[Three photographs unavailable]
December pictures of the new church being built in Chelyabinsk.
The superstructure is still not closed in, so work has been at a standstill
during the winter months. Funds to help build the church are still needed,
and memorials (of $500 or more) are still being accepted and can be
safely sent to Chelyabinsk through the Volga-German Society, P.O. Box 1314,
Hays KS 6760l. Smaller sums will also be accepted but not individually
memorialized.
(The following is the third part of a letter from Siberia, written in Minneapolis by this newsletter's 27-year-old founder, who returned home in September, 1995, after three years in Novosibirsk.)
(The first two parts of this address appeared in Issue 17 and Issue 18.)
Caritas also funded the work of four Jesuit lay volunteers and two Elizabethan Sisters. Every morning two of these volunteers with a Sister would go to the train station to offer about 50 homeless people sandwiches and tea and bandage their wounds. These people have done incredible work, caring for these people in horrible conditions, most of the time outside in spite of cold, rain, and police warnings to vacate the area.
Daily the volunteers have had to worry about run-ins with the police or train station authorities who used their batons to clear the area. Sometimes these officials permitted the medical aid to be given inside the station, where it was be warm, but often not.
We approached the head of the train station about this issue, but he made it clear that he did not want homeless people gathering in his building. State, city, and district government officials also were of little help in finding a facility where we could work. When I left at the end of August, we had nearly reached an agreement with the Orthodox church to jointly organize a soup kitchen.
Homelessness has become a serious problem in Russia. This is a phenomenon of the last four years, and it is hard for the average person to understand. A lot of time people would stop to watch the work of the volunteers and were greatly impressed by their compassion and good work.
Caritas also supported the work of community organizations. We helped fund a project of the local Right to Life organization that would give clothing, baby carriages and other items to single women--usually young and unwed--that chose not to terminate their pregnancy.
We also partially financed the construction of an irrigation system for an association of families with many children. The association of 600 families received farm land from the state administration, but were having a hard time collecting dues from the families with seven children or more to finish assembling the irrigation system. Caritas helped these families with dues, thus furthering construction of the irrigation system.
(Next issue: Ministering to the rest of Asian Russia)
St. Don Bosco's Salesians from Slovakia have been in the province of Yakutsk in Eastern Siberia since 1992. They came to work among the young people and with help from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) set up a youth center at Aldan. "Thirty to forty young people attend regularly," writes Fr. Joseph-Daniel Pravda, "and sometimes even 100 or more, depending on what we are doing. Many of them are from broken homes; their fathers and mothers drink; divorces are commonplace. Through problems in home and school and the lack of recreational activities, many turn very early to alcohol. They are borne down by guilt and come to us for help." The Salesians give spiritual and psychological counseling, help with schoolwork and language ability, give religious instruction and provide spare-time activities. ACN has sent Aldan 40,000 young-people's Bibles in the Yakut language.
Vladivostok's Holy Mother of God parish has an informative homepage at http://www.pond.net/~jeffclang/mostholy/index.html
We have a catechumenate program of 35 registered and more coming in our small parish community of Russian young couples and singles preparing for full sacramental membership in parish life. I know enough Russian to be able to follow the constructions, but not yet share it. I am walking as sponsor with Victor Reichart in his personal journey and preparing his six-year-old daughter for her baptism. His wife and her older son are wonderful Orthodox Christians.
Every two weeks I go with Fr. Wilhelm to Barsuche and Shishminka, our missions on the Siberian steppes where grandmas have kept the faith alive, where the children are coming to church, where the adults are so afraid of each other, afraid of being seen going to church, where the children are beginning to invite their parents to come to church! The first Saturday in Advent when we were there, a young man and his wife, and two other mothers came and asked for instructions. We initiated the course that night from 7 to 10 p.m. Their interest and questions about religion, faith and God were inspiring.
A German teacher from Barsuche, Maria, with whose family I had stayed in August to learn Russian, is now in Germany with 20 other German-speaking professional teachers, taking theology and scripture courses to come back as catechists not only in the parishes, but also in the public schools!
(This and the following two stories were extracted from the January 1996 issue of WORD from SIBERIA, a newsletter published by the Sisters of St. Agnes at 475 Gillett St., Fond du Lac WI 54935)
In October I spent two weeks substitute teaching at Areadna College [in Chelyabinsk]. On the first day of English class, one bright young woman noticed the gold ring on my right hand and asked me what it meant. When I replied that it is a symbol of my friendship with God, she very respectfully inquired, "Would you tell me, please, why you believe in God when most people don't?" I won't repeat my answer, but I do ask all of you who read this newsletter, how would you have replied? Being in Russia has sometimes called me to articulate my faith in ways that I haven't needed to do in quite a long time--and that's part of the challenge and the reward of being here.
Fr. Peter had asked me to go along with him to Kopeysk and Korkino for the sacraments and Mass on Dec. 3. On Saturday morning, Father told me [that since the car wasn't working and he would have to go by tram and bus, he would have time to visit only Kopeysk.] He asked that I share the Sunday gospel and have a communion service for the people in Korkino. I asked my Russian teacher, Ludmilla Shaborova, who also is proficient in German, to accompany me because the Catholic community in Korkino is German. [After an eventful tram and bus ride to Korkino], Ludmilla and I walked for a half hour to the prayer house. I told the people about the service Father suggested. I mentioned that Bishop Werth had given permission for us to have a communion service when Mass is not possible. We joined them in praying the rosary and Mass parts. Ludmilla read the gospel in German, and I read a short reflection on the gospel. I then asked if any of them had any thoughts that they would like to share. Several of them did. Ludmilla read the petitions in German. I had brought 14 hosts for the communion service, but 26 people received. That was the very first time they received Holy Communion from someone other than a priest. The people were very grateful to us for sharing the gospel with them and bringing the sacramental presence to them. Both of us were very grateful to God for allowing us to be His instruments of love.
Matteo Trezzi, Capuchin friar from Milan, is reportedly the first Catholic priest to visit the autonomous republic of Tuva in Siberia, just east of the Altai. He and others from Italy's Pro Vita movement and the Cremona Red Cross were invited guests of the Tuvan government. The two organizations donated emergency medical equipment and are planning to send an ambulance and volunteer doctors to Tuva.
Sisters Alice Ann Pfeifer and Deborah Golias returned to the U.S. January 23 for several months of intensive Russian language study. Both hope to return to Chelyabinsk in time to teach English at Areadna College during the fall semester.
Bishop Werth buried his 72-year-old father, Johannes Werth, near Frankfort, Germany, this past November.
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