wfn.org | Russian doctor becomes certified rural chaplain

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

Nov. 23, 1999	News media contact: Joretta Purdue·(202)546-8722·Washington
10-24-71B{627}

IRVING, Texas (UMNS) - The ranks of rural chaplains have grown with the
certification of 21 more people, including a Russian United Methodist.

Alexander (Sasha) Kaminin, both physician and pastor in three towns and
three smaller villages, was certified with the class of 1999, but he is not
the first rural chaplain from outside the United States. 

The Rev. Michael Cruchley who is on the staff of the Arthur Rank Centre, a
national ecumenical rural center, in England was certified in 1993. John
Clarke, who recently retired as director of the Rank Centre, is also
certified. The Rev. Marceliano Pascasio, director of a rural life center in
the Philippines, is certified. ntly. 

This year's class was certified at the association's annual meeting
Nov.17-18.

Most of the 188 rural chaplains are located in the United States. Usually
they serve as chaplains where they already reside or have been appointed by
the church.

These spiritual caregivers for town and rural people are both clergy and lay
and include people of different faiths. Cruchley is a clergyman of the
United Reformed Church in England and also registered with the British
Methodist Church. Some rural chaplains are Roman Catholic. 

The Rural Chaplains Association was established by action of the 1992
General Conference. The chaplains minister to the people of small town and
rural communities but also to their churches and communities.  They are
committed to being interpreters of farming, mining, timbering, fishing, and
town and rural industrial and business issues to the church denominationally
and ecumenically. They advocate at all levels of society and the church for
just, participatory, sustainable and humanized social and economic town and
rural systems.

During the past year the Rural Chaplains Association has conducted training
events in the United States and Russia. Members are trying to help Kaminin,
who serves a congregation of 20 people of all ages. They currently meet for
worship services, Bible study and other activities in his home while he has
been building a church next door, a cherished dream of his.

He explains that even though Russia, as part of the Soviet Union, was an
atheist country for more than 70 years, its long Orthodox tradition carries
the expectation that church is a special place, set aside for that use only.
He is sure that more people will come to worship once the church has a
sanctuary.

Already some of the teen-agers walk  almost 5 miles to reach his classes in
all sorts of weather, he said. His teen-age churchgoers get Bible study in
English and instruction in the use of his computer - the only one in the
area. He also teaches a class at the local high school how to use the
computer.

Kaminin lives near Iliok-Koshari,  a community of 1,200 people 500 miles
south of Moscow, not far from the border with Ukraine. Most of them earn an
average of $12-$16 a month on the area's collective farms, where the major
crops are wheat and sugar beets. As the only medical doctor in the immediate
area, Kaminin makes house calls. The nearest hospital is 15 miles away.

The first rural United Methodist church in Russia has started to take shape
next door to Kaminin's home. Started with the help of some small
contributions from missionaries, the building and support for Kaminin has
been adopted by the Rural Chaplains Association as part of the Supportive
Congregations Program of the Board of Global Ministries.

The exterior of the building is complete, he says. Now he needs to complete
the interior and provide furnishings. He expressed hope that it will be far
enough along that he can begin holding regular services there next summer.

 The first floor will have a sanctuary and two small classrooms. Upstairs
will house living quarters for visitors from all over the world. "I believe
it is very important to have cultural exchange," he declared. He explained
that such experiences are essential to world peace.

Kaminin has been a doctor for 12 years and a pastor for three. Now that a
United Methodist seminary in Moscow has begun, he is also a student by
correspondence, making two trips a year to Moscow. There are about 70 United
Methodist congregations in Russia, he said

Kaminin and his wife Tamara have  two sons: Sasha, 8, and Misha, 5.  Since
he lives in an isolated area, he welcomes contact with United Methodists
around the world.  His e-mail address is:  ATMS@belgtts.ru .
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