Together with One Another and with Christ

Moscow

 From September 22-24 in the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Moscow a youth conference was held on the theme “Reformation: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow,” dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. More than 60 people took part from Lutheran congregations in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Slovakia.

The main goal of the conference was to study the history of the Reformation together, to discuss the historical and theological nuances of the broad process. However the conference was not just a series of seminars, discussions and meetings – everything that is associated with the word “conference.” Instead young people created a comfortable, warm, you could even say home-like atmosphere in fellowship with one another.

The first day of the conference was dedicated to studying the past, the history of the Reformation itself. After prayer, the conference began its work. The question of the basis of Christian life was discussed – what is the foundation that a person builds his life on? Why is the question of a person’s relationship to God still relevant? Using skits young Christians took a creative approach to remembering those historical people who walked the path of Reformation, the path of a relationship with God. All the events of this day were mixed with energetic games that were in one way or another tied with questions of faith, Reformation and the service of God and one's neighbor. After supper there was a small excursion to the tourist sites near to the cathedral. Participants walked along the quiet, curvy streets and alleys of the Kitai-Gorod neighborhood and after supper even went on a Lutheran quest in the center of Moscow. The first day ended with a Taize prayer.

During the second day contemporary questions were raised - in particular how the Reformation as a spiritual transformation touches each of us. Participants shared with one another their visions of this issue, after which a skit prepared by the Lutheran congregation in Smolensk was performed in the chapel next to the cathedral. The name of the skit was “Martin Luther” and was dedicated to family values in the life of a Christian. Those in attendance noted the actors skills, in particular the person who played Martin Luther, whose character was portrayed very subtly and movingly. The second day ended with a prayer service led by the youth leader of the Moscow congregation, Vladislav Telegin and the preacher of the French-speaking congregation in Moscow, Mamy Rakotonitama, originally from Madagascar.

During the third and final day of the conference participants together with congregational members from the cathedral took part in Sunday worship during which the hymn of the conference (“God called us from various peoples”) was sung. Also during the second half of the day on Sunday there was an ecumenical youth worship service during with a number of participants took part together with representatives of other Protestant movements in Moscow.

During these days of work the participants also had the opportunity to spend their free time in an interesting way – some explored the city, others worked on crafts, others still played either board or sports-based games. The conference came to a close with a picnic in the yard of the cathedral.

All the participants could feel the spirit of true Christian unity, learn how congregations live in various parts of our country and neighboring countries, sharing with one another personal experience and cooperative work in various spheres of church life – from children’s ministry to to pastoral ministry. They expressed their desire to maintain their connections with one another and to work together on cooperative projects in the future. And there was even a note of melancholy  which participants felt in the last hours of the conference, but this could not destroy the joy that filled their heart and the thankfulness to the Lord they felt from the recognition of very simple and clear fact – we are the present and future of the church. We have seen each other face to face; we are together with one another and with Christ.

Natalia Shetsel, Vladimir Kazantsev

Tea with Milk, Paul with Luther, Bashkortostan with Sisters and Brothers

Ufa

It is hard for me to say which part of my ministry I enjoy more - returning to congregations where I have already been (which gives me the chance to see how God has been working there since my last visit) or coming to a place for the first time. The latter not only gives me the chance to meet new brothers and sisters in faith but, almost without exception, teaches me something new about the country where I am serving. This is particularlly true, I've found, when visiting regions of the country with significant regional ethnic and/or religious differences. This was the case when I visited Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan, a majority-Muslim region in the eastern part of European Russia.
In just a few days there one could feel some differences - in the way people looked, in the architecture and pace of life, in the tea they drank (everyone had it with milk)... in short, Ufa showed me that this huge country can continue to surprise me.

The Lutheran congregation in Ufa, however, fit in to a pattern I have seen in many places around the country - a strong lay woman, inspired by her faith and driven by a God-given strong will, accomplishes the miraculous.  In this case her name is Elvira; she (not single handedly, of course, but certainly as the leader of the charge) was able to get the local government to return the congregation's historical building. 

