March 1, 2009

Dear Friends in Christ,

Just a few days ago I returned from my most recent trip to Russia. Throughout my travels I was sustained by the power of prayers and the vision of our mission in partnership with the historic churches in this place.

It was a challenging and rewarding three weeks in Moscow, Krasnoyarsk (Siberia), St. Petersburg, and Geneva. As with each visit, the themes were many, the conversations with mission colleagues and partners rewarding, and the follow-up actions significant.

Let me share with you a few highlights of this my 18th visit as the regional liaison.

Moscow

The new parish center of the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy is a model of mission outreach. On the day of our visit, a volunteer American doctor teamed with a Russian physician for a free clinic supporting many of the African refugee/student population of MPC. Additionally, the Racial Task Force has new life with a new coordinator documenting the assaults and harassment in Moscow.  Future reporting will again focus attention on needed actions by the state to stem racist attacks. The leadership of Bob and Stacy Bronkema in all aspects of MPC’s church life has never been more apparent.

Ice sculptures highlight the winter season in many Siberian cities.  This sculpture of Mary, Joseph, and the Christ Child stands in front of Central Baptist Church, Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

A meeting with Al and Ellen Smith and Pastor Petr Romme, the Baptist pastor has an outreach ministry to the Roma, resulted in a major breakthrough. This fall, Petr will be an International Peacemaker for the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program. Ellen will accompany him as translator. At the family level, the visa saga of the Smith family is over. Everyone in the family is now covered by a visa after 14 months of uncertainty. And, finally, Meg has been accepted at Hastings College in Nebraska and starts classes in August. Alleluia!

Krasnoyarsk

Expecting temperatures of minus 40 or 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the night air of only minus 10 was almost balmy.

Fifteen time zones east of my home in Sandpoint, Idaho, a team of four of us from the PC(USA) met with Baptist leaders and the leaders of Gospel Recordings to continue discerning our path forward in outreach to native peoples in Siberia. Gospel Recordings has produced seven compact disk sets in different native languages as a powerful evangelism tool to spread the gospel message. Hearing the stories of the challenges to native ministry in Siberia was both dramatic and enlightening. Our discernment continues.

On a personal note, at the time of my departure for Russia the forecast low for Krasnoyarsk was -52 F.  To our surprise and delight, it never got below -10.  Prepared for much colder weather, it was almost balmy!

St. Petersburg

Joe and Hannah Kang continue their faithful service at the seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Russia and Other States. On Easter Sunday a recent graduate and one of Joe’s students, Vladimir Tatarnikov, will be ordained. Vladimir will become the first new Lutheran pastor graduating from the seminary to serve congregations in Belarus. Patience and persistence are a hallmark of mission service.

The circumstances of the Kargel and Baedeker School, directed by Garth Moller, continue to be extremely challenging. The economic crisis has hit Russia hard: inflation continues, the value of the Russian stock market dropped 70 percent in 2008, and social tensions are rising. While quality education continues at the school, finding the funds from donations and tuition is even more difficult in this recession. 

Geneva

I traveled to Switzerland to meet with staff of Action by Churches Together, the international disaster response organization of the World Council of Churches. Throughout the fall of 2008, we worked with ACT through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to address the humanitarian needs of the victims of the August war between Georgia and Russia. On the Russian side, our support has flowed through the Russian Orthodox Church, the Baptist Union, and Hungarian Interchurch Aid. On the Georgian side, our support has channeled through Hungarian Interchurch Aid. Winter still grips the Caucasus. Political tensions have barely eased. It is clear that sustained support will be needed in 2009 to relieve the suffering of the war. It is possible to give to relief in Georgia online by clicking the "give" button below:

Another highlight was meeting with the general secretary and staff of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. We have been a key partner since 2000 in the Mission in Unity project of WARC. The focus has been to encourage the Reformed communities in Ukraine and Belarus as they continue to emerge from under the shadow of the communist era. Small steps have been taken; many more are needed.

Finally, whether in Russia or Switzerland, many of the conversations dealt with the election of Metropolitan Kirill as the new Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. Every television station, newsmagazine, and tabloid covered the installation of Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church. PC(USA)’s Stated Clerk, Gradye Parsons, and Hunter Farrell, director of World Mission, wrote a letter to congratulate the new patriarch on behalf of the entire Presbyterian Church (USA). We continue to engage in shared projects with the Orthodox where invited. In this time of transition we hold in prayer this new leader of millions of faithful in Russia.

It was an exciting and dramatic trip. I look forward to sharing more of our mission in partnership with you in 2009—in your congregation, at the Russian Mission Network meeting in August in Raleigh, or during World Mission Challenge this fall (September 25 to October 19).

I thank you for your continued support to the Extra Commitment Opportunity account that supports my work as regional liaison. You make my travel possible!

I ask for your continued prayers for our church partners, for our Presbyterian mission colleagues, and for my ministries in these former communist states.

If I may serve you or your congregation in any way, please ask. My email is gdpayton@aol.com.

Yours in Christ,

The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.177