“The World is in Me, and I am in the World”

Krasny Yar

The congregations in Tolyatti and Samara held their annual children’s camp during the winter holidays January 3 to 8 in the village of Krasny Yar in the Samara oblast. The theme was chosen deliberately. Many children today ask questions about how faith in God can be integrated into everyday life and how to act so that this faith is spread.

Human life can be divided into, let's say, three social “spheres.”The first has a radius of one meter around the person - we'll call it “I myself.” The second – with a radius of three meters - is “I myself, my friends and relatives.” The radius of the third sphere is endless - “I myself and the world around me: people, animals, nature.”
For 5 days the kids thought about how God spreads His love through all these “spheres” and how we can reflect that, how we can influence the world for the better.

Tatyana Zhivodyorova

ELCA Partner Visits

2017 showed that the ELCA continues to remain engaged in partnership with the church in Russia. In February regional representative Arden Haug made a trip to St. Petersburg and Moscow together with Bishop Cindy Halmarson, Global Mission Director for Europe, Middle East and North Africa. As usual they visited the central church administration, Bishop Kugappe of the Ingrian Church, and ELCA Pastor Bradn Buerkle in St. Petersburg, and then in Moscow visited Archbishop Brauer and his staff, the French-speaking congregation, and the Moscow Protestant chaplaincy.This trip came at the conclusion of Arden's many years of faithful service in accompanying the Russian church on the behalf of the ELCA; his knowledge of the situation and his efforts on behalf of our church throughout the years have been very much appreciated.

Northwest Washington delegation with Bishop Brauer

In March a group of 5 people from the Northwest Washington Synod, including Bishop Unti, came to Russa to visit the two capitals and their partner synod (ELCER) and congregations in Yaroslavl and Tolyatti. They were very impressed by what they saw, and they are filled with a desire to strengthen ties further. Eva Mader, who was not able to join the delegation that came in March as she had originally planned, did make a short trip to St. Petersburg in September to attend the service of dedication for the new organ in Petrikirche, the partner congregation of her home Grace Lutheran in Bellevue.

Pastor Gary Teske, Pastor Gleb Pivovarov, and Olga Vinogradova

In September and October, a delegation from the Central States Synod made their first trip to Russia in 5 years; while they might not be frequent, they do cover a lot of ground! They began in St. Petersburg and made stops in Moscow, Omsk, Khabarovsk and Krasnoyarsk before reaching the congregations to which they have been historically tied in the Far East. Their meetings with church leaders along the way helped the delegation get a sense of the challenges the church faces and some of the hope-filled new aspects of church life in ELCUSFE, including the leadership of a new bishop, Alexander Scheiermann, with whom the delegation's leader, Gary Teske, had already become acquainted in Omsk at the bishop's installation in April.

Bishop Halmarson and other church leaders at the Reformation Anniversary

Viking Dietrich, the new ELCA area representative, joined the group in Vladivostok, where they all celebrated together with Dean Manfred Brockmann his 80 birthday and the celebration of 25 years since the congregation has been reborn.
Finally, our church was honored to have Bishop Halmarson with us again for the Reformation anniversary celebrations in Moscow over the last days of October through the beginning of November. Her presence was more than just a reminder that this event is being celebrated world-wide, it was also a chance to gain a deeper understanding of one another and one another's church life.

A New Home for the Congregation in Tolyatti

On the morning of October 16, 2016, congregants of St. George Lutheran Church in Samara happily boarded a large bus to Tolyatti. They were going there for the first worship service of the local congregation in their new building.

Just a week earlier the hall of the church was still under construction; by the dedication ceremony it was ready for use and can fit up to 50 people. If one thinks about how much patience, energy and work was put into this, you realize that it is just amazing. In contrast to the previous space used by the congregation – the “Club for the Disabled of Tolyatti” - this new building has a sanctuary, a well-equipped kitchen, a multiple-use space, two bathrooms and an apartment. There is also another room that is still under construction.

Pastor Friedhelm Brockmann from Berlin together with Dean Olga Temirbulatova and Pastor Tatyana Zhivodyorova led worship on this Harvest Festival Day; the choir from the Samara congregation accompanied them.

Pastor Brockmann together with deaconess Lora Engelkes began the renewal of the congregation in Tolyatti in 2002. Unfortunately Lora was unable to share this joyful event with the congregation insofar as she departed this earth in 2008.

At the beginning of his sermon Pastor Brockmann remembered all the difficulties of the beginning of his ministry and about how the ministry continued under Pastor Zhivodyorova. He tried to make plane to everyone present that it was in no way a “given” that this building would appear, and it is a reason for the congregation to be proud. There is a lot of room in the building for, among other things, work with people with special needs, some of whom were in attendance. Pastor Zhivodyorova was very moved by the service, and she fought back her tears, as did many others present. These were tears of joy and pride and also, perhaps, a bit of recognition that the day which they had dreamed and prayed about had finally arrived. All the efforts weren't in vain! And it was particularly for these fruits of the harvest that we thanked God on that day.

Lena Gebert, Emanuela Yanson