Not only that, she is able to find sponsors - in this case many of them local - to restore the "kirche," and today it is a small but beautiful church snuggled in Ufa's historical center. But the story doesn't stop there. Elvira was able to find a way to dismantle the warehouses that had been built in Soviet times on former church property and have built in their place a new congregational center. As sometimes is the case here, while all of these practical concerns have been on the front burner, congregational life as such has been given less of a priority. A clear witness to this fact - Sunday worship in which large parts of the liturgy are translated from German into Russian; hardly a satisfactory worship experience for anyone new, and certainly unnecessary when there there are no exclusively German speaking people in the congregation. 

I learned all of this during the past month, after long discussions with congregational leaders finally lead to my first seminar in the region. The idea began to take shape in conversation with an extension student from Ufa at the Theological Seminary and started to take on concrete form after speaking with the congregation's at the pastors' gathering in Crimea in September 2016. We agreed then that the February Men's Day holiday weekend would be the best time, and we were not mistaken - free days without many obligations led to us being able to attract a good-sized group of participants.
Pastor Igor Zhuravlev joined me for this seminar to help me teach on " Paul and Luther," insofar as I have wanted for quite some time to give him the opportunity to teach and to put to use the Master's degree in theology that he earned at the Christian university in St. Petersburg. Originally I had thought that it would be the two of us teaching, but in the end Anton Tikhomirov joined us to take part in two days of teaching. While these changes led to greater cost for transport, this seminar's overall expenses were kept low thanks to local contributions (which covered room, board, and local transport).

Our time in Ufa was broken up into a number of segments – teaching for members from the Bashkortastan and Orenburg deaneries, a public theological conference on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, a youth group meeting (the first time I've led youth group for many years; I chose the theme “Be yourself, be free”) and worship.

The seminar was well attended, with 18-23 participants engaged at various moments. The conference (with speakers arranged by the local congregation in particular through ecumenical and scholarly contacts) had seven speakers and around 30 participants. 

The wonderful facilities and hospitality in Ufa created a very positive environment for such seminars. There seemed to be a hunger there to expand and deepen congregational life and, while the topic was challenging for those who are not used to dealing with theology, I found that the participants were good, engaged listeners. I pray that as they look forward to their next steps I can help play a positive role in their journey of discipleship. 

Bradn Buerkle

From Siberia to Friesland and Back

Verden / Leer, Germany
  Way back in 2005 the first group from the Omsk congregation visited Kirchentag (German Church Day) in Hannover. It was at that time that they idea came up to make contacts between the youth groups in Siberia and Lower Saxony. In 2006 Deacon Michael Fogt visited Omsk with the goal of establishing fellowship between the teens and youth of the Emden-Leer area of Lower Saxony and the Omsk congregation. At a meeting of the church council the decisions was made to support this project and to work for its development. The leader on the Omsk side of the project was Pastor Evgeny Filippov. This year the partnership is celebrating its 10th year anniversary.
  In that time a group of teens and youth from the Emden-Leer area visited Omsk – their first trip to Siberia. For them Siberia and Omsk became not just some far off place on the map, but a real city with an active youth group in the Lutheran congregation where they were given a hospitable welcome. 
  Siberian youth, too, visited Germany multiple times in order to get acquainted with the youth of that country and in particular in the Emden-Leer area in order to learn something new for themselves and bring it back to their congregation.
  The latest visit of the youth of the Omsk congregation to Germany happened this year from May 30 to June 13. The Siberian youth took an active part in the summer camp of the Evangelical Church of Hannover in the city of Werdene that took place at this time.
  Young people from Omsk together with their leaders Dean Vladimir Vinogradov and Pastor Evgeny Filippov took part in the entire event, from putting up the tents to the closing session of the camp. Together they endured the heat as they learned to use their knowledge of German and English to communicate with more than 2000 youth from Germany and other countries. It was a wonderful time together – of new impressions, new ideas and new perspectives on a type of ministry that already seemed to be quite familiar. 
  When the camp ended the Omsk youth spent another week in the city of Leer, where they met the city mayor, learned about its history, and took part in a special tea ceremony that is the pride of Eastern Friesland. At the end of their second week in Germany they took part in the Kirchentag (church day) of the Eastern Friesland region; all the congregations of the area presented their ministry there. 
  The organizers of the project hope that God will continue to bless this work and that the international youth project will have the opportunity to celebrate many more anniversaries to come.
Evgeny Filippov

Reformer: Change Changes!

