Some time ago pastor Artur Põld (pastor of Jõhvi UMC) had a vision to start Russian speaking Methodist ministry in Helsinki.

Some youth who grew up in Jõhvi UMC have moved to Finland some time ago. Some young adults have moved to Finland recently and thus there is already quite a group of Russian speaking Methodists in Helsinki.

Artur decided to take some concrete actions and in October they started officially as "Jõhvi UMC preaching point" in Helsinki. The services took place in Swedish-speaking UMC (Kristus Kyrkan). Once a month pastor Artur leads the communion there, other times lay people lead the services.

In February, 23 I visited them there in Helsinki, Finland. For a period of time they have to rent some other facilities due to the time conflict in Kristus Kyrkan (the only available time on Sunday was 6 pm which is little late for their worship).

This group of young adults are very mission-minded, in addition to worship services they want to reach youth and young adults and already are doing it.

more photo:

Taavi Hollman, District Superintendent of the UMC in Estonia
Photos by UMC in Estonia


____________________________________________________________________

Твитнуть

UMC of Kurgan implemented a project, during this project eight people learnt about the foundations of Christianity and one person joined the church and was baptized.

The very important event in the life of our church contributed it; it was an arrival of the youth group from UMC of Satka “Revival”. The pastor of this church, Alexander Vechersky, is also the superintendent of the Ural region. He is a much respected man; he has got boundless faith in God and a clear vision.
Alexander’s personal mission is God’s order from the Bible (Proverbs 24:11) “If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death…” Also he is convinced that each member of the church has got a resource to “Apostolic experience of relationship with Alive God and an aspiration to testify other people, on purpose to bring them to relationship with God”

Superintendent A. Vechersky (the 2nd on the right)

UMC in Satka is a visual example how to be:
Dynamically growing recognized in society and helping people to become dedicated Christians.

In UMC of Kurgan a lot of people wanted to take a part in Evangelization, but the lack of the free time didn’t let everyone to join the team. That’s why the project was short: the first meeting was from the 3rd till 9th of June, the second meeting was from 25th till 30th of November 2013.

Anton Medvedev – the leader of the group

The project was finished with the intellectual table games for everyone who wants. (More information is here http://vk.com/event53764690 ).

Intellectual games in Kurgan

For this time there was a street quiz with the questions, 200 people participated in it. We were asking people five questions: What denomination do you belong to? What kind of church do you visit and how often? Do you have the complete confidence that if today you part with your life, you’ll go to the Kingdom of Heaven? When you’ll confront with God and He’ll ask: “What’s your hope for? Why do I need to let you to come to the Kingdom of Heaven?” What will you answer?

Youth’s evangelization in the park

Only a few answers about the faith were different from others. Although the majority of respondent young people don’t have formed faith, but they are interested in spiritual topics. The majority of asked people defined themselves to Orthodox Christians, some people confessed Islam and other religions. As a result six people agreed to participate in program “Alpha Course” and came to Sunday Service in UMC “Singing Christians” in Kurgan.

Sunday Service in UMC of Kurgan

This time twelve people passed the course (as the saying goes “others save with fear”, as they came because our quiz made them think about their future).
Of course, the organization of this event required from us dedicated participation; we invested strength, time and finance. Also we needed to take care of our guests from UMC of Satka, to fed everyone and gave everything they need.

We create the atmosphere

But all our efforts and expenses gave the wonderful fruit: we tried to evangelize the youth and we’ve succeeded!

The first guest

But we’re still looking for the unique model, with which our churches will grow and multiply. And we’ll come to the setting goals – “Mission, Gospel and Growth”. There are a lot of methods, ideas for leading the evangelization, as with church and individual. But it’s important that the main thing was the main: “ Thou shalt love the Lord with all thy heart…and thou shalt love the neighbor as thyself”.

Igor Gladkikh, pastor of UMC “Singing Christians” in Kurgan

Pastor Igor Gladkikh

Anton Medvedev’s testimony, parishioner of UMC in Satka
I had got a wish to tell Gospel in the other city. And God made so, that my friend Igor Gladkikh , the pastor in Kurgan, invited me to come. And I thought: “Why won’t evangelize in Kurgan”?
Definitely, why not? And I went. There were a friend Yulia Kharrasova and evangelize team with me. When we arrived to Kurgan, we decided to make a meeting with the youth of the city.

It’s good to be brothers together

We’re glad to see you, come

A few days later, after the meeting we led the Alpha Course, where we invited all the people from the park in Kurgan. We led it very good. On Sunday pastor Igor asked me to preach about the offering at the church.
During the time in Kurgan we found out that the church helps homeless people, providing hot food and the Word of God. I would like to have this ministry in UMC in Satka. Generally I liked the trip to Kurgan.

The food was delicious

Communication was edification

I came to my city, filled with bright ideas, and Yulia went to lead the Alpha Course in town Bakal. I think that this ministry influenced on her too. We appreciate the United Methodist Church that It helps us to serve God and people.

A. Medvedev, UMC in Satka

Photos by I. Gladkikh

Translate by J. Minihanova

see more photos

_____________________________________________________________

Твитнуть

'Look around, you are probably happy?' These were final words of the speech of Andrei Tumanov – First deputy head of State Duma Committee on informational policy – at the 14th National prayer breakfast which took place in Moscow on March 18, 2014 at the ‘President Hotel’.

‘Strong family – strong state’ – this was the theme of the event.

Tumanov shared his personal memories – among many people he knows, including very rich businessmen and famous scientists, the only example of happy family for him has always been a humble family of his relatives.

The impression on the family happiness and the role that the birth of fifth child shared the member of The Public Chamber, editor in chief of ‘Moskovskiy Komsomolets’ Pavel Gusev. He was 63 years old when his daughter was born and it gave him new drive for living.

Another membe of The Public Chamber, famous journalist and historian Nikolai Svanidze, remembered works of poets Simonov and Tvardovskiy who had written about the importance of family, ‘home of yours’, ‘house and home’ for every person. ‘I realize the importance of family as a husband, as a father and as a grandfather since recently’ – noted Nikolai Svanidze.

All these important and very simple and clear words of famous politicians and public and religious figures created special atmosphere at the 14th National prayer breakfast – it was filled with love to the family and to the country. There was a hope that this conversation might bring its fruits to the life of our society.

First deputy head of the Federation Council Alexandr Torshin called to consider every legislation initiative from that point of how it will affect Russian family.

Deputy head of the State Duma Committee on public unions and religious organizations Alexandr Tarnavskiy said that the main question for all active participants of life of our society had to become spiritual revival of Russia and it should have started with family.

It’s important to add that spiritual revival of the family starts in the church. This is the place where people find faith, new life and new values including family values, and therefore it is the place where people find happiness.

This year UMC was represented by assistant to bishop Ekaterina Kim, pastor of Moscow UMC Fedor Kim and dean of UMC Seminary Olga Kobzeva. The agenda included closing prayer for God’s blessing on the people of Russia and its rulers.

Ekaterina Kim, assistant to bishop
Photos: O. Kobzeva, F. Kim,
‘National morning prayer’ foundation
and the website http://www.word4you.ru/photo-reports/22847/
Translate by A. Kuzmin


____________________________________________________________________

Твитнуть

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Ushtobe, and in all Kazakhstan” (Acts 1:8).
“Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal.6:2).

