Hello, friends! Sorry to have not posted anything the last few days. We have been keeping a very busy pace and simply haven't had the time in the evening to get onto a computer. This is our last night at the seminary. Tomorrow we have one more day of visiting and sightseeing before we fly to Riga, Latvia tomorrow evening. No pictures to show tonight, simply because we still need to pack and I wanted to make sure to post an update!
Over the last three days -- Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday -- we have enjoyed some wonderful sightseeing here in St. Petersburg.
On Tuesday we visited Peterhof, one of the restored palaces of the tsars that was largely destroyed during the seige of Leningrad in 1941-44, but which has now been fully restored. It's located along the Gulf of Finland and has some of the most spectacular gardens and fountains I've ever seen.
Wednesday was a rainy day, perfect for spending in the Hermitage, a giant art museum housed in the Winter Palace complex in the city center. We spent nearly 6 hours there and barely scratched the surface. We decided to drive in to the city, since we had the car, and that led to many driving adventures. Those adventures and the time involved convinced us that though the car is ideal for getting us to sights outside of the city center, otherwise it's best used to get us to the Metro station so we can take the subway!
Today we spent walking around the city center visiting the Peter & Paul Fortress, the Church of the Spilled Blood, and the Lutheran Church of Sts Peter and Paul. This last is very interesting. Like many churches, it was converted to other uses in the 1930's, for storage and other things. In the 1970's the nave was converted into a swimming pool, where several diving events for the 1980 Olympics were held. The church has been partially restored and is now the home of a worshipping congregation again. The swimming pool is still there, just located below the floor of the restored sanctuary. The bleachers still remain, though!
Aside from the rain yesterday, we've had good weather in this part of the trip. It has been much cooler (in the 50's and 60's) and windy, but perfectly good for our activities. This included Tuesday evening when we enjoyed attending a barbecue put on by the seminary in honor of the conclusion of the seminar for their visiting "extension students."
It hasn't been only sightseeing, though. Tuesday and Wednesday morning we were able to attend morning worship with the students, and share breakfast with them. Wednesday breakfast we spent talking with one of the female students that speaks English and that was very good. Sasha is 27 years old and comes from Moldova, a small state near Romania. She grew up in the church there and hopes to get a job working in the parish (though not as a pastor). Our conversation with her reminded us of the great diversity in circumstances presented by the Lutheran churches of the former Soviet Union. Those that relied on the Russian-German population are struggling the most. But, at least in the case of Moldova, other communities may be more stable and have a different variety of ministry opportunities.
We have also been able to spend some more time with Anton Tikhomirov, the present of the seminary. He greatly enjoys teaching and seems to know the students well. But he is also quite anxious about the financial situation the seminary faces. They rely on sponsorships and partner organizations to pay their budget (approximately $300,000 annually). As with so many other organizations, fundraising has been particularly tough since the recession began in 2008. They recently lost one faculty member who had been provided through the ELCA. Another of their professors will retire this spring. In order to address the faculty situation and reduce costs, they are moving to a "modular" system next fall. Instead of having three different years of classes that run by semester, all the students will study together in 2-3 week intensive module units. He said some topics will be more general (the Gospel of Mark, or Preaching) and others will be more specific (topics in theology or ethics, for example). The modules will be taught by visiting professors, primarily from Germany, Russia, and the United States. It will be a very big change for the community, but it offers a great deal of promise.
Tomorrow we will say our good-byes here, then plan to visit Catherine Palace before we catch our flight in the evening. Since we will be staying with hosts, I am not sure how much access I'll have to the Internet.
Thank you for your continued prayers as we travel!
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