Dresden, Germany 

  Pentecost for the youth group from the Samara deanery was an international holiday. On May 13-16 they represented the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Russia at the 4th international “Eva Peace Academy." Young people 15 to 27 years old take part in this event, organized by the “Stiftung Frauenkirche Dresden” together with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony. This year the festival had around 400 participants from 30 countries. 
The “Peace Academy” was dedicated to the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, and the theme was "Reformer: Change Changes!"
  Every event of the schedule was tied with the theme in one way or another – from quests and city tours to morning and evening prayer, master classes, and worship services. The organizers of the festival held a couple of public events, for example they walked around the city with signs that said “Free Hugs” and then shared their observations and experiences.
What are changes? What do they bring? And if they bring conflict – how can they be solved in a peaceful way? We all live together in one world and every person has his or her own subjective world. Both the world as a whole and as individuals are in constant motion, constantly changing. The one who moves and changes can also be a mover and a changer – of the world, of oneself, of others. In order to make changes, it is necessary to have the energy, motivation and skills to do so. Where can we get these things from? How can we be sure that we are moving in the right direction? At the “Peace Academy” young people could ask these questions and receive answers to them! And the right answer was found in the experience of one's own faith and in the faith of others.
  Tatyana Odzilyaeva

The Path to Heaven

Samara, Russia

  Over Spring Break, from March 29 to April 1, the 7th Bible Week for Children and Youth was held in St. George church in Samara. This time the theme was the story of Jesus Christ's path to the Kingdom of the Heavenly Father.
  The entrance into the sanctuary symbolized the city gates of Jerusalem. The first Bible study was held and the first happy songs were heard was held near the altar. On the second day the focus was on the Last Upper. The kids put together a large tent from materials they found lying around.
  The center of the third day was a procession. Participants went along the path from the organ in the balcony to the basement and then went out to the church yard; from there they into the sanctuary and climbed up to the very top of the roof for the next Bible study. Colored cloth was used during all the Bible studies and symbolized various moments of the Easter story. On the last day in the very heart of the church – on the altar near the cross, the children heard of God's loves revealed to people in Jesus Christ. 
  Besides the spiritual program every day the participants took part in various cultural events – exhibitions, movies and games. The local, award-winning singer-songwriter Evgeny Biritsev directed the kids as they prepared a small performance for Sunday worship. 
  These were full and interesting day – both for the young participants of the Bible Week and for its organizers. 
Larisa Zhivodoreva

Soon it will be summer! Time to get ready for camp!

Abakan, Khakasia (Russia)

  From January 8 to 10 I had the happy opportunity to take part in an educational seminar for organizing summer Christian camps in Khakasia and work with children.

  This meeting was a gift for me. For three days I talked with people whom I know more than 10 years and with whom I've worked a lot. Therefore I was filled with nostalgia and emotions. The atmosphere of our time together was warm, friendly and stress-free. At the same time we all gained new experience and information, we remembered old and learned new games which we could use in work with children.

  On the first day we waited for our guests – Olga Kryukova and Anastasia Razinkova . Together with them we prepared the program for the camp. The guests from Omsk shared their experience from using the program “Jesus – Superhero.”  We liked it very much and dove into various aspects of the program step by step, making suggestions along the way for how we could adapt it to our needs. We considered our past, positive experiences, and we wanted to make a program that was full as possible with interesting games and tasks, but we need to make sure it all fits into four days time! 

  The creative spirits hovered while a spring of new ideas bubbled; we decided then that we wanted to include a night game into the program of the camp – something that the kids remembered from previous camps and hiking trips. We also concluded that the high point of the whole camp (spoiler alter!) would be Family Day. 

  The first day ended with games for getting acquainted; I became convinced once again that there is not age limit for games. My feelings were just the same as they were when I played them 5-7 years ago – they still are a great pleasure.