As early as in autumn of 2013 God put me on heart the idea to „carry the burdens“ of our brother, pastor Alexander Mikhailov, and to give testimonies about our faith in Pavlodar UMC, the place of his ministry. I started to pray and ask God: “how can I fulfil this plan?” God has answered through the mouth of Bishop Eduard Khegay that there is a way to help. Once the details of the project were discussed with the parish, we started to pray and prepare the ministry in Pavlodar. God, on his side, helped us to create a team of youth leaders. In March, during the spring school holidays we set off. The trip and the common goal made us even more united.
In Pavlodar we were warmly welcomed by pastor Alexander Mikhailov. We stood overnight in a dorm and started our mission. During the Sunday service we all joined in praising our Triune God. After the worship we talked and visited the members of the community and stood awake till late. Next day we had another service and then spent the time with the people from the dormitory.

Pastor Alexander and the members of the community were genuinely thankful for the missionary service of Ushtobe youth leaders and prepared a great dinner for us.
The bible says: "The labourer deserves his wages" (1 Tim.5:17-18). That is why on the third day of staying at Pavlodar we had our ministry mixed with some entertainment activities. The young people from Ushtobe and Pavlodar had a walk around the city, watch a movie in 3-D and ate out. In the evening we were back to the dormitory, talking to the people. Early in the morning the pastor Aleksander saw us off at the train station and we took the train Pavlodar – Almaty back home.

To draw the conclusion, I may say that the goal of the trip was reached – we have served our neighbours for gaining and strengthening their faith. There were also some difficulties on our way – two families were not able to receive us at their place, though we have agreed to visit them ahead of time, however, we keep praying for them.
The Ushtobe community has also received the grace of God, as a new youth group was formed and strengthened. We plan to practice similar ministries in Kazakhstan and abroad.

see more photo

Pastor Khozhamuratov Kanat
Photos by K. Khozhamuratov
Translate by M. Kvyatkovskiy


____________________________________________________________________

Твитнуть

The 18th of January 2014 the Samara UMC opened up its doors for the teens from 10 to 16 to introduce the brand new idea of a teen club, a Christian Club which we called “Teenager”. Here we offer the kids an alternative to their everyday lifestyle – unusual and modern ways to entertain themselves are all here: team building games, educating board games, communication around various topics with specially invited guests, tea time and movie watching with a discussion to follow, seminars, workshops, conferences, holidays and exhibitions.

The club is held every two weeks and features an engaging topic, two young leaders as hosts and an invited guest or guests. Teenager has its own greeting and a special community song. We offer free sweets, tea and cookies to the kids, they can also play all kinds of games available at the club. The church has purchased 25 modern and educating board games for the children to have a choice and spend their time combining fun and learning. The teen club keeps a very strict rule – no smoking, alcohol or any addictive substances any time including the kids’ everyday life. Our aim is to show the kids that it is much more fun to relax without any drugs and other unhealthy habits and to introduce a fashion for drug and alcohol-free life, a fashion to being active, confident and grateful for the gift of life.
The club lasts for 2-3 hours on Saturdays. We hold the meetings of our teen club in one of the Samara UMC rooms and we invite kids from both the church and the city for free. There are 9 leaders of our church, who serve in this ministry who are all monitored and facilitated by the president of the club.

Until now we have had three club sessions each hosting up to 20 children. Kids who come outside the church community have a chance to get acquainted with the Christian teens and thus come closer with the people who know God and through them discover His beauty and glory.
The invited guests at our club were such well-known people in Samara as professor Nickolya with his performance (experiments in popular chemistry), family psychologists, the Mikhail and Nadezhda Telepovy and even the world champion in fencing, Ekaterina Lebedeva-Gorskaya.

Simultaneously with the teenage club our pastor and leaders have a warm conversation with parents over a cup of tea. They talk about the peculiarities of teenage age and the basics of Christian upbringing. Some of them come to the Christian church for the first time and hear the good news.
Apart from that, the kids regularly attending the club stood up with an idea to organize a worship group and learn songs. Their idea was met with enthusiasm by our youth group leader and she took the lead in teaching them which is already giving fruit. The rehearsals still continue with about 7 kids practicing. This is truly the glory and grace of God!

Irina Shestakova, Samara UMC
Translate by Maria Tigina

____________________________________________________________________

Твитнуть

Methodist presence in Slovakia dates back to 1924, when Czech-speaking missionaries start-ed to primarily work among Czechs living there. However, it went through turbulent times of the European 20th century. In the times of the Nazi supported clerical fascist Slovak State (1939-1945), the Methodist Church was dismissed and preachers were expelled from the country. The after-war period with more freedom lasted till 1948 only. Then communist ruled Czechoslovakia gave no real chance for the development of Methodism in Slovakia either. It was only after the «Velvet revolution» in 1989 that the church could develop freely. And it did. Lots of evangelistic effort led to the formation of a few new viable congregations. People came to faith in Christ and joined these churches. Their number exceeded the one of those with Methodist background. As a result, most of the members, especially those in emerging churches, had low awareness of Methodist doctrine.

Against this background, the church leadership decided to provide Methodist doctrinal sup-port for emerging congregations – and by approving the project, the Fund for Mission in Eu-rope has helped to make a difference for the denomination in Slovakia. Congregations in Bratislava, Sereď, Gerlachov, Partizánske, Michalovce, Jenkovce, Slavkovce, and Kráľovský Chlmec were given help in doctrinal orientation of the people. And people greatly responded at the seminars in these churches. They live in an ecumenical environment with various doc-trinal emphases (Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, Pentecostal…). A firm Methodist ground helps them to feel more secure. Their salvation is lived in a denomination that has its teaching rooted in the Bible and in a history of revival. That gives more enthusi-asm and a sound pride in their local situations…

A touching experience was a seminar held in Kráľovský Chlmec.

There is a new UMC congregation made up of quite poor people. They struggle with Slovak language as their mother tongue is Hungarian. The seminar had to be simultaneously trans-lated. At the end of the seminar we realized that these people are in need of Bibles in Hun-garian. On our return we encouraged the congregations in Bratislava and Partizánske to buy these Bibles for them. Their response was wonderful. They raised money for Bibles – and two weeks after the seminar people of Kráľovský Chlmec could read the Word of God in their mother tongue.

Thanks to donations from all over Europe the Fund for Mission in Europe was able to help strengthening the identity and the witness of the United Methodist Church in Slovakia.

Superintendent Dr. Pavel Prochazka

Photo: Pavel Prochazka

____________________________________________________________________

Твитнуть

Our church «Resurrection» UMC (based in the city of Voronezh and led by senior pastor Alexander Pererva) created and has been running an original Christian musical «The Last Room» for the last 3 years. The show meets with invariable success - we have a full house! The musical is based on the novel «The Hotel of My Heart» by Edward Pashnev.
Music for this drama is written by me and arranged, scored and recorded in our church studio by myself. Natalia Smirnova, one of our parishioners and a student of the Moscow UMC theological Seminary, took the major weight of the director's job. During the shows, she is responsible for directing lights. Creating the decorations and the overall creative theme of the show has been a joint effort - we were coming up with ideas while going over the text, improvising scenes with the performers, etc. My wife Irina Pozharskaya is the artistic director, she developed set decorations and made actors' masks by hand. She is also the sound operator. As for the costumes, each performer came up with and arranged their own.
The musical features 15 roles, but we only have 8 performers. So basically each performer plays about two roles. Mind you we don't have any professional actors, our cast is all amateurs and members of our congregation: pastor Alexander Pererva, Irina Hotmahor, Irina Efremova, Irina Sevastyanova, Ilya Polyakov, Natalia Shishakova, Anna Tikhonova and myself.

