wfn.org | Seminary heart of emerging United Methodist Church in Russia

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Nov. 10, 1998	Contact: Thomas S. McAnally((615)742-5470(Nashville,
Tenn.     {655}

NOTE:  Photographs accompany this story.

NOTE TO READERS:  Tom McAnally, director of United Methodist News
Service, accompanied three United Methodist General Council on
Ministries representatives on a recent weekend visit to Moscow before
the Oct. 26-30 semi-annual meeting of the agency's governing board in
Switzerland.

A UMNS News Feature
By Tom McAnally

MOSCOW -- Passersby would never suspect that an old, nondescript,
multistory building houses the heart of an emerging United Methodist
Church in Russia.  

No familiar cross and flame.  No directional signs.  

Admitted through a locked, metal door, we are directed upstairs by a
security officer. There we find the United Methodist Theological
Seminary -- four rooms, a small reception area, and a closet where tea
is made.    

One room is the office for Bishop Rudiger Minor, leader of the church's
Eurasia Area since 1992; another is the office for seminary dean Tobias
Dietze. Two classrooms are down the hall.  

Despite the cramped, rented quarters, the seminary has become in three
short years the heart of church growth, evangelism and outreach for
United Methodism in this former communist country. 

Launched in 1995, the seminary has graduated 16 students - nine in 1997
and seven in 1998.  About two-thirds of the graduates and the current
24-member student body are women.

In our weekend visit to see United Methodist work in Moscow, it becomes
quickly evident that seminarians are involved not only in classroom
study but hands-on work leading home Bible studies and encouraging young
congregations. 

At a district youth rally, we see the Rev. Nikolai Dalakyan, a seminary
graduate, talk to the young people about their calling and
responsibilities as Christians. Despite being held on a Saturday
afternoon, the rally draws a good turnout. Seminary students provide
upbeat music and lead singing. The event is held in a building
constructed with money provided by Kwang Lim United Methodist Church in
Seoul, Korea, the largest Methodist congregation in the world. The
building is the only Methodist-owned facility in Moscow.

Our team is introduced at the youth rally: David Lundquist, General
Council on Ministries staff executive from Dayton, Ohio; Bishop John
Hopkins of Minnesota; and Marilina de Carvalho of Angola.  Each brings
greetings. The youth are particularly impressed when Hopkins borrows a
guitar from one of the students and, with the help of a seminarian
translator, teaches them a song.

Since Russia has no Methodist theological scholars, the seminary uses
faculty members from the United States, Germany and South Korea. Minor
has taught as well as Dietze, the son of a German pastor. Both are
natives of Germany.  

Most of the students come to seminary, according to Dietze, because
"they want to serve Jesus Christ in this new fashion United Methodism
offers."  They appreciate the forms of worship,  being part of a world
church, and having permission to question their new faith in a
denomination that combines what Wesley called "knowledge and vital
piety."  In Russia, they simply point to a combination of "heart and
mind."

The seminary's operating expenses are about $250,000 a year. The school
is supported by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries and
gifts from United Methodists around the world. Tuition is paid for all
the students.

Pastors receive some salary support from their small congregations, but
most comes from supporting churches in other countries. These churches
make a commitment to support a Russian congregation for several years.

When new congregations began holding worship services, they were able to
obtain free space in government-owned buildings such as community
centers and libraries. However, as many of  these facilities have been
privatized, church groups have been evicted in favor of paying
occupants. This has created difficulty for congregations with little or
no financial resources.

Financial stewardship is an unknown concept among most Russians, Minor
says. "We are teaching our United Methodists to understand this is their
church and they have some financial responsibility for its ministry."

The seminary stresses education that leads to ministry, not just general
education, Dietze  explains. "The church keeps growing, so the number of
pastors needed is increasing." 

The biggest challenge facing seminary students and graduates, he adds,
is doing evangelism in a secular society.

Lack of visibility is a problem not only for the seminary but for the
entire denomination in Russia.  

"Recognition of the United Methodist Church is zero," Minor says. " We
desperately need greater visibility. "  

One dream of the United Methodist Church in Russia is to buy a building
in Moscow to house the seminary, Central United Methodist Church, the
bishop's office and other meeting rooms.  Church leaders have their eye
on a building that could be purchased for $1.2 million, a bargain by
current Russian standards.

People wanting to help the United Methodist Theological Seminary in
Moscow may make Advance Special contributions through their local
churches: for general support of the school, designate Advance No.
012174-ORA; for scholarships, Advance No. 012176-2RB.  
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