The Sun's Energy for the Church

Grodono, Belarus

In October of 2016 four solar panels with a capacity of 1 kW were installed on the roof of the congregation's building. With this system running, Grodno Lutherans will receive around half of the energy that they use from the sun. A company from Minsk that installs solar panels all over Belarus was entrusted with the installation.

«The main part of the work has been done and the system can function; we'll put it to full use once we have finished the renovations in the space under it. This will probably be before the beginning of the new year. Even in poor weather energy will be made thanks to ultraviolet light. We hope that the system will pay for itself in two to three years. And in the future, if all goes well, we will expand the panels so that we won't have to pay for any additional electricity at all. This is important, insofar as just the organ alone uses a huge amount of energy,” said Pastor Vladimir Tatarnikov.

St. John's Church Re-opens Its Doors

Grodno, Belarus

 At the end of May the interior renovations at St. John's Lutheran in Grodno were completed. A year earlier the exterior of the kirche was restored and a 16-meter spire was installed. Now the interior of the building and the exterior are equally beautiful. 
  Since the completion of restoration work, worship services and concerts in the building have begun again. The first of this season was held on June 3, when the German organist Anna Horsch gave a concert of European composers. This concert was part of the city's annual festival of national cultures. For the first time in the long history of this festival St. John's congregation was able to take part in the official program of events. 
  Now the Grodno Lutherans plan to use historic photographs to make new copies of the stain-glass windows that were originally in the kirche and install them behind the altar. The income from organ concerts will go towards this project. The congregation is also planing to add exterior lighting on the facade of the church. The German ambassador in Belarus has promised to help with the restoration of the tower clock. It should be in working order by the time the world celebrates the 500th anniversary of the Reformation next year. 

New Representative of the Archbishop in Belarus

Grodno

On January 26 ELC Archbishop Dietrich Brauer named Pastor Vladimir Tatarnikov as his official representative in the Republic of Belarus "in order to unify and develop the Lutheran congregations of Belarus," as it written in the official document confirming this decision.
Pastor Tatarnikov has the right to right to speak in the name of the Archbishop and to represent the church's interest at ecumenical and government meetings in Belarus.
The congregations in Belarus became a part of ELCROS in 1998. In 2009 an agreement was signedby the ELC Archbishop   and the autonomous congregations of Belarus regarding the spiritual unity of the church and about care for the congregations from the side of the ELC of Russia.
Pastor Vladimir Tatarnikov was born on April 3, 1986 in Vileyka in the Minsk region of Belarus. He finished school in 2004 in Vitebsk and entered the Theological Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Novosaratovka.
He finished his education there in 2009, and was ordained on April 12th by then Archbishop Edmund Ratz and has since that time been serving as pastor for the congregations in Grodno and Vitebsk.

16-Meter Spire for the Church in Grodno

 On June 3rd St. John's Lutheran Church in Grodno had its spire replaced thanks to “Grodnopromstroy,” a local construction company. The spire will eventually be crowned with a 2-meter high cross. That is not the end of the construction work, however. “Grodnopormstroy” also took on the responsibility to continue to renovate the outside of the building and the territory around the church; this work was to be finished before the start of an international organ festival in July.
 With time the congregation also hopes to repair the old clock on the tower and to finish the work on the church's interior. Then the only working Lutheran church building in Belarus will be restored to its full beauty.

Reconstruction in Grodno

  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.