The work on this musical has really engaged everyone in a wonderful and collaborative way and has led not only to deeper connections between our church's parishioners but even to evangelization, which is even more valuable, of those volunteers who are not members of the church, mostly my students from vocal classes. And now one of my students is attending worship services and has become a member of the church choir!
Since the musical is a non-denominational Christian show, we invite not only our brothers and sisters in Christ, but a much wider audience – people from other confessions and churches, our friends, colleagues and acquaintances from the secular world, those who do not know God yet, or know very little, and are often lost since they don't know where to find God and learn and experience more.
Here is a brief summary of the plot. Once upon a time, on the eve of some Holiday, many people gathered in one hotel to celebrate this festivity. One of the guests among them was Satan (played by me), who was able to penetrate hidden corners of the visitors’ hearts. When Satan is about to commence his destructive work, we hear a knock on the door – Jesus has arrived to spend the night. Jesus does not appear on stage; He does not give the cue. He is just an image of light. The rest of the musical is unfolding along the lines of the same battle a la F. Dostoevsky – the battle between the God and Satan inside our hearts. The culmination is reached during a tense moment when the protagonist (the main hero, a Painter – Rev. A. Pererva) is about to give up and succumb to the masterful and cunning ways of the Satan, but suddenly he calls on God, and this sincere prayer is enough to secure salvation. «Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you and your household will be saved» (Acts 16:31). Just so, thanks to the salvation of the Painter, the other occupants of the hotel are able to rid themselves of the Satan's powers.

I recorded a CD with the songs and arias from this musical at the church studio. The entire cast took part in the recording. The show itself is always performed live, this was my main requirement for the creation of this musical – we want the performance to be as natural and authentic as possible, the voice of the performer is presented as it is on that given day, whether sick or not. The rest is vocal technique that I devote a lot of attention to. We have just finished making audio and video recording of this musical - the five cameras shot the show at the same time. We are excited to see a video version of the musical in the near future that we would like to share for people's viewing at home and also on the Internet.
However, the technical support of the musical could definitely be improved. We would prefer to have a better a headset with a microphone rather than a simple hand-held microphone limiting movement during the performance. By the way, we usually sing without any mikes, since the acoustics of our church space allows us to do so. But in order to be able to perform the musical elsewhere outside of our church, such headsets with mikes will not only be useful but essential.
We hope to be able to proudly showcase our musical at the festival celebrating 125 years of Methodism in Russia, to give festival's guests and RUMC members a chance to participate in the spectacle. An even bigger goal is to bring this show to other churches and congregations, across Russia and abroad! «Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this» (Ps 37:5).

Oleg Pozharsky,
a deacon of the «Resurrection» UMC (Voronezh, Russia)
Translate by Victoria Kolesnikova & Oleg Pozharsky
Photo by O. Pozharsky

see more photo

____________________________________________________________________

Твитнуть

Have you ever tried to tell somebody the whole Bible story in ten minutes? Do you think it’s impossible? I thought so until I met Iva and Stan May during the Eurasia Initiative meeting that was held in Memphis, Tennessee – they are the authors of the Chronological Bible Course.

Iva May

Stan May

I became interested in their course, and I wanted our brothers and sisters from Eurasia to know about it too. Bishop Eduard Khegay and District Superintendent Andrei Kim trusted me to organize the course in Moscow. Stan and Iva kindly accepted our invitation, and Methodists from different parts of Russia gathered to participate in the seminar – all of this was possible thanks to the support of brothers and sisters from Europe.

Experienced teachers, Stan and Iva taught us how to communicate the Bible story from the beginning to the end. Having divided the whole Biblе text into 14 eras, we saw that each of the eras describes one particular stage in the story of Salvation.

Chronological Scheme of 14 Bible eras

Work with the scheme during the seminar

1. BIBLE IN THE TELESCOPE. At the seminar each participant learnt to look at the Bible «through a telescope» to see the big picture, the story of Salvation.

2. TELL ME THE STORY. Each day of the seminar the participant trained to narrate the story of the Bible – to retell the essence of the story without names and religious terms, by the end of the seminar we could span the whole Bible story.

3. THEY ARE JUST THE SAME AS WE ARE... When the whole Bible becomes one story, a chain of continuous events, the contexts in which Bible characters lived get clearer. People of the Bible become closer and we see that they are similar to us. We realize their feelings, their faith, their fears and joys. It also helps us discern God's calling to us. We believe that His story is still continuing and that we are the part of His story, which is described in the Bible from the beginning to the end.

4. AND THE MOST IMPORTANT... Reading the Bible according to this structured approach helps me realize what exactly God tells me, what He does, and how His plan of Salvation is implemented.

During the seminar

In the near future many of the seminar participants and I plan to use this course in our churches and to share it with other churches in Eurasia. We are grateful to God that now we have another useful tool to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

Rev. Fedor Kim, Eurasia UMC Communications
Photo by F. Kim
Translate by Ekaterina Kim

____________________________________________________________________

Твитнуть

90 years ago the deaconess of the Methodist church Anna Eklund, spending her efforts and health, did the unthinkable to arrange some help for the poor and the sick of Petrograd. Pastor Young Hah Kim refused to leave for Korea as long as a single Methodist remains in Vladivostok – some time later he was taken to the labour camp where he died. By that time Methodist movement had existed in Russia for less than forty years…

55 years ago Ivan Vuksta became a leader of the Methodist congregation in Kamenitsa. He survived despite the persecution, the refusal of the government to officially register the church, the forbiddance to preach the Gospel and sing hymnals. «Pastor Ivan had an enormous vision from God. He saw new Methodist congregations, the churches filled with the youth, who serve Lord with all powers. When God grants you with the vision like that, you can hardly be stopped». (Bishop E. Khegay «Ivan. Anna. Young Hah». Moscow, 2014).

Years and years passed, and the dream of Anna Eklund, Young Hah Kim and Ivan Vuksta finally came true. Their names, alongside with the names of other Methodist heroes and martyrs, were enumerated by UMC Eurasia bishop Eduard Khegay, in front of the participants of the Festival «125th anniversary of the Spirit movement: preserving traditions, we transform the future», which took place in August 6-10, 2014 in the Pilgrimage Centre “Crystal” near Voronezh.

At the Festival Anna Eklund’s spiritual heir bishop Hans Vaxby was lecturing to the topic “The past and the present of the UMC Eurasia of today”.

Devotion was held by the Ukraine DS Vasily Vuksta, the son of Pastor Ivan.

In their welcome letter Bishop Eduard Khegay and Chair of the organizing team DS Andrei Kim encouraged the Festival participants to «be filled with the blessing, learning and fellowship with the United Methodists from all over the world». And the participants really were.

