little good (not to mention likely to burn us out) without inner transformation and renewal. 

Whatever direction Russia takes in the future, I know for certain now that hope will never be on a list of banned imports. There is no reason to import, after all, for God's renewing Spirit is at work here, bringing about positive change in the lives of individuals and, through them, in wider society.  

Participants from Ivangorod, Moscow and Yaroslavl. More pictures to come...

The Situation in Ukraine - a strange point of view

My experience in Ukraine is limited; much of it came many years ago. Yet one thing that

struck me about the country then that is, quite obviously, playing itself out now is the fact that the country is very complicated. It seemed like (as in the old joke about a different ethnic group) for every 2 Ukrainians you'd find 3 opinions about any given issue. Maybe that is why I always felt refreshed by my visits there - here to the east there is the tendency to push toward extreme positions, and if you find yourself in a minority position you tend to have a hard time.

So when the dominant voices in the Russia media cover events in the Ukraine, I'm frustrated and disappointed (to put it mildly), but not terribly surprised at what I hear - "The people on Maidan all fascists;" "They are given payments / training / arms by Western secret service agents;" "The new, so-called government in Kiev wants to forbid people from speaking Russian..."At the same time, I wonder why other media sources (from what I can tell about what is being read / said / seen in the U.S., for example) would be just as simplistic in their analysis - "The crowds on Independence Square oppose corruption and seek equal rights for all;" "Russia undermines the Ukrainian democracy movement;" "Putin planning Soviet Union Lite..." 

These approaches are not helpful. I see a much healthier search for understanding developing on social media among the pastors and other church leaders that I know, both in Russia and in Ukraine. (And, in fact, among Novosaratovka graduates throughout the former Soviet Union). While some are subject to the general patriotic feelings that tend to arise at such times, most tend to be self-critical of their own countries and to search for paths to help their sisters and brothers on the other side of the border.  

To say that the situation is complicated is not to say that every side is equally right or wrong.  I hope that all of those responsible for violence in this conflict will face trial, and that this will open up a new, peaceful chapter in the history of Ukraine. I hope that Ukraine, Russia and the other powers engaged in this situation will all learn to respect international law, to build democratic institutions and trust them, to reject the temptation to put aside rule of law for expediency's sake. 

I know that I'm not alone in these hopes. Yet the voices speaking in this way are not well heard. Perhaps part of the reason is that some lack (or have forgotten about) the unique point of view we can have when we really try to apply our faith to complicated situations. I, personally, am convinced that everything looks so much different in the light of the cross. When we consider our own, common, frail human state in contrast to the One who created us for so much more, how can we possibly busy ourselves with condemnation, with jockeying for power and influence? The cross puts into perspective the idiotic and dangerous games we play, pretending to be much more important than we actually are. The cross calls us to be thankful that we have no utterly drowned in our own faults, and calls us to strive toward a new point of view, and a new way of being. A way that has something to do with love.

(As a side note - as I was preparing this text, I found pictures on Facebook from a Pastor in Ukraine (who last month was beaten at a peaceful protest) whose congregation held an event showing an example of how games are not always negative, but can help us deal creatively with a situation. I'm sure the costume party they threw helped them to deal with the stress that they must all be feeling.)

Youth Seminar in Krasnoyarsk

The following article was written by Svetlana Yukhnovets, a young woman from our congregation.
* * * 
  On March 16-17th a seminar dedicated to mission work among youth in our deanery was held for the first time. Pastors and youth from Omsk, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk and, of course, Krasnoyarsk were in attendance. As was fitting for the context of youth ministry, the seminar had an English language title -“For YOUth;” this could be interpreted in two ways, either as “for you” or “for youth.” The seminar had a well thought-out structure and was directed to practical ministry.

  The introductory part of the course was given to the question of the purpose and the tasks of the formation of youth ministry in local congregations. After that we thought about ways to get in touch with contemporary youth using their own interests – the internet, music, movies, sports, etc. Then we had discussion time, during which participants shared their ideas about the practical application of this approach. We found that such as activities as participating in sports together in public places, studying foreign languages, playing musical instruments and even various volunteer programs for helping the needy can be used as a means for becoming acquainted and then, eventually, for Christian fellowship.
  We thought about the ways that these interest groups could be formed into ministry teams made up of “assistant ministers.” During the seminar the term “assistant ministers” was used to speak about those engaged in any specialized ministry among youth based on a common interest. The goal of these ministries is to serve as a bridge between relationships based on a common interest and those that involve an acquaintance them with the Christian faith.

