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March 2002, part 2
Greetings once again from Moscow!
I returned last Friday from a trip to Belarus. I had the extraordinary
privilege of being part of a delegation led by Duncan Hanson,
the area coordinator for Europe with the PC(USA). The group also
included a member of the Hungarian Reformed Church, a member of
the Polish Reformed Church, a Russian Orthodox priest, two members
of ELKRAS (the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Russia and Other
States), and another PC(USA) colleague. We traveled to Belarus
to explore the what is happening within and between the churches
there. One interest of the group was certainly ecumenism.
Honestly, I went into Belarus knowing very little about the
country, but holding a few preconceptions. I have read articles
and heard comments, but none of this gave me a very clear picture.
Within the first 48 hours, my preconceptions had dissolved. Like
Russia, Belarus is very poor. There is, though, an attitude and
frame of reference there that I have not often found in Russia.
Ecumenical is not a word that I would use to describe church relations
here, but in Belarus there is a spirit of cooperation and a sense
of unity in Christ that holds great
promise. We spoke with the leaders and members of several different
denominations and sensed this ecumenical spirit again and again.
There are of course exceptions, as there will always be, but we
found a good foundation of something we had not expected to see.
Much of the ecumenical energy is flowing through and out of
an organization called the Belarussian Round Table (BRT). Through
this organization, Russian Orthodox parishes, the Evangelical
Christian Baptist Church, the Bible Society, the Lutheran church
and other groups work together to prioritize projects and apply
for and use international grants within Belarus. Together they
look at the problems their country faces (which are enormous)
and try to efficiently use the resources available (which are
meager). As resources have dropped, so has their ability to meet
needs. They had a ministry for delivering blankets to the homeless
that they were able to fund for two years. As they delivered blankets,
they became aware of more and more homeless people in need. The
funds for that ministry dried up this year, but the need has not.
The director of the BRT arranged for us to talk with a young
woman, Lena, who works with drug addicts, AIDS patients, and juvenile
delinquents. In the midst of the despair that goes along with
poverty, these problems are significant and growing in this small
country. Official statistics cannot capture the real scope of
things because they only record the people that have had overdoses
or have been arrested. Many suffer in silence. The statistics
do show an alarming rate of increase. Many of the BRT projects
focus on education and prevention. There are so many stereotypes
about drug users and people with HIV or AIDS that education is
essential. So many people seeking help have been told that it
is their punishment, so they should learn to live with it or that
there are other sick people who didn’t bring it on themselves.
In a society where poverty puts severe limits on available medical
care, drug users and AIDS patients have become third-class citizens.
Lena told us of a young man named Ivan. He is in the last stages
of AIDS. He can get no medical care and at this point is bedridden.
Through one BRT project, he has regular visits from people, including
an Orthodox priest. In the midst of his pain, this has been an
enormous comfort.
Other programs help with rehabilitation and try to provide a
new environment for addicts in recovery. In the summer, Lena works
in camps for juvenile delinquents, pulling children out of the
prison system to work with them. The BRT has at least one project
to help meet the psychological needs of HIV and AIDS patients
and their families. The involvement of priests in these programs
means a lot to people who feel like outcasts. Sadly, when funding
is short, some of the projects have to be cut.
Lena’s journey to where she is now began when, after three
years of drug use and several overdoses, she decided to pull herself
out of the cycle. After going through detox, she found no support
network to help her stay clean. There were no halfway houses and
no support groups. She decided to start one herself. Finding a
space for drug addicts to gather proved to be a huge obstacle.
No one wanted such people near them. They kept having to find
a
new space. She turned to the Round Table for help and the relationship
began. Other projects have emerged since that time and now Lena
coordinates sixteen different programs across Belarus.
Lena’s area is only one part of the diaconal work being
implemented by the Round Table. I have returned from a week in
Belarus excited about possibilities. Alan and I look forward to
expanding the twinning program into this country. Working with
the Round Table, we hope to connect American churches with Belarussian
churches connected to the Round Table. We seek to help two churches
from across the world connect in a long-term relationship, walking
together as brothers and sisters in Christ, growing together in
faith, caring for one another and the world around them.
Yours in Christ
Ellen & Al
The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 94
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