Two Decades and Two Concerts

Berdyansk

On June 24 the congregation in Berdyansk (Zaporozhskaya obl., Ukraine) celebrated 20 years since its re-birth. On this day the celebratory worship service in the Church of Christ the Savior was led by Pastor Andrey Kuznetsov (Kiev). 10 congregational members were baptised and confirmed. Many warm words of congratulations and presents were given to the congregation by guests and friends who were not able to attend in person.

After the meal a concert of early music was performed by Andrei Pracht (harpsicord), Irina Lukyanchuk (mandolin) and Elena Richter (soprano).

That evening in the Roman Catholic Church of the Birth of the Holy Virgin Mary there was an organ concert. Elena Udras performed classical and contemporary works on the organ, including her own pieces. Both concerts were dedicated to the 500 anniversary of the Reformation.

Yuri Rykov

Synod Assembly of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ukraine

Berdyansk, Ukraine

 On September 6-8 in Berdyansk (Zaporozhskaya oblast) the 3rd meeting of the 6th synod of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ukraine was held. The Church of Christ the Savior welcomed participants and guests of the assembly.
27 participants from 18 different congregations took part in the assembly, as well as ecumenical guests from the area. The international guests were the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Yuri Novgorodov, and Pastor Daniel Johnson of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (USA).
The preacher from the congregation in the city of Lozovaya, Anna Wolf, was recognized as the synod president, a responsibility she had in practice been carrying for the previous month. 
In his report GELCU Bishop Sergei Mashevsky touched upon theological and practical questions of church unity, the church's everyday life, its problems and paths to resolutions. He spoke about the ecumenical cooperation of GELCU with the Orthodox, Catholic and Greek Catholic Churches, about its participation in social events and about growing relationships with the Lutheran Churches of Latvia, Lithuania, Canada, the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod and the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches of Ukraine (SELCU). The bishop emphasized that despite all the financial situation of the Church, it has done all its ministry without any subsidies. Among other things educational activities for pastors and preachers in the GELCU were continued – in the past year 6 continuing education courses were held.
Pastor Daniel Johnson gave a paper on “Lutheran Identity. Education and the Reformation.” Then there was group discussion of how to implement the ideas of the Reformation in congregational life. 
Lyubov Galimova spoke about diaconal ministry in the church. She noted that it is not possible to directly use the experience of this ministry as it takes place in other countries, because many local factors have to be taken into account. 
Mina Sharnina gave a report on women's ministries. Women all over the world are united by the Worldwide Day of Prayer on the first Friday in March. There is a WDP committee in Ukraine and four denominations take part. GELCU holds regular seminars for preparing WDP and for other aspects of women's ministry. 
The women's ministry report inspired a new idea; Pastor Viktor Tselinko made the suggestion to establish men's ministry in GELCU. The synod supported his suggestion and Pastor Tselinko was named coordinator of that ministry. 
The assembly passed a budget for 2017 and a new version of the church constitution. 
This is the second year in a row that the synod assembly has taken place somewhere other than in St. Paul's Cathedral in Odessa. The practice of holding the synod assembly in one of the congregations of the church allows everyone not only to get acquainted with the life of that congregation, but also to draw interest to the congregation among others in the city. The Christ the Savior Lutheran Church is one of 54 congregations among the 12 confessions and religions represented in Berdyansk. 

How "Empty" Street Became "Lutheran" Street

Berdyansk, Ukraine
  Now there is one more "Lutheran" street in the world!… A street with such a name appeared in the city of Berdyansk of the Zaporozhskaya oblast. On the 25th of January a government committee  voted to change the names of 70 streets in this coastal city; all of their previous names were tied with the communist past. One of these streets had previously been called “Pustaya” (“Empty”) though from 1921 on it was named “Gorbenko” after early communist leaders in the city. Now there is a reminder to everyone that the city is a home to historic “kirche” thanks to the street being renamed “Lutheran.” The Lutheran Church of Christ the Savior was built from 1901-1903 together with a congregational hall and a German Lutheran school, dedicated on September 26, 1903. After the church was closed in the 1930s the church and the school became the home of a primary school and then a part of the teacher's university. The current church council president of the Brynsk congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ukraine, Arthur Kozhevniko, went to classes there when he was a student.  
  The kirche was returned to the congregation in 2007. Today the building is under reconstruction. Not long ago the congregation began to meet in the kirche again, though only during the warm months of the year. On March 1st a representative of the German cultural center “Freundschaft” installed a sign with the new name of the street. Now you can read “вул. Лютеранська“ there.