Sasha Voronova, Samara UMC, sharing her impressions of the Festival:

«I really liked the idea of the Festival «125th anniversary of the Spirit movement: preserving traditions, we transform the future», where we could get acquainted with the history of Eurasia UMC. I consider it very important to know the background and the history of your church, learning the life of its heroes and martyrs. Those are certain flashlights that help us move on in our Christian living. Their life and ministry experience reflects our personal background and the issues we face.

The best thing I liked about the Festival was the Christian fellowship of brothers and sisters. This was not only pleasing but also in a way a great deal supportive. It’s not a common thing for our everyday life to have the relationships and fellowship of this kind. We face the worldly things and we literally live within this system, and pretty often the routine swallows us. But here we’ve been all together, united in one Spirit, sharing our testimonies and revelations, praying together, winning together, and learning together. It’s been in a way a spiritual resort place for our souls.

I’ve experienced lots of things through this Festival. We’ve had wonderful station and workshop leaders. To add to this, I had been standing on a sort of a crossroad before the Festival started, in terms of choosing the direction of ministry. That’s exactly where I was given a revelation, a direct response, what kind of ministry God wants me to do. And my soul responded to this calling. I got useful information and received our pastors’ and leaders’ support and encouragement, especially my pastor’s. I think I will start doing this ministry (small groups leadership) in my home church in Samara».

During the Festival, both the manifold programme and the opportunity for the Christian fellowship were combined in a really amazing way. One can mention morning worships, Bible studies, the bishops’ lectures, workshops, cognitive stations, sport events and the musical by Oleg Pozharsky, called “The Last Room Left”. Our new brother in Christ Soummete from Bishkek UMC was baptized during the Festival in the local river.

The audience hall decoration was designed by the DS Irina Margulis. The inspiring farewell concert named “Do you remember the way it all started?” was led by the DS Irina Mitina.

Each Festival day was filled with the sense of oneness and unity. Firstly, because of the unity between the past, the present and the future that symbolized different generations in the church leadership. At the historical-theological station the participants couldn’t hide their tears, while watching the photos from the archive, shared by the President of Moscow Seminary Sergei Nikolaev. Those pictures represented the PAST – the life of Eurasia Methodists back to the 1930s. «The 30 year old generation» – Elena Melnikova, the spouses Fyodor and Ekaterina Kim, Oleg and Yulia Starodubets, Olga and Igor Kobzev – were absolutely willing already in the PRESENT to responsibly pick up the most complicated ministries in Eurasia. At the same time, our FUTURE, the youth, revealed the highest level of music ministry at the Festival.

Secondly, truly amazing was the oneness among the participants of the Festival, both from Eurasia and from all over the world. Not a trace of disputes or misunderstanding in political and theological issues – the absolute unity in one Spirit. The guests from the US, England, Germany, Switzerland and Korea were as warmly welcomed as “the locals”, the participants from Russia, the Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.

Right after the closing ceremony Bishop Eduard Khegay, the youth leader from the Ukraine Vasylyna Babych and the young David Serdukov attached the tablet to commemorate the Festival.

The older guests, Hans Vaxby, Ullas Tankler, David Freeswell, Simon Zuercher and others assisted Bishop Eduard in planting the commemorable tree just amidst „The Crystal” Centre.

Artyom Golov, Kara-Balty UMC pastor, addressing the Festival participants:

«It’s been a huge privilege for me to take part in our Festival. We've been here from afar, Kyrgyzstan. Despite the distance, I’ve been blessed to be with you here. I see the Festival is organized at its best, a very detailed planning. And I really want to pay respect to everyone who’s prepared this Festival. May Lord bless you to become still more mature.

I very much liked to witness the unity of our church. Not just in terms of being gathered together. But rather the unity of various generations. That proves the fact that our UMC is a connectional church, that unites the past and the present. I also believe in the great future of our church.

I very much liked the stations. I took part in them daily. I especially enjoyed the Historical -theological station and the Social evangelism station. The latter widened my understanding of God’s mission and our calling here on earth.

The historical-theological station inspired me to be more careful with the documents and records we keep in the church, to save the pictures of our ministries. Maybe, in 100 years someone will get interested in the history of today’s Central Asia UMC, and these documents will be of great help in learning the routine life of the church that we’re living in the name of Lord Jesus, for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Of course, I wish that everyone, when they leave for their churches and areas, may keep the flame they’ve received here during these days; so that each and every one of us would stay in contact with other participants. And I truly believe we’re going to celebrate the 130th anniversary of Methodism in Eurasia. May the Lord bless you all».

The spiritual heirs of Ivan Vuksta, Anna Eklund and Young Hah Kim have left for their churches and countries to PRESERVE TRADITIONS AND TRANSFORM THE FUTURE. All of a sudden, above the tombs in Finnish site of Turku, and Kamenitsa, the Ukraine, and in Siberia, a rainbow started to shine. People were gazing at heaven, smiling: they knew that sooner of later goodness and faith would inevitably win.

S. Pugachev, UMC Eurasia Communication Director
Translate by Vladimir Ditmar
Photos: Ullas Tankler, S. Pugachev
Video: Ullas Tankler

Anton Sharopin, Bishkek UMC, sharing his impressions about the Festival:

«First of all, I’d like to thank the organizing committee for the immense work they’ve done.

I especially liked the way workshops were done. There we had the opportunity to learn new things; this we might lack in our congregations. I’m in drama ministry in my church, that’s why I was impressed with the musical “The Last Room Left” by Oleg Pozharsky. My personal understanding was as follows: it doesn’t matter much what drama experience you have, your desire to do things is what matters. If you have it, you can do amazing things; this we ourselves witnessed. With the musicals like that, one can drive around the theatres, showing them and pleasing people, so that they knew how God loves us.

When I come back to my congregation, I will gladly share my joy about the Festival with my brothers and sisters and encourage them to come next time if they have a chance. Here we had this unique opportunity to share our experience and be blessed by brothers and sisters, who came not just from the CIS, but also from other countries. The people of diverse culture and mentality had the opportunity to learn more about new ways of evangelism and get a huge experience.

I want to give personal thanks for having me within the Central Asia delegation, and I had a privilege to participate in this Festival. I’m absolutely happy to have become a witness of this festivity. I also revealed new ways of evangelism that I could use in my country».

Ivan Matushinsky, Satka UMC:

«I was amazed that, in spite of the diversity of the participants, who represented many nations, due to the Holy Spirit’s movement, we managed to be united in one soul, in one mind with one another and with Christ Himself. A major reason for that was a well coordinated work of the translators’ team, with Vladimir Ditmar (Kirov UMC) as a leader.

I mostly enjoyed the morning worships during the Festival.

The workshop “Upper Room Ministries” (“Mesto vstrechi” Russian edition), led by the pastors Nicola Vidamour and Lena Kim, also impacted my experience and pleased my heart.
My wish is to see all the new friends I’ve made, some day again. God’s blessings to all who participated in the Festival, devoted to the 125th anniversary of Methodism in Eurasia».

The participants’ testimonies were written down by S. Pugachev

____________________________________________________________________

Твитнуть

Primetime news and headlines are full of turmoil around the world, of people in conflict - bombings, or worse - with those who live across one border or another. It is sometimes easy to distance ourselves, pretending we are unaffected and unconnected.
This story from Pavel Serdukov, a pastor in Moscow, Russia, reminds us that every day, when you read The Upper Room daily devotional guide, you are connecting in a powerful and positive way to millions of people across many borders, praying and reading in 100 countries, in 35 languages.

