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February, 2002 Newsletter
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Life is too short. There are many things I want to do. There are things to write, things to see and things to see done. When I was asked to serve as the president of the newly organized Siberian Mission Society, I did not want the position. I wiggled, but not too long. The survival of our Lutheran Church in Siberia was too compelling. How could I say that I wanted people to know Christ and to be saved if I was not willing to care and help?
They need help. When in 1986 Peristroka entered the Soviet world, public religion became possible. Vsevolod Lytkin was a college student then. He was Jewish, but God called him by his grace so that he might become doubly blessed by being a son of Abraham through faith. At first he entered the Baptist movements. Evangelists came from the United States and preached about Christ, "but", he said, "they left and never returned." He continued his search for truth on his own. As he studied more and more, he came upon Luther and Lutheranism. He compared his own Bible knowledge to the teachings of Lutheranism. He came to regard Lutheranism as the most orthodox Christian denomination in the world. So he went to Estonia to be baptized by a Lutheran pastor.
Soon thereafter he gathered a study group. In 1992 missionaries from the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod came to Novosibirsk and contact was made with Vsevolod Lytkin. It did not take long and Vsevelod Lytkin became an ordained pastor. His Bible Lutheran Church went on to become the parent congregation of 10 other congregations-and a seminary. In a letter written in 1995 to Dr. Dean Wenthe, President of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Pastor Lytkin appealed to the President and his Lutheran seminary to help in the training of Lutheran pastors. Out of His grace God provided a donor, so work was begun on a seminary that would teach men the deeper truths of God's Word and prepare them to feed and tend their own congregational flocks. The men that came out of this rigorous seminary training were not numerous, but they were dedicated and intelligent. It was clear that the Russians would cut no corners in their preparations for the pastoral ministry. They wanted a church that would be faithful to the fullness of God's truth.
They knew what mediocrity can do, how weak it is and how it cannot stand the test of time. The funding of the seminary was successful. By 2001 four pastors had been ordained, and more were underway in their training. But the funding for the congregation of this new church began on shaky ground. Congregations cared and sent gifts, but the constant and regular support that enables a church to pay salaries to their workers and rent for places of worship was simply not there. Over the past five years the Siberian church has fallen into $19,000 of debt and at present, all of her pastors are on reduced salary. On the average, a pastor gets $300 a month in wages. Some have children.
It would be easy to go back and do the things I want to do. But it would not be right or fair to those people who are struggling to bring life back into a church that was cut down and thrown into the fires of every kind of tragedy known to mankind. There is one Christian church for every 10,000 people in Russia, and that includes the Russian Orthodox Church. Virtually every priest of the Russian Orthodox Church and every Lutheran pastor was killed by the Bolsheviks and by Stalin. Russia has no consciousness of a former faith. Most have never heard of the real and living Christ of the Bible. This country is overwhelmed with drug abuse and violence. There is a hopeless economic future in front of Russia because she cannot bring about the moral and spiritual reforms necessary for business and industry. So in the face of such pressures and adversities, the only hope for congregational life must come from the outside, from brothers and sisters in Christ who care that people hear the Gospel.
I am going to need your help. Please help me by your prayers and encouragement, by taking upon yourselves the mind of Christ and caring with me about people unseen-people that you will most likely never meet, except in heaven. We have our own Mission Committee now at Advent. Help them and encourage them too. We can make a difference if God is the one doing the making. His Word does great things. Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel.
Sincerely,
Pastor Fiene
To be sure, I am exaggerating. At the same time, I believe there is truth to the suggestion that we often struggle to see the season of Lent-a penitential season, with its absence of alleluias-as a blessing. One reason may be that we fail to completely comprehend the blessing which God gives us right there in the cross. We do not have to look past the cross to the empty tomb to see forgiveness. We do not have to look past Lent to the season of Easter to be strengthened in the gifts of God's grace. We do not have to look past the crucifixion to the resurrection to hear the message of Christ's triumph.
This Lent, our Wednesday evening worship will focus on "The Cross and You." Please plan to join us at 7:00 p.m. as we hear the Passion account according to Luke and examine the relationship between Jesus' approach to the cross and our own lives. We will see God's grace and blessing in our lives here, now, already in Lent, as God brings forgiveness, love, and healing to His loved ones in the cross.
Pastor Wurdeman
Mike Klemsz
Deb Trewartha
We would like to encourage everyone to attend the Lenten dinners and services. They will begin on Ash Wednesday, February 13 and continue until Holy Week. The dinners are sponsored by the LWML and we would like to thank them for their efforts.
New Member Sunday is usually the first Sunday of each month. Please make an effort to find our new members and welcome them to our congregation. You remember what it was like to be the "new kid on the block".
