Wishing You Joy, Peace and Love . . . Now and Always!
Dear One –
Hope this finds you well and happy. Praying that you are living in the fullness of God’s love, joy and peace in Christ.
I thank the Lord that I arrived safely in Vladivostok not long before noon on Sunday, May 9th – the 65th Anniversary of the Russian Victory in The Great Patriotic War against Nazi fascism. It was a well celebrated day here, in Moscow, and all over the former Soviet Union, as you may have seen on the news. British, French and US contingents were supposed to have participated in the parade in Moscow, but I didn’t get to see any of it on television here. I trust it was memorable. I wasn’t there for the parade, but saw (I did however see part of the practice for the parade on the evening that my friend Zhanna and I went to the Moscow Art Theater to see “The Master and Margarita”. That was interesting!)
Vladivostok is seven hours ahead of Moscow, and fifteen hours ahead of Atlanta and the rest of the U.S. East Coast. Being here makes it the closest I have been to the International Date Line in a long, long time. When I lived in Alaska, I was blessed to be able to go to Japan and to South Korea. And this is the way it worked. We had to stop twice on the way to the air base near a city on the southwest coast of South Korea, where we stayed for about three weeks.
Not very bright-eyed or bushy-tailed, we left Anchorage about 4:30 AM on a Tuesday, and saw the dawn on Shemya Island. The people stationed there wore t-shirts that said on them -- “SHEMYA – NOT THE END OF THE WORLD, BUT YOU CAN SEE IT FROM HERE”. It’s nearly at the end of Aleutian Archipelago. We stayed there just long enough to re-fuel quickly. Then we re-fueled again in Tokyo and took a break to have a meal in the terminal.
So, because of all those stops, and because of crossing the International Date Line on the way, it was about 3:30 PM on Thursday by the time we landed in South Korea. It was much more than two days after we left according to the calendar, but about 22 hours of either flying or resting and re-fueling.
On the other hand, after spending a week in Japan, we left for Anchorage on a Thursday morning and flew for about 10 or 12 hours, arriving early that same Thursday evening. I used to joke that of course there is a way, when you cross the International Date Line to actually arrive at your destination before the time that you left your point of origination. Dr. Einstein was right in so many ways when he figured out that time is relative (I know that is an over-simplification and don’t pretend to understand physics, the most mystical of the sciences. But I love thinking about it all!)
I once visited my eighth grade history teacher, Mr. Peterson, many years since I had last seen him as a young Middle School student, but not long after I had been to South Korea and Japan. He seemed to get a kick out of what I said about being able to arrive before you have left in some cases. It was fun to tell him about how my life had been since the days that he so enthusiastically taught. He and one of the other history teachers, Mr. O’Grady, took delight in drawing maps of battles of the French and Indian War and of the Civil war with colored chalk on the huge floor to ceiling “green boards” in our brand new state-of-the-art Barrington Middle School. Built without hallways, and with a plan that not only included team teaching, but also had unusual class scheduling, it was an amazing experience to be a student there.
I was in the first eighth grade class to graduate from the school, but it wasn’t completed until January of that year. The first half of eighth grade was spent in the already condemned building that had been Barrington Hough Street Elementary school. The seventh graders were with us, too, but the sixth graders were farmed out to Sunday school classrooms in many of our local churches. They finished the sixth graders’ wing at the Middle School first, and I think they started studying there in November of 1965.
That was all a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I didn’t mean to get so far off the track on that sentimental journey . . . please excuse me!
However, speaking of a long time ago, the city of Vladivostok will be celebrating its 150th birthday in June. So that’s pretty exciting, and since they just finished the May holidays, I’m sure everyone is not only happy about the signs that spring is casting out the rough winter they endured here, but also that the summer will bring even more chances to celebrate.
The Vladivostok 65th Anniversary of the Victory in WW II included a parade, concerts and the placing of wreaths at monuments to those who gave their “last full measure” as well as lauding the veterans still among us in Veterans’ Homes or wherever they live. I was blessed that evening to go to a concert at the philharmonic hall in beautiful downtown Vladivostok, right on the port of an inlet of that part of the Pacific Ocean called the Sea of Japan called The Golden Horn. Mountainous islands and peninsulas shield the port from the open ocean, and it is very lovely.
The USNS Blue Ridge, which is the flagship of the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet, was in port to help celebrate, and a Navy jazz ensemble played in a concert hall on a program that included a Russian band as well. The Russian band began the program with some rousing marches, waltzes and folks music. Then they were joined by six or seven U.S. Navy musicians and played some pieces together.
The predominantly Russian audience was very appreciative and the mistress of ceremonies was a gracious show woman. Everything was translated over the PA system so people who spoke either Russian or English could get the jist of what was going on. The music spoke for itself.
When the Russian band members gave up their places on stage and the U.S. Navy musicians began to play and sing it was marvelous. There were several encores called for each band, and at one point people were dancing in the aisles.
One of the most popular pieces seemed to be a big band number from the WW II era, but music by The Eagles and Stevie Wonder was appreciated as well. Of course a John Phillip Sousa march couldn’t have been left out, and the Russian band ended their program with the U.S. Navy’s “Anchors Aweigh”!
There was some dancing in the aisles, there were lots of cheers and applause, many smiles, much hand-shaking, many photos taken and there were even requests of some of the navy musicians for autographs. What a joyful time!
Have more to tell you, but I will leave you with all the above and look forward to sharing some more later.
May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and yours.
Thanks and Blessings – Kathy
The Joy of the Lord
Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
Nehemiah 8:10
Kathleen Ware Harris © 2012
kwharris777@gmail.com
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
A Moscow Evening May 8, 2010
A Moscow Evening May 8, 2010
Wishing You Joy, Peace and Love . . . Now and Always!
Dear One –
I hope this finds you fully enjoying the beauty of creation and the love of your family and friends.
I know that yesterday I said that would be the last of my travel journal entries from Moscow, but I was wrong! Last night some of the students and I went out for dinner and then went up to Christ the Savior Cathedral in beautiful downtown Moscow, not far from the Kremlin. We walked back and forth over the river on two different bridges and there were many people strolling along the banks of the river, in the beautiful gardens around the Cathedral. Some of the people we saw were young couples out on dates -- the young women had flowers that had been given to them by their attentive young men.
The air was fresh and the sun was taking a long time to set, as it does so far north this time of year. What a beautiful evening it was. The smell of the flowers from beds of tulips and pansies, the smell of the apple and cherry blossoms and the other blossoming trees wafted up and washed over us on beautiful light breezes. In addition, the slowly changing light from the lovely sunset coloring a few decorative clouds high in the western sky and good company made it all very memorable.
As I’m pretty sure I have told you before, there is a famous and beautiful Russian folk song called “Podmosckovniye Vechera” (Evenings in Moscow) – and the beauty of the city on spring, summer and fall evenings is lauded in it. Zhanna and I kept singing it softly or humming it off and on . . . was good music to stroll along with and appropriate since it WAS a gorgeous Moscow evening.
Although I haven’t written captions for them, I already put them on my Facebook page, and even if you haven’t joined Facebook, you can see the photos by going to this web page:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23174&id=100000104723008&l=034bb9a14c
Artur took the photos on his mobile phone camera, playing our paprazzio once more! Highlighted in them are a few different things I should probably explain before you see them:
1. I am standing by some kind of amazing motorcycle-like vehicle that has the word “Monster” painted on it in Russian. Maybe I have mentioned it before. It is usually parked right outside the gate of the Seminary Building, though it wasn’t there this morning. Some people we saw standing around it with car repair tools seemed to be working on it, and maybe it has been used to go away for the holiday weekend.
Tomorrow is the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II for the people of the former Soviet Union. They are pulling out all the stops to celebrate and you can see stands being put up so people can listen to concerts and watch the big parade. This year the U.S, Great Britain and France have even been invited to participate in the parade. That is unprecedented.
2. We ate at a restaurant called “Moo-Moo” so that’s why there are the photos of us with the cow. Don’t ask me to try to explain WHY there is a restaurant called “Moo-Moo,” just accept it for what it is, and go and eat there if you get a chance. The food is great!
3. There are many photos of the Christ the Savior Cathedral, and I keep calling it that because of its size. However, the word “Khram” in its Russia title (Khram Khristos Spacitel’” really means “temple” and this goes along with the Orthodox characterization that Moscow became the “Third Rome” after the falls of both Rome in the 5th century A.D., and of Constantinople in the 15th century. My new friend Zhanna who is studying here (as opposed to my friend Zhanna who works here in the Bishop’s office, and who I met three years ago when I was here) and I had a long discussion about the fact that the Russian Orthodox Church uses the word for “temple” to designate certain churches, although in western Christianity “temple” is not used for any churches.
It was an interesting discussion since a great deal of my time here I have spent reading and writing about some articles in books concerning the similarities and differences between the Orthodox Tradition and the Wesleyan tradition. (The use of both capital “T” “Tradition” and lower case “t” tradition is deliberate. For many in the Orthodox hierarchy, there is an insistence that only in Orthodoxy does the true Church exist. Obviously this is often debated in ecumenical dialogs.
All rightie, then . . . I know that’s enough theology for me right now! Probably for you, too, no doubt!
I am not sure what else in the photos needs an explanation, but when I put the captions up, you can ask me if there is anything that isn’t clear, O.K.?
Oh, I almost forgot. When I write at one time about the statue of a tsar on the grounds of the Temple of Christ the Savior (might as well translate its name properly), I misidentified the tsar. It is a not a statue of Nichols II, but of his great grandfather, Alexander II who built the original Temple of Christ the Savior of which the current one is an exact replica. So now that we have THAT straight . . . when you see the photo of the statue of the tsar, you will know who it really is.
It’s 2:00 PM and Zhanna and I will call for a cab to take me to the airport to fly to Vladivostok around 4:00 PM. I’m all packed and ready to go, but loath to leave in many ways, as much as I am looking forward to seeing Vladivostok and being able to visit my friend there.
Everyone here has been so sweet and kind, all of them telling me they hope I come back. I hope I do, too, God willing.
Happy Mother’s Day if that applies to you . . . and if not I hope you celebrate or remember your Mom and have a blessed day one way or another.
Sadly, my Mom fell and broke some ribs the other day, so please prayer for her not to be in pain and for her to recover quickly. Skype is great and I have been able to talk to my parents, my kids and some friends on it. Even though I don’t have a web cam, my son does, and when I talk with hi I have been able to see him and his family. Last night when I was talking to him he asked if I will be able to talk to them on Skype tomorrow for Mother’s Day. Whether or not I am able to, I know that both my kids are thinking of me and praying for me, and I trust I will be able to make up for not being around them when I do get to see them all.
