Pastor's Wedding in St. Paul's Church

Vladivostok

On January 21, the last Sunday after Epiphany, the wedding of Pastor Alexander Lapochenko (from St. Luke's Lutheran in Arseniev) and his wife, Oksana, took place in St. Paul's church in Vladivostok.
This event was a great joy for the whole Far East Deanery. Many gathered in the church that day to congratulate the couple.
Alexander Lapochenko has led St. Luke's congregation already almost 10 years; that's where he met his future wife. Oksana has two children and they together with Alexander's mother will form a three-generation family.
For their wedding verse Alexander and Oksana chose 1 Cor 7.3. “The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.” We, too, wish this new family God's blessing! May it also become a blessing for the whole congregation.
Manfred Brokmann

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.

Women's Ministry in Vladivostok

Sometimes it seems that the church is too interested in the question of what is appropriate for women to do in the church and what is not appropriate (e.g., the type of clothing that is worn, wearing a scarf or not, whether or not women can preach in the church). Even in the Lutheran church where we officially recognize the equality of men and women to serve at the altar and where wearing a scarf is not required, all the same people discuss and make judgements that, sometimes, even go so far as to humiliate a woman – a sister in Christ.
  Women are freely offered all sorts of work – from washing floors to working with kids in Sunday school, from preparing snacks to taking care of the homebound. This work is familiar to every woman and women do it well. But can any woman listen to a brother or sister who is weighed down with sin and bring them comfort, praying together with them and saying “The Lord loves you. He takes on your sin, you are forgiven through the blood of Christ. He died for you?” If there is such a woman in a congregation, this is a gift from the Lord! It's not very helpful at that moment to hurriedly quote Paul's Letter to the Corinthians where he speaks about scarfs and haircuts (the latter not only for women, by the way).
Women are happy to lovingly prepare feasts, to take care of children and to help the sick. But if God gave her the gift to preach the Good News and to teachs, it is not good to “close” her mouth and say that you are forbidden to do that. Why do we trust women to raise our children in faith, but we don't allow them to speak from the pulpit? It seems that it is a larger responsibility to work with children, who are vulnerable and sincerely trust the adults that work with them.
  These and other questions interested me and I wanted to speak about them with my sisters in order to support them, to raise their self-esteem and their importance – in fact, sometimes their indispensability in the congregation. I suggested that they lead “women's ministry meetings” and on Sunday after worship the women of St. Paul's Lutheran gathered for fellowship in our comfortable ship cabin (that is what we call the balcony in the kirche). It wasn't very difficult to find a theme for our meeting: “Church (Lutheran) holidays.”
  The women were interested in hearing about the church calendar, about the holidays of the church year, about the decorating of the church during those times as well as food and other traditions. There weren't many of us, but they listened attentively to what I had to say and added their own contributions, especially when we spoke about traditions and special foods.
We closed our meeting by drinking tea together; instead of traditional cookies, we ate a snack from the German-Russian tradition – krebel. Those who knew the recipe shared with those who wanted to know how to make them themselves. 
  The time went spent together went by quickly, and as we parted we agreed to “get together more frequently.” We do, after all, have lots of things to think about and discuss!
I am thankful to God  that he has given me the courage to work with women and strengthens me in this ministry! I am thankful to my sisters who came to the meeting and gave me support!
Nina Dmitrieva

Three Anniversaries - German Culture Days in Vladivostok

Our 21st German Cultural Days have a special meaning this year when we celebrate three anniversaries: the 25th anniversary of the rebirth of the Lutheran Church in the Russian Far East; the 20th anniversary of the return of St. Paul's church in Vladivostok, and the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.
We invited many friends from Russia and abroad to attend. We will be especially happy to see the delegates from the Central States Synod of the ELCA, which has been our partner for 25 years. We also are anticipating our newly-elected bishop, Alexander Scheiermann to come from Omsk and our Archbishop Dietrich Brauer from Moscow; the latter had part of his internship with us when he was still a student.
In the 25 years since the rebirth of the Lutheran church in the Far East and the 20 years of restoration of our beautiful St. Paul's Church in Vladivostok we can only be thanks to God. Despite many people leaving us and emigrating west – this was the theme of our Culture Days last year – we can only with wonder and thankfulness affirm how many blessings we have been given over these years! And here we remember the promises given by God to Abraham: “And you will be a blessing" (Genesis 12.2). This is our blessing as well.
The main event – the “Day of Three Anniversaries” will be October 1 in St. Paul Church! And of course we again visit the universities of Vladivostok; there are again meetings with students in the Goethe hall at the regional library. We again will offer folk dancing. And again we will have the “German Vladivostok” tour. The Honorary Consul of Germany Y.I. Kotyk will host a reception on the “Day of German Unity.” We will celebrate worship on October 1 as Harvest Day.
And as always we will have much music, since music is our pride. We will also have the traditional “Evening of Polish Music,” and there will be a concert of Manfred Brockmann's compositions.
Once again organist Jamin Raschfrom Hamburg will be with us with three organ concerts in our church. And we will conclude our Culture Days with the works of our great J.S.Bach.
I thank all of our sponsors.
Manfred Brockmann, Pastor of St. Paul Church in Vladivostok, Dean of the Russian Far East, retired Honorary Consul of Germany
September 2017