  Real work began on the second day. Olga Kryukova is great at teaching methods. We talked with her about how to “translate” Biblical stories (which sometimes even adults don't understand) into kids' language. What does the main idea look like? How to make understandable lessons out of every paragraph on the Bible?

  To be honest I never could imagine that it was possible to make Bible lessons so creative and fun. We learned how to “code” Bible verses, think up gestures for every word, we sang and made motions to the tunes of popular kids' music. And it was serious preparation for the next day – practical work with children.

  Day 3.  Today we all tried out what we had prepared during the previous days. The children were waiting for us in the Chernogorsk congregation. We were a little worried, since we had serious work ahead of us. There were a lot of adults, so the kids were tense at first. Then we used a game to get acquainted; we moved around a little bit, and the kids began to feel more relaxed.

  Anya Guray presented the “anointing of David” in a vivid and interesting way, and then we tried with the kids to re-tell the story to Andrey, who had come late. By the time we had crafts (either clay or origami, as they chose) the children already had opened up and were having a good time. It was nice to see how 10-13 year old boys were playing with play-dough like little kids. We sang spiritual songs and played a game where we tried to hold on to a slowly shrinking life raft. We ended the lesson with prayer and with individual prayer stations. The kids could chose where to go and what concerns to pray about. 

  After closing all the adults in the delegations when to the village of Borodino and my small daughter and I went home, having been revived and inspired by the work together and with the kids. 

  Elena Fedorova

The Right to Vote – For Winter Holidays!

Krasny Yar, Samarskaya Oblast (Russia)
  The traditional winter camp of the Samara danery was held in Krasny Yar (Samara obl.) from January 4 to 10. Children and youth up to 20 years old took part. The theme of the camp was “The Church is a gathering of people with the right to vote.”  Every child has a right to decide his or her own everyday problems and spiritual questions. And everyone has their own calling. For 5 days participants could take part in various aspects of “Kid's Church.” The evenings concluded with children's paryers and songs.
Participants in the program read the Bible and thought about problems of the contemporary Church. They also talked about dialog between religions since in the group there were children with Orthodox or Muslim parents.  

Love and trust reigned during the time the participants spent together. There were twice as many boys as girls. They showed their care and concern, gave them advice about faith...and even sometimes cleaned up in place of the girls! At the end of the time together the participants sang songs during the worship service at St. George Church in Samara. On behalf of the children and youth I would like to especially thank the Samara congregation and their volunteers – Manuel Schmidt and Hannah Böerle for full and interesting days at the winter camp.

Youth Seminar - Love and Responsibility

Ufa

What does the family look like in the contemporary world? How much does it differ from that understanding that we had 50 or 100 years ago? How much do societal factors affect families? These and other questions were addressed at a youth conference held February 6-7 at the Lutheran church in Ufa and with the participation of Lutheran, Catholic and Orthodox congregations of the city. 

"Family Weekend - Everyone on the Ice!"

Omsk
On January 9th congregational members from the church in Omsk gathered in a local recreational complex for the  "Family Weekend - Everyone on the Ice!" event with which the "Year of the Family" in our church began.
Holiday music accompanied children and adults as they skated, made "trains" and had competitions (for which they received candy prizes). Everyone who came in a costume received an extra prize.
While in our congregations there are all sorts of events for different groups - for children, youth, teenagers, adults and the elderly, traditionally there have never been many family events. This year, however, that will change, thanks to the accouncement by ELC Archbishop Brauer that 2016 will be our "Year of the Family."

Upgrade 2015

"We spent 5 days in the church and, I'll tell you what, it's nothing like what you'd imagine." Of course if your 15 years old and you say that you spent almost a week in the church, you'll get a mixed reaction. Is it really possible that a teenager can have a good time there? For that long? Experience shows that the answer is "yes!"

In Omsk there is a lot of work done with teenagers and youth from the ELCUSFE. Yet the staff were a bit shaken (in a good way!) at the seemingly limitless energy of the more than 20 participants that came to the Christ Church Center from various cities and villages to take part in the annual “Upgrade” youth conference. Guest teachers came from the Libenzell Mission - Jenni Jochim and Pierre Dispensieri - led Bible lessons while old friends of the Omsk congregation from the Hanover Church - Michael Vogt and Cornelia Dassler - led games and for the first time in the history of our church led a Youth Synod Assembly. Vladimir Vinogradov (Dean of Western Siberia), Anastasia Razinkova (coordinator of children and youth ministry in Eastern Siberia), Stas Mikula (Pastor, Omsk oblast) and Evgeny Maul (preacher, Omsk oblast) helped create a good atmosphere and made sure that everyone was busy and well fed. 

