Sunday, April 13, 2008
General Conference
Helen and I leave for the USA tomorrow morning, or in about 9 hours. I am the clergy delegate from Ukraine for General Conference, the once-in-four-year meeting of the United Methodist Church with delegates from every Annual Conference in the world to meet and do the denominational business including considering changes to the Book of Disciple, the document which sets theology, policy and structure for the United Methodist Church. The elected delegate was Ukrainian, Alexander Merzlikov, pastor in Lugansk, but for health reasons he could not attend. I was the alternate delegate, so I will attend in his place. Pray for us as we make the long flight over. Helen has been assigned the new Area Financial Representative for the General Board of Global Ministries in Ukraine, so she will be in New York for some training while I am in Ft. Worth at General Conference. We also get a few opportunities to meet with some people from our supporting churches, but not many as time will be tight. If you wish to call us while we are in the US, send a request for the number to ukraineumc@gmail.com. State who you are and your connection to us or some aspect of our ministry.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Under the Weather
The flu just isn't fun. Slows down things quite a bit, but fortunately, my bout did not last too long. And it also came just after I returned from Lviv.
Lviv is the third or fourth largest city in Ukraine, the "capital" of the western, majority Ukrainian speaking portion of Ukraine. It is about 70 miles from the Polish border and a very beautiful city with many historic buildings.
This is an inside shot of the Church of the Transfiguration, one of many churches in Lviv. This part of Ukraine is home to the Greco-Catholic Church, a church which pledges it's allegiance to the Pope and has it's own Cardinal, but uses Orthodox liturgy and has married priests.
Lviv is also home to Ukraine's oldest University and where we have a thriving UMC student ministry. I was there last week for a charge conference (and also picked up the flu) and found the United Methodist Student Center to be a bustling place. The ministry, founded by GBGM missionaries Fred and Stacy Vanderwerf, has a student center right in the center of town very near the university. The Center is open all day long where students can come and surf on the net for free, hang out with friends or attend an activity. English lessons are offered 4 days a week, twice a day, which is a big draw. A new class starts every 5 weeks. Each time a class starts, around 60 new students show up to take the course. Of those, 4 or 5 usually stay to take part in the other activities, which are small group bible studies, a compassion ministry group, the Pigrims class, a bible study/worship time on Thursdays and United Methodist worship services 2 times a month.
The Lviv UMC student center is interdenominational in it's activities, but the students know it is sponsored by the UMC and can choose to come to UMC worship if they desire. Overall, 90-100 students come through the doors of the center every week. It's an exciting place to be. I didn't have my camera with me, but some students took some pictures for me. As soon as I receive them, I will post some.
Lviv is the third or fourth largest city in Ukraine, the "capital" of the western, majority Ukrainian speaking portion of Ukraine. It is about 70 miles from the Polish border and a very beautiful city with many historic buildings.
This is an inside shot of the Church of the Transfiguration, one of many churches in Lviv. This part of Ukraine is home to the Greco-Catholic Church, a church which pledges it's allegiance to the Pope and has it's own Cardinal, but uses Orthodox liturgy and has married priests.
Lviv is also home to Ukraine's oldest University and where we have a thriving UMC student ministry. I was there last week for a charge conference (and also picked up the flu) and found the United Methodist Student Center to be a bustling place. The ministry, founded by GBGM missionaries Fred and Stacy Vanderwerf, has a student center right in the center of town very near the university. The Center is open all day long where students can come and surf on the net for free, hang out with friends or attend an activity. English lessons are offered 4 days a week, twice a day, which is a big draw. A new class starts every 5 weeks. Each time a class starts, around 60 new students show up to take the course. Of those, 4 or 5 usually stay to take part in the other activities, which are small group bible studies, a compassion ministry group, the Pigrims class, a bible study/worship time on Thursdays and United Methodist worship services 2 times a month.
The Lviv UMC student center is interdenominational in it's activities, but the students know it is sponsored by the UMC and can choose to come to UMC worship if they desire. Overall, 90-100 students come through the doors of the center every week. It's an exciting place to be. I didn't have my camera with me, but some students took some pictures for me. As soon as I receive them, I will post some.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)