wfn.org | U.S. Visitors find United Methodist Church flourishing in

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Estonia

Dec. 1, 1998	Contact: Linda Green(615)742-5470 Nashville, Tenn.
{701}

NOTE: Four photographs accompany this release.

By Suzi Hatcher*

The spirit of  God is flourishing under the new flag of freedom  in
Estonia, according to eleven United Methodists from the United States
who recently visited the small Baltic nation which had previously been
part of the Soviet Union. 
	
The whirlwind two-week tour was sponsored by a "Friends of Estonia
U.S.A." organization led by the Rev. John Trundle, Gatlinburg, Tenn.,
and chairman.  The purpose was to provide an opportunity to see
firsthand the progress being made by the United Methodist Church in
Estonia, particularly the construction of a new Baltic Mission Center in
the capital city of Tallinn.  The church is building the mission center
to replace church structures lost to the Soviet Union and to house a
United Methodist seminary. 

The group also visited the AGAPE Center in Tartu, a church that provides
concerts and other events designed as "soft" ministry to the community;
and Camp Gideon, a United Methodist youth camp which was established in
1993 on the site of a former Soviet Camp. They visited  with United
Methodist pastors about the ministries of their congregations and how
the church is regaining a foothold in a country long-denied of its
presence. 

Estonia is a vital link between the East and West, between democracy and
communism, between freedom and oppression, a place one early bishop
called "the breathing hole between the East and West."

Estonia, roughly the size of East Tennessee from which a few of the U.S.
visitors came,  is the smallest of the Baltic states of the former
Soviet Republic. Others include Latvia and Lithuania.

The first Estonian congregation of the  Methodist Episcopal Church was
established in Tallinn in 1922. Early church members were converts from
Methodist revivals conducted in Kuressaare, Estonia and St. Petersburg,
Russia. 

Another congregation - Bethlehem Methodist Church --  was organized in
Tallinn in 1935. It's building was taken by the Soviets in 1950 and used
as an army radio station.  But not to be defeated, the Methodists rented
another building and with great difficulty managed to survive the Soviet
occupation.

Today, the Estonia United Methodist Church has 2,000 full members in 23
congregations, served by 23 pastors. Most of the pastors work at other
jobs to support themselves and their families. One of the largest
congregations, located in Tallinn, has nearly 900 members, 120 of them
Russian-speaking.  It managed to survive and even grow during the 50
years of Soviet occupation.

In 1940, the Soviets took control of the nation. During the next 45
years, Estonia was subjected to Communist oppression and exploitation.
All churches were closed and religion went underground.  Although
Estonia remained largely closed to the outside world it nevertheless was
often considered a bridge between east and west.

The United Methodist Church is committed to rebuilding the church
throughout the Baltic region and former Soviet-controlled nations, both
as a spiritual outreach, and as a direct challenge from Jesus to teach
all nations.

The Friends of Estonia group was present for the opening of the fifth
year of the United Methodist Seminary in Tallinn, and for the kick-off
of the second phase of fund-raising for the mission center. Workers were
busy putting finishing touches on the airy, bright building, while local
Estonian United Methodists joined with the American contingency to
celebrate the work already done.

United Methodist Bishop Hans Vaxby of Finland,  who oversees United
Methodist work in Estonia, joined the opening ceremonies for the
seminary and mission center which were organized around the theme,
"Together, we can make it happen." 

The bishop offered his congratulations and compared the center to the
ancient custom of a burning fire where people told their stories and
made their bread.   "I think this place is the focus of the Baltic
region, where we tell stories, keep the fire burning, and the food is
made, because we do not live by bread alone," he said. 

Riho Purje, the multi-talented, 25-year-old manager for the Baltic
Mission Center, told the U.S. visitors that the first phase of the
center, including space for the seminary, is completed. The seminary
will move its from its current location just off Town Square in
Tallinn's Old City in January to the modern building with its many
innovative features to help teach a student body which speaks three
different languages: Estonian, Russian and English.
	
Under the leadership of the Rev. Olav Parnamets, district superintendent
in Estonia, the United Methodist Church began dreaming of a new church
home in 1989, before the country had truly escaped the confines of the
Communist government. Church leaders began negotiating
with the new Estonian government in 1993 during the beginnings of the
massive privatization process.

The Estonian people were able to produce documents for the new leaders
proving Methodist  land ownership before the Soviets came to power.  

Purje said the church and government discussed several properties for
the site of the mission center, but finally agreed upon a corner which
is a central exchange location for much of Tallinn's mass transit
system. It is also near many of the large, Soviet-built housing
projects, so that several hundred thousand people pass the mission each
day.  "It is an ideal place to influence and reach the thousands of
Estonians who were brainwashed against the church by the Soviets during
the past 50 years," Purje noted.  "We felt God speaking to us that this
should be the place."

Baltic Mission Center officials are looking to the entire denomination
for assistance in raising the nearly $1.5 million needed to complete the
center's second phase.  The center will house an 800-seat sanctuary,
book store and a multipurpose area. It also will be home to the first
official soup kitchen and outreach center in Tallinn, where thousands
are homeless and poverty is rife.

Two channels of giving for United Methodist are available to provide
financial assistance to the Baltic Mission Center: through the United
Methodist Board of Global Ministries, Advance Special #010923-5AN (BMC),
General Treasurer, Room 1439, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115 or
through the World Evangelism Office, Scarritt-Bennett Center, 1008 19th
Ave. South, Nashville, Tenn. 37212-2166. Designate Sanctuary, BMC,
Estonia with your contribution. 

In a related event, the Friends of Estonia in the United States will
hold its third annual gathering at Bellevue United Methodist Church,
Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 15-16. Scheduled on the agenda are Vaxby of
Helsinki, Finland; United Methodist Bishop Kenneth Carder, Nashville,
Tenn., the Rev. Ullas Tankler, Parnu, Estonia; the Rev. Wes Griffin,
founding dean of the Methodist Seminary in Tallinn; and the Rev. H.
Eddie Fox, director of World Evangelism.
# # #
*Hatcher, a member of First United Methodist Church, Sevierville, Tenn.,
and  staff writer for The Mountain Press, Sevierville, accompanied the
Friends of Estonia USA group to Estonia.

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/