On Feb 17th the Ambassador of Germany in Belarus, Wolfram Maas, made an official visit to St. John's Lutheran congregation of Grodno, which is undergoing major renovations. Mr. Maas emphasized that the building is not only a place of worship but a part of Belarusia's and Germany's cultural heritage.
Pastor Vladimir Tatarnkiov informed Ambassador Maas about the repairs to this, the only functioning Lutheran church building in the country. State and local governments are helping with efforts along with two local companies, “ConteSPA” and “Grodnopromstroj.”
As part of the reconstruction efforts, the congregation is striving toward environmental responsibility. Their efforts were rewarded when they received the “White Stork” and “Green Rooster” certificates related to the ecological management of their buildings. “We understand that saving our environment is one of our foundational responsibilities” - said Pastor Vladimir Tatarnikov during his report at the meeting of 8 various non-governmental organizations from Belarus and Germany that are striving to introduce a program of environmental protection to Belarus. Pastor Tatarnikov also represented the congregation as it received the “Green Rooster” certificate in Germany; there he spoke with representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Central Germany and the Lutheran World Federation about further cooperative work in this area.
One of the most significant additions to the church is its new “lungs” - a real organ to replace the previous one, destroyed in the mid-1940s. It was brought from Frankfurt-on-Main to Grodno on April 5th. This mechanical concert organ, built in 1960, was previously in a Lutheran church building that was subsequently sold to the Serbian Orthodox Church. That congregation decided to sell the organ, and former President of the Theological Seminary in Novosaratovka, Godeke von Bremen, was instrumental in helping the congregation in Grodno get ahold of it.
Once the truck brought the organ, the work on its installation began immediately. The organ has 23 registers, 2 manuals and 1500 pipes; it's not surprising that it took over 900 intensive hours of work to put together! Of course such a project would have been impossible were it not for sponsors, including the German-Belarusian Economic Club, The Evangelical Church of Germany, the Gustav Adolf Fund, the Martin Luther Union and the Economic Club of Russia. The organ was dedicated on June 7th, and the building was completely full for the first concert. Local residents, representatives from sponsoring organizations and from churches had the joy of hearing professional musicians from Germany and Belarus perform.
Unfortunately, there are no local musicians with the skills to give professional concerts on this organ, though it will be possible to find an accompanist for the services. All the same, a series of concerts by professional organists from Poland and Russia was planned. These concerts will be a stimulus for people to enter the church for the first time, and, in addition, the offerings gathered there will help pay for continuing repair work in the church.