Pavel Serdukov, pastor of Perovo UMC in Moscow, Russia, and subscription manager for Mesto Vstrechi:
"It was an ordinary morning. I started my day off with a cup of hot tea and "Mesto Vstrechi", the Russian edition of The Upper Room. It seemed to me like I had met the author of that day’s meditation, who shared his situation and the way God had blessed him through it. Then, when I logged onto «Facebook», I was surprised to see that I had more than 30 new friend requests. And on my personal page, I saw more than 20 notes of gratitude and blessing. It was then that I realized that the meditation I had been reading in "Mesto Vstrechi" was mine!
That morning was unbelievably special for me. Indescribable feelings of joy and of the greatness of God filled my heart and soul.
People wrote to me from the Philippines, China, and Germany. I did not know them, but after sharing a story of my faith in the devotional guide, I realized how many brothers and sisters I have around the world and how great the global church of believers is!"
Source: http://www.upperroom.org/news/168

…………

____________________________________________________________________

Твитнуть

The North West Russia Annual Conference took place near Saint Petersburg in June. For two and a half days we were solving important issues of our congregations’ lives, worshipping God and praying together.

It’s been a second year in a row, that we have a group discussion of ministers’ reports and other documents; that helps us spare more time for prayer gatherings, worship and personal talks. But, obviously, this way of doing things demands additional efforts and preparation on the part of AC Council members. It usually goes like this: all the Conference delegates split into three groups in advance, each group having a coordinator. The coordinators get preliminary training. The guests of the Conference on their own choose the group to join, depending on what issues and documents they what to discuss.

The documents are also divided into three parts beforehand, the issues to be discussed by all the delegates, as well as the documents to be voted on, each discussion group having them. Thus, each guest and delegate is to participate in the group discussion, the group leaders or representatives are to report about the results at the AC plenary session, the decisions to be written down by the Conference secretary into the Conference Journal. As the two years’ experience shows, this form disciplines the delegates and increases their responsibility to prepare themselves properly for the AC: with each delegate working through the reports in advance (for this reason they are normally sent out 2 weeks before the AC starts).

The Annual Conference of North West Russia is willing to share with brothers and sisters their experience of organizing the work with the documents in a more dynamic way, and has some ideas how to help all the clergy and lay people become aware of the essence of all the discussed issues.
This year within the framework of the preparation for the 125th anniversary of Russia’s UMC our pastors made short reports about the missionaries and Methodist leaders, who once became role-models of serving Christ and people, who were the image of Christ in England, Africa, the Far East of Russia and Saint-Petersburg. During the worship services a worship band was leading all the participants in singing Wesleyan hymnals.

The theme of lay leaders’ discussion was “The role of each church member in the congregation’s ministry”, “The Methodist traditions in ministry, which we could use in the future”. For this purpose we addressed the urgent challenges that had been set in Lay Leader’s Report at the Central Conference 2012.
Besides dealing with administrative, economical and organizing tasks, which define our ministry’s direction for the coming year, and evaluating our work in the past year, during the whole AC we pay a special attention to the spiritual part of our holy conferencing and always keep in mind the fact that we’re all brothers and sisters and “it’s good and pleasant (for us) to dwell together”. That’s why, as it regularly goes, this year we’ve had a fellowship time, when we simply played , took part in the contests, shared our gifts and talents with our family in Christ. What a blessed time it was!

Here is a feedback from the AC delegate Natalia Ilyushonok: «The thing I liked about the AC was a structured planning. The reports were sent in advance, the discussion held in groups. I would add that prayers and worship were abundant too. I liked the creative way the lay leaders’ discussion was presented – we were making a collage, and I would remember this for a long time. I was inspired a lot».

North West Russia AC Council member
Yelena Kitayeva
Pics: North West Russia AC

Translate by V. Ditmar

Bishop Eduard Khegay highly estimated the North West Russia Annual Conference: «This was the best prepared Conference in Eurasia UMC. I was inspired with the worship a lot. Combining The School of Evangelism together with the AC reminds me of our key priorities. We are called to bring the Gospel to people even in hard times. I’m thankful to the AC Council for its dynamic work throughout the year. I’m also happy that the Conference has enough funds in the budget to support missions and pastors».

____________________________________________________________________

Твитнуть

Representatives of churches and religious organizations of Ukraine and Russia met for a dialogue on the current situation in the relationships between the two nations, search of the ways for achievement of peace and ceasing hatred.

As the Institute for Religious Freedom informs the Round Table was opened September 10, 2014 in a conference-hall in the downtown of the Norway capital.

“We have invited you not to a political event, but to a meeting of religious workers” - the Head of the Norwegian Bible Society, Bishop Tor Singsaas emphasized in his welcoming address to the delegates from Ukraine and Russia.

The Norwegian Bible Society initiative for holding this kind of event was supported by the Norwegian government.

State Secretary of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hans Brattskar expressed hope that the meeting of religious leaders of Ukraine and Russia will be a serious sign for the countries' heads and politicians showing the desire of the both nations for peace.

“We have gathered here as the citizens of the two countries. But it is important for us to lead the dialogue not as the citizens of our states, but as clergy. It is important for us to speak with each other not form the perspective of our state governments' positions, but by the truth of God as the ministers of God” - underlined Patriarch Filaret, the Head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate and the current Chair of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations.

“The Ukrainian people are for the peace... if we don't speak the truth, there won't be any peace. We need to speak the truth and to find mutual understanding between us, to look for the ways of reconciliation between our nations and termination of this unannounced war” - summarized Patriarch.

Bishop Sergey Ryahovskiy, the Chairman of the Russian Incorporated Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals), underlined the importance to stop the bloodshed and violence in the result of the armed confrontation.

On behalf of the Norwegian Bible Society General Secretary Ingeborg Mongstad-Kvammen pointed out that the aim of the meeting is to strengthen the relationships between the churches and religious organizations of Ukraine and Russia, between the two countries and nations.

Minister of Culture of Norway Thorhild Widvey shared with the participants the experience of interdenominational relationships and reforming of religious legislation. Bishop of the Church of Norway – the largest confession in the country – Helga Haugland Byfuglien elaborated on the history of relationships between the state and the church in Norway. Head of the Norway Christian Council, Elsa-Britt Nielsen pointed out that efforts of churches are very important for suspension of violence.

Bishop of the United Methodist Church in Eurasia Eduard Khegay took part in the Round Table. Addressing the participants in the Nobel Institute, he pointed out the importance of peace-making efforts, forgiveness and reconciliation, and the value of human life. Eurasia UMC Bishop learned all this from one of his teachers, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu from RSA, who together with Nelson Mandela fought against apartheid.

“When the war in Ukraine stops, religious leaders will have a special role for reconciliation. We teach people to forgive and not to hold a grudge; to love and not to take revenge; to reveal mercy and not to judge. All this is impossible without God's help. We are called to be the messengers of peace and hope, especially in the times of despair and devastation. God is our hope and the basis for life” - underlined Bishop Eduard.

Photo: bishop Eduard and Vladimir Samoilov (Head of the Development Expert Council Consultative Council of the Heads of Protestant Churches in Russia). Visit to Nobel Institute

The Round Table participants accepted a common final document – Communiqué.

