Where: Nizhniy Novgorod in the Volga Valley.
What: English Camp using stories about Jesus for children aged 5 to 15.
English camps are a great way to share the Gospel and God's love with others. The camp emphasizes fun and gives the children the opportunity to practice conversational English. English camps invite all children from the community to participate unlike VBS programs that tend to attract only church children. We will use stories from the Bible as our learning tool. Due to Russian laws, we cannot proselytize or evangelize.
When: August 7-20, 2019
Why: Mission work encourages our congregations and other congregations to be involved in mission work. It strengthens our faith.
The government in Russia has in the last 20 years been returning church buildings back to the church. Often these buildings have been damaged. The congregations are very small. It is hoped that church congregations will grow as children and their parents become members of the church. The Russians do not need help with building projects as they possess skilled workers. English camp is something that the Russians cannot do. Our partnership with the church community in Russia motivates the church and builds a relationship between us and them.
How much: Approx. 2500-3000 per person Cost includes flights, letters of invitation, Visa, camp costs (food and accommodation), and English camp material. *Sightseeing, souvenirs and food on non-camp days is extra.
For more information contact Tamara Nelson.
Email: atnelson@telusplanet.net
Historical Sources already mention a Lutheran Congregation in Nizhniy Novgorod as early as 1580, most likely founded by descendants of Lutheran German prisoners of war brought to the region as slave labor by Ivan Grozni (Ivan the Terrible) in 1540. At that time an itinerant German pastor, Pastor Wetterman, regularly came to minister to the group.
Little more is known until 1622 when records show that the congregation had a permanent pastor with his own house in town. In 1636 the congregation had already exceeded 100 members and had its own building in the German "sloboda" or "designated region" on Panski street, where the Lutheran cemetery was already established.
The Lutherans in Nizhniy Novgorod continued to flourish and by the second half of the 1700s, the local government officially recognized the Lutheran Parish and allowed them use of a building on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street in the upper city center. Soon the parish had outgrown the building they were using, and on December 18, 1827 the Lutherans finally consecrated their own Church which they had finished building on a plot of land also on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya.
In 1831 they added a two story brick parsonage which still exists today (number 51 Bolshaya Pokrovskaya). At that time, the Tzarist government of Russia and many local government officials actively supported the Nizhniy Lutheran community and sought their support for government programs. Many Lutherans held prominent government posts, were renowned members of the judiciary, or respected architects, scientists, writers and artists. Even several governors of the Nizhniy Novgorod region were members of that Lutheran congregation. However, with the Communist revolution of 1917, the Lutheran influence and positions in the government worked against them.
Finally, on June 4, 1931 with Soviet authority firmly in place, the Lutheran parish in Nizhniy was officially closed and all ministry forbidden. The church building and parsonage were confiscated and the majority of Nizhniy Lutherans suffered repression. For several decades, however, the Lutheran Church building survived as an architectural monument, but itself was demolished in 1963 to make room for building a Soviet cinema.
With the fall of Communism in 1990, the Lutherans of the area began to gather into "cultural societies." The main two, the Nizhniy Novgorod German Cultural Society and the Nizhniy Novgorod Ingerman Finn Cultural Society, both with strong Lutheran roots, joined forces to re-establish a Lutheran congregation in their city. Their combined efforts led to the re-founding of the Evangelical Lutheran Parish of Nizhniy Novgorod in 1995.
The first resident Lutheran missionary, a volunteer, was sent there in 1996-7 to help strengthen and grow the congregation. Other Lutheran missionaries followed until the mission was closed in 2002. But the congregation still moved forward.
Also, in 1997 the Nizhniy Novgorod Parish was granted permission to build a church and a parish building on a parcel of land which had been part of the old German Lutheran cemetery. As funds for both buildings were not available, the congregation obtained permission to build first part of the project, the parish building separately, with the promise that the Sanctuary would soon follow. The parish building was finished in 2004, and the city government has been pressing on the congregation to build their promised Sanctuary.
The congregation now has over 70 permanent members of German, Ingerman Finn, Estonian, Russian and Ukrainian decent as well as other nationalities and is still growing. This is still a far cry from the over 1000 members registered in 1917. The proposed Church building will contain a sanctuary that will comfortably sit over 150, a sacristy, storage space, a church basement and several classrooms. The projected cost of building the project is $750,000 US.
Helping to build this Church building is helping the local Lutheran Christians spread the Gospel, and not only this generation of Lutherans, but those following. For those of you who desire to partner with the Nizhniy Novgorod Lutherans to help spread the Gospel in this way, you may donate funds to the Volga Valley Lutheran Fund set up by the Northern Illinois District of the LCMS.