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RUSSIA INITIATIVE NEWSLETTER
Volume 1, Issue 3 October 2005
Greetings to all participants and friends of the Russia Initiative, a
program of the General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church.
This newsletter contains the following features:
1. Itinerary for a series of Mini-Consultations with Bishop Hans Vaxby, October 29 - November 10, 2005
2. Russia Initiative Consultation XII
3. Observations from Jim Athearn's trip to Russia in September
4. Other notes
1. Mini-Consultation Meetings with Bishop Hans Vaxby
We have a wonderful opportunity to meet with Bishop Hans Vaxby of the Eurasia Episcopal Area in a number of US cities this fall. Bishop Vaxby will be attending the Council of Bishops, meeting in Lake Junaluska, NC, October 30 - November 4. Both before and after the Council meeting, we have arranged with hosts in a number of Annual Conference areas to hold "mini-consultations" for clergy and laity who are active in the Russia Initiative and for persons who would like to know more about this mission of our church. Last May, surrounding the Council of Bishops meeting in Arlington, VA, mini-consultations were held in Rockville, MD, Hummelstown and New Brighton, PA. The following series of mini-consultations are now scheduled and we are looking forward to welcoming people at these events. If you are located near any of these gatherings we invite you to attend, meet Bishop Vaxby, hear his report on the state of the church in Eurasia, and participate in a dialogue with him. A luncheon is planned at each of these gatherings. Please call or email the host contact at least 4 days in advance if you plan to attend one of the meetings in order that preparations can be made for your participation. Church websites and addresses are listed below for ease of finding directions.
Oct. 29 10:00 am Mini-Consultation meeting at Horne Memorial UMC, Clayton, NC. (Raleigh area)
Second & Church Streets
121 E Second Street
Clayton, NC 27520
Contact: Ginny Williams, Membership Secretary
Telephone: 919 553-6464 Email: ginny.williams@horneumc.net
Church Website: http://www.hornememorial.org
Oct. 30 Bishop Vaxby will be preaching in the Sunday morning services at Wesley Memorial, High Point, NC.
1225 Chestnut Drive
High Point, NC 27262
Telephone: 336-884-2204 Email: slee@wesleymemorial.org
Church Website: http://www.wesleymemorial.org
Nov. 5 10:00 am Mini-Consultation meeting at Brentwood UMC, Brentwood, TN (Nashville area)
309 Franklin Rd
Brentwood, TN 37027
Contact: Juanita Hobbs, Dir. Mission & Outreach
Telephone: 615 324-7222 Email: jhobbs@bumc.net
Church Website: http://www.bumc.net
Nov. 6 9:30 am Sunday morning at Brentwood, Bishop Vaxby will speak in an Adult Sunday School Assembly.
Nov. 7 10:00 am Meeting with Bishop James E. Swanson, Jr. and selected Holston Conference leaders, Knoxville, TN.
Nov. 8 10:00 am Mini-Consultation at Pulaski Heights UMC, Little Rock, AR
4823 Woodlawn Ave
Little Rock, AR 72205
Church Website: http://www.phumc.com
Contact: Bishop Charles Crutchfield’s office, Shiela VanCura, Secretary
Telephone: 501-324-8001 Email: svancura@arumc.org
Nov. 9 10:00 am Mini-Consultation at Mayfair Heights UMC, Oklahoma City.
3131 NW 50TH ST
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
Contact: Dyton Owen, pastor
Telephone: 405 942-5929 Email: rabbi4life@hotmail.com
Nov. 10 11:30 am Luncheon Mini-Consultation at Church of the Resurrection, Leawood, KS (Kansas City area)
13720 Roe Boulevard
Leawood, KS 66224-3588
Contact: Jonathan Bell, Dir. Mission Ministries
Telephone: 913 745-2290 Email: jonathan.bell@cor.org
Church Website: http://www.cor.org
2. Russia Initiative Consultation XII
We are excited about the upcoming Russia Initiative Consultation XII, February 23-25, 2006 at the Fairview Park Marriott Hotel in Falls Church, VA, near Washington DC. Information about the Consultation may be found within the General Board of Global Ministries website on the page for The Mission Initiatives Consultations. Please use your web browser to download the four consultation documents: Consultation Announcement, Letter from Deputy General Secretary Sam Dixon, Consultation Pre-registration Form and Hotel Reservation Form:
http://gbgm-umc.org/programs/missioninitiatives/Consultations/index.cfm#russ
When we discussed plans for the Consultation with Bishop Vaxby and his Cabinet last month, the District Superintendents were very interested in the prospect that we will devote some of our Consultation workshop time to the development of plans for District programs. With this focus in mind, we are hoping that many of the District Superintendents will be able to attend the Consultation.