There was great feedback from this conference. Everyone wants MORE! And praise God for that. Because it is thanks to Him that such events happen, that we receive experience, knowledge and motivation; praise God that we all felt like part of one big family. 

Slide show of pictures from the conference.

Meeting of Youth Coordinators of the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Churches

Bishkek

The annual meeting of Youth Ministry Coordinators of the members of the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Churches was held this year in the capital of Kyrgyzstan from November 12 to 16. The meeting was attended by Vladimir Vinogradov and Anastasia Razinkova (Urals, Siberia and Far East), Vera Tkach (European Russia), Vladimir Lizunov (Georgia) and the local hosts Nikolai and Maria Vorobyov.

At the beginning of the meeting the youth coordinators summarized what had happened since their last meeting, with each person sharing their own stories of challenges and joys of doing youth work. Many of the problems were shared by all, despite the differences in culture and many miles between them. Already early in their meeting they began to discuss their most successful region-wide projects. For example in Kyrgyzstan they have the "alarm clock" program, which sends out daily Bible verses to the telephones of congregational members, friends and acquaintances using the "WhatsApp" program. Or the "School of Leaders" training program in ELCSUFE, which has young people training up the next generation of youth leaders. And, of course, they spoke about a large number of summer camps, day camps, conferences and trips. 

The coordinators also spoke over Skype with Caroline Bader, the Youth Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, about the possibilities of working with young Christians from other countries. She told them about the possibilities for developing cooperation. She also suggested that they join the Young Reformers Network. Not long ago, in August-September of this year, they met in Wittenberg as part of the preparations for the 500 anniversary of the Reformation. The idea is that young people unite others in a project in one of three areas - people, creation, or salvation. Caroline noted that Vera Tkach has already taken the first step in that direction; she visited the conference in Wittenberg, and now is leading a project of cleaning up historic Lutheran sites in Russia. For Lutheran youth in the CIS this might be a first sign of development in international relations. 

At their previous meeting in Georgia the youth leaders decided to form a "Evangelical Youth" movement, uniting the staff of youth work throughout the CIS. They spoke about how the first year of this project went and noted that it is very important for motivation and for unity. Over the past year 3 youth worship service have been planned and held in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. They will continue and in 2017 a big youth conference dedicated to the anniversary of the Reformation is planned. 

The schedule of the meeting was planned in such a way as to maximize the amount of time the coordinators could spend with congregational members from Bishkek and the surrounding areas. They took part in a youth group meeting with the theme "The Kingdom of God" in Bishkek, visited the congregation in the village of Ananevo and Sunday services in the villages of Vinogradnoe and Tokmak. On the 14th of November there was a youth gathering in Vinogradnoe with more than 70 young Christians from around the country in attendance together in order to learn about following Christ at the "Iron Man" seminar, led by Vladimir Vinogradov. 

Thanks to the warm hospitality of the Church of Kyrgyzstan, the Vorobev family, Bishop Alfred Eicholtz and many others the time spent together in Bishkek was not only comfortable, it was unforgettable. 