Communiqué of the Round table of churches and religious organizations
of Ukraine and Russia

“We, the participants of the Round Table, heads and representatives of churches and religious organizations of Ukraine and Russia, Christians, Muslims and Jews, as the result of our common meeting in Oslo on September 9-11th, 2014, express our deep gratitude to the Norwegian Bible Society, and to all other organizations who have supported this work, for their cooperation in organizing this meeting, for their hospitality, exceptional attention and good will.

We state the following:

We are deeply sorrowful and we pray for all who have suffered as the result of the conflict in Donetsk and Lugansk regions, both among civilians and military personnel.
We call on all believers to continue to pray for peace in Ukraine and, as much as possible, to cooperate in establishing peace.

Even though we may have both common views and differences of opinion regarding the causes, events and consequences of today's crisis, we aim through dialogue to achieve mutual understanding, realizing that our goal is to witness to the truth and to promote the achievement of peace.

We welcome and support the efforts of both of our countries and the international community directed toward termination of the bloodshed and establishment of peace in Ukraine according to principles of international relationships.

We support humanitarian activity directed toward the relief of the suffering of the population of the Donbas region and refugees from the area. It is important that humanitarian aid is provided in accordance to international standards.

We appeal to all participants of the conflict not to allow, under any circumstances, actions that would lead to humiliation of human dignity, use of torture, kidnapping (including those for the sake of ransom) and looting.

As religious leaders we want to pay special attention to the need to ensure the freedom of religion in the war zone. Any violence committed toward clergy and lay people, religious buildings and houses of prayer of any denomination existing in Donetsk and Lugansk regions, are not permissible.

We evaluate our meeting very positively, and we think that it is necessary to continue to develop in-depth dialogue between representatives of religious communities of Russia and Ukraine, especially with the goal of overcoming negative consequences of the present situation both inside Ukraine and in the relationship between our countries.

We understand that this Communiqué does not encompass all issues that were discussed during the meeting, neither all the problems that need to be resolved. Therefore, we are willing to continue our dialogue for the sake of achieving mutual understanding and strengthening of brotherly relationship between our nations.

We thank the Almighty for His blessing of our meeting and we trust His will! Amen”. (Oslo, September 11th, 2014).

Text by S. Pugachev and materials of site of The Institute for Religious Freedom
Translate by Ekaterina Kim and IRF
Photos by Maksym Vasin, IRF, Ole Andreas Husøy, E. Khegay

____________________________________________________________________

Твитнуть

Though the first Methodist missionary arrived in Russia in the late 1880s, the movement was shut down during the Communist era only to be reborn in the 1990s. In August, members of Eurasian United Methodist churches gathered to celebrate their history, their rebirth and the goal of becoming self-sufficient.

Gathering in Russia in August, United Methodists from throughout Eurasia as well as the United States, England, Germany, Switzerland and Korea honored the 125th anniversary of the arrival of the first Methodist missionaries in St. Petersburg, Russia. At the same time, they celebrated the history and looked to the future of the United Methodist movement in Eurasia.

The early Methodist missions and churches were shut down in the 1930s under Communist leader Joseph Stalin. The Methodist movement was reborn in the 1990s, and, in the past two decades, new churches have been planted throughout the Eurasia Episcopal Area, which includes Estonia, the Ukraine, Russia, Belorussia (Belarus), Moldova, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kirgizstan and Tajikistan…

“Preserving traditions, we transform the future” was the theme for the festival at Camp Crystal near Voronezh, about 350 miles south of Moscow. A highlight was the presentation of “The Last Room Left,” an original musical by Oleg Pozharsky.

Another was the baptism of a new member from the Bishkek United Methodist Church in a local river. Worship, Bible studies, sporting events, music, workshops and photo exhibits were also part of the celebration.

The festival meant a great deal to Bishop Hans Växby, former episcopal leader of the Eurasia Area. “I rejoiced seeing the spiritual maturity and my heart rejoiced because I saw how dedicated these people are, especially (to) making the worship experience diverse in order to help people grow spiritually.”

For the Rev. Dr. Üllas Tankler, Global Ministries Executive Secretary for Europe & Eurasia, Mission Relationships, the festival was important because it helped United Methodists there celebrate their unique identity while building relationships with other United Methodist churches in Eurasia and throughout the world.

The focus on both the past and the future meant that the Eurasian “United Methodist Church is willing to make a difference in their culture. They started small, and they started with a lot of help spiritually, culturally and financially from the West, but they are becoming an indigenous church,” he said. “This event was a very strong sign of their maturity as a church and their understanding that we are being called by God to be here and to carry the Methodist values into this society.”

Reflecting those values, Tankler said, was the fact that at the same time tensions between the Russian and Ukrainian governments were rising, Russian and Ukrainian United Methodists worshipped and prayed together. A youth band from the Ukraine provided the music for much of the celebration.

“It was symbolic that as two countries are fighting with each other, Christians and Methodists from these two countries are praying together and supporting one another,” he said. “It was such a counter-culture thing. I found it very moving that United Methodists publically showed their support to their brothers and sisters.

“It was an inspiration to everyone,” Tankler said. “Most people present were from Russia, and we put together an offering to support the ministry of The United Methodist Church in the Ukraine.”

Tankler said that… the Eurasian United Methodist Church is a fully developed, mature United Methodist structure. “We continue to be in partnership with a church (that) is growing and developing itself.”

Text by Sandra Brands (umc.org)
Photo: Ullas Tankler

Source: http://www.umcmission.org/learn-about-us/news-and-stories/2014/september...

Read more at: «"125th anniversary of the Spirit movement: preserving traditions, we transform the future" - UMC Eurasia Festival»

Ullas Tankler. Photo by S. Pugachev

see more photo

__________________________________________________________________

Твитнуть

At April 26 Table Tennis Championship was held in the UMC of Pskov.

It took place between the team of kids from the orphanage and Pskov Methodist Church team. The Championship satisfied all the rules of tennis including scoreboards.

Team A plays against team B.

Rewards and gifts were also prepared.

Dmitri Parigin was a chief judge on our tournament.

Luba Kalashnikova was glad to become a secretary of the chief judge and got an opportunity to find out the complex system of championship scoreboards.
It is a well-known fact that sport, like any other physical activity, is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Sport is one of the main factors that has a positive impact on human’s growth and development at all stages of life. However, the apostle Paul wrote to his young disciple Timothy: "...and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise is profitable little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come". (1 Timothy 4:7-8) That is why spreading the gospel about Jesus Christ was an important part and aim of our sport project. We wanted to show that God so loved every person on the earth that He has desired to give us the life full of God's promises, life free from misery of the world. His will is to give us healthy life of a man created in the image and likeness of God. The teacher of the Pskov orphanage, whose name is Irina Ivanova, is also a member of our church. She gave a spiritual lesson to the orphans and other members of the church. We reflected on the sense of sound mind, sound spirit and sound body together with the kids.

Preaching for children the pastor Natalia Chernova emphasized the importance of having an opportunity to be born again spiritually.

The boys and girls listened very attentively and were speechless. It seemed that they were afraid to miss something special, vital and valuable... The children were absolutely concentrated and involved .
Getting into the bus most of the kids asked "May we drop in to you again”? And others said "I'll be back soon" or "I will surely play with that old lady one more time!"

