November 5, 2005

Dear Friends,

We would like to share with you all some exciting news. Last week, the city of St. Petersburg finally and suddenly transferred to the Swedish Lutheran Church a building in downtown St. Petersburg that had been confiscated by the Communist government in 1936. The building is annexed to the Swedish Consulate and had been used as a school for gymnastics. Since Perestroika, the Swedish Lutheran Church had been permitted to use only a single small room, which was also used by the Anglican chaplaincy in the city. Hannah and I regularly attend its English service on Sunday.

We write this note on a Saturday afternoon, having just returned from helping to clean up the church. Many members of both congregations participated in this cleaning of the building. Hannah volunteered to prepare some food and drinks for those who came to work.

As the ceiling of the church was so high, the previous tenants had made another floor in the middle of the hall. The bottom hall had been used as gym and a school for martial arts, and the second floor was used as a basketball court, as you may see in the photograph.

Beginning tomorrow, the Swedish Lutheran Church and Anglican chaplaincy are going to hold worship services on the second floor. The Anglican service is at 11:00 a.m. and Lutheran service at 5:00 p.m. That’s why we were cleaning and arranging the worshiping place today.

The whole building had not received any kind of regular maintenance, and black dust just piled up everywhere. Major repair works will soon have to be done, and the entire building needs to be painted. The Swedish Consul General was among those who participated in the clean-up this morning. She told the group that it is a historic moment for the church to have the property back. Next Sunday the Lutheran Church is going to have a jubilee worship service that will be attended not only by the Swedish diplomatic corps (as you may know, the Lutheran Church is the national church in Sweden), but by church members and many other invited guests. Slovo Bogu!

As Thanksgiving and Advent season draw, we would like to extend our sincere seasonal greetings to each of you. We pray for God’s abundant blessings on you, your family, and your ministry. Stay warm and healthy! Dosvidanya!

In Christ,

Joe and Hannah

The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 187