February 22, 2006

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ!

Temperatures have now abated in European Russia. It is still winter, but much milder than it was. We thank you for your prayers during the hard cold. The aged heating systems for communities around Moscow were not prepared for the arctic temperatures, and many outlying communities lost power. Our apartment was fine, but it was a dangerous time for many.

St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, our church home in Moscow, launched a six-week Lenten renewal program this past week. The idea began out of conversations about how to grow the church. The initial thought was that we needed a special outreach to the expatriate community (the community served by this church), but then members realized that unless we looked at our own house first, and strengthened the community within, our efforts to reach out would not bear fruit.

St. Andrew’s became our church home five years ago when they welcomed us to Moscow and brought us into the family. When Meg got lost in the metro that first year, one member waited at our apartment, while others searched the streets and Father Simon prayed. All these acts affirmed what I felt throughout that long evening—we were not alone. Christ was with us in our search, and our church family was with us too. That night, they were a manifestation of Christ’s love and presence in our lives. Since that time, many of those friends have moved on, and our own lives have grown very busy. I don’t know what happened, exactly, but the community we found in those first years weakened.

On Thursday, I attended a women’s Bible study that I have been a part of for some months. It has been a consistently small group, but good fellowship and study. From the beginning, the group has struggled to find the right balance. We enjoy the fellowship so much that we run out of time in our study, even though the study is very important to us. We are hungry for both. The women’s Bible study has been active for many months, but on Thursday the membership swelled threefold. I am convinced that this was a direct result of the Lenten renewal program. The small group that has consistently gathered made an effort to invite and encourage others to join us. It is such a simple thing to reach out with an invitation, but we often forget to do that. We forget that people can be shy about joining, lest they intrude or fail to fit in. If we are the church, though, how can they possibly intrude? There is room at the table for many more. I know others also wait to be invited in. An exciting journey lies before our congregation.

Watching the Lenten renewal project get off the ground, I have thought a lot about models of evangelism. Other Americans within our congregation remind me in their comments that we as Americans often have very negative associations with the word “evangelism.” We think of TV evangelists and Jehovah’s Witnesses and consider evangelism aggressive and intrusive. The most effective evangelism, though, is a ministry of presence and outreach with personal invitations to come see. Still, there are some special activities planned in our Lenten renewal program—concerts and dinners to reach different groups of expatriates. We hope that such initial contacts will encourage them to return.

Our Russian partners are using similar models in their own communities—an effort to reach intellectuals and business people. I was in Chelyabinsk recently (a region in the Urals). A Christian choir and orchestra from Kiev is planning two concerts there in May. The goal of the choir is evangelism through music. For the churches, it is also a chance to invite people in. The choir has planned the program. The churches in Chelyabinsk will be responsible for filling the auditorium. More and more, their ministry in this city has brought them into contact with city and oblast administrations, doctors and administrators in hospitals, directors and teachers in schools and orphanages, and others. Concerts like this present an opportunity to connect in a new way with these groups, groups that they had no contact with in the past. During Soviet times, Christians were cut off from educational opportunities and prestigious jobs. They were forbidden to minister anywhere beyond their church walls and only in recent years have they gained access to schools, orphanages and hospitals. The relationships they are developing are extraordinary, but there are still problems. Not long ago, someone appeared on television in the region repeating the old and ugly propaganda about Baptists. Many parents, whose children were involved in various programs of the churches, panicked. This time, though, a member of city administration appeared on television to counter what had been said. This is the result of the churches’ presence in the community. They have been a manifestation of the love of Christ for many who would not have sought out the church on their own. Many still watch from a distance, warmed by the light, but knowing how or whether to enter in. The invitation to the concert will be a new, personal point of connection in these developing relationships.

February has been a quiet month for us. It has been good to have time to be involved with St. Andrew’s. Now we are beginning to look ahead to the summer in earnest. If your church is planning to send a group this summer and you have not let us know, please do so as soon as possible. We are looking forward to an exciting summer season.

Peace and blessings,

Ellen & Al

The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 188