God is so good and so faithful!
May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and yours.
Blessings and Love -- Kathy
The Heavens Declare God’s Glory
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
Psalm 19:1-4a
Kathleen Ware Harris © 2012
kwharris777@gmail.com
Wishing You Joy, Peace and Love . . . Now and Always!
Dear One –
I hope this finds you fully enjoying the beauty of creation and the love of your family and friends.
I know that yesterday I said that would be the last of my travel journal entries from Moscow, but I was wrong! Last night some of the students and I went out for dinner and then went up to Christ the Savior Cathedral in beautiful downtown Moscow, not far from the Kremlin. We walked back and forth over the river on two different bridges and there were many people strolling along the banks of the river, in the beautiful gardens around the Cathedral. Some of the people we saw were young couples out on dates -- the young women had flowers that had been given to them by their attentive young men.
The air was fresh and the sun was taking a long time to set, as it does so far north this time of year. What a beautiful evening it was. The smell of the flowers from beds of tulips and pansies, the smell of the apple and cherry blossoms and the other blossoming trees wafted up and washed over us on beautiful light breezes. In addition, the slowly changing light from the lovely sunset coloring a few decorative clouds high in the western sky and good company made it all very memorable.
As I’m pretty sure I have told you before, there is a famous and beautiful Russian folk song called “Podmosckovniye Vechera” (Evenings in Moscow) – and the beauty of the city on spring, summer and fall evenings is lauded in it. Zhanna and I kept singing it softly or humming it off and on . . . was good music to stroll along with and appropriate since it WAS a gorgeous Moscow evening.
Although I haven’t written captions for them, I already put them on my Facebook page, and even if you haven’t joined Facebook, you can see the photos by going to this web page:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23174&id=100000104723008&l=034bb9a14c
Artur took the photos on his mobile phone camera, playing our paprazzio once more! Highlighted in them are a few different things I should probably explain before you see them:
1. I am standing by some kind of amazing motorcycle-like vehicle that has the word “Monster” painted on it in Russian. Maybe I have mentioned it before. It is usually parked right outside the gate of the Seminary Building, though it wasn’t there this morning. Some people we saw standing around it with car repair tools seemed to be working on it, and maybe it has been used to go away for the holiday weekend.
Tomorrow is the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II for the people of the former Soviet Union. They are pulling out all the stops to celebrate and you can see stands being put up so people can listen to concerts and watch the big parade. This year the U.S, Great Britain and France have even been invited to participate in the parade. That is unprecedented.
2. We ate at a restaurant called “Moo-Moo” so that’s why there are the photos of us with the cow. Don’t ask me to try to explain WHY there is a restaurant called “Moo-Moo,” just accept it for what it is, and go and eat there if you get a chance. The food is great!
3. There are many photos of the Christ the Savior Cathedral, and I keep calling it that because of its size. However, the word “Khram” in its Russia title (Khram Khristos Spacitel’” really means “temple” and this goes along with the Orthodox characterization that Moscow became the “Third Rome” after the falls of both Rome in the 5th century A.D., and of Constantinople in the 15th century. My new friend Zhanna who is studying here (as opposed to my friend Zhanna who works here in the Bishop’s office, and who I met three years ago when I was here) and I had a long discussion about the fact that the Russian Orthodox Church uses the word for “temple” to designate certain churches, although in western Christianity “temple” is not used for any churches.
It was an interesting discussion since a great deal of my time here I have spent reading and writing about some articles in books concerning the similarities and differences between the Orthodox Tradition and the Wesleyan tradition. (The use of both capital “T” “Tradition” and lower case “t” tradition is deliberate. For many in the Orthodox hierarchy, there is an insistence that only in Orthodoxy does the true Church exist. Obviously this is often debated in ecumenical dialogs.
All rightie, then . . . I know that’s enough theology for me right now! Probably for you, too, no doubt!
I am not sure what else in the photos needs an explanation, but when I put the captions up, you can ask me if there is anything that isn’t clear, O.K.?
Oh, I almost forgot. When I write at one time about the statue of a tsar on the grounds of the Temple of Christ the Savior (might as well translate its name properly), I misidentified the tsar. It is a not a statue of Nichols II, but of his great grandfather, Alexander II who built the original Temple of Christ the Savior of which the current one is an exact replica. So now that we have THAT straight . . . when you see the photo of the statue of the tsar, you will know who it really is.
It’s 2:00 PM and Zhanna and I will call for a cab to take me to the airport to fly to Vladivostok around 4:00 PM. I’m all packed and ready to go, but loath to leave in many ways, as much as I am looking forward to seeing Vladivostok and being able to visit my friend there.
Everyone here has been so sweet and kind, all of them telling me they hope I come back. I hope I do, too, God willing.
Happy Mother’s Day if that applies to you . . . and if not I hope you celebrate or remember your Mom and have a blessed day one way or another.
Sadly, my Mom fell and broke some ribs the other day, so please prayer for her not to be in pain and for her to recover quickly. Skype is great and I have been able to talk to my parents, my kids and some friends on it. Even though I don’t have a web cam, my son does, and when I talk with hi I have been able to see him and his family. Last night when I was talking to him he asked if I will be able to talk to them on Skype tomorrow for Mother’s Day. Whether or not I am able to, I know that both my kids are thinking of me and praying for me, and I trust I will be able to make up for not being around them when I do get to see them all.
God is so good and so faithful!
May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and yours.
Blessings and Love -- Kathy
The Heavens Declare God’s Glory
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
Psalm 19:1-4a
Kathleen Ware Harris © 2012
kwharris777@gmail.com
Friday, May 7, 2010
How Time Flies . . . May 7, 2010
Dear One -
I hope this finds you and yours healthy and happy.
As I get ready to leave Moscow and fly to Vladivostok, there are a few more things I want to share with you. On Wednesday morning I was blessed to attend one of the Students' Worship Services again. Several of the people who work in the Seminary office or in the Bishop's office were there, too. All the students took part in the service, and Artur preached on the ways that in Christ we are able to call God the Creator our Father in Heaven. In order to illustrate the idea that God is Father to the fatherless, he began by telling a story about his work with orphans in his home town of Samara in central Russia. He also did a good job pointing out that we often have spiritual parents who are important in our faith journeys. Sometimes they are the people who lead us to a saving knowledge of God in Christ. Sometimes they are those who listen to us, pray for us and guide us in the Way.
Sergei Nikolaev, who is also the E. Stanley Jones professor of Evangelism here, was also at the service. He occupies a professorial chair named for Bishop Ruediger Minor and his wife, Gerlinde. Back in 1992, Bishop Minor was the first United Methodist Bishop appointed to shepherd the clergy, laity and work of the UMC in the Eurasian Area. When it was time for Communion, Sergei got up to be the celebrant, and I found the peace I usually receive as I begin to hear the words of the Communion liturgy in English.
The first time I heard the words of the Communion service in Russian, I was the one speaking them It was in 1998 at the time that I was blessed to be given the opportunity to start the outreach to Russian-speaking immigrants in the Baltimore-Washington region. After meeting several immigrants, we started holding worship services in Russian in the Chapel at Rockville UMC. In case you don't know the Washington, D.C. area, Rockville is one of the Maryland suburbs straight north of the District. From there north through the town of Gaithersburg there are many former Soviet people, some of whom have lived in the locale since the mid-70s when because of a condition of Détente between the US and the Soviet Union, Jewish people who could prove they had been persecuted were allowed to emigrate. Many of them went to live in Israel, and many more came to the U.S.
Anyway, in 1998, my Russian language ability was pretty rusty, so I was blessed to practice my Communion liturgy pronunciation with a elderly Russian woman named Sophiya, whose daughter had called and asked me if we could help her mother come to our services. It was a joy to bring her to church with us, and spending with her in her apartment was lovely, too. Along with helping me with my Russian language, she led me to understand a bit more about what keeping the faith was like during the Soviet era. She described the difficulties this way. Not only was it often not possible to worship in a church, but there were few Bibles available and they had to be kept hidden, often even from family members. She told me that each believer's faith was very private, and most of the time it couldn't be shared with other people. I saw how in Sophiya's life that these conditions had led to a very deep intimate life in Christ. We were all happy that she came to worship with us because the peace of the Lord could be seen in her eyes and light was all around her.
As Sergei continued to recite the Communion liturgy the peace of God turned into a deep sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit with us. We had sung praise songs, listened to testimonies of God's faithfulness, heard prayer requests, prayed and worshiped with one another. Now we were joining with the Host of Witnesses to take part in the essential activity of the Body of Christ together. My heart soared and I felt so blessed to have been able to be here, to have been able to share in the life of the students for a while, and to be able to have studied with Sergei. God is so good and so wonderful!
If you feel led, please pray for the students, the people of the Seminary, the Bishop, District Superintendents, pastors and parishioners of the Eurasian area - and for everyone in the former Soviet Union, in order that they may come to know the fullness of God's love in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and yours.
Blessings in His Love - Kathy
In Remembrance of Him
When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And Jesus said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God." After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Luke 22:14-20
Kathleen Ware Harris © 2012
kwharris777@gmail.com
Thursday, May 6, 2010
The More Things Change . . . May 6, 2010
The More Things Change . . . May 6, 2010
Wishing You Joy, Peace and Love . . . Now and Always!
Dear One –
Today I want to reflect a little on the changes I have seen here in Russia from the first time I came here on December 27, 1993 until now. But before I do that, remembering that a picture is worth a thousand words, I will save you thousands of words by just directing you to some photos from some walks around the neighborhood here in the southwest part of Moscow not that far from the Kremlin and Red Square – a long walk along the river, but do-able! (You can also take a river boat. For 800 rubles you can get on and off the river boats that are just for touring. There are other dinner cruise boats and even one with big red paddle wheels on each side of the boat two thirds of the way towards the stern.)
Many of the photos were taken by Artur, one of the students you have heard about and seen in photos earlier if you have had a chance to look at them. When we went to Sergeev Posad I gave him my camera to use and we jokingly called him our “paprazzio”. Here is the designation for the web site with the photos.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23070&id=100000104723008&l=6da1f8167e
I hope you enjoy them!