Having Eurasian pastors at the Consultation is vital for its success. Normally, a delegation of Eurasian pastors will attend the Consultation and afterwards visit with their respective Supportive Congregations. Supportive Congregations who wish to sponsor a Eurasian pastor in this delegation should contact us to discuss arrangements.
Bishop Vaxby and the Administrative Council have developed a plan for increasing pastoral salaries with a new basic salary scale. (The current salary for new UM pastors is close to the poverty line in Russia.) This plan will be presented and discussed prior to its implementation at the Consultation in February.
3. Observations from my trip to Russia
After all my previous trips to Russia with a focus on Stavropol and Pyatigorsk, my 3 weeks trip in September was an effort to broaden my familiarity with the larger perspective consistent with my new role as coordinator of the Russia Initiative. I was privileged to attend the dedication of the Seminary in Moscow, together with a delegation of the Seminary Advisory Committee led by Don Messer and other friends of the effort, including Bruce Weaver. We saw the renovations so beautifully done, and witnessed the installation of Sergei Nikolaev as the Minor Chair, E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism. This professorship is funded by the Foundation for Evangelism. Sergei is the first full time Russian professor in the Seminary. The dedication and the professorship constitute two significant moments for the Russia United Methodist Church.
I had the opportunity to meet with pastors on 5 different districts: North and South Moscow, Central Black Soil in Voronezh, Western in Pskov, and St. Petersburg. I was impressed with their creativity in ministry and their steadfastness in faith and hope as they discussed their church and ministry stories. A number of them held prayer vigils in their concern for people caught up and lost in the hurricane disasters of the Gulf region. Some of the churches in Russia received offerings dedicated for Hurricane Relief. As they have reached out in ministry to us, we are reminded that we are one church and that we are a means of grace for one another.
Two UM Volunteer In Mission (UMVIM) projects received attention during this visit. Jeanie Blankenbaker, GBGM Assistant General Secretary for Mission Volunteers, and I visited the Conference Camp and Program Center near Voronezh. Priorities and a game plan for renovations have been developed for this property. UMVIM teams are welcome there to help with the renovations at this site. This project will need urgent attention of work teams for some time to come. We invite UMVIM team leaders to contact our Eurasia UMVIM Coordinator, Harry Askin, at askinh@aol.com or 440-835-0867. Also, see the UMVIM Program description on the RI website listed above.
The second UMVIM project visited was at the Moscow Seminary itself. The top floor is being finished out by work teams. Tom Clark and John Flower, together with Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton, led a work team from WV and West PA at the seminary in September, and Sam NeSmith led a team from VA in October. There is a need for additional work teams.
Vladimir Shaporenko and I also visited a number of church properties and witnessed the great progress by work teams and the results of newly constructed buildings. With Bishop Vaxby, we traveled to Pskov and participated in the dedication of the new church building there. The Supportive Congregation for Pskov is Christ UMC of Memphis, TN. Their partnership with the congregation in Pskov has resulted in a beautiful building and a thriving congregation. Another church building dedication is scheduled for November 20 in Stavropol where the VA Conference has maintained a supportive partnership.
We also had opportunity to meet with Bishop Vaxby and his cabinet of District Superintendents. We discussed the current situation in the Supportive Congregation picture, which is much improved over where we were last November at the Consultation in Houston. We also emphasized communications as a priority to be addressed and provided the superintendents a listing of Supportive Congregations with contact names and email addresses. Some Supportive Congregations do not receive communications from their partner churches in Eurasia. Some Eurasian pastors send messages to America and do not receive reply. In some instances, it appears that Internet providers reject messages. The District Superintendents now realize that we need their assistance in facilitating and encouraging contacts in their respective districts. Language differences and even the lack of email facility need not be insurmountable obstacles.
Please let us know if you are not receiving communications from your partner church and pastor in Eurasia and we will work on this church by church, until a way can be found to exchange the communications that are vital in this program.
4. Other Notes
As we approach year's end, we encourage Supportive Congregations and other Russia Initiative donors to make sure that contributions planned for 2005 be sent as soon as possible. Since the process takes awhile for funds to reach Moscow, it would be helpful for this year's remaining funds to be on their way soon. It will help in making assessments as to where we stand with respect to actual levels of funding support for each church. Thanks so much for the generous support that is being sent throughout the year for our partner churches in Eurasia.
(See Funds Transmittal Form attached.)
We hope that you will make the GBGM Russia Initiative web address one of your "favorites" and check it periodically:
http://gbgm-umc.org/programs/missioninitiatives/russia/index.cfm
Grace and peace,
Jim
Dr. W. James Athearn
Coordinator, Russia Initiative
General Board of Global Ministries
The United Methodist Church
116 Frasher Drive
Clear Brook, VA 22624
Tel.: 540-662-2066
Fax: 540-662-6998
jathearn@starband.net
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