Manfred Brockman's 80th Birthday

Vladivostok
There was a large celebration on this day at St. Paul’s Church with 70 people in attendance. It made Manfred happy that all of the congregations of the deanery sent birthday wishes. It was very moving for Manfred that several people from the outlying congregations came quite a distance to be there in person. Manfred’s daughter and two of her children came all the way from Germany.

Manfred would like to share some of the greetings that he received.

1) Harmut Lobomierski of Hamburg, Germany and who has been the chairman of the “Friends of Vladivostok” group wrote the following:
We are sending you greetings from far away Eimsbuettel, although we are emotionally close. We wish you the happiest birthday as you celebrate this milestone birthday. You can now look back on a successful, blessed and prosperous life that is going be one that leaves a deep legacy. Your life is an adventure lead by God. You have completed an amazing accomplishment that will live on beyond yourself. You have been granted a life that is far reaching, self-determined and fulfilling and one that extends far into the richness and realm of spiritual life and passes it on. We also wish you the grace to experience the later years of your life in good fashion.
Best wishes from your friends Harmut and Helga

2) From the Bishop of the Orthodox Church in Vladivostok and Metropolitan of Primorye, Veniyamin
Dear Reverend,
I wish to extend my most hearty birthday wishes to you and also to send greetings on your anniversary! In the course of many years we have come to know you as a highly educated and wise leader, who through due diligence in Primorye and the Far East, has brought about the rebirth of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the German tradition. Your fervent service has consisted of hard work in supporting the diaspora as well as constantly stressing the value of Christianity in society. I hope that there will be continued success among those whom you have given a positive experience through your pastoral leadership so that they will continue to validate the interconfessional dialog we have had and will continue it. This will lead to peace and understanding between people. From the depth of my heart, I wish good health, inexhaustible energy and fruitful work as you continue your responsible position as dean and spiritual leader of the Lutherans of the Far East.

3) From Charles Maas, Bishop emeritus of the Central States Synod, with which the Deanery has had a 25 years partnership. He is a part of the beginning of my “career” in Russia. He along with Professor Gerhard Krodel of Gettysburg Seminary elected me in May 1992 in Omsk to his “Russian Commission." He wrote to me in German.
Dear Manfred,
Happy 80th birthday!
You should continue to love your life; counting by tens your seventies are behind you now,
Before you think about it, after ten years you will be past your eighties With good health it would please us that after another ten years you would reach your nineties. And if you should reach 100 that would be fantastic and you would be free of counting by tens. You are still young! I wish you good luck and many more sets of ten years..
Best wishes and God’s Blessings
Charlie, Bishop Emeritus 

4.) From the headquarters of Church Administration for the ELCUSFE in  Omsk
Dear Manfred,
I greet you with the words from today’s watchword from the Book of Judges 5:31: But may they who love you be like the sun, when it rises in its strength.”
This passage describes precisely and convincingly your service to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East. The Deanery of the Far East is the eastern most region of our church and here the “the sun rises in all its strength.” You have given this region 25 years of your life, your servanthood and your heart.
In these years, you were the light to many who were searching for the source of life. Through the Taize liturgy which you often have quoted, people sing: We are starting on a journey in order to find the fountain that will satisfy our thirst for light.” You have become such a light for many through your preaching and pastoral conversations, your instruction and your good words.
In like manner you have become a light for many through your yearly seminars that you facilitated for the Far East Deanery, where the faithful from all the congregations of your region could learn something new, be strengthened in their faith, find answers to their questions and to simply meet with their brothers and sisters in this immeasurable region.
Another important aspect of your light is your musical ministry. Without exaggerating, one can say that you are the person who has made the greatest contribution to furthering the education concerning Lutheran music in Russia on the threshold of 20th to the 21st century. It is through the collection of hymns from the congregations of the Far East, the organ concerts, your work not only with the hymnals of the Evangelical Lutheran Church but by also contributing a large number of your own hymns.
And a person can not forget to mention your service which was honored with a medal. This was for the preparation, organization and execution of the German Cultural Days in your region. Not only did this serve to lead to the furthering of culture and the strengthening of friendly relations between Russia and Germany but these events without a doubt also contributed to the wellbeing of the church. These events served the church by bringing new members to the church and brought people to the light of the truth, and lead them to the light of the Lord.
On this day my wish for you is that your light continue to shine on, that you continue to explain to people, enlighten people and show them the right path. May the Lord bless you in all your endeavors, that he strengthens your faith and protects all of your ways.
Tatjana Muramzewa and all the colleagues from the Church Administration office in Omsk