Back to what has changed. In the mid-winter of 1994, there were only two MacDonalds restaurants in Moscow . . . and one Pizza Hut. Now I don’t know how many MacDonalds there are, but suffice it to say that we even found one in Sergeev Posad which is not a big place. At the same time I haven’t noticed any Pizza Hut restaurants – haven’t been back to the part of Moscow where I saw the one in 1994, so maybe it is still there. Nevertheless, there are TGI Fridays, and Sbarros . . . and a cafeteria style restaurant with a black and white cow theme called “Moo-Moo”. (I can’t explain why that would seem like a good idea, I just call ‘em like I see ‘em . . . it’s just there, near the Frunzhskaya Metro station – and the food is very good.)
Riding on a bus on the way out of Sheremetyevo Airport in 1993, there were only a few billboards and they all seemed to be advertising banks. Now as you can see from the photos of the walk down Komsomolskiy Prospect, there are many billboards advertising a variety of products and services as well as some that express joy in the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the victory in WW II, or in the celebration of the Moscow (which is over 800 years old. There are also billboards that have what I think of as “public service announcements.”
If you received my e-mail journal from the last time I was in Moscow in 2007, you might remember when I told you about a billboard that had a little cartoon car on it, crushed like an accordion. The text on the billboard read, “Cars are not toys.” In the three years since then I think there are so many more cars and so many more experienced drivers than even three years ago that I didn’t see any evidence of that kind of billboard this year. Nevertheless, this morning I saw a new one along Komsomolskiy prospect that had a photo of an electric commuter train on it.
I was glad that Artur was with me, because the words on the billboard didn’t make sense to me. They read, “Good guys pay for the train.” Again, it didn’t make sense until Artur reminded me of something I noticed and asked about when we took the train back from Sergeev Posad. We happened to be in the last car with very few other people in it since it was rush hour and we were going back into the city instead of leaving it. However, sometime into the journey the car started filling up with a bunch more folks. Then a woman conductor came into the car and started checking tickets (although the train was packed on the way out to Sergeev Posad and I don’t remember seeing a conductor. . . oh, wait . . . that’s because in order to get onto the platform to take a train, we had to put our tickets into a receptacle in the side of a turn style.
O.K. Anyway, a little while after the conductor started asking to see people’s tickets, many of the people who had come into the car quickly made their way to the exit door. At the next stop they all got off and many of them ran toward the front of the train. One of the students explained that they were riding the train without tickets. So after Artur reminded me of that, he said that the phenomenon of people riding without tickets was being addressed by the public service billboard. I saw that the conductor could not possibly have done anything about the people who moved from car to car as she moved through the train, got off when they got to the last car and quickly got on the train again. As a matter of fact, once she got to the end car where we were, she sat down and stayed in our car until the train reached the Yaroslavl station in Moscow.
That reminded me of something a friend of mine who was also studying Russian when we were in college said to me after coming back from a school year at Moscow University on an exchange program. She noted that instead of the general rules of society being enforced by uniformed officials, if someone was acting in an unacceptable way, anyone might correct them. The example she gave was that if someone was waiting at a bus stop and threw litter on the ground, an older woman who was also waiting for the bus would scold the litter bug. It seems like the “public service” billboards are kind of an extension of that, maybe.
So what else has changed? I had a strange experience when I was walking back from the medical clinic I visited because of some problems I was having (feel fine now – it was a very modern clinic called “Bud’ Zdorov!” which is what people say to you when you sneeze instead of “God bless you.” It means “Be healthy!” Since there are so many luxury cars everywhere in this part of town, as well as the fact that most cars seem to be new models—the older ones, and especially those that are not either from Japan, Germany, Korea, or the US stand out—I found myself kind of shocked to her myself thinking as I walked through a lovely neighborhood of mostly new apartment buildings, “This looks like Chicago.”
Now the reason that surprised me is that I know very well I am in Moscow, and if you walk down a street where there are Soviet era buildings, you really can’t mistake it for Chicago. But more than just the buildings, I think it had something to do with the kinds of cars. Moscow has become a city that looks like many cities in the US and in Europe. The traces of the earlier eras are visible when you look for them, certainly. But even three years ago I don’t remember seeing big signs on the top of buildings in English that touted brand names like SAMSUNG and TOSHIBO. I don’t remember seeing advertisements for European beer at the bus stops three years ago either.
And guess what! Rod Stewart is coming to give a concert here in June! Big signs near the bus stops at ground level proclaim this, and I’m kind of sorry I will miss him.
As a matter of fact, I feel sad in a way that I will be leaving Moscow on Saturday night to fly to Vladivostok. I will miss my old and new friends, and I really love this city and seeing the people walking, riding bikes, roller blading while pushing strollers, taking buses, metro trains, electric commuter trains, buses, trams and marshutki (the little vans that travel the bus routes), and river boats. I will miss seeing the golden dome of Kristos Spacitel’ Khram (Christ the Savior Cathedral) in the distance when I head up Komsomolskiy Prospect. And I will miss being able to walk over to Tolstoy’s Moscow home and St. Nicholas Khamnovicheskoy Church.
At the same, I am very excited to be able to go to Vladivostok, happy to be able to visit my friend there and hopefully to meet with some of the pastors and parishioners of the UMC in the Russian Far East. When we lived in Alaska, I used to joke that it was the Russian Far, Far East . . . although since it is in the Western Hemisphere, maybe you could also think of it as the former Russian Far, Far West. O.K. East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet. But actually in Russia, they do. And one of the most fascinating things about Russian culture is that it is influenced by both the East and the West, and has been for centuries.
Watch out, any minute I will start giving you a lecture from my days teaching Western Humanities! Better let you go.
May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and all those you love.
Please stay in touch!
Blessings and Love -- Kathy
Great is Thy Faithfulness
It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
Lamentations 3:22-26
Kathleen Ware Harris © 2012
kwharris777@gmail.com
Wishing You Joy, Peace and Love . . . Now and Always!
Dear One –
Today I want to reflect a little on the changes I have seen here in Russia from the first time I came here on December 27, 1993 until now. But before I do that, remembering that a picture is worth a thousand words, I will save you thousands of words by just directing you to some photos from some walks around the neighborhood here in the southwest part of Moscow not that far from the Kremlin and Red Square – a long walk along the river, but do-able! (You can also take a river boat. For 800 rubles you can get on and off the river boats that are just for touring. There are other dinner cruise boats and even one with big red paddle wheels on each side of the boat two thirds of the way towards the stern.)
Many of the photos were taken by Artur, one of the students you have heard about and seen in photos earlier if you have had a chance to look at them. When we went to Sergeev Posad I gave him my camera to use and we jokingly called him our “paprazzio”. Here is the designation for the web site with the photos.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23070&id=100000104723008&l=6da1f8167e
I hope you enjoy them!
Back to what has changed. In the mid-winter of 1994, there were only two MacDonalds restaurants in Moscow . . . and one Pizza Hut. Now I don’t know how many MacDonalds there are, but suffice it to say that we even found one in Sergeev Posad which is not a big place. At the same time I haven’t noticed any Pizza Hut restaurants – haven’t been back to the part of Moscow where I saw the one in 1994, so maybe it is still there. Nevertheless, there are TGI Fridays, and Sbarros . . . and a cafeteria style restaurant with a black and white cow theme called “Moo-Moo”. (I can’t explain why that would seem like a good idea, I just call ‘em like I see ‘em . . . it’s just there, near the Frunzhskaya Metro station – and the food is very good.)
Riding on a bus on the way out of Sheremetyevo Airport in 1993, there were only a few billboards and they all seemed to be advertising banks. Now as you can see from the photos of the walk down Komsomolskiy Prospect, there are many billboards advertising a variety of products and services as well as some that express joy in the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the victory in WW II, or in the celebration of the Moscow (which is over 800 years old. There are also billboards that have what I think of as “public service announcements.”
If you received my e-mail journal from the last time I was in Moscow in 2007, you might remember when I told you about a billboard that had a little cartoon car on it, crushed like an accordion. The text on the billboard read, “Cars are not toys.” In the three years since then I think there are so many more cars and so many more experienced drivers than even three years ago that I didn’t see any evidence of that kind of billboard this year. Nevertheless, this morning I saw a new one along Komsomolskiy prospect that had a photo of an electric commuter train on it.
I was glad that Artur was with me, because the words on the billboard didn’t make sense to me. They read, “Good guys pay for the train.” Again, it didn’t make sense until Artur reminded me of something I noticed and asked about when we took the train back from Sergeev Posad. We happened to be in the last car with very few other people in it since it was rush hour and we were going back into the city instead of leaving it. However, sometime into the journey the car started filling up with a bunch more folks. Then a woman conductor came into the car and started checking tickets (although the train was packed on the way out to Sergeev Posad and I don’t remember seeing a conductor. . . oh, wait . . . that’s because in order to get onto the platform to take a train, we had to put our tickets into a receptacle in the side of a turn style.
O.K. Anyway, a little while after the conductor started asking to see people’s tickets, many of the people who had come into the car quickly made their way to the exit door. At the next stop they all got off and many of them ran toward the front of the train. One of the students explained that they were riding the train without tickets. So after Artur reminded me of that, he said that the phenomenon of people riding without tickets was being addressed by the public service billboard. I saw that the conductor could not possibly have done anything about the people who moved from car to car as she moved through the train, got off when they got to the last car and quickly got on the train again. As a matter of fact, once she got to the end car where we were, she sat down and stayed in our car until the train reached the Yaroslavl station in Moscow.
That reminded me of something a friend of mine who was also studying Russian when we were in college said to me after coming back from a school year at Moscow University on an exchange program. She noted that instead of the general rules of society being enforced by uniformed officials, if someone was acting in an unacceptable way, anyone might correct them. The example she gave was that if someone was waiting at a bus stop and threw litter on the ground, an older woman who was also waiting for the bus would scold the litter bug. It seems like the “public service” billboards are kind of an extension of that, maybe.
So what else has changed? I had a strange experience when I was walking back from the medical clinic I visited because of some problems I was having (feel fine now – it was a very modern clinic called “Bud’ Zdorov!” which is what people say to you when you sneeze instead of “God bless you.” It means “Be healthy!” Since there are so many luxury cars everywhere in this part of town, as well as the fact that most cars seem to be new models—the older ones, and especially those that are not either from Japan, Germany, Korea, or the US stand out—I found myself kind of shocked to her myself thinking as I walked through a lovely neighborhood of mostly new apartment buildings, “This looks like Chicago.”
Now the reason that surprised me is that I know very well I am in Moscow, and if you walk down a street where there are Soviet era buildings, you really can’t mistake it for Chicago. But more than just the buildings, I think it had something to do with the kinds of cars. Moscow has become a city that looks like many cities in the US and in Europe. The traces of the earlier eras are visible when you look for them, certainly. But even three years ago I don’t remember seeing big signs on the top of buildings in English that touted brand names like SAMSUNG and TOSHIBO. I don’t remember seeing advertisements for European beer at the bus stops three years ago either.