It was a great day for all of us.

The members of our church, organizers of this sport project, participants of the championship, people who cooked for us, evangelists, everybody became closer to each other. The children from the orphanage were able not only to practice table tennis but experience the God’s love in action. "…Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love". (2 Peter 1: 5-7)
Text by Nataliya Chernova, pastor of “Ascension” UMC (Pskov)

____________________________________________________________________

Твитнуть

Samara United Methodist Church hosted a three-day seminar (21-23 August, 2014) on the issue concerning church ministries organization in the framework of the educational program for UMC pastors in Eurasia. The topic of the seminar was "Pastoral Ministry” and it was held mainly by pastor Tim Walker who has been in pastoral service for over 40 years.

The Volga District and Moscow pastors were the main participants at the seminar. We welcomed the Vnukovo Deacon CMC Lydia Rodionova (Moscow), pastor of the "Rainbow" minisry Fyodor Kim, secretary of the Bishop Catherine Kim, pastor of Lytkarino UMC Zhanna Ivanova. From the Volga District several representatives we invited as well: pastor of Saratov UMC Dmitry Novikov, pastor of the UMC "Saint Luke" in Ulyanovsk Dinara Berlyand, pastor of Syzran UMC Irina Holodilova, pastor childcare leave Olga Paramedic from Kuznetsk, District Superintendent Natalia Prokhorova, pastor of Samara UMC Ganina Olga, Deacon of Samara UMC Stanislav Prokhorov. Pastors from all over Eurasia were invited as well. However, only several responded to the invitation: senior pastor Andrey Kim from St. Petersburg, pastor of the UMC in Pushkin Andrey Kuznetsov, pastor of the Pskov UMC Natalia Chernova.

One of the seminar organizers was the Tyumen UMC pastor Katerina Zubkova who also worked for us as an interpreter and a leading worship singer. We sent out invitations to all the evangelical churches in Samara and our old friends from the Pentecostal Church "House of God" (three pastors) attended the seminar as well as the vicar of the Lutheran Church in Samara.

Accommodation and meals at Samara UMC were both managed and sponsored by the Volga District fund while the participants only had to pay for their own transportation. At the same time, there were a number of pastors and church ministers who could not afford to go. All those three days Elena Sivtsova from the Novokuybyshevsk UMC served as a chef at the kitchen and several sisters from Samara UMC assisted her.

We had enough time to discuss the lecture material in small groups and each of the participants could share their thoughts, experiences, challenges and successes. The Holy Spirit during those days was abundantly enriching us and leading us to grow spiritually.My heart is filled with gratitude to all who participated in the seminar, especially pastors Tim and Katerina Zubkova who left their ministry, their churches and homes to teach us and help us in understanding the wisdom of God in such an important matter as building up The Church of Jesus Christ.

Volga District Superintendent, Pastor of Samara UMC Natalia Prokhorova

When I was on my way to the pastoral seminar in Samara I did not realize how important it would become for me in result. Yet, after the very first day of the seminar I realized that I had arrived for good. As a pastor of a small church I keep asking myself a question how to help more people come to God, ignite their interest in the church and ministries so that the world could see the number of God-loving people grow through the ministries we start up and through the activities we organize within the community. And personally I was willing to hear more pieces of advice on how to organize time effectively.

Pastor Tim Walker shared his rich and valuable experience to show us directions of solving the problems that every pastor inevitably comes across.

For example, we were asked to identify what things in life almost literally steal our time. And to my own surprise I have discovered at least three such “thieves” and now I am determined to get rid of them.

One of the problems that I have identified at the seminar is lack of a well-organized plan for every service and every ministry. That is why sometimes some of the ministries I have do not go as I envisioned them and even fall apart. God guided me through my mistakes with the help of our dear brother pastor Tim.

The seminar helped better understand how to deal with the issues we sometimes stumble upon at church and in the ministries. We now have an opportunity to work out a smart strategy to overcome the difficulties that we encounter and also build up a plan for the whole next year that will include all the recommendations we received during the seminar. One of the first steps I have already made as a pastor is writing down a detailed “to do list” for the following month which I will keep on doing regularly.

In addition, I would also like to share the three most important ideas that I have come up with during the seminar:

1. Sharing the pastor’s prayer activities according to various categories of people within the congregation and doing it in special days of the week

Thanks to this method, we have overcome the mess and major difficulties in communication with members of the community. We started practicing communication with specific groups of parishioners on special days, praying for their needs, worries and concerns.

2. Focusing on one main task for a local church

In my view, some of our churches operate like a carriage in which every horse is pulling in its own direction, all leaders trying to fully manage their ministry alone. However, seeing and understanding the goal for the church is very important in order to stay focused on what really matters.

3. Act wisely to surround yourself by the “right” people otherwise the wrong people will surround you

We should pay attention to the people that surround us. The people surrounding us in our daily lives, people with whom we collaborate play a crucial role in the job of building up the church of Christ. King David was very clear on that issue in the first psalm, where he encouraged us to be more attentive to the people surrounding us. This will help us realize how a bad community may influence us in a destructive way.

By now we have started realizing the new pattern step by step and we pray to God that our efforts bring fruit.

I thank God for all the knowledge I gained from this workshop and for the time spent in fellowship with brothers and sisters. I am also grateful for fresh ideas and for the assistance of Pastor Tim in building communities. And special thanks should be given to the organizers of the workshop – District Superintendent Natalia Prokhorova, for the food we ate, the places where we could sleep and all the love and care we witnessed during the seminar. We also are grateful to the Tyumen UMC pastor for her quality translations and an inspiring worship singing.

And, of course, I am thankful to all brothers and sisters who helped to make this event happen and worked hard those three days to make sure we felt at home.

Dmitriy Novikov, pastor of the Saratov UMC
Photos by Ekaterina Zubkova
Translate by Maria Tigina

__________________________________________________________________

Твитнуть

How does the idea begin?
Insensibly for us, all the kids, whom we invited for Christmas and Easter to our small church, have grown up and become teenagers, and it became uninteresting for them to play the games and to get the presents.
Also it became uninteresting for those, whose parents and grandparents brought them to the church, without their peers. And one by one teenagers and youth started to retreat from the church and then from life with God. Although a lot of children were born from church’s members, the lack of teenagers and youth starter to worry. We were praying and were trying to find the answer, we were looking at successful youth ministries and were asking God to show our way. In 2013 in January we met wonderful young people from Church “Holy Trinity” from Yekaterinburg in the summer camp. Those days’ two young sisters accepted Christ and they were inspired by simple, joyful communication. We invited the youth from “Holy Trinity” to our church to help us organize summer camp for kids and teenagers. And in summer 2013 the group from “Holy Trinity” came to Tyumen with the program and the UMC member from Tyumen organized everything needful. Although the ages were different, from 4 to 14, the camp was good and was remembered. And we decided to make two camps in summer in 2014 – for children in the church, and for teenagers in the tents.
Summer 2014
The youth group from “Holy Trinity” (Pentecostals) came to Tyumen with the program of the summer tent camp “Light Travel” and UMC “Salvation” prepared organizational and economic support. We are thankful to God for brothers and sisters from Baptist Church, who gave us tents, sleeping bags and other equipment, and also for Presbyterians, who helped us with transport. We all do the same task – we cultivate the youth for Christ. During these three days 16 teenagers, 4 children of servants and 7 adults had joyful communication, captivating games and serious conversations about life, faith and Bible. Last Service some kids came to repentance and other asked Jesus became their Savior and Lord from their seats. The favourite songs were “Bless the Lord o my soul” and “Our God is greater”.