Pastors Gleb Pivovaro and Vladimir Vinogradov

  At the end of the seminar it was proposed that the participants work up and lead a youth worship service. It was held in the evening of the 17th of March. During the preparatory process participants were given the opportunity to use the wealth of talents and skills given to them from above. The youth were divided into 3 groups, each of which was responsible for a certain task. The first group was responsible for the hymns and musical accompaniment, the second group took care of all the questions around organizing the liturgy, while the third group was responsible for the sermon. The worship service was the highlight of the seminar and its logical conclusion, insofar as it reflects the heart of youth ministry.
  The seminar allowed us not only to note the tasks and possible solutions to problems in working with youth, but also encouraged us to exchange our experiences and the strengthened contact between local congregations.
  I would like to express the hope that this seminar will provide the necessary impact and new ideas for the development of a youth group in the congregation in Novosibirsk where, unfortunately, there is no such group at present.

Interpreting - Part I

The planning began a year ago, though certain details were being worked out at the last minute. How could it be otherwise when a church delegation from America comes to visit their partners in Russia? The ELCA Central States Synod has had a long relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Urals, Siberia and Far East. The initial connection came in the early 1990s through German-Russian communities stateside taking an interest in the fate of their distant relatives (figuratively and geographically) in the former USSR. A German pastor serving in the Russian Far East, Manfred Brockmann, made visits to the U.S. and developed partnerships. Today, almost 20 years later, there was an opportunity both to celebrate what the relationship has been, and to look toward where God might be leading in the future. Bishop's Associate Janice Kibler did much work to prepare the visit; ELCA Global Mission staff also shared their experiences, while I added a little local expertise. 

I say "a little" even after more than a decade in Russia. One of the reasons for that is that I had never really led such a group before; yes, I have frequently spoke with Americans about life in Russia and the situation of the church here, but I had never showed it to them. This time I would have to be a cultural and language interpreter on the ground, and I wasn't sure that I was ready.

This was particularly the case in Moscow; despite its relative proximity to my previous calls, I have never really felt at home there. Yet, my confidence grew as we were able to navigate through the city, see a few of the sites, and have good conversation both the Bishop Dietrich Brauer of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of European Russia and with leaders of the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy. The former gave us a wonderful introduction to the history of the Lutheran Church in Russia and an overview of its contemporary life, while the latter helped us understand what it is like to be a part of the expatriate (or refugee) community in a diverse, expensive, traffic-jammed, difficult and beautiful city.

Bishop Brauer (center) showed us around the site of Sts.
Peter and Paul Cathedral in Moscow. On his right is
Bishop Gerald Mansholt from the Central States Synod,
farther right still is Pastor Loren Mai, while Kathy Walter
and I are soaking up the sun during the tour. 

Sometimes Moscow is so busy that
it is easier to pay attention to the cars
than the monuments (e.g., to Cyril and
Methodius, missionaries to the Slavs)

Our time in Moscow was short, however; we wanted to dedicate most of our time to cities east of the Urals. Our first stop was in my deanery, in Krasnoyarsk. I've written about the congregation there a number of times, in large part because of the vibrant ministries the congregation and its pastor have taken upon themselves. 

While a number of those in the CSS delegation had been to Russia before, none had been to Siberia. We therefore made a significant stop there, which gave us the time both to develop a sense for the place as well as the opportunity to hear stories of life and faith from members of the congregation. In the course of 5 days we went for very long walks through the city (one through some significant rain) and outside of it; we experienced morning prayer, Bible study, youth group, and Sunday worship with the congregation. 

Bible study in the congregation's apartment

Bishop Mansholt and Pastor Gleb Pivovarov descending a
ski lift overlooking the city 

A group photo with many of the congregation members
after worship on Sunday.

Yet, even after we left Krasnoyarsk, we had completed only half of our journey. From there we moved on to the deanery of the Far East, where we would visit 4 more congregations. I'll fill you in on that part of the trip in "Interpreting - Part II," to be posted in the near future. 

Visit from Arden Haug

After returning from Omsk, I had the opportunity to host the ELCA's Regional Representative for Europe, Pastor Arden Haug for a few days. Arden was my supervisor for some of the time that I worked directly for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and he played a significant role in helping to organize the ELCA's support for my service through the Hermannsburg Mission (ELM). 

Arden has made many trips to Russian in the past, but this was his first time so far east (and even then he only made it half way to the Pacific!) - below is a picture that Arden took of the chapel (built 12 years ago) that stands in the center of Novosibirsk...and the geographic center of Russia. In some ways this photo says a lot about modern Russia.

Arden accompanied me and Slava to our regular visit to the children's TB hospital outside of the city...

He met with the church council...

And preached at worship. 

Apparently, his sermon went over well, since the women in the congregation sang a special farewell song to him after the service had ended.