And guess what! Rod Stewart is coming to give a concert here in June! Big signs near the bus stops at ground level proclaim this, and I’m kind of sorry I will miss him.
As a matter of fact, I feel sad in a way that I will be leaving Moscow on Saturday night to fly to Vladivostok. I will miss my old and new friends, and I really love this city and seeing the people walking, riding bikes, roller blading while pushing strollers, taking buses, metro trains, electric commuter trains, buses, trams and marshutki (the little vans that travel the bus routes), and river boats. I will miss seeing the golden dome of Kristos Spacitel’ Khram (Christ the Savior Cathedral) in the distance when I head up Komsomolskiy Prospect. And I will miss being able to walk over to Tolstoy’s Moscow home and St. Nicholas Khamnovicheskoy Church.
At the same, I am very excited to be able to go to Vladivostok, happy to be able to visit my friend there and hopefully to meet with some of the pastors and parishioners of the UMC in the Russian Far East. When we lived in Alaska, I used to joke that it was the Russian Far, Far East . . . although since it is in the Western Hemisphere, maybe you could also think of it as the former Russian Far, Far West. O.K. East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet. But actually in Russia, they do. And one of the most fascinating things about Russian culture is that it is influenced by both the East and the West, and has been for centuries.
Watch out, any minute I will start giving you a lecture from my days teaching Western Humanities! Better let you go.
May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and all those you love.
Please stay in touch!
Blessings and Love -- Kathy
Great is Thy Faithfulness
It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
Lamentations 3:22-26
Kathleen Ware Harris © 2012
kwharris777@gmail.com
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Latest Moscow Travel Journal Updates -- April 25th and May 2nd, 2010
Down to the River April 25, 2010
Wishing You Joy, Peace and Love . . . Now and Always
Dear One—
I hope this finds you and yours well and happy! Please write and let me know how things are going if you get a chance.
It’s my Dad’s eighty-third birthday today. Happy Birthday, Dad!!
Thursday night I looked up through the window in the ceiling where the roof slants at the south edge of the building and for the first time since I have been here the sky was completely clear. Instead of just being able to see one or two clouds between wispy clouds slightly illuminated by the reflection of the city lights I saw a whole constellation. The Russians and many other cultures call that group of stars “The Little Bear Cub”, but it is better known to us as “The Little Dipper.” I was happy to be able to get oriented to the night sky here. Since it’s spring the rains have been coming and going, and the evidence of the power of the effects of warmth of warmth of the sun and the life-giving rain is all around us. The grass is green, and the trees have gone beyond producing whatever type of pre-leaf growth they bring forth. The spring green of new leaves is everywhere. The top branches of cluster of birch trees on the edge of the yard of the Methodist Building are adorned with what looks like little jewels. There are more varied bird songs I can hear from inside the building. And I can see many varieties of birds now when I look out one of the windows on the first or second floor of the building or go for a walk.
Friday night as I looked up through the window in the ceiling where the roof slants at the south edge of the building, I saw big fluffy clouds briskly flying from north to south. Later in the night it rained off and on. Sure enough, yesterday morning the weather front that made the clouds from the north pass over us so quickly had led to cooler temperatures. I needed to go to the store to pick up a few things, so for the first time since I’ve been here, I donned my heavier jacket and went down the stairs to head outside. For some exercise I decided to take a walk down to the river before I went to the store. If you had been with me, this is what we would have seen together:
As we give my key to the lady who watches the door and keeps all the keys to every door in the building, we then go to the front door, and push a button to unlock the door. It’s good that we have on warmer coats. The waterproof jacket with the quilted lining I used for most of the winter is northern Georgia is perfect for the colder weather brought in by the front. We walk out the door and are on a portico. As we turn right toward the main gate of the fence around the building, we walk down four steps and cross the asphalt walkway. It’s about twenty yards from the portico to the gate. We step through the gate and notice that the lawns and the pathways through the park in the middle of the courtyard are a bit wet. There are two driveways on the outside edges of the inner courtyard, and we begin walking in between muddy tire tracks.
All along the driveways cars are parked. There is also a big tarp covering a huge motorcycle contraption. The other day when one of the students named Artur and I went for a walk, he pointed to it and said, “Monster”. We laughed.
We’ve now walked about forty yards and, coming to the intersection of the two driveways, we turn right and stroll underneath an arch that connects the two building on the southwest corner of the courtyard about nine stories above us. Now we cross Khamnovichesky Val and head toward a roofed-over staircase that goes down to a pedestrian walkway under the busy, four-laned Komsomolsky Prospect. Advertising banners strung from one side of the wide boulevard to another look very decorative. One says that you can buy a new apartment in a building called “Gulf Stream” Another advertises cars, and another tells you that you can find a loan for whatever you need one at a certain bank.
On both sides of Komsomolsky Prospect there are one-way side streets. The only other cities where I have driven on streets configured like that are Washington, D.C. and New York City. I always found it difficult to get from the side streets back into the real traffic, but that’s a hazard of driving in a bustling city.
Cars are parked on the edges of the sidewalks along these side streets and there is a little thin barrier island between the side streets and the Prospect that opens up every few blocks to accommodate a bus stop shelter of chrome and glass. We cross the smaller one-way street and head down the stairs to go under the Prospect in the pedestrian tunnel. The stairs are made up of steps that are not very high, but wide so that they are easy to walk down. On the left side there are two parallel steel plans with edges lain on the staircase so that wheel chairs can go up or down them. Once we have come down all the stairs we turn left and traverse the pedestrian walkway.
Often in pedestrian walkways under the street or in the wide underground hallways in the Moscow Metro stations you can find little kiosks along on wall. They are usually about maybe 8 feet by five feet large. The longer side is along the walkway and has a window in the door. Although it seems like two people could probably fit inside in the midst of the merchandise displayed in the windows that begin about two and a half feet above the floor, most of the time you can only see one person inside each kiosk. At the kiosks you can find all sorts of things including lingerie; Russian “fast food” (little meat and potato pies and other pastries); eye glasses; magazines and newspapers; and toys like you would find in a drug store in the U.S., or that you might have found in an old 5 and dime store way back when there were such stores.
The pedestrian walkway near the corner of Khamnovichesly Val and Komsomolsky Prospect doesn’t have any little kiosks, though. It’s not busy enough, probably. We walk for maybe fifty yards under the street and turn left to ascend the twin roofed staircase to the one when have so recently descended. On the right side of it there are also two parallel steel planks with edges for wheel chairs. Inside the pedestrian tunnel I was surprised to see something I have noticed in many cities in the U.S. and in other countries, but that probably didn’t exist in the Soviet era – some graffiti on the walls.
As we continue walking on the sidewalk in the same direction the stairs took us, we notice that the on first floor of most the apartments and office buildings there are banks and stores. People are no longer just wearing jackets or light coats as they were in the past two weeks since I arrived. Most of them have winter coats and hats. We notice a little boy with an older woman (his grandmother, perhaps). She is trying to get him to put on a wool cap. They are on the corner where a driveway comes out between two buildings as a woman driving a car pulls up, rolls down her window as she stops and says something to the little boy and the older woman. They wave as she turns to drive down the side street.
We keep walking for about two more blocks to Frunzhenskaya Ulitsa, (Frunzhe Street). From that corner it is about three blocks to the busy boulevard that runs along the embankment of the Moscow River. The street has a wide sidewalk running down the middle of a tree-lined park punctuated with raised flower beds in the shape of the petals of a daisy. Beautiful multi-colored pansies had been planted sometime recently. As we reach the end of the road near the river, we see seven or eight park workers in their green uniforms putting rakes and shovels into a truck, getting ready to get move on to their next assignment.
As we get close enough to see the hills on the island across the river from us, we notice the red jacket of a bicyclist moving swiftly along a path part way up the hill. Perhaps if the trees were fully leafed out we couldn’t see him or know that the path is there, but today he is visible. We have to wait for the traffic light to change before we can cross the busy thoroughfare along the embankment. And we have to step lively once we see that the cars have stopped and the little green light shaped like a person walking is shown. There is a big river boat called “Gisele” docked right in front of us. A banner under the big windows of the top deck of the boat advertises the price of its dinner cruise.
The river is wide and quickly flowing to our left, which surprises me because I thought it would flow the other way. I have to remember to look up on a map where it comes from and where it ends up. We are no longer protected by large buildings so the strong cold wind now coming from the northeast helps push us as we continue our walk along the embankment for a couple of blocks. If we had time to go a few more blocks we could cross the river on a pedestrian bridge and enjoy some time together in Gorky Park. But remember that I still have to go to the store.
I got up early and wrote a paper for one of my independent study courses for almost four hours. So I appreciate being able to take a nice walk with you down to the river!
Maybe I’ll write about the walk back home and the trip to the store later. Thanks so much for joining me.
Hope you have a wonderful day!
Blessings and Love – Kathy
Walking Humbly
He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
Worship, Field Trips and the Theater May 2, 2010
Wishing You Joy, Peace and Love . . . Now and Always!
Dear One –
How are you? I hope all is well with you and yours. What’s new?
My kids sent me some new photos of my two youngest grandchildren. You can see the latest photo of my son’s son, Colin at this website:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15945&id=100000104723008&l=df33429954
And on my Facebook page, you can see the latest photos of my daughter’s son, Jude:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22426&id=100000104723008&saved#!/profile.php?id=100000104723008&ref=profile
I feel like I am so often on “send” that maybe you don’t feel like I am open to “receive” Please know that I am always very happy to hear from you, and write when you feel like it. Also, if you have any prayer requests, please let me know. It is always a privilege to pray!
Since I last wrote to you, the time has flown by so fast, I can hardly believe it. I only have a week more in Moscow before I head to Vladivostok, God willing. Sometime last week, I realized that I could share the photos that have been taken here with you by posting them on my Facebook page and telling you about the link. So here are the photos from the trip to the Tretyakov Art Museum:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22264&id=100000104723008&l=164a21cb0e
It’s Sunday again, and I am looking forward to worshiping with the congregation called “Raduga” (“Rainbow”) this afternoon. The Raduga Church holds its services in the Seminary Building. A Korean/Russian congregation holds another church service on Sunday mornings in the building. In addition, on Wednesdays at 11 AM, the Seminary students have a worship service, and they also have the Bible study and communion service on Thursday afternoons. In all the services both hymns and contemporary praise songs are sung. One of my favorite praise songs is also a favorite of Artur and several other students. You may know the lyrics by Heather Headley:
“Here I am to worship,
here I am to bow down,
here I am to say that you’re my God.
