"Overhaul" - Men's Ministry Seminary for the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Churches

Omsk
“We’ve been given so much!” This was the feeling that filled those who were blessed to have taken part in the recent (May 23-27) seminar for men’s ministry in the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Church (former ELCROS). A sense of deep gratitude to God for everything that He sends us filled filled these days, and it acts as the basis for our thoughts about how we might use God’s grace for the good of our congregations and for those outside of them.
The central image of the seminar was “overhaul” which combined in a surprising way with the Biblical story of Joseph in such a way that participants could consider the unfulfilled potential in their lives. They “looked under the hood” and made a diagnosis of what needs to be changed, considering what “tools” could be helpful in the road of discipleship.
But during this seminar participants not only sat in chairs, discussing. Despite the cold-for-spring weather, many activities were organized that helped the participants do something

 physical in order to gain new experience and to meet new challenges (for example, many tried bowling and a ropes course for the first time in this seminar), thereby gaining confidence for everyday life. 

The diversity of participants and teachers were a serious enrichment for the seminar. Christoph Baker (Germany, Apis) led sessions on the specifics of ministry with men, in particular about the relationship of men’s ministry to mission. Bradn Buerkle was the co-organizer of the seminar together with Dean of Siberia for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Urals, Siberia and Far East, Vladimir Vinogradov. Bradn was 

responsible for financial questions and for Bible studies, while Vladimir solved many questions related to organizational issues and led interactive exercises related to psychology and pastoral care. Participants came from Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Astana (Kazakhstan), Kiev (Ukraine), and from Russia (Vladivostok, Krasnoyarsk, Omsk, the Ulyanovsk deanery and the Northern Caucasus deanery). Unfortunately visa issues got in the way of the increasing the geography of the participants to include Georgia. Some of the participants are long-time leaders in the church, while some were new; just as significantly, the context in each of our churches is quite different.Yet in these days together all of these differences faded into the background as they felt unity with one another, had fun with one another, prayed with one another, thought together with one another about how the Holy Spirit is working in the churches and in each of us. It is rare to have such a chance to get together these days, but such meetings give participants energy and inspiration to try something new in their lives and in the lives of their congregations. 

The organizers and participants of the seminar would like to thank those who made this seminar possible - in supports of the “Equipping for Service” program in the ELCA and ELM. It is the common hope that those who took part in the seminar will able to continue their “overhaul” work back at their homes in order to strengthen the spiritual lives of men and in order to invite others into Christian fellowship.

Archbishop Emeritus Edmund Ratz (1933-2017)

Ansbach, Germany

On August 31 after a long illness Archbishop Emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Russia and Other States (ELCROS), Dr. Edmund Ratz, passed away.

Edmund Ratz was born in the Bavarian city of Zeitlofs. He studied theology in Germany and the USA; he worked as a pastor in England and then as the secretary for inter-church cooperation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, the director of the Worldwide Lutheran Service, and the German National Committee of the Lutheran World Federation in Stuttgart. Edmund Ratz twice received an honorary doctorate – in Zagreb in 1987 and in the Gurukul Theological Institute in Madras (India) in 1994.

In 1999 Edmund Ratz moved to Odessa, where he became the visitation bishop and then the bishop of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine. He remained in this post until his election as the Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Russia and Other States (ELCROS) in 2005. From 2005 to 2009 Dr. Ratz served as Archbishop of ELCROS and lived in St. Petersburg; then until June 2010 he served as the Archbishop's assistant. From 2007 to 2011 Edmund Ratz combined this ministry with the ministry of the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in European Russia, having been elected to this post at the ELCER synod assembly in 2007.

The ceremony of burial for Archbishop Emeritus Ratz took place on September 9 in Neuendettelsau (near Ansbach). We express our deep sympathies to his widow, Doris Ratz, and to all his friends and relatives. Archbishop Ratz will remain in our memories as a pastor and theologian, a person with a big heart, attentive to the needs of those around him, willing to help in any way he could.

May the graceful Father take him into his eternal dwellings. “Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” (Heb 13.7)

Church Building Anniversary

Saratov

On May 1st in St. Mary's church in Saratov there was a celebratory worship service dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the building process. The building is still not built yet, but it does function and every Sunday welcomes all for prayer.

  As part of his episcopal visit to the the Saratov deanery the worship service was attended by Archbishop Dietrich Brauer together with his wife Tatyana Petrenko. Friends from other cities also came to the Saratov congregation – the Schtelwag family from Germany and Pastor Donald Richman from America.