Vera Tkach

Something New Every Time

Abakan
  In 2014 the congregations of Khakasia and the souther part of the Krasnoyarsk region (central Siberia) renewed their efforts (after a long period of dormancy) to organize a Christian summer camp for children. The success of that first effort gave the team of volunteer leaders there the confidence to plan for another such camp in 2015. They were assisted in their efforts by Anastasia Razinkova, the person responsible for youth ministry in the region. Anastasia helped bring them together for a weekend planning retreat this spring; she arrived in Abakan from Omsk bearing gifts, more concretely, with an idea for the camp theme and program. The next step was adapting the material that Anastasia provided so that it fit the ages of those children who were expected to attend and the gifts and limitations of the situation “on the ground.”  In this case it was particularly important to take into account the resources the volunteers could provide – Viktoria Matskevich, who is a talented musician with a lot of experience with children; Andrey Masiorov had many years  experience with the Boy Scouts; the youthful and energetic Arthur Ertel could lead sports and Anna Guray's experience with language camps in the past means she knows a lot about organizing.
  There was good news before the seminar – the number of kids who wanted to attend just kept rising and rising. This helped the volunteers remain optimistic and energized, despite all of the challenges of planning.
  While Anastasia was in the area, she was invited to take part in the youth group meeting in Chernogorsk. This was one more ministry that was inert for quite some time, but lately Pastor Dmitry Schweitz and others in the congregation have helped re-start this important part of the congregation's life; it is hoped that some of the youth from Chernogorosk will take part in the church-wide seminars that are planned in Omsk.

What Do We Depend On?

Krasniy Yar
     The congregation in Krasniy Yar (Samara region) hosted a winter break camp for children and youth from January 4th to the 9th. It seemed for a moment that the whole event would have to be canceled because of a heating problem, but Pavel Rechtenbach gave up time from his holidays and dedicated three days to getting everything back up and running.
  The theme of the camp was “dependency” as seen from all sorts of different angles; special attention was given to the questions of why we want those things that are harmful to us and how to fight dependencies. The key Bible verse was 1 Cor 6.12: “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.
  Every day was full of a variety of events – Bible studies, exercise, morning prayer, winter-day walks, drawing, preparing for the final evening's skits. All of this was made possible by the Samara congregation who made their building available and thanks to the leadership of the pastor of the congregation in Tolyatti, Tatyana Zhivoderova and her daughter, Tatyana, who led the youth group.

Together We Can Accomplish More!

Tbilisi, Georgia
  Vladimir Vinogradov writes: “We are very far apart, geographically speaking. But all the same we are tied together by faith and many years of friendship (three of us studied together at the Theological Seminary in Novosaratovka.) It is so important for us to support this fellowship, to remain close and to work up a plan of cooperation. Youth coordinators from around the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (formerly ELCROS) met in the Georgian capital from the 13th to the 16th of November. The Church of Reconciliation opened wide its doors for us. Represented were the coordinators from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia – Vladimir Vinogradov (ELCUSFE) and Vera Tkach (ELCER), as well as Nikolai Vorobyev (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kyrgyzstan), Igor Shemigon (German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine), and David Dzhandieri, Irina Soley and Irina Mamisashvili (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Georgia). A special guest at the gather was the leader of the “Evangelical Youth in Germany” movement, Dirk Thesenvitz. One of the main questions we asked at the meeting was whether or not to form an “Evangelical Youth” movement uniting young believers regardless of their country of residence. Our brother Dirk, who has done youth work in the Evangelical Church in Germany for many years, shared his experience with a similar initiative. Everyone liked the idea, and we began to discuss such practical questions as creating a logo, structure and formulating the general principles of the movement. In discussion it became clear that the yearly “Youth Sunday” liturgy does a lot to unite young people from various regions. We agreed to continue the good start that was made at this meeting using the draft documents that Vladimir Vinogradov prepared. We also touched on the need to modernize  confirmation lessons for children and youth; because we don't have enough modern confirmation books and other materials, it was decided to make a new translation of some of the older, though successful programs. We also remembered the important theme of education for youth leaders and the necessity of holding seminars and conferences for them. It was noted that the International Bible School in Ukraine is still open as before for youth leaders both in “on-site” and “on-/off- site” programs. One of the most important questions was the best way to use the Internet; concretely, how to find the best content for the children's www.nebesite.ru  site and the “youth and children's work” section on www.elkras.ru. The coordinators made a calendar for renewing materials and came up with a “to do” list in order to most effectively use these common, virtual resources.
  Since the members of this group are far away from one another and don't have the chance to meet often, they agreed to meet for a monthly on-line conference which will certainly become a good instrument for the further coordination of events and for deciding current issues. Of course it is important that these annual face-to-face meetings continue into the future. The next meeting is scheduled for November 2015, in agreement with the council of Bishops, in Bishkek. Finally we discussed the status and leadership of the Committee of Youth Coordinators; it was agreed that Vladimir Vinogradov would continue in this position until the 2017 Reformation anniversary celebrations.
  The work of the coordinators was arranged in such a way that it was possible for them to spend time with the youth of the host congregation. Vladimir Vinogradov led a seminar called “Youth Ministry” for the youth group of the Georgian Lutheran Church. Young Christians not only received useful materials about the types and means of youth worship services, but also helped them to actually lead such a service on Sunday evening in the Church of Reconciliation; Igor Shemigon and Vladimir Vinogradov preached, while the local youth themselves took on all the other tasks. Despite initial doubts about their own abilities, the youth did a great job. Afterwards they received the recommendation to hold a youth service in the congregation once a month. Perhaps that will provide an answer to the question that frequently came up in our days of meetings – how might it be possible to draw non-Christians to the Lutheran church? All the coordinators suggested their own answers to this question; it was particularly interesting to hear the experience of Nikolai Vorobyev, who is serving in a Muslim country. It was a blessing for the coordinators to have the chance to participate in Sunday worship. Pastor Vladimir Vinogradov gave a word of greetings there; Igor Shemigon preached, and Pastor Nikolai Vorobyev and coordinator Vera Tkach were readers. The coordinators expressed their thankfulness to Pastor Irinia Soley and everyone else in the local congregation for their hospitality and for making our time in Tbilisi an unforgettable blessing. Thanks were also expressed to the head of the Youth Coordinators' Committee, Vladimir Vinogradov for his hard work, optimism, and organization of the meeting and to Vera Tkach for her help in translating, for playing piano and taking pictures.
  This meeting showed once again that when we are together we can accomplish a lot!”