You’re all together lovely,
all together worthy,
all together wonderful to me.
I’ll never know just what it cost
To see my sins upon the Cross.”
Since singing it in Russian for the first time a few weeks ago it often comes to my mind, and sometimes Artur will be singing it to himself as he walks down the hall of the dormitory floor.
Last Sunday I went with Zhanna, one of the other Seminary students, to worship at the First United Methodist Church of Moscow where she is a student pastor. Moscow’s First UMC is pastured by Ludmila Pavlovna Garbuzova, a wonderful woman I met in the late 90s when we were both at a Russia Initiative Consultation. Ludmila was a music professor and helped put together two hymnals for the UMC in Eurasia. She has even written hymns that are contained in the hymnals. One has many of the same traditional hymns of the UMC Hymnal published in the U.S. in the late ‘80s, but of course they have been translated into Russian. In addition, there are traditional Russian choir hymns and some new ones written by Ludmila and some other composers. The other UMC hymnal in Russian, “Mir Vam” (Peace Be With You”) has praise songs, some of which are translated from English and some of which are original songs in Russian.
Over the years since even before the break-up of the Soviet Union, a lot of interesting things have taken place concerning the development of the UMC in the former Soviet Republics. Except for the Baltic Republics, all of the former Soviet Union is part of the United Methodist administrative region known as “The Eurasian Area.” In case you don’t know how the United Methodist Church sets things up, within the Eurasian area there are five geographical “annual conferences” in the Eurasian Area, each one separated into geographical districts. The whole Eurasian area is overseen by Bishop Hans Vaxby and the members of his Cabinet made up of the District Superintendents of all the districts and some other pastors who work directly for the Bishop.
I have been involved with the work of the United Methodist Church in the former Soviet Union since the early 90s in one way or another. It’s been wonderful to see the interactions between people from the U.S. and people here. Many folks from the U.S. have come as part of Volunteers in Mission (VIM) teams. The United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries founded what is called the Russia Initiative in the early 90s as a way that exchanges could take place between United Methodists from outside of Eurasia and those over here. Many pastors and leaders from the Eurasian area have come to the U.S. for the Russia Initiative Consultations held every year and a half or so.
Youth and adults from UMCs in Europe have also participated in VIM trips, especially in order to help remodel or construct buildings at the Russian UMC Camp in southwest Russia, and to participate in camping programs with youth from Eurasian UMCs. The people I know in the UMC here in the Eurasian area are full of joy. They share their love and faith in many ways. A meal is usually prepared for everyone to eat together either before or after Sunday worship, and the congregations are involved in actively showing God’s love in many ways including feeding poor and homeless folks, outreach to orphans, and supporting people going through rehabilitation programs.
Anyway, last week I was so blessed to be able to see Ludmila Garbuzova again, and to worship with the people in the church she serves. Then on Monday the Seminary students had the day off, so I invited four of them to go with me to see the historic Lavra (Monastery) of the Holy Trinity in Sergeev Posad a town about an hour and a half’s train ride north of downtown Moscow.
Zhanna and I had the idea of going together when we were taking the Metro back from the First UMC service on Sunday. Then, when we saw the other three students who live in the dorm, Artur, Zhenya and Sasha, I asked them if they wanted to go with us. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, you can see some photos from our field trip by going to this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22426&id=100000104723008&l=8186ea1ba3
Then on Tuesday I went with another friend named Zhanna to the Moscow Art Theater’s production of a play made from Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel, “The Master and Margarita.” As you might expect knowing the reputation of the theater in Russia, it was exceptionally well done and fascinating. You can find photos taken of Zhanna and me near Red Square before we had dinner together at a “Planeta Sushi” Japanese restaurant in the “Hunter’s Row shopping mall with a view of the western wall of the Kremlin by going to this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22785&id=100000104723008&l=fa80746fe9
Hope you enjoy the photos!
Blessings and Love -- Kathy
Kathleen Ware Harris © 2012
kwharris777@gmail.com
Wishing You Joy, Peace and Love . . . Now and Always
Dear One—
I hope this finds you and yours well and happy! Please write and let me know how things are going if you get a chance.
It’s my Dad’s eighty-third birthday today. Happy Birthday, Dad!!
Thursday night I looked up through the window in the ceiling where the roof slants at the south edge of the building and for the first time since I have been here the sky was completely clear. Instead of just being able to see one or two clouds between wispy clouds slightly illuminated by the reflection of the city lights I saw a whole constellation. The Russians and many other cultures call that group of stars “The Little Bear Cub”, but it is better known to us as “The Little Dipper.” I was happy to be able to get oriented to the night sky here. Since it’s spring the rains have been coming and going, and the evidence of the power of the effects of warmth of warmth of the sun and the life-giving rain is all around us. The grass is green, and the trees have gone beyond producing whatever type of pre-leaf growth they bring forth. The spring green of new leaves is everywhere. The top branches of cluster of birch trees on the edge of the yard of the Methodist Building are adorned with what looks like little jewels. There are more varied bird songs I can hear from inside the building. And I can see many varieties of birds now when I look out one of the windows on the first or second floor of the building or go for a walk.
Friday night as I looked up through the window in the ceiling where the roof slants at the south edge of the building, I saw big fluffy clouds briskly flying from north to south. Later in the night it rained off and on. Sure enough, yesterday morning the weather front that made the clouds from the north pass over us so quickly had led to cooler temperatures. I needed to go to the store to pick up a few things, so for the first time since I’ve been here, I donned my heavier jacket and went down the stairs to head outside. For some exercise I decided to take a walk down to the river before I went to the store. If you had been with me, this is what we would have seen together:
As we give my key to the lady who watches the door and keeps all the keys to every door in the building, we then go to the front door, and push a button to unlock the door. It’s good that we have on warmer coats. The waterproof jacket with the quilted lining I used for most of the winter is northern Georgia is perfect for the colder weather brought in by the front. We walk out the door and are on a portico. As we turn right toward the main gate of the fence around the building, we walk down four steps and cross the asphalt walkway. It’s about twenty yards from the portico to the gate. We step through the gate and notice that the lawns and the pathways through the park in the middle of the courtyard are a bit wet. There are two driveways on the outside edges of the inner courtyard, and we begin walking in between muddy tire tracks.
All along the driveways cars are parked. There is also a big tarp covering a huge motorcycle contraption. The other day when one of the students named Artur and I went for a walk, he pointed to it and said, “Monster”. We laughed.
We’ve now walked about forty yards and, coming to the intersection of the two driveways, we turn right and stroll underneath an arch that connects the two building on the southwest corner of the courtyard about nine stories above us. Now we cross Khamnovichesky Val and head toward a roofed-over staircase that goes down to a pedestrian walkway under the busy, four-laned Komsomolsky Prospect. Advertising banners strung from one side of the wide boulevard to another look very decorative. One says that you can buy a new apartment in a building called “Gulf Stream” Another advertises cars, and another tells you that you can find a loan for whatever you need one at a certain bank.
On both sides of Komsomolsky Prospect there are one-way side streets. The only other cities where I have driven on streets configured like that are Washington, D.C. and New York City. I always found it difficult to get from the side streets back into the real traffic, but that’s a hazard of driving in a bustling city.
Cars are parked on the edges of the sidewalks along these side streets and there is a little thin barrier island between the side streets and the Prospect that opens up every few blocks to accommodate a bus stop shelter of chrome and glass. We cross the smaller one-way street and head down the stairs to go under the Prospect in the pedestrian tunnel. The stairs are made up of steps that are not very high, but wide so that they are easy to walk down. On the left side there are two parallel steel plans with edges lain on the staircase so that wheel chairs can go up or down them. Once we have come down all the stairs we turn left and traverse the pedestrian walkway.
Often in pedestrian walkways under the street or in the wide underground hallways in the Moscow Metro stations you can find little kiosks along on wall. They are usually about maybe 8 feet by five feet large. The longer side is along the walkway and has a window in the door. Although it seems like two people could probably fit inside in the midst of the merchandise displayed in the windows that begin about two and a half feet above the floor, most of the time you can only see one person inside each kiosk. At the kiosks you can find all sorts of things including lingerie; Russian “fast food” (little meat and potato pies and other pastries); eye glasses; magazines and newspapers; and toys like you would find in a drug store in the U.S., or that you might have found in an old 5 and dime store way back when there were such stores.
The pedestrian walkway near the corner of Khamnovichesly Val and Komsomolsky Prospect doesn’t have any little kiosks, though. It’s not busy enough, probably. We walk for maybe fifty yards under the street and turn left to ascend the twin roofed staircase to the one when have so recently descended. On the right side of it there are also two parallel steel planks with edges for wheel chairs. Inside the pedestrian tunnel I was surprised to see something I have noticed in many cities in the U.S. and in other countries, but that probably didn’t exist in the Soviet era – some graffiti on the walls.
As we continue walking on the sidewalk in the same direction the stairs took us, we notice that the on first floor of most the apartments and office buildings there are banks and stores. People are no longer just wearing jackets or light coats as they were in the past two weeks since I arrived. Most of them have winter coats and hats. We notice a little boy with an older woman (his grandmother, perhaps). She is trying to get him to put on a wool cap. They are on the corner where a driveway comes out between two buildings as a woman driving a car pulls up, rolls down her window as she stops and says something to the little boy and the older woman. They wave as she turns to drive down the side street.
We keep walking for about two more blocks to Frunzhenskaya Ulitsa, (Frunzhe Street). From that corner it is about three blocks to the busy boulevard that runs along the embankment of the Moscow River. The street has a wide sidewalk running down the middle of a tree-lined park punctuated with raised flower beds in the shape of the petals of a daisy. Beautiful multi-colored pansies had been planted sometime recently. As we reach the end of the road near the river, we see seven or eight park workers in their green uniforms putting rakes and shovels into a truck, getting ready to get move on to their next assignment.
As we get close enough to see the hills on the island across the river from us, we notice the red jacket of a bicyclist moving swiftly along a path part way up the hill. Perhaps if the trees were fully leafed out we couldn’t see him or know that the path is there, but today he is visible. We have to wait for the traffic light to change before we can cross the busy thoroughfare along the embankment. And we have to step lively once we see that the cars have stopped and the little green light shaped like a person walking is shown. There is a big river boat called “Gisele” docked right in front of us. A banner under the big windows of the top deck of the boat advertises the price of its dinner cruise.
