Sunday, September 5

Once again it's late night, 11:45 as I write this.  You remember that I got in at 3:30a.m. and blogged briefly.  I got three and a half hours sleep before I had to get up.  Actually I didn't feel terrible at all.  I'm glad I only had one beer.  I met Fr. Dimitri in the lobby and we talked a while.  He has such internal struggles.  Just for him I realize that my trip has been worth it.  We went down for breakfast when the restaurant opened and soon were joined by others from our group.  Sitting at the table, I missed Gard who would be returning soon to Norway.  If I were dead, I would think Gard is me reincarnated.  Not in looks.  God knows he is a very handsome man - actually all of us who know him know that.  But his quirky humor and sense of the ridiculous reminded me of me and we fell into a banter that was intuitive.  We shared pieces of our stories.  He shares many of my attitudes towards ministry and my passion for Eastern Europe. So, I will miss him for a while, until I re-establish contact and hope to see him again somewhere sometime.

At 8:30 we gathered in the lobby and began the walk/metro/walk routine to get to our meeting place.  We got organized, sort of, and began a session on visioning for the next conference.  Then a coffee break then a wonderful teaching session by a German theologian.  It was a mind-blowing experience for many of these people to hear that the bible can be interpreted in more than one way.  The dialog was terrific. Then we went to lunch. More cabbage.  It's a really good thing I don't have a room mate!  Instead of going to the early afternoon session, Florin and I went for a cappuccino to discuss some business.  We went back around 4.  Worship started at 4:30.  I will have photos but don't right now.  I forgot to load the memory card in my camera.

This worship was truly miraculous.  Presiders:  one Russian Orthodox priest, one Ukrainian Orthodox monk, one Russian Methodist minister, one Christian United Church minister, one MCC minister (me) all doing worship together.  I and Maxim, the orthodox priest constructed the liturgy.  It was a magical blend of east and west, conservative and totally liberal.

After the Methodist minister started us in prayer, the Orthodox took over for their opening liturgy.  When they finished that, I called all group leaders up front and all conference organizers.  The clergy surrounded them and each of us prayed for strength and courage as they continued their work.  When they took their seats, a really unusual thing (for Eastern Europe happened), I had assigned both readings to women.  The first was from 1John - the God is Love passage.  It was read in Russian.  Then, I had Olga read the Gospel from John 17 - the "may they all be one, Father, as we are one."  In the Orthodox church a woman would never be allowed to read the gospel, only the priest can do that.  She not only read it, she sang it exactly as a priest would.  After the readings I preached on the texts with Yury translating into Russian.

The first part of the communion was traditional Orthodox but after Maxim consecrated the bread, Simon, a Polish Christian United Church minister, blessed the cup.

After communion and benediction the service was over, Simon offered anointing with oil to all who wanted it and many did.

We then went into a wrap-up session where everyone was asked to say a word about the most significant thing in the conference.  One said that my teaching on Friday had been too short, that more time would have been useful.  The same was said about Michael's (the German Theologian) teaching from today. May said how their lives were changed by the conference.  It was a very emotional and heart-warming session.  At the end of it, we exchanged hugs.  It is a Russian custom to kiss three times: right cheek, left cheek, right cheek.  My head was spinning by the end of it.

After that,  we walked to dinner a few block away and then walked to the metro.  People couldn't bear to part from one another, so we went to have a drink together and took over a restaurant.  Then we stood outside the restaurant and took so many group pictures that it started to feel like a photo shoot.  Then we stood and talked some more.  We headed towards the metro but kept stopping to talk.  I thought we'd never get home but we finally did get back to the hotel.  Did I mention that my room is on the top floor, 5th, of the hotel and that the elevator was out of service when we got back?

I feel so emotional when I think of saying good-byes again tomorrow morning.  I started the day missing Gard and am here with leaky eyes thinking about missing old friends and new ones.  I hate the thought of leaving Rostek. But fortunately he lives in Kyiv and I will see him and Kostya tomorrow and Tuesday.  I will have the pleasure of spending a lot of time with Florin again tomorrow while we plot and plan how we can help groups in this region.  Next year's conference is in St. Petersburg, Russia.  I wonder if I will be there.  Everyone seems to think I will be.  From their lips to God's ear.