5.) From the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany Ruediger Freiherr von Fritsch September 1, 2017
Dear Pastor Brockmann!
The most important and biggest Anniversary for you has gotten lost in the hurly-burly of summer events and absences, even though you and I talked about it in our last conversation.. I ask for your forgiveness from the bottom of my heart.
So from the bottom of my heart I send you my belated good wishes for your 80th birthday. I wish you the best well-being, satisfaction and God’s richest blessings for the very important work that you do. For many years you have dedicated yourself with all of the strength your personality to the well-being of the St. Paul’s congregation in Vladivostok and also to all of the members of the far flung congregations. You have been very successful and you have reached so many people with your good example, not only in the churchly realm but also in the realm of German-Russian relationships You rightly have been honored for your service by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany with the Federal Order of Merit.
We cannot be successful with everything we try and not everything we do has longevity. But as a man of the cloth, you know that everything we do does not add up in the end. What counts is that every person feels called by name, that we have done good to the least of these, and that every neighbor feels the nearness of God. All of these have been a rich river that has flowed from you.
I wish for you a good continuing path and I look forward to meeting you again. With 
Based on the material at:  http://luthvostok.com/?a=page&id=356

Photo: Official persons (L to R: the consul of US, the consul of Japan, our pastor Lapotschenko, Propst Brockmann, honorary consul of Canada, honorary consul of Germany)

22nd Summer Seminar in the Far East Deanery - The Church as a Special Community in the World

Adapted from materials on the site of the Deanery of the Far East: luthvostok.com

This was a very special seminar. There were participants from each of our 9 congregations. There were 36 persons in attendance including 4 lecturers (Pastor Bradn Buerkle from St. Petersburg, Pastor Alexander Lapotschenko from Arsenyev, Preacher Nina Dimitrijewa and Pastor Manfred Brockmann from Vladivostok) and 8 guests who paid their own way. We were at the same beautiful place where we have held our Deanery seminars for many years. 

The main theme for this seminar was The Church. The seminar had four large units.

1) Bradn Buerkle showed us by walking us through the Bible in an impressive way that the people of God have always been a special community in this world.

2) Pastor Lapotschenko  showed us in a very interesting way how the church developed over the centuries. He named his unit “The Tree of the Church” and that was a very fitting title. He said there is one root, Jesus Christ, from this root a tree has grown with many different branches.

3) But there are so many problems and conflicts in the church. This was the topic for Pastor Bradn Buerkle’s unit entitled, “Conflicts--How To Live with Them and Overcome Them” This topic was understandably of interest to our participants, because who doesn’t have lots of problems in their lives!

4) Another relevant unit came from Dean Brockmann, who told about his trip that just happened in June. This was a trip to visit our American partner churches in the Central States Synod. He also talked about the brotherhood and unity of the Christian Church that transcends cultural and international borders. These many partnerships with churches of our deanery with churches in America must be revitalized anew. Dean Brockmann put the words of the new Bishop of the Central States Synod on the blackboard: “Our society is so loud, that it is becoming harder and harder to hear the quiet voice of God. ” It was necessary to announce this statement because some people were making such a racket with their radios and laptops and this was happening at a place of solitude, without any television or radio.

There was further focus during the seminar on the following:

--The unity of “Paul and Christ. Who is close to Jesus Christ?” Dean Brockmann worked with us on this topic. Paul never saw the historical Jesus but in spite of that he became his greatest Apostle. He saw the risen Christ. And that is still possible today. This was made clear to us based on the essay by Alexander Menh, “Encounters with the Risen Christ.” After all, whoever is baptized, lives in Christ (Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27) and Christ lives in them, (Galatians 2:20). The greatest task and passion for the Christian in this life is to know Christ more and more.

--This was followed by a unit taught by our Nina Dmitrijewa. She spoke to us about the theme for the World Day of Prayer for 2016. She conducted a Bible study using Mark 9:37 and about the themes of “Faith, Love and Hope.”