The river is wide and quickly flowing to our left, which surprises me because I thought it would flow the other way. I have to remember to look up on a map where it comes from and where it ends up. We are no longer protected by large buildings so the strong cold wind now coming from the northeast helps push us as we continue our walk along the embankment for a couple of blocks. If we had time to go a few more blocks we could cross the river on a pedestrian bridge and enjoy some time together in Gorky Park. But remember that I still have to go to the store.
I got up early and wrote a paper for one of my independent study courses for almost four hours. So I appreciate being able to take a nice walk with you down to the river!
Maybe I’ll write about the walk back home and the trip to the store later. Thanks so much for joining me.
Hope you have a wonderful day!
Blessings and Love – Kathy
Walking Humbly
He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
Worship, Field Trips and the Theater May 2, 2010
Wishing You Joy, Peace and Love . . . Now and Always!
Dear One –
How are you? I hope all is well with you and yours. What’s new?
My kids sent me some new photos of my two youngest grandchildren. You can see the latest photo of my son’s son, Colin at this website:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15945&id=100000104723008&l=df33429954
And on my Facebook page, you can see the latest photos of my daughter’s son, Jude:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22426&id=100000104723008&saved#!/profile.php?id=100000104723008&ref=profile
I feel like I am so often on “send” that maybe you don’t feel like I am open to “receive” Please know that I am always very happy to hear from you, and write when you feel like it. Also, if you have any prayer requests, please let me know. It is always a privilege to pray!
Since I last wrote to you, the time has flown by so fast, I can hardly believe it. I only have a week more in Moscow before I head to Vladivostok, God willing. Sometime last week, I realized that I could share the photos that have been taken here with you by posting them on my Facebook page and telling you about the link. So here are the photos from the trip to the Tretyakov Art Museum:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22264&id=100000104723008&l=164a21cb0e
It’s Sunday again, and I am looking forward to worshiping with the congregation called “Raduga” (“Rainbow”) this afternoon. The Raduga Church holds its services in the Seminary Building. A Korean/Russian congregation holds another church service on Sunday mornings in the building. In addition, on Wednesdays at 11 AM, the Seminary students have a worship service, and they also have the Bible study and communion service on Thursday afternoons. In all the services both hymns and contemporary praise songs are sung. One of my favorite praise songs is also a favorite of Artur and several other students. You may know the lyrics by Heather Headley:
“Here I am to worship,
here I am to bow down,
here I am to say that you’re my God.
You’re all together lovely,
all together worthy,
all together wonderful to me.
I’ll never know just what it cost
To see my sins upon the Cross.”
Since singing it in Russian for the first time a few weeks ago it often comes to my mind, and sometimes Artur will be singing it to himself as he walks down the hall of the dormitory floor.
Last Sunday I went with Zhanna, one of the other Seminary students, to worship at the First United Methodist Church of Moscow where she is a student pastor. Moscow’s First UMC is pastured by Ludmila Pavlovna Garbuzova, a wonderful woman I met in the late 90s when we were both at a Russia Initiative Consultation. Ludmila was a music professor and helped put together two hymnals for the UMC in Eurasia. She has even written hymns that are contained in the hymnals. One has many of the same traditional hymns of the UMC Hymnal published in the U.S. in the late ‘80s, but of course they have been translated into Russian. In addition, there are traditional Russian choir hymns and some new ones written by Ludmila and some other composers. The other UMC hymnal in Russian, “Mir Vam” (Peace Be With You”) has praise songs, some of which are translated from English and some of which are original songs in Russian.
Over the years since even before the break-up of the Soviet Union, a lot of interesting things have taken place concerning the development of the UMC in the former Soviet Republics. Except for the Baltic Republics, all of the former Soviet Union is part of the United Methodist administrative region known as “The Eurasian Area.” In case you don’t know how the United Methodist Church sets things up, within the Eurasian area there are five geographical “annual conferences” in the Eurasian Area, each one separated into geographical districts. The whole Eurasian area is overseen by Bishop Hans Vaxby and the members of his Cabinet made up of the District Superintendents of all the districts and some other pastors who work directly for the Bishop.
I have been involved with the work of the United Methodist Church in the former Soviet Union since the early 90s in one way or another. It’s been wonderful to see the interactions between people from the U.S. and people here. Many folks from the U.S. have come as part of Volunteers in Mission (VIM) teams. The United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries founded what is called the Russia Initiative in the early 90s as a way that exchanges could take place between United Methodists from outside of Eurasia and those over here. Many pastors and leaders from the Eurasian area have come to the U.S. for the Russia Initiative Consultations held every year and a half or so.
Youth and adults from UMCs in Europe have also participated in VIM trips, especially in order to help remodel or construct buildings at the Russian UMC Camp in southwest Russia, and to participate in camping programs with youth from Eurasian UMCs. The people I know in the UMC here in the Eurasian area are full of joy. They share their love and faith in many ways. A meal is usually prepared for everyone to eat together either before or after Sunday worship, and the congregations are involved in actively showing God’s love in many ways including feeding poor and homeless folks, outreach to orphans, and supporting people going through rehabilitation programs.
Anyway, last week I was so blessed to be able to see Ludmila Garbuzova again, and to worship with the people in the church she serves. Then on Monday the Seminary students had the day off, so I invited four of them to go with me to see the historic Lavra (Monastery) of the Holy Trinity in Sergeev Posad a town about an hour and a half’s train ride north of downtown Moscow.
Zhanna and I had the idea of going together when we were taking the Metro back from the First UMC service on Sunday. Then, when we saw the other three students who live in the dorm, Artur, Zhenya and Sasha, I asked them if they wanted to go with us. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, you can see some photos from our field trip by going to this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22426&id=100000104723008&l=8186ea1ba3
Then on Tuesday I went with another friend named Zhanna to the Moscow Art Theater’s production of a play made from Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel, “The Master and Margarita.” As you might expect knowing the reputation of the theater in Russia, it was exceptionally well done and fascinating. You can find photos taken of Zhanna and me near Red Square before we had dinner together at a “Planeta Sushi” Japanese restaurant in the “Hunter’s Row shopping mall with a view of the western wall of the Kremlin by going to this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22785&id=100000104723008&l=fa80746fe9
Hope you enjoy the photos!
Blessings and Love -- Kathy
Kathleen Ware Harris © 2012
kwharris777@gmail.com
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Guests and a Trip to the Tretyakov April 21, 2010
Guests and a Trip to the Tretyakov April 21, 2010
Wishing You Joy Peace and Love . . . Now and Always!
Dear One –
I find it hard to believe that my grandson Noah is now thirteen years old, as of two days ago, and on April 25th my Dad will be eighty-three. It’s hard to be so far away for such important events such as birthdays, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day! Nevertheless, it’s good to know that there are a lot of good memories of those days, and I can look forward to being together in the future.
This past weekend there was a special event in the Seminary here. Some young people who are exploring their calls to ministry came to find out more about the academic programs and what it is like for the students who live here. With great joy, the students, and all who are involved in the Seminary, from the president on down worked hard hosting the guests. There were around ten visitors, and I was invited to participate in worship services and in the programs for them. The highlight of Saturday was a special music fest.
A friend who was a student here three years ago was one of the performers. When she saw me walk into the room she looked very surprised and happy to see me, as I was to see her. She beautifully played the guitar and sang two praise songs she had written. Then one of the current seminary students got up to perform some Christian rap (in Russian!) and then he sang a beautiful praise song in the mode of traditional Russian folk songs. Other students recited poetry and played their guitars. It was a joy-filled time when each person who shared his or her talents was enthusiastically applauded by the members of the audience.
Each performer was given a box of chocolates to thank them for performing. And most of them shared their chocolates with everyone when we went down the hall to the dining room afterwards to have some tea together.
Then on Sunday morning, the visitors had another informational presentation about the United Methodist Church. After that there was a worship service with communion. In the afternoon, two of the students took some of the visitors down to the Tretyakov Art Museum. They invited me to come along, so I was blessed to be with them and to see the wonderful Russian art work in the museum again for the first time in three years.
It was the kind of lovely early spring Sunday when people apparently wanted to get out and about. Couples and families with young children were on the Metro trains, strolling along the boulevards and passageways around the city. Compared to the hustle and bustle during the weekdays, people for the most part seemed relaxed.
There were nine of us, so one of the biggest challenges was getting all of us in and out the metro train cars before the doors closed again. The train cars were sometimes crowded, but whenever there was a vacant seat, one of the young gentlemen in our group made sure I was invited to sit down. And, just to show you that in Russia chivalry isn’t dead amongst strangers, there was one time on a Metro train that a man around my age got up and offered me his place!
A lot has been going on since Sunday, but I will wait until the next journal entry to tell you about it.
Blessings -- Kathy
"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
Wishing You Joy Peace and Love . . . Now and Always!
Dear One –
I find it hard to believe that my grandson Noah is now thirteen years old, as of two days ago, and on April 25th my Dad will be eighty-three. It’s hard to be so far away for such important events such as birthdays, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day! Nevertheless, it’s good to know that there are a lot of good memories of those days, and I can look forward to being together in the future.
This past weekend there was a special event in the Seminary here. Some young people who are exploring their calls to ministry came to find out more about the academic programs and what it is like for the students who live here. With great joy, the students, and all who are involved in the Seminary, from the president on down worked hard hosting the guests. There were around ten visitors, and I was invited to participate in worship services and in the programs for them. The highlight of Saturday was a special music fest.
A friend who was a student here three years ago was one of the performers. When she saw me walk into the room she looked very surprised and happy to see me, as I was to see her. She beautifully played the guitar and sang two praise songs she had written. Then one of the current seminary students got up to perform some Christian rap (in Russian!) and then he sang a beautiful praise song in the mode of traditional Russian folk songs. Other students recited poetry and played their guitars. It was a joy-filled time when each person who shared his or her talents was enthusiastically applauded by the members of the audience.
Each performer was given a box of chocolates to thank them for performing. And most of them shared their chocolates with everyone when we went down the hall to the dining room afterwards to have some tea together.
Then on Sunday morning, the visitors had another informational presentation about the United Methodist Church. After that there was a worship service with communion. In the afternoon, two of the students took some of the visitors down to the Tretyakov Art Museum. They invited me to come along, so I was blessed to be with them and to see the wonderful Russian art work in the museum again for the first time in three years.
It was the kind of lovely early spring Sunday when people apparently wanted to get out and about. Couples and families with young children were on the Metro trains, strolling along the boulevards and passageways around the city. Compared to the hustle and bustle during the weekdays, people for the most part seemed relaxed.
