Posts from June 2019 (Page 4)
ROMA CHURCH IN ABONY: INVESTMENT FOR THE FUTURE
by: UMC Hungary 25 years ago, a ministry with Roma was started in Abony (Hungary). Last year, a young couple started a two-year training at Wesley Bible School in Budapest – in order to grow in faith and to take over responsibility in the church later. It’s a journey that is everything but simple. In the early 1990s, members of Szolnok United Methodist Church started to build relationships to Roma families in the nearby city of Abony. They kept in…
“IT WAS A BLESSED TIME!” THE TESTIMONY OF THE UMC EURASIA LABOR YOUTH CAMP
by: Perestov Ivan I have always been thinking «what motivates people, what encourages them to carry the light and kindness to all the corners of the Earth? Why are they leaving their homes? These people are special. They have experienced something that hasn’t happened to me» When I heard the offer to go and work in Voronezh, my first thought was «that’s not for me». There were too many “important” things I had to do. For the second time I…
“IT’S JUST BECAUSE GOD IS IN ME”
by: Elena Kitaeva Last year the superintendent offered me a chance to participate the Academy for Spiritual Formation – I couldn’t go, because the dates were the same as my daughter’s wedding. And this year I wasn’t expecting, just the random conversation, like the accidental coincidence, that I would be free this time… But God doesn’t have coincidences. Probably, the topic is more relevant and the soil of the heart is ready for sowing. . “Love never ends…” I am…
IT ALL HAS JUST BEGUN!
by: V.Ditmar After a long, hard set of preparations, full of prayers, fears, doubts, joy and awe – here we are, gathered together and worked for the glory of God: District superintendent Irina Margulis (Moscow), District superintendent Irina Mitina (Stavropol), Irina Khoroshunova (Novotroitskaya), Valeria Tsoy (Komsomolsk-on-the-Amur), Mikhail Khamgushkeyev (Pushkin), Pastor Vladimir Ditmar (Kirov), Maksim Skurikhin (Slobodskoy), Elena Uryupina (Stravropol), Polina Mazina (Novotroitskaya). Our mission trip to Novotroitskaya (Stavropol area) and the Christian camp we held there in July, 5 –…
SUMMER SESSION 2016 MOSCOW THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK.
by: Sergei Nikolaev Moscow Theological Seminary of the United Methodist Church finished our two-week summer session. What a blessed and powerful experience. One story out of several meaningful events is my experience from the first week’s Saturday morning devotional. Every morning we start with a short devotion on a psalm, given by a student or faculty. We sing; we pray. The first week of the session, Dr. Sondra Wheeler from Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, D.C., taught the course “Ethical Dimensions…
TYUMEN UMC “SALVATION” PUSHED YOUTH MINISTRY
by: Katya Zubkova Pastor and congregation of Tyumen United Methodist Church “Salvation” pushed Youth ministry – and it is developing. Few years ago we realized that we do not have youth in the church. A few youth who attended were bored and left the church with the time. We did nothing for the youth because there were no youth in church to work with. Now we set a goal to bring youth to the church. Three years in a row…
ST. LUKE’S UMC AND ULYANOVSK UMC ARE PARTNERS AND SISTERS
St. Luke’s is heading back to Russia – twice in 2016 – to share God’s love and bring hope to the world! We will renew friendships in Ulyanovsk that began more than 20 years ago, and work alongside our Russian family of faith in several areas: helping handicapped young adults, meeting with retirement home residents, collaborating with the Ulyanovsk UMC in Bible study, and so much more. The first trip is April 28-May 7. We will celebrate Easter with them…
CHRISTIAN YOUTH CAMP “SAMARA JAT-2015”
author: M. Kvyatkovskiy In the end of August 2015 Samara United Methodist church for the second time hosted JAT Christian youth camp (German: Jugend Actions Tage – «JAT»). This time there were over fifty participants from the churches of Moscow, Samara, Ulyanovsk, Syzran and German cities. During the whole week they lived in the church: young people discussed different topics, talked, relaxed, prepared evening shows, took part in workshops. Below you will find some photos and testimonies from the participants.…
UMC EURASIA SEMINAR ON THE PREVENTION OF DEPENDENCE “LIVE FREELY!”
автор: Vladimir Ditmar Scripture says, ‘Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’ (John 8:32, NIV). Sometimes we need a slightest understanding of who we are or the world around us – and it suddenly makes all the difference. We start to understand ourselves better, as well as other people and God. Discovering small truths. That’s exactly what happened at the leaders’ training for Eurasia UMC ministers in the field of substance abuse prevention and…
WESLEYAN GROUP
author: Bishop Eduard Khegay November 19, 2015 …………………….. The practice of Wesleyan groups has always been a strong point of Methodist movement. This type of accountability was widely spread in times of John Wesley’s (he was the founder of Methodism). People would gather together in a small group, sharing their joys and hardships, success and misfortunes, their temptations and the understanding of God’s will. That confidential communication would help the early Methodists in reaching sanctification, at the same time without…
NOVOKUJBYSHEVSK UMC LEADERS AND “OPORA” DISABLED PERSONS CENTRE: “WE ARE TOGETHER!”
author: Natalya Guryanova Among various family problems there is a new emerging one: the issue of disabled children, who can hardly find social contacts. There are quite a few families in the town of Novokujbyshevsk with handicapped children who require special care. Mostly, these are single-parent families, where mothers shoulder the burden, many do not even have stable income. Notwithstanding the illness, the children are very talented, just as their parents. In order to broaden the circle of social contacts…
AT THE MEETING OF LAY LEADERS FROM EUROPE IN STRUGA (MACEDONIA)
July 11-17 Lay leaders from the United Methodist Churches of different European countries met at the Conference that was held on the shore of very picturesque Lake Ohrid in Struga, Macedonia. Brothers from Ukraine Oleg Melekh and Vasiliy Braynik were representatives from Eurasia area. Vasiliy Bryanik is a lay leader from Uzhgorod. His ministry is work with refugees, socially unprotected people, elderly and lonely. Oleg Melekh is a lay leader from the church in L’vov. He is a artists and…