Marina is preparing the lesson

Funny presentation

Team game “who is higher”

“Chicken”football

A special joy was that next day after the youth rest teenagers served in the children camp and helped organize the program, played with kids and were the leaders of the teams. There were 9 children and 7 teenagers. Food, transport and everything they need, organized 11 adults from the church. We organized children camp by ourselves – and it’s a big victory. Per day from the camp one sister from the church died and all the church planned to go to the funeral, and then sisters from friendly church in village Shorokhovo (Pentecostals) came to help us for this time. And the camp continued. Children found out a lot about God, played a lot, talked, ate well and became tired to the evening. Both camps exceeded our expectations and plans in number of teenagers and kids and in the quality of the service, and in fruit – God multiplied.

Games in the air

Finding “treasure”

In the house

Soap Bubbles

Near the church building

And further… Camp is not the purpose, it’s the way to help children come together and think about their faith, life and to feel a good Christian communication with peers. But the main thing is what will be after the camp. We don’t want to lose everything that we gained. For today we send the group of kids and youth for Christian rest in Yekaterinburg. Let communication will become even stronger. And we pray for weekly meetings of teenagers and youth during the year. Today we invest and sow in the young generation, that they will bring a lot of fruit for Christ. Pray for us. And we’ll tell you about the fruit next year. We pray for those, who has problems with organization of the children, teenager and youth ministries, in small churches. God wants that it will be in our churches that we will grow up and raise the young generation who follow Chris, pastors and missionaries. There is a lot of work, but it’s worth doing…

Ekaterina Zubkova,
Pastor of Tyumen UMC “Salvation”
Photo: E. Zubkova
Translate by Julia Minihanova

Elder sisters- servants

____________________________________________________________________

Твитнуть

«We were blown away» Members of the Youth Council of Eurasia in the Philippines – typhoon, Russian folk songs and hot discussions during the rainfall season.

This year the members of the Youth Council of Eurasia participated in an international event for the first time. Global Young People’s Convocation and Legislative Assembly took place in the end of July in the Philippines. One can say, it is a model of General Conference for young leaders of the United Methodist Church. People from all over the world gathered to vote and discuss various questions of great concern to our generation. The items which were agreed upon by the majority are then transferred to General Conference for further review. Such recommendations for approval become strong argument for the bill.

The year of 2014 is the first year that the delegation from Eurasia took part in the Convo. There were seven of us: four voting delegates – members of Youth council of Eurasia (Elina Ten, Vladimir Prokip, Dmitriy Lysin, Natalia Smirnova), two non-voting candidates (pastors Oleg and Julia Starodubets), and a special guest – bishop Eduard Khegay.

During the sessions many questions, crucial to the global community were discussed, particularly, we reviewed issues of poverty, migration, ecology, social justice, etc . For example, one approved resolution stated that a church community should take a more active part in resolving the ecological issues of its region. Some topics ignited hot debates between the representatives of different cultures. The official position of United Methodist Church concerning the question of same-sex marriage is of great interest to the global community. I want to point out for the young people reading the article now, that the future world depends on what we are doing today. We are free not only to vote for a proposed topic, but also suggest new topics in new fields in order to make our church better.

There are so many amazing moments in my memory now: the taste of coconut water, tried in the night forest from a freshly-picked nut with songs of toads on the background; crocodile baby sleeping in my hands; statues of the old temple and local Methodist churches. I remember Philippine national dance during the service, ceremony of initiation for young missionaries starting their ministry; the openness of volunteers; tremendous work and devotion of the team; glorious worship; meeting young people from all over the world; new conversations and discussions in small groups; hot discussions; a great farewell party; energetic African dance and our show with folk dances and ballet performed by the brothers.

This is just a small part of what I could tell, but the deepest and most personal experiences are the ones, which were never added to the program-list, were planned or were even apprehended. Typhoon; people singing in the cellar; volunteers gathering meals for the victims; organization team sleeping in the hall of the hotel so that all the participants get their places in the rooms. First time when the eyes meet and the first handshake are particularly special, you never know what awaits you – a small talk, long productive work together or life-long friendship. There was a shabby hovel wretched by the wind and somebody’s life, that could have gone a complete other direction if only... How many “if only” are there in the lives of people…

We were walking down the streets of Manila while the locals were reconstructing that was ruined by the typhoon . The faces of the people were telling and reminding us, that if one looks closer, even in inopportune, sometimes dramatic events he will see the hand of God.

Natalia Smirnova, representative of Youth Council of Eurasia
Photos: Youth Council of Europe and Upper New York AC UMC
Translated by Maxim Kvyatkovskiy

Photo МСЕ and Upper New York AC UMC

see more photo

____________________________________________________________________

Твитнуть

In 2009 our community started holding worship services in the newly purchased and repaired building of the North West Russia AC Centre. While designing the inner space of the Centre, a room for children’s ministry was reserved. It’s a universal saying in our context, that says, ‘Children are our future’. If we ponder over these words, it turns out to be that children by themselves are of no value: we await that they will make our dreams come true, when they grow up. But when reading the Gospel, we see that Jesus treats children in quite a different way – He rejoices at their love for Him, and their desire to be in His presence.

The Aspiration United Methodist Church dreams that the church kids become our “today”. Now quite a few smaller brothers and sisters come to our Sunday school, led by Elina Ten. That’s why we’ve organized several events to draw parents’ and their kids’ attention.

In summer, the Aspiration UMC held the Outdoor fest on the playground just in front of the church building. We prepared colorful ads and distributed invitation cards beforehand. The playground in front of the church was literally transfigured – balloons, chalk drawings, loud music and funny costumes created the feeling of a real holiday.

The kids, who would come up to the organizers, by themselves or with parents, could learn how to make simple crafts out of paper, colored sticky tape and napkins. Lisa Kulayeva and pastor Oxana Petrova from the St. Trinity UMC assisted them.

Wizard, Flower and Ladybird (the Aspiration UMC masked churchgoers) prepared quizzes, funny games and relay races. Of course, everyone won his or her prizes.

To crown it all, everybody was welcomed to have tea in the church dining room, where the kids and adults were treated with delicious things. During the teatime, the kids were invited to join the three-day summer camp, where they could learn that they are special creatures of the Master. Three days in a row the kids had been watching Christian cartoons (“You are special”, “The green nose”) and discussing them with the leaders, participating in the workshops in felting, modelling and stained glass window, playing and having tasty meals.

Though fewer numbers of kids participated in the camp (we expected more of them coming), that event was very important both for the participants and for the leaders’ team who acquired the new experience, were inspired to continue and develop the ministry. Christmas is coming, and we’ve been preparing a Christmas morning performance for our small friends, where they will meet Kai, Herda, Snow Queen and Jesus, of course.

The Aspiration UMC (Saint Petersburg) Pastor Irina Margulis

Photos: The Aspiration UMC

Translate by Vladimir Ditmar

____________________________________________________________________

Твитнуть