There were nine of us, so one of the biggest challenges was getting all of us in and out the metro train cars before the doors closed again. The train cars were sometimes crowded, but whenever there was a vacant seat, one of the young gentlemen in our group made sure I was invited to sit down. And, just to show you that in Russia chivalry isn’t dead amongst strangers, there was one time on a Metro train that a man around my age got up and offered me his place!
A lot has been going on since Sunday, but I will wait until the next journal entry to tell you about it.
Blessings -- Kathy
Ask, Seek and Knock!
Then [Jesus] said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.' "Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
Luke 11:5-13
Kathleen Ware Harris © 2012
kwharris777@gmail.com
Saturday, April 17, 2010
On the Road Again -- to Russia! April 2010
On the Road Again!! April 5, 2010
Wishing You Joy, Peace and Love . . . Now and Always! April 2010
Dear One --
How are you? I hope all is well with you and yours.
I am leaving for Russia on Saturday and decided to use Constant Contact to send my usual travel journal entries. It's easy to unsubscribe if you want to -- and if you are interested in forwarding the e-mail to a friend, that's fine with me.
You may know that I am heading overseas again. It's a blessing that I will be able to spend almost three months in Russia to work on my Doctorate of Ministry, God willing. Bishop Hans Vaxby, the United Methodist Bishop of the Eurasian Area (which is most of the former Soviet Union) has given me permission to work on two independent study courses and my doctoral project over there. I'll be in Moscow for almost a month, and then travel around a bit to visit with friends who are pastors and District Superintendents of the Russian United Methodist Churches. I hope I will be able to be encouraging and helpful to them all.
With great joy, for the last week I have been visiting my Mom and Dad in Florida. We had a lovely time on Easter yesterday when my sister Jennifer, her husband, Mike and their daughter, Chelsea joined us. We had a delicious Easter dinner and then Dad and Mike went out fishing for a while. They both loved that, and even caught some fish!
When my son Tom called to wish us Happy Easter from southern California, the earthquake happened in the middle of our call! They were all OK, but it shook me up for a few minutes. Blessedly, they know what to do when they first feel a tremor, and they all got out of the house right away. A few minutes later Tom said that my daughter, Krista, was calling him because he saw her number on call waiting. Seems like they are close enough that she knew right when to call, just when they had been feeling the earthquake tremors!
Tomorrow I fly to Washington, D.C., to pick up my passport and to spend some time in the Wesley Seminary library before heading to Moscow. I would appreciate any prayers for safe travel and for my family while I'm in Russia, if you feel led.
During my travels, I will be able to check my e-mail off and on, so please keep in touch if you feel like it!
As ever, I will be praying for you and yours.
May God continue to bless and keep you and all those you love.
Blessings -- Kathy
* * *
Blessed Are Those . . .!
"Blessed are those who are poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." [Matthew 5:3-9]
_____
Here in Moscow April 13, 2010
Wishing You Joy, Peace and Love . . . Now and Always! April 2010
Dear One --
How are you? I hope all is well with you and yours.
I am writing today from the United Methodist Seminary in Moscow, praising God that I arrived here safely on Sunday afternoon! Since I last wrote to you, I traveled from Florida to Washington, D.C., after visiting with my parents and my sister and her family. I needed to be in D.C. to pick up my passport with the visa imprinted in it, andthere was a bit of a time crunch because it is somewhat unpredictable how long it will take for the Russian Embassy in D.C. to process a visa request. I also wanted to spend some time at the Wesley Theological Seminary (WTS) library in preparation for the studying I am here in Russia to do.
I was blessed that a dear friend in Washington offered her generous and gracious hospitality to me again. I also stayed with her back in January during my Doctorate of Ministry Session at WTS. However, a few days after I arrived in Washington, my friend's mother passed away after suffering with several health issues during the past six months or so. Please keep my friend and her family in your prayers as you feel led. Of course they are dealing with their grief, but also celebrating the life of my friend's mother, who was a fabulous, joy-filled and very loving woman, as is my friend.
During the first few days I was in Washington, it was unseasonably hot -- in the 90s. But on Saturday morning, it was much cooler, like a normal spring day in April there. I had arranged to take a taxi to Dulles Airport with the same driver who had driven me from National Airport to my friend's house on last Tuesday evening. He told me that he was Ethiopian when I commented a small cross I saw hanging from his rear view mirror. On both drives we talked about how things are in Ethiopia, how long he had been in the U.S., and our faith. That reminded me of something I have been wanting to write about for a long time.
When I was ordained some friends gave me a gift of an ancient silver cross from the early days of Christianity. You can see the curved edges of three of the five silver Roman coins from which it was made at the bottom of the cross and at each end of its two arms.
I saw a coin like it in a collection of coins found on his archeological expeditions in Jordan by one of our WTS Old Testament professors who is also a biblical archeologist, Dr. David Hopkins. He said that coins of that type were minted by the Roman Empire between 100 B.C. and 200 A.D. So the cross I was given is between 1600 and 1800 years old. The particular style of the cross has its origins in the Coptic Church, which began in ancient Ethiopia and still has believers in Egypt and in modern-day Ethiopia (and also some who are immigrants in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere!)
According to the traditions of the Coptic Church, the Ethiopian people came to believe in Christ because of an event narrated in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 8:26-40). An Ethiopian Eunuch, who was an official of the court of the Candace, the queen of the Ethiopian people, had been worshipping in Jerusalem for the Passover at the time of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. The Apostle Philip had an encounter with him, and he asked Philip to explain prophecies about Jesus Christ in the Hebrew scriptures. Philip did as he asked. Upon hearing the Gospel that Philip proclaimed to him, the Ethiopian Eunuch asked Philip to baptize him. His conversion led him to share his faith when he returned home, and the Ethiopian people were one of the first nations to become believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Two good friends gave me the cross arranged on a leather string along with fourteen ancient glass beads made from pink sand. One of the friends was working in an antiquities shop, and she told me that the beads might be over two thousand years old. She also told me about the symbolism of the design of my cross.
From the top down there are four different symbols, each from different cultures in the Roman Empire around the time of the Early Church. The very top of the cross curves in a semi-circle, and there are little rays protruding from the curve. It looks like a sunrise and signifies the dawn on the day of Jesus' Resurrection. Early believers in Christianity saw significance in the idea that Resurrection Day was the dawn of a brand new era for creation.
Underneath the curve of the rays there is a symbol that has four ovals connected to each other in the middle. I was told that it is a traditional African design representing the Creator. Beneath that symbol there are several bars of silver with spaces in between them. Below that, the body of the cross has a kind of lattice work design with open spaces in between the overlapping diagonal strands. The lattice work is reminiscent of a Celtic symbol for eternity.
If you look up "ancient Coptic crosses" on a search engine online, you might find a photo of a cross that looks like the one I was given.
I'm still jet-lagging, so I won't write more tonight. I will tell you more about the rest of my trip to Moscow and my impressions of the city compared to how it seemed when I was here three years ago.
As ever, I will be praying for you and yours. Please let me know if you have any specific prayer requests. And please pray for the pastors and people of the United Methodist Church in the Eurasia Area. Already today I have been blessed to see old friends and to meet some folks I haven't known before, including several of the students who are now studying here at Grace Russian United Methodist Seminary in Moscow.
May God continue to bless and keep you and all those you love.
Blessings -- Kathy
* * * *
God Has Good Plans for You
For I know the plans for you, says the Lord, plans for good and not for evil to give you a future and a hope. When you call out to me in prayer, I will hear your prayers. When you seek me you will find me, if you seek me with all your heart
Jeremiah 29:11-13
______
Dear One –
It seems like I have a lot to tell you, so I think I will relate all I have to say over the next few days. My impressions of Moscow this time, three years after I was last here include things that have changed and things that seem to have stayed the same. First, though, I want to back up and tell you more about the trip over here.
I flew from Dulles airport to JFK airport in New York in one of those smaller shuttle airplanes often called a puddle-jumper. It was packed. In the waiting area before boarding and while on the plane, I spoke with several people who were also heading up to JFK to catch planes going overseas.
Two were heading to Nigeria for a conference on AIDS education, and the wife of an elderly couple told me that they were thrilled to be on their way to Egypt for the first time. I told her that as a child I had loved learning about ancient Egyptian history and culture and that I went through a phase when I wanted to be an anthropologist or an archeologist. She said that was a phase she had been through as well.
Once we arrived at JFK, we deplaned down a ladder and walked under an enclosed canopy hallway for what seemed like two blocks. I had to make my way to the terminal next door to the one where I had deplaned from the flight from D.C., and I had about four and an half hours between flights. The Aeroflot counter didn’t open until around three fifteen, so I had some lunch while I waited to check in for the flight. Having to go through two airport security processes in the same day was kind of frustrating, but necessary. It’s better just to “go with the flow” and not fuss about the things I can’t change.
The weather in New York was the same as it was in Washington, with the cold air of an early spring day, but still bright and sunshiny. Turned out that Moscow was in the same state as New York was in terms of what was green, and what wasn’t. The temperature was about the same and the sun shone brightly in a beautifully cloudless sky.
The long flight to Moscow was uneventful and pleasant. I watched two movies and had several conversations with the young woman who sat next to me. She was on the way to visit her family in Minsk, but married to an American man. She told me that she had a ten year old daughter and studied singing in a conservatory. So she sings as a soloist in the choir of a Russian Orthodox Church in New York.
As she described her solo for the Resurrection liturgy, I could just imagine how beautiful it must have been. She said she had come with her choir to the celebration of the reunion of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad with the Church in Russia. During the Soviet era, as you probably know, the two parts of the Russian Orthodox Church were estranged because of the repression of faith by the Soviet government.
The reunion was celebrated during the first week that I was here in Moscow in 2007, and I wrote about it in my 2007 Moscow Journal. It was fun to tell the young woman who sat next to me that I had also been in Moscow when she and many others were praising God in song and worship at the beautiful Christ the Savior Cathedral that they finished rebuilding in 2004. I described the beauty of that cathedral in the 2007 journal, too.
With great joy, I saw Christ the Savior Cathedral again on Tuesday because it happened that I went to visit an old friend in his office which is a few blocks away from the Cathedral. I know that many of you received the entries in the 2007 journal, so I don’t want to be repetitive here. If you would like me to send you more details about Christ the Savior Cathedral because you didn’t hear about it earlier, or you don’t remember what I wrote about it so long ago, I will be glad to oblige. Just let me know.
