Archbishop Brauer Visits Khakasia

Abakan, Russia
  On July 26th  congregations of Khakasia and the southern part of the Krasnoyarsk region gathered for a special worship service in Abakan, lead by Archbishop Dietrich Brauer and accompanied by the administrator of the ELCER and native to Abakan, Viktor Weber.
  The visit to the region was tied with the congregation's 15th anniversary. The congregation was founded thanks to the efforts of German missionaries from the ELM in Hermannsburg who at first gathered together local Russian Germans who wanted to know about their religious roots. Despite emigration to Germany, the congregation has grown throughout the years thanks to families being involved in the church and passing their faith on, as well as a result of new members joining the congregation.
Archbishop Brauer reminded the congregations that Christians are called to be the “salt of the earth and light to the world,” i.e., to be an example of right living for others and to work for the peaceful co-existence of all peoples.
Bishop Brauer, Pastor Weber and the chair of a government office passed on their congratulations and gifts to the congregation. Also the congregation itself recognized some of its members for their long-time contributions to the development of the church.
 After worship in Abakan Pastor Dimitry Schweitz gave a presentation on the six congregations in the region. Later there was worship in the prayer house in the village of Bograd, where the guests learned about the history of that congregation, which reaches back to the time of the resettlement of Russian Germans to the region in the 1950s.
  The visit of the Archbishop was a joy for the congregations, and they expressed their thanks to him for his interest in their life and ministry.