Crimea - 500th Anniversary of the Reformation Conference

Simferopol

The 500th Anniversary of the Reformation provided an opportunity for Lutherans around the world to return to the events of the early 16th century to see what lessons might be learned about theology, church life, and the role of Christians in society. We celebrated the many positive effects of the Reformation and we mourned its unintentional, negative consequences. In the context of the former Soviet Union, it was also a unique time to educate the wider public about who Lutherans are and the historic contributions of our church to the countries in which we live. Church leaders in the Evangelical Lutheran churches in the former Soviet Union took full advantage of the moment, with regular public events held both in central locations and throughout many far-flung regions of the church.

Typical for such conferences on a local level was one held in Crimea in September - “Lutherans in Crimea: History and Contemporary Situation.” Attending were students and teachers of the religious studies department of the state university, members of local Christian congregations and of Lutheran congregations from throughout Crimea, as well as local government officials. It was a joy to see this wide engagement and to attempt to answer the questions that were raised.

Papers were presented by guests, students, and local leaders, including pastor Sergei Matiukh and the lay preacher from the congregation in Simferopol, Maria Gusarova, who spoke about the contribution of Lutherans to the history of their region. Music from the 16th century helped set the tone of the day.

The conferences and ecumenical events held throughout the past year have done much to increase understanding of our church; when understanding increases, fear decreases and this is so important for helping people open up to consider their faith commitments. The challenge for the church now will be to maximize the positive effects of these public events in order to strengthen its ministry of spreading the message Christ's love to our neighbors.

Family Camp in Crimea

Kurotnoe

From August 28 to September 1 in the village of Kurotnoe a family camp was held for the first time in our church in Crimea. The theme of the camp was “Who is this that the wind and the sea listen to him?” (Mk 4.41) It was held thanks to the initiative of the regional committee of Evangelical Lutheran congregations of Crimea. The organizer of the event was the “Liebe”congregation in Feodosiya with the assistance of the administration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of European Russia.

Parents with children from Crimea were participants of the camp; guests came from Kazan, Krasnodar and Ulyanovsk. The Provorov family led the Bible lessons. Pastor Vladimir explored a new theme every morning: Noah, the Exodus, Jonah, the promise of the large catch of fish. At the closing service with Holy Communion the theme was “What is to be done?” During discussions of each theme the pastor spoke about the significance and importance of our faith.

Parallel with Bible studies for adults there were also Bible studies for children; Alena Provorova lead such interesting lessons that not only our children took part, but those who were at the campgrounds for other reasons also really enjoyed participating. Some of the adults, too, were “accidently” late to the adult meetings because they were so caught up in the stories being told for children.

The Lord blessed these days with good weather, a warm and clean sea and wonderful fellowship. The church council of “Liebe” plans to continue holding these family camps annually.

Irina Graf

ELCER Pastors' Conference

Evpatoria, Crimea

A conference for pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of European Russia was held on September 27 to the 30th. It was dedicated to questions of family values and the Biblical image of the family as well as the image of the Church and congregation as family in Scripture. Pastors and preachers in the Church came with their families to a beautiful corner of the Crimean peninsula for work, rest and fellowship.

The following people gave papers at the conference: the Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia Dietrich Brauer, Pastor Stephanie Fendler of the Evangelical Church in Germnay, Elizabeth Hintz (who is responsible for women's ministry in the city of Wilstedt, Germany), Pastor Bradn Buerkle head of the “Equipping for Service project, Pastor Norbert Hintz, the vice-Bishop, and Dean of the Central Deanery Elena Bondarenko. 

The vice chair of the Committee for State Committee for Inter-ethnic Relations, Yuri Gempel, attended the event. He greeted participants of the conference and expressed his willingness to support Lutheran congregations in Crimea. 
As part of the pastors' conference there also was a special meeting of the ELCER synod assembly. At this meeting delegates for the church-wide assembly were elected and Ekaterina Kreimer (Samara) was named the coordinator of Children's Ministry in the ELCER, while lay minister Artis Petersons (Moscow) was named the coordinator for diaconal ministry in the ELCER. These two coordinators were installed at the final worship service by Archbishop Brauer. 
At the end of the conference representatives of the church administration visited the congregation in Evpatoria and the “Ludwigsburg” German Cultural Center. The ELCER supports the congregations of Crimea which, at the same time, remain in contact with the German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ukraine. Lutherans move across political borders and pray together for peace.
From the ELCER site,   http://www.peter-paul.ru/

Ordination and Commissioning in Crimea

Simferopol
  On July 12th at worship in the congregation in Simferopol Archbishop Dietrich Brauer ordained Elza Gerko as pastor of the congregation and commissioned Marina Gusarova as preacher. Elza completed her theological education at the Seminar in Novosaratovka and for two years acted as preacher of the congregation. Marina is the church council president and has also been active for many years in church life.
  This is an event Lutherans in Crimea had been waiting for for quite some time. Now they have their own pastor and preacher.
  Archbishop Brauer presided at this ordination as part of his travels to the congregations in Yalta and Simferopol July 10-13. Accompanying him was the president of the Martin Luther Bund in Bavaria Wolfgang Hagemann.

An Easter Gift in Yalta

  In the days before Easter the congregational members of the church in Yalta once again felt blessed by God's love – the question of their re-registration was finally resolved. Since Crimea became a part of Russia in March of 2014, the Lutheran churches in the region found themselves in a new situation; they needed to prepare paperwork to re-register their congregation in the Russia Federation.  It was a time of self-evaluation for the congregation in Yalta, and in the end it was decided that they needed to do what it takes to remain legally registered. Without their own building and without legal registration it was not even clear if the congregation could meet, so  they decided that they could no longer come together until they received registration...but then just a few days later they received the news that they had gained their new legal status. Now the congregation, made up of 25 members, is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in European Russia. As the years pass many congregational members move away; young people leave for studies, elderly people pass on from this world to the next... At times it has seemed like the congregation has no future. But then new people come, bringing their children and grandchildren with them. The congregation not only meets for worship, but also carries out diaconal work and offers German language courses. The congregation takes part in various city-wide events and hopes to some day again have the right to meet in the historical building of the church, St. Mary's. The congregation doesn't have its own pastor at present, but congregational members get by by leading worship themselves, reading sermons that are sent to them. God has preserved this congregation for over 20 years, and there is now hope for a new path of development of the congregation into the future.

Warm Meetings in Cold Crimea

  The final weekend of October 2014 turned out to be windy and cold in Crimea, but bad weather did not take away the joy that local Lutheran congregations felt thanks to the visit of Archbishop of the ELC and Bishop of the ELCER, Dietrich Brauer, and pastor of the Moscow congregation and head of the administration of the ELCER, Viktor Weber.
  Despite the fact that the visit lasted only two days, Archbishop Brauer and Pastor Weber were able to attend worship in Feodosiya and in the capital of the Republic of Crimea, Simferopol, where almost all local Lutherans gathered to meet.
  After worship with Holy Communion there was an interesting discussion about the inclusion of the congregations of Crimea into the legal framework of the Russian Federation and the process of re-registration. At the same time, as Dietrich Brauer clearly said that spiritual ties with the GELCU will remain. It is also possible that there will be fruitful cooperation and joint projects. The main goal of the re-registration of congregations is to use the new opportunities that arise for them in Russian Crimea; the most important of these is the possible return of historical buildings to the church.