Also, our thanks and prayers go to Hugh Muellenhagen. Hugh has become a vital volunteer on the board and we pray that he will be blessed with good health throughout the year.
We will have five openings for people to serve on the Fellowship Board next year. If you would like to be more involved in the church, and planning events for the fellowship of the church sounds interesting or fun to you, please let someone know. We need a good crew to carry on where we left off so please consider yourself as a nominee for the Fellowship Board. The new term will start July 1. Please contact the board with any questions, concerns or ideas: call Amy Hulka, Kara Forsythe, Janet Johnson, or Dave & Teresa Jungels.
God Bless You All!
Amy Hulka
*A "theorbo" or "chitarrone" is an early 17th century Italian instrument with 14 strings that can play 3 octaves. The instrument at our service was actually a replica (as was the bassoon) and not an original 400 year old model. Although you could strum it like a guitar, it is actually plucked like a harp. (Thanks to Deb Trewartha for the info.)
Kimberly Bredehoeft provided the piano prelude at both services Sunday, January 27. Not only was the almost 10 minute piece technically perfect, but she played it entirely from memory! Wow, Kim! Well done!
Richard F. Dennis will be our guest violinist on February 10 at both services. For this Transfiguration Sunday, the choir will sing Bach's Jesu, Joy - My Joy Forever, accompanied by Mr. Dennis. He will also play prelude, offertory and postlude selections. Besides a violinist, Dick Dennis is a conductor and educator. He is a former member of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. He was the concertmaster for Henry Mancini and Julie Andrews on many national and international tours doing concerts, television specials and recordings. He has done much solo work, chamber music, Broadway shows and opera. He was a special guest of the Min-On Concert Association in Tokyo for many concerts as a violinist and conductor, and has conducted orchestra festivals in the states and in Japan. He's a graduate of Ithaca College and Butler University and has done doctoral work at I.U. A former orchestra director at North Central High School, he now is teaching a string course at Butler.
This is how it began: The council and boards met for planning at the beginning of the fiscal year. One of the issues that was addressed was the need for greater ownership in the congregation and its spiritual mission. This ownership was needed, not just by existing members, but especially by new members. As we grow larger and as new families come into our body, it gets harder and harder to sweep people into the activities and offices of our church (as we did when Advent was smaller). The question posed by some of our leaders was: "What can we do to convey to people that they are an important part of our congregation-so that they might better sense their ownership in the church?" Whenever we bring an adult into the church through baptism, we give to him or her a hymnal with his or her name imprinted on it. This has meant much to the recipients. The hymnal symbolizes what we are here to do and be-to worship as a congregation under Christ, and a name on that hymnal makes it personal. So in order to combine ownership in the "common" things of the church (mailings, etc.) with ownership in the "sacred" things of the church, hymnal-boxes seemed to be a great way to accomplish our goal of giving to people a greater sense of ownership. Each personal box is a statement: "This is your congregation." And each hymnal says: "This is your church."
Advent welcomes your questions and suggestions. Please email them to us at advent@iquest.net.
Look for more information each Sunday in the worship bulletin.
Pastor Fiene
The theme is "Family Devotions" and will be most beneficial if you are looking for "something extra" to do for Lent for a "spiritual lift". We are collecting Valentine cookies to take to the group home we helped during the Christmas season. They were very appreciative of the help we gave.
The concert will be repeated on Mon., Feb. 18 at the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center on the campus of the University of Indianapolis. Tickets are also $10 and $5, and the concert will be preceded at 7:00 p.m. by a mini-concert of Bach chorales performed in the lobby by members of Lutheran High School's student choir.
Christians must vigorously oppose human cloning for it is more than a political issue. The cloning of human life removes the procreative act from the context prescribed in Scripture. It turns procreation into and places man - not God - at the center. It turns the gift of life as the work of God's hands into the product of science completely controlled by the hand of man. This will only add to the growing disrespect for human life. It will continue to foster Satan's greatest lie, "You can be like God," as man seeks to manipulate tiny human lives for his own selfish and utilitarian ends. Human cloning is a grievous assault on God as the Author of Life and an insult to Him as Lord of Life. Human cloning of embryos for the purpose of destroying them for their stem cells multiplies this horror immeasurably.
This is an extremely important issue. It is no time for Christians to be silent. Please encourage your fellow Christians in whatever ways you can to speak out on this issue. Phone calls can be directed to the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Ask for your senator's office. Make it clear that you want your Senator to vote for Senator Sam Brownback's ban on human cloning (Senate Bill S. 790) and to vote against Senator Dianne Feinstein's so-called ban, (Senate Bill S. 1758). Ask for a written response explaining your senator's position.
Regular mail can be sent to:
Senator Richard Lugar or Senator Evan Bayh
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
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Update - 02/01/2002
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