After leaving the Sheremetyevo International Airport on the outskirts of Moscow, I found and cab and was driven to the Methodist Building.
If you come to visit on the Moscow Metro’s Red Line, you will find that it is about five Metro stops southwest of the Kremlin, which is in the hub of downtown Moscow, though it is not exactly in the center of the metropolis. The Moscow River winds its way through the downtown area in the south central part of the city, and the Kremlin was originally built as a fortress on its banks.
The Methodist Building houses the Grace Russian United Methodist Seminary, the offices of Bishop Vaxby, and a worship space which several congregations use. Upon arriving, I immediately felt that I had come home and was graciously welcomed and escorted up to my room on the third floor, where the students and others who work in the Seminary live. The room I was given is right next door to the room I stayed in three years ago! It also has a window skylight in the slope of the roof, but is a larger room that has three beds in it.
Three years ago my bed was right under the window, and I enjoyed watching the night sky and being awakened by the light that shone through the window in the morning. However, this time I gave myself a few nights to sleep on a bed in the furthest corner away from the skylight window. I was still sleeping at unpredictable times because of jet lag, so that made more sense. But last night I moved over to the bed under the window and enjoyed waking up because of the light this morning.
I promised you some reflections on first impressions this time in Moscow. The main changes I noticed during the ride from the airport were that there were even more billboards, more new buildings and more cars on the main highway from the northwest outskirts of the city where the airport is all the way to the Khamnovichesky Val near the Weavers District where the Methodist Building is.
As I wrote in my 2007 journal, Leo Tolstoy owned a house in the Weavers’ District, a few blocks from the first Russian Orthodox Church I went to in Russia, called St. Nicholas of the Weavers. Both his house and the church are in walking distance from the Methodist Building, and I walked by the church the other day. It was wonderful to see it again.
Probably that is enough for now. I have some reading to do before I head to bed. Hopefully tonight and tomorrow morning I will finally find that my internal clock has caught up to the time zone here. We’ll see!
May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and yours.
With Love -- Kathy
The God of Peace Will Be With You
The Apostle Paul wrote to his beloved friends in Philippi -- “ . . .whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is righteous, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—think about these things. 9 All that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”
[Philippians 4:8-9]
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Chirping Birds April 15, 2010
Wishing You Joy, Peace and Love . . . Now and Always! April 2010
Dear One –
Hope this finds you and yours well and happy.
The window in the sloping ceiling of my room is open this afternoon, and I can hear the birds chirping in the trees around the Methodist Building. Situated in the courtyard between some apartment houses, a school building and a factory/office complex, the building has some fruit trees in its yard. There are deciduous trees that provide shade, too. And beyond the fence that surrounds the grounds around the edifice, also situated in the courtyard sheltered by the other twelve and fifteen storied buildings towering over the three stories of the Methodist Building, there is a playground.
Apartment complexes in Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union are often designed with what amounts to a little park in the space in between the buildings. When I’ve been outside, the only birds I have noticed are some pigeons, and I’m sure the chirping I have heard all day does not originate from them. Three years ago, I know the robins were around in May. They arrived back to northern Georgia in March, and I saw some in Washington, D.C., last week, but I think they are still being expected here. I will keep looking for them.
A friend in England wrote to ask about Christ the Savior Cathedral and some questions about what we have to eat here and the standard of living in Russia, etc. I will copy what I wrote to her:
I will tell you some things I know about The Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow and you can see some good photos of it and find out more of its history on the official web site:
http://www.xxc.ru/english/index.htm
And also on the Wikipedia web site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Christ_the_Saviour
When it was built in 1812 it was the largest church in all of the countries that were Christian. Stalin had it torn down in 1931, and an outdoor swimming pool was built on the site. The pool was heated and used year-round in the Soviet era.
In the fall of 1977 when we met some Soviet exchange professors, our friend who was the head of the Geo-Thermodynamic Department at Moscow University told us that he was one of those who swam in the pool for exercise all year round. I marveled at that, wondering what it must be like to swim outdoors when it is snowing.
But my friends who live in Rosemont on the western slope of the Rockies in Colorado often go to the natural hot springs pool in Ouray, even in the winter, so they too, must know what it is like to swim when it is snowing. There is kind of a canyon in the part of Ouray where the hot springs pool complex is, and even in the summer, it is lovely to sit in the hot water and look up at the mountains on either side. So they might understand how it was here in Moscow swimming in the winter, although swimming in the midst of a city on the plains compared to swimming in a canyon between the mountains would still be different!
I always thought that was ironic, because even though he tore it down because he didn't believe in God, because the swimming pool was built on that site of the church, it was holy ground and all those years whoever swam in it was swimming in holy water, as far as I'm concerned!! The Orthodox Church rebuilt it after the breakup of the Soviet Union, and it is very beautiful. It is near the river, not far from the Kremlin, and on its grounds there is a statue of Tsar Nicholas II, who with his family was martyred by the Bolsheviks. The statue is of the Tsar saluting the Cathedral with his back to the Kremlin.
Russian food includes soup for lunch and supper -- lots of different kinds, but usually with potatoes in them . . . though the classic Russian soups are beet soup and cabbage soup. Often cooked bulgar wheat groats and other cooked cereals will show up at any meal. I have lunch in the Seminary on week days. It is made by a woman who cooks very well.
Yesterday the bulgar wheat groats had slices of gizzards or hearts in them . . . chicken or beef, I am not sure in addition to the soup . . . today we had some pasta with a light tomato sauce on it. There is always a salad of some kind at lunch or dinner, too . . . maybe little cubes of potatoes and carrots and tomatoes and some peas with tomato sauce, or with mayonnaise . . . or maybe some sliced tomatoes and sliced cucumbers with salt and vinegar and a bit of sugar . . . or sliced cucumbers and slivers of onions in vinegar.
In restaurants you can find shashlik -- shish kabobs -- as well as the classic Russian dishes like Beef Romanoff and stuffed cabbage, piroshki, which are buns stuffed with meat, cheese, or potatoes; and of course Chicken Kiev. (Okay, I know. . . Kiev is the capital of Ukraine, but it’s a common kind of dish in Russian cuisine.)
For my regular breakfasts and dinners on my own here in the Seminary Building I usually buy some fresh bread from the little store around the corner. There are also bigger modern grocery stores a few blocks away with everything you or I could hope to find in our grocery stores along with Russian types of food as I mentioned above. But there are also old-fashioned markets (bazaars . . . in Russian "bazariy") which are in buildings like big warehouses and outside of them are little booths or kind of like small cabins with windows you go up to in order whatever they are selling, and there is usually just one person inside. Everything is much less expensive at the bazaars compared to the modern type grocery stores.
The standard of living in Moscow depends on your economic class . . . I think I read recently that it has the highest percentage of billionaires in the world. But it’s a big city and there are lots of opportunities here. I have been told that outside of Moscow people have fewer opportunities, and the world economy is tough in many places. In Kazakhstan it was similar. In the old capital city, and in the new capital city, things were more like they are in contemporary Western economies, but in smaller cities -- and especially in small towns, and out in the countryside people were having very difficult time.
There was one other thing I wanted to tell you. Most cars seem to be black or silver. And maybe I have seen a few white or aluminum sided trucks. But the other day when I was walking back to the Metro near Christ the Savior Cathedral, I was very surprised to see a car that was the same shade of pink that the ladies who do very well selling Mary Kay Cosmetics drive. Do you suppose there are Mary Kay ladies here, too? I am hoping to find out, and I will let you know. Many Russian women are very stylish and wear beautiful make-up. So anything is possible!
May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and yours.
With Love -- Kathy
Don’t Worry About ANYTHING!
[ Jesus said,] ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." [Matthew 6:25-34]
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First Communion and Answers-April 16, 2010
Wishing You Joy, Peace and Love . . . Now and Always! April 2010
Dear One -
Hope this finds you and yours well and happy.
Seems like I left you yesterday with two questions (at least). The first one was answered by a Russian friend who now lives in Florida.
After reading what I wrote about seeing the pink car that reminded me of Mary Kay Cosmetics, my friend wrote to let me know that indeed, since 1991 there have been Mary Kay Consultants in Russia and other countries that were part of the former Soviet Union. Her sister is one of them!
The second question was: What kinds of birds were chirping in the courtyard? So last evening I took a walk and paid attention to the birds. I think the chirpers are sparrows, and I always love to see them because they remind me of the Gospel hymn, "His Eye is on the Sparrow", and of course the scripture passage on which the hymn is based (Matthew 10:29-31 - see below). Whenever I see them I remember that God watches over me . . . and over you, too.
When I went for the walk my heart was full of joy because I had been invited by one of the students to come to a Communion and Praise service. The Communion celebrant is a friend who works with the Bishop. Three years ago I met her here right before she left to go to Washington to receive her Doctorate of Ministry degree from Wesley Seminary, and then I saw her again right before I left here, and she took me out to dinner.
Yesterday was the first time I had seen her since then, so I was very happy she was celebrating Communion at the service.
We sang some praise songs and then shared Communion together. There were just five of us there, so it felt very special. Two of the participants were young men who are seminary students here. There was also a student from Africa who is studying at Moscow University.
It was so lovely.
Some of the praise songs we sang were favorites of mine in English, translated into Russian, and some had been written originally in Russian. I love singing hymns and praise songs in the Russian language no matter how small or large the congregation is. Throughout the Great Thanksgiving of Communion and the time of singing praise songs, I felt the loving presence of the Holy Spirit very deeply, and praise God.
After Communion, we sat in a circle around a table, and one of the seminary students read "The Upper Room" meditation in Russian for yesterday, and we all took turns reflecting on it. The United Methodist daily devotional publication called "The Upper Room" has been published in English for seventy-five years. It is currently also published in forty languages all together, including Russian.
I just saw the Russian version for the first time a few days after I arrived here, and I was so excited. They have published it in Russian for about a year. Also in the past year meditations written by my friend who celebrated Communion yesterday, by the Bishop here, and by another good friend in ministry in the Moscow area have appeared in "The Upper Room." I was delighted to see their names at the bottom of the pages their meditations were on when I read them.
When we finished talking about "The Upper Room" passage, we then all spoke about our prayer requests. Finally each person prayed for his or her brother or sister in Christ on his or her left as we went around the circle.
By the time we dispersed my heart was so full of joy I just couldn't stay inside the building. The beautiful early evening light caused the edges of some small high clouds to be a bit pink.
It was cool, and after paying attention to the sparrows as I mentioned earlier, I left the courtyard to walk along the sidewalk of the busy boulevard