---Music had a special meaning for us. We had some very talented people and among them was Tatyana Filobok from St. John’s Church in Chabaroffsk. She led our group singing and the group was accompanied by Nadjeschda on the violin and Manfred Brockmann on the viola. Everyone really got involved and Bradn Buerkle commented afterwards: “That was the highlight of our seminar.” 

There was of course a large Council Meeting of the Deanery, in which all of the congregations had their say.

Our biggest problems are -the St. Mark’s congregation in Magadan, which still hasn’t been able to find renters for the rooms in their congregational building and --the St. Matthew’s Church in Tschita, which is in desperate need of a pastor and also needs a congregational building. There are some unbelievable people serving this congregation! --Some very happy news was reported from St. Luke’s in Arsenyev. Their faithful partner congregation, Trinity Lutheran in Great Bend gave them some very generous help. St. Luke’s is not going to hire a firm for the addition to their church building. Instead they are going to do all the work themselves. The entire congregation is joining together to do this. That is because the right people got the money!

We then had an evaluation of the seminar. There were a variety of responses. - Oleg said, “I recovered quite well. (Why wouldn’t you).-- Ludmilla P. said “Especially good units by Bradn Buerkle, Nina Dmitrijewa and Manfred Brockmann , and she also said “The next time we will need to choose our participants more carefully.” ( Yes!). Tatyana Filobok said, ”Thank you to everyone, but special thanks to Manfred Brockmann for organizing these seminars. (This recognition was well received by him.), but also to quiet, faithful Edik, even though he couldn’t prevent three bus mishaps. We are all such different people.” --Olga Linker said (photo) “Everything was so good. We would like to see something like this again, with the children present.”-- Ekatarina Weitz.said, “Thanks. Everything was so nice especially the sea. We were so happy.” --Nina Dmitrieva said, “Thank you all so much that you all listened to me when I spoke. I would like to communicate, what I know” -- Svetlana Mik said, “I haven’t been here for two years. It is so good for me to get together with my brothers and sisters from far away.”

A Joy-filled Visit

  Dean Manfred Brockmann writes:
  It had been a relatively long time since Dean Brockmann had visited the St. Luke’s Congregation. What a pleasant surprise awaited him when he made a visit at the beginning of January 2015. In the previous year and a half year the congregation has developed and consolidated nicely; a cross and sign made it very clear that their building is a church, and the rooms in the interior of the house have been made quite beautiful - the sanctuary with its altar, organ and icon; the fireplace and the office for the pastor; the kitchen, the meeting room with a library, the guest rooms and also all the faithful members and staff.
  St. Luke’s is very active ecumenically, especially in relationship to the Roman Catholic Church. We visited the Catholic congregation in Arsenyev and had a very lively and fraternal discussion with their Pastor John. Pastor John even joined Pastor Lapochenko for a joint ecumenical service at St. Luke’s.
  All of this is the result of Pastor Lapochenko’s continual work as well as the work of organist Svetlana Filotovitch and the ever-faithful Tamara Jershova, the heart and soul of the congregation's building. There has also been additional hard work by all of the members of the congregation, especially  the very proficient Valentin Yavorskiy and Zhenya Slinchenko.  We cannot forget that all of this is possible thanks to the financial help from their partner congregation Trinity Lutheran Church, Great Bend Kansas, led by their dedicated pastor, Jim Strasen, who invited Pastor Lapochenko and Zhenya Slinchenko to visit the Central States Synod from June 6th to June 25th, 2013.
  Despite the progress made in remodeling of the church building and cost-saving measures such as installing insulated doors and windows, there are still some major structural problems with the building. St. Luke’s is built on swampy ground, so they are going to have to solve the problem with ground water or else the foundation will be damaged. The chimney for the fireplace needs to be repaired and the ceiling in the entryway needs to be completed. Some money has been raised for this, but they need more. We are confident that it will be done thanks to help from our friends and partners and to the work of dedicated members of the congregation.
  With thanks to all and wishes for God’s blessings!”

2014: 100 Years After the First World War; 75 Years after the Second World War; 25 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall Europe and Russia Today

