Ufa
On
November 22 Archbishop Dietrich Brauer dedicated the building of a
new diaconal center in Ufa.. The building process began in 2014,
after the long-term projects of restoration of the church building
and the parsonage were completed. The two-story diaconal center
was built quickly, and thanks to constant financial support the total
cost came to 15.3 million rubles. The largest part of that money -
14.6 million - came from a local charity fund, "Ural." The
rest came from Martin Luther Bund and Gustav Adolf Werke, while the
congregation also contributed 100000 rubles.
But
receiving financing is only part of a successful project. No less
important is using the finances well. The building project was
coordinated by Elvira Gartman, the church council president. At the
Sunday worship service in the Ufa kirche, just after the dedication
of the building, Archbishop Brauer gave Mrs. Gartman a medal for
service to the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
The
end of the building work is just the beginning. Now Ufa Lutherans
will have a difficult and interesting tasks - deciding how to use
this building for works of mercy and to fill it with new life. At
present the congregation does not have a clear plan regarding how to
do this. There are a few different ideas and they will be explored
and developed as time goes on. Of course cooperation and learning
from others will a big part of that work.
That
was the topic of discussion at the round table hed on November 23rd
in the diaconal center. Taking part were representatives
of various religions and Christian denominations, NGO's and
the Bashkirtostan government. The meeting was led by Pastor of the
Ufa congregation, Genrich Minikh. Church workers from the local
Orthodox and Roman Catholic congregations shared their experience in
diaconal ministries, and they experienced their willingness to
cooperate on future projects. The Bishop's Vicar of ELCER, Norbert
Hintz, gave a moving example of diaconal work in the Germany context.
The Muslims of the republic also expressed their good wishes.
ELC
Archbishop Dietrich Brauer, in his opening words at the round table,
emphasized that "diaconal work is our answer to God's grace."
May this answer given by the Ufa congregation in response to gaining
a diaconal center be a worthy one!
Office
of the Archbishop
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