   In his sermon Archbishop Brauer wished everyone a happy Easter (it was Eastern Orthodox Easter that day) and underlined the importance of every person understanding the purpose of Christ's Resurrection; it is difficult to see sometimes behind all the traditional treats during the Easter feast. The family also took a tour around the building site; they were happy with the way various parts of the building are slowly but surely being finished in a way that will help the congregation as it develops; they wished the congregation well in their efforts in the difficult task of building construction.

   After worship the youth of the congregation prepared a surprise for everyone – they made special hot dogs for the occasion with rolls prepared by one of the congregation's members, Frank Baker, the latest in a long line of bakers in his family.

  Everyone had a chance for important fellowship at the tea time after church – they could visit with the spiritual head of our church, ask him questions, take pictures with him, or they could have personal discussions with the pastors-pastoral care givers from other cities and ask guests about different countries and the life of Christian congregations abroad.

  Then, together with the locals, everyone went to the newly restored church in Zorkino in the Marx region of the Saratov oblast, where worship was also held.

  Alexander Geryugin

Meeting of the Council of Bishops of the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Churches

St. Petersburg
  The annual meeting of the Council of Bishops of the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (former ELCROS) took place at the end of April in the Theological Seminar of the ELC in Novosaratovka. As usual the annual meeting takes place in one of the churches of the Union.
  The following heads of the churches were present: Archbishop Dietrich Brauer, Bishop Yuri Novgorodov (ELC of the Republic of Kazakhstan), Bishop Alfred Eicholtz (ELC of Kyrgyzstan), Bishop Otto Schaude (ELC of the Urals, Siberia and Far East) sent Church Administrator Tatyana Muramtseva as his representative and Bishop Hans-Joachim Kiderlen (ELC of Georgia) sent the vice-president of the synod, Galina Kromm. For the first time Dirk Stelter, the new representative for the region from the Evangelical Church in Germany, took part in the meeting of the Council of Bishops. 
  Participants in the meeting exchanged information about the state of affairs in the Churches of the Union and made decisions concerning the budget of the Union, the Pastors' Fund, and about evangelization projects – both of the individual churches and of the common union in the areas of youth ministry and public relations. The participants gave special attention to events surrounding the celebration of the anniversary of the Reformation. 

Photos from Christmas Celebrations in the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Churches

Dneprepetrovsk (Ukraine): 

Evpatoria (Crimea):

Kaliningrad:

Lozovaya (Ukraine):

Lutzk (Ukraine)

Moscow:

Novorossisk:

Omsk:

Odessa (Ukraine):

 Perm:

Samara:

Saratov:

Simferopol (Crimea):

Smolensk:

St. Petersburg: 

Tashkent (Uzbekistan):

Ulyanovsk:

Volgograd:

Vinnitse (Ukraine):

Zhitomir (Ukraine):

Synod Assembly of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine

Dnepropetrovsk

September 8-10 in St. Catherine's Church the synod assembly of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine.

Pastor Igor Taranenko and Bishop Sergei Mashevsky led the opening worship; the guest preacher was Pastor Gennday Khonin (Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan).Another guest, the administrator of the Archbishop of the ELC (in Russia) Marina Khudenko, read greetings from the head of the Council of the Bishops of the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Bishop Yuri Novgorodov and Archbishop Dietrich Brauer.

The synod confirmed the makeup of the acting Presidium, which has changed in the last year. The members of the presidium of the GELCU at present are: President of the Synod Konstantine Burlov-Vasiliev (Kiev), preacher Alla Wolfe (Lozovaya), Pastor Alexei Chizhov (Odessa), Ljubov Galimova  (Dnepropetrovsk) and added to the members of the group pastor Vladislav Tsekhanovich (Shostka).

For the first time representatives from congregations in Crimea did not take part in the the synod. According to the 3 way agreement between GELCU, ELC - European Russia and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria and also in according with documents adopted in April 2015 at the Bishops' Council of the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Church, GELCU Bishop Sergei Mashevsky proclaimed that the Lutheran congregations in Crimea are no longer a part of the GELCU. At the same time he emphasized their voluntary decision to re-register in the Russian Federation.

The leadership of the Church confirmed the list of congregations that belong to the GELCU. 21 congregations received membership papers in the GELCU, while in the future it will have to be determined whether or not the congregations in Novogradovka, Donetsk and Zmeevka will be considered members of the church. 