Vladivostok, Russia
  Dean Manfred Brockmann writes:
  This year the Cultural Days in Vladivostok were a joint project of Germany, France, Poland and Russia. There were three different aspects to the event: 1) the political aspect 2) the celebratory aspect 3) the standard aspect.
  1) 2014 is a special year in the history of the world. Three wars celebrate their anniversary years: the First World War, the Second World War and the so-called “Cold War”. We want to remember these wars not only to honor the veterans, but also to ask the following question: What are the positive outcomes of these three negative experiences?
Image  For Europe the positive outcomes were obvious and include he road to the European Economic Union, which is now the heart and soul of German-French friendship. That is why we are so happy that the French Ambassador (along with other diplomat staff from France) brought an exhibition that shows us through pictures and in Russian the formation of this friendship and how it points to the formation of the European Economic Union. We opened the cultural days on the October 1 with the revealing of this exhibition in our church courtyard. Poland also sent a high-level delegation, headed by the Polish Ambassador, and accompanied by world-renowned organist Wittold Salewski from Krakow. Poland, Germany and France were at odds with each other in the course of last century, but came together as one in Vladivostok. This is something we can be proud of - the German Cultural Days were transformed into European Cultural Days.
  The first evening, October 1, had the theme: “The Peaceful Unification of Europe as the Fruit of Two Bloody Wars and the end of the 'Cold War.'”What was the situation for Russia at the end of these three wars? That was the theme for our second evening, October 2. The theme for lectures that night was “The Unusual Road to Peace and Prosperity in Russia and Its Role in the Present-Day World of Tension.” This was the most exciting and interesting evening of all of them. One organization and two lecturers had to cancel their speeches because they were afraid of the current political situation.
  The celebratory part consisted of two receptions at St. Paul’s Church. A. The reception to honor the German National Holiday “The Day of German Unity” was held on October 3. It was given by the Honorary Consul for the Republic of Germany Jaroslaw Kotyk and the German Embassy in Moscow. There was also a reception on October 6 given by German Ambassador to Moscow Rüdiger Freiherr von Fritsch. At this reception Manfred Brockmann received the German Federal Cross of Merit.
  The standard part of the celebration was in the hallways of the University, where we met with the students. There was a gathering of German students in the Goethe Lecture Hall (Speaker was Ludmilla Kornilowa). The Theme for this lecture was “The Theme of War in German Literature.” There also was the traditional “Evening of Polish Music” hosted by the Vladivostok National Organization, “Dom Polski”. There were four organ concerts at St. Paul’s. Two of them featured Christian Lorenz from Pfungstadt, Germany and two superb concerts by Witold Zalewski from Krakow. There was a concert by a Brass and String Ensemble from the Vladivostok Opera along with a Clarinet Quintet playing Mozart. The final concert was put on by the ensemble “Concertone” under the direction of our own Alexander Borghardt.

  Almost all of the events took place in the St. Paul’s Church. This church proved once again that it is a church that is at the center of life in this city and is always available to the city. It is always open and has lots of visitors. Our church council president Konstantin Pawlenko says quite often: “The people going into the church always come out of it with a different look on their faces. They leave with a look of comfort on their faces.”
  We wish to thank all those who became involved in the difficult task of organizing these special cultural days. We also thank all the participants and guests who traveled such a long distance to be with us. We thank all of those who for 18 years have kept the faith concerning these cultural days. Finally, we especially thank our sponsors who have so faithfully supported us.
Manfred Brockmann, Pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Dean of the Russian Far East and Honorary Consul for Germany

Pastors Temirbulatova and Brockmann Recognized with Medals

  Pastor Olga Temirbulatova received a medal from the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation for her significant contribution to the rebirth and development of the Lutheran congregation in Samara and, through this, for supporting the German diaspora of the region. On Christmas Eve 2013 she was presented with a limited addition medal dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the German settlement of the region.
  On October 6, 2014 the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, acting in the name of the German President, presented Dean Manfred Brockmann with the country's highest civilian honor - “For services rendered to the Federal Republic of Germany” for his “many years of service for the development of the relationship between Germany and Russia.”
  Among the many letters of congratulation that came in from various corners of the world, two stood out particularly for Dean Brockmann – the letter of the retired Consul General of Germany in Russia and of the Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia, Dietrich Brauer.
  The Consul General in Russia from 1995-2002 wrote: “for me it is a great joy that you received this medal. You are uniquely deserving of this honor....Your life and activities in this city and in the Far East brought Germany closer to those living in the region; you contributed significantly to reconciliation between our peoples...Your tireless personal participation in all of your areas of responsibility and your positive spirit is an example of how people can act for the good of Germany anywhere in the world.”
  Archbishop Brauer was born in Vladivostok and at one time had an internship there. He wrote “your ministry is a clear witness to the world that God sends out his love to all people and uses for that purposes various means and languages. These means can be liturgy, music or architecture...and also cultural days and educational seminars. God has given you gifts generously, and with boundless energy you serve and “witness to many.” (1 Tim 6.12).
  Dean Brockman, reflecting on his ministry here says: “yes, it is a country where nothing is easy. But it is for this very reason that Russia is so rich in human and religious experience; and it is possible to wholly agree with the words Sigfried Springer used for the title of his book about ministry here - Heaven is Closer in Russia.”