All-Russian Christian Roma leaders meet in Kursk, Russia
November 27 – December 5, 2008
From Burkhard Paetzold, PC(USA)
December 8, 2008
Dear friends,
Warm greetings from Moscow. I don’t come to Russia often. The last time was in winter 2006 with Gary Payton to learn about the Roma in Russia. That intense experience let us see the great benefit that would come from connecting leaders from the Roma mission in Carpath, Ukraine, with Roma Christians in Russia. An all-Russian Christian Roma leaders meeting in Kursk seemed to be the right event for such an encounter, and ecumenical networking seemed like the right approach to prepare it. [Continue reading]
From Al and Ellen Smith, PC(USA)
December 5, 2008
Dear Friends and Family!
Our warmest greetings to you as we all enter the Advent season. Thank you to everyone who sent us Thanksgiving greetings. It was wonderful to be remembered by you. Please know that you were not forgotten at this end, we were simply immersed in a very busy but wonderful time.
As many of you know, Al has been working for over two years now with Piotr Romme, a Baptist from Kostroma, to reorganize and strengthen a network of churches working with the Roma (often known as Gypsies). The leadership team of the network includes both Russians and Roma (and Al). They have worked together to organize evangelizations in different cities and to help one another in what can often be very lonely work. [Continue reading]
From Dick and Carolyn Otterness, RCA
Advent 2008
Dear Friends,
"People come to church looking for help. We fast and pray. And we need to provide practical help. We can do this! We have plenty of resource people in our communities because of their life experiences." A Roma pastor shared these comments at the start of the evening session with a gathering of Roma pastors and others in Kursk, Russia. He had traveled several thousand miles by train to get there, Another participant rode the train for four days and nights to come to this gathering, it was so important to him. We had expected perhaps a dozen — maybe 15 — Roma pastors, church leaders and mission workers to come together at this annual get-together. But more than 40 people participated in the weekend event, most of them Roma. On the first night there were over 50 present because of local Roma church guests who came.
We were there too, because part of our work includes the encouragement and support of pastors and leaders in Roma churches. Some Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) missionary colleagues, Ellen and Al Smith, invited us to come. They are based in Moscow. With Ellen and Al, and with another PC(USA) colleague in Europe, Burkhard Paetzold, we had been able to invite and help provide a way for a pastor and Roma church leader from the Hungarian-speaking region of Carpath-Ukraine to join us at this meeting of Russian Christians. We were so happy that these two friends and colleagues, Ottó and Béla, could come. They face many challenges from day to day and our hope was that the sharing, the praying, the singing and the serious discussions would be both encouraging and helpful to them in their work back in Carpathia. God exceeded all our hopes, and we have found our time together in Russia to be very powerful.
It's one thing to give intellectual assent to the idea of Christian unity and ecumenism. It's another thing altogether to experience such powerful ecumenical unity. As mission workers we have never doubted our need to work together with colleagues from other denominations, like the PC(USA). But here we were, the guests of Russian Baptists and others — both Roma and non-Roma — celebrating the unity we all have in Christ Jesus, despite regional, theological, traditional and cross-cultural differences. And although it was not the focus of this trip, we learned more about the Russian Orthodox Church through Ellen and Al's relationships with them, too.
The discussion about offering practical help led to ideas about establishing a Christian drug rehabilitation center in Russia for Roma and others. Who knows what may come of this? We were encouraged to see this focus on both proclaiming the gospel and living it out in specific ways. Another matter of great concern is youth ministry. Roma youth need opportunities to meet together, to share positive experiences, and to have encouragement in their spiritual lives. Still a third subject was raised this first evening: How do Roma pastors respond to the idea of dating and marriage across ethnic lines? And how do Christian Roma find Christian Roma partners? Strong opinions were shared, some of then tempered the next morning by personal experiences shared by some within the group. Here, then, was a group of people quickly engaging themselves in deep and sometimes sensitive things. The time together was precious, and everyone knew it.
Because the time was precious, worship in song and prayer was a priority and woven throughout this 24-hour event. Some of the believers played songs — their own compositions, or old hymn texts put to new melodies — to give testimony to their faith. Coming from Hungarian-speaking Ukraine, Béla and Ottó brought an added dimension through the music they shared.
Following the gathering in Kursk we made the nine-hour return trip to Moscow with Ellen Smith. The next day we headed out in a new direction, and drove some distance to the city of Kostroma, Russia. Kostroma is the home of Piotr and Olga Romme. Piotr is a Baptist deacon whose commitment to Roma mission both challenges and inspires us. Along with Al Smith, Piotr and others are members of the core team coordinating the Roma network that hosted the meeting we'd attended in Kursk. Piotr's gift is evangelism, which he does thoughtfully, sensitively, and patiently. We visited several Roma families in the region, each living in somewhat different circumstances. Each visit included music (Béla plays guitar well and has a beautiful voice) and extended discussions about daily life, personal convictions and the gospel. In one home Dick felt like a character in a Rembrandt etching: a circle of people gathered in a small room listening intently as Béla shared his personal story very honestly. He spoke candidly of how life has become more difficult for him in some ways since becoming Christian, but knowing God and being able to live, rest and work in the peace of Christ makes it all worthwhile.
Our extended week with Roma and Gadje colleagues, where animated conversations were shared sometimes in three or four languages, was a powerful testimony to the strength and possibilities that come through ecumenical partnerships, both formal and informal. We are very grateful for these relationships, and for the opportunities to struggle, dream, pray and work together across ethnic, national, denominational and cultural lines.
Grace and peace,
Dick and Carolyn
To help this important ministry with Roma peoples, gifts may be made to ECO E051724 or ECO E040061.
Checks from individuals may be sent to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Individual Remittance Processing, P.O. Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700. Contributions from churches should be sent to the normal receiving site or: Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Church Remittance Processing, P.O. Box 643678, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3678.
For ECO E051724 write the title "Regional Liaison for Central & Eastern Europe & The Roma" and the ECO number on the subject line of the check.
For the ECO E040061 write the title "Frontier Mission: Roma (Europe)" and the ECO number on the subject line of the check.
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