In the past few months a difficult situation has developed in the Ukrainian church: conflict with the founders of the "Kirchenbau" company (founded to support the upkeep of the GELCU church compound); the end of the long-time partnership with the ELC Bavaria, a lack of financing, including for the wages for pastors for a couple of months. Synod Presidnet Konstanine Burlov-Vasilev spoke about all this in his report. The task of the church today is regain church property and to form an effective and transparent system of administration. At the same time, according to Bishop Sergei Mashevsky, these problems have been a blessing for the church. In some ways they have encouraged an "awakening" of congregations, an independent search for means of financing their ministries and the work of the GELCU office. 

  But it would be wrong to say that the assembly spoke only about problems. Ljubov Galimova spoke about diaconal work in her report - now in the GELCU there is a unit for diaconal and humanitarian work. The foundation of this structure began at a seminar in Odessa in December of 2014 with the cooperation of the "Interdiac" international academy. The coordinator of youth ministry Igor Shemigon spoke about the "Confirma" camp; the church council president in Berdyansk, Arthur Kozhevnikov, informed the synod about the registration of the church building there. Bishop Sergei Mashevsky emphasized in his report the importance of the education of staff of the church. The GELCU plans to hold continuing education course 6 times in a year. Also this year 20 congregation members from various congregations of the Ukrainian church applied for entrance into the distance education program of the Theological Seminary in Novosaratovka.

Synod delegates listened with thankfulness to the report of Elena Dyakova, the editor of the church-wide "Der Bote" magazine, about all the press resources that unite the whole Union of Churches: the magazine, the website, and the "Lutheran News" bulletins.

The synod worked upon and approved a new liturgy for use in GELCU congregations. Having a unified liturgical practice in all congregations is one of the tasks of the church. Small groups of delegates discussed the identity of the church and strategies for its development. Pastor Vladislav Tsekhanovich gave a theological report on the theme of the appearance and development of various church offices, foremost, the office of the bishop, and also on the preservation of church traditions.

The assembly closed with a worship service with Holy Communion. For the first time in many years the synod met somewhere else other than Odessa. This experience allowed synod delegates to become acquainted with the life of various congregations. In the future, if possible, the synod will also be held in various regions of the church.

Council of Bishops of Union of Evangelical Lutheran Churches

Astana, Kazakhstan
  On April 21-23 in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, bishops from the former Soviet Union together with church administrator Marina Khudenko and EKD representative Michael Hubner met to discuss common issues and to sign a new version of their agreement on mutual cooperation. In addition the participants signed an agreement related to the spiritual care of congregations in Crimea. From now on three church bodies will have the right to work there – the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of European Russia and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. Congregations can now legally register in the Russian Federation and will be full members of the ELCER; they will also have the right to attend the meetings of the GELCU as guests with a voice, though without a vote. A third important decision was that all of the churches of the Union are given the right to independently join such international organizations as the LWF and the Conference of European Churches. It was also agreed upon that the question of the Union's membership in the World Council of Churches needs to be studied. Finally, the participants of the Union elected Yuri Novgorodov from Kazakhstan as the President of their council for the next two years.
  In addition to meetings the bishops took part in ecumenical meetings with representatives of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches and found time to talk and pray together about their brothers who were unable to attend – Otto Schaude and Corney Vibe.

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.

Meeting in Munich

  On March 12th there a meeting was held between representatives of three churches  – the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine by Bishop Sergey Mashevsky, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria (Ukraine's partner church) by Ulrich Zenker and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia by Archbishop Dietrich Brauer. The discussion was friendly and they spoke about the ways that they together can provide spiritual care for the congregations in Crimea.

World Day of Prayer 2015

  The World Day of Prayer has become an important part of the calendar of church events in the Lutheran church here. On the first Friday in March women in many congregations of the CIS and Europe prepare a special worship service focused on one particular country. In 2014 that country was Egypt and in 2015 it was the Bahamas. It is wonderful to learn about and pray for a country that we, perhaps, have never and will never see; we learn to sympathize with other Christians in their struggles while not forgetting about the need to pray for our own countries. For that reason this year many of our congregations prayed particularly fervently for peace between Russia and Ukraine. At the same time the worship service was filled with the colors and music and (in some cases) food of the Bahamas while focused on the theme - “Do you understand what I have done for you?” (John 13.12).

Baku

Chernogorsk

Ephpatoria

Kaliningrad

Kharkov

Kiev

Lviv

Odessa

Omsk

Samara

Simferopol

St. Petersburg

Tbilisi

Vinnitsa

Vladivostok