Siberian Narnia

South-central Siberia

“The Chronicles of Narnia” was the name of the camp for children of the Abakan region, held in early July. C.S. Lewis' books helped bring out the essence of Christian teaching for kids, and they also provided a lot of images that worked well in the camp setting.

When campers and staff arrived, they found conditions that were not all that comfortable; 4 volunteer cooks had to find their way to work together in the kitchen; everyone had to find his or her rooms, and leaders needed to be sure that there was something to do for all the kids, whether they be 2 or 17 (that was the real age spread of kids at the camp). Among the staff the oldest worker was 70, while the youngest counselor was 18. It's like a big, friendly family. Liza, the oldest camper, said - “at first I was a little disappointed to see so many little kids; I decided that the program would be for them. But soon I forgot about my worries because everything was so interesting and fun for all of us. The days were unforgettable.” The youngest counselor (and at the same time the “White Queen”), Katya, recalls: “I was given a lot of work right away, but also a lot of trust! I was afraid that I couldn't handle it. But everyone supported and helped me; it turned out to be not so difficult after all and very interesting. I am a future teacher and got great experience at camp. Next year I really hope I can be a camp counselor at a Christian camp again.”

  Camp coordinators Anastasia Razinkova and Anna Guray thought up all the details of the program; everything was planned down to the minute. The kids loved the events and lessons so much that they asked to play more every time . The only argument that could be used to convince them to go on was that they would see and learn something else new. Viktor Weber was the pastor of the camp; during our group meetings he led prayer and Bible study.

All of the congregations of the region contributed to the camp, both with money and with produce. It seems like a whole lifetime was spent together (even if it was just 4 days) and memories were made that will last forever. 

Commissioning of Youth Minister

Omsk
  On May 11th Anastasia Razinkova was commissioned to serve as youth coordinator for the deanery of Eastern Siberia of the ELCUSFE. Nastya was born near Irkutsk in the city of Shelekhov; she was raised a Christian, and by 14 was already leading camp ministries. She already knew then that she wanted to work with children and after finishing school got her teaching certificate. In 2012 she graduated from the Theological Seminary and then had her internship in Omsk, where she will continue to live.
  Bishop Otto Schaude blessed Nastaya for this work at a regular Sunday worship service, underlining the importance of sowing God's Word in the hearts of children. The congregational choir gave Nastya a musical gift to go along with the kind words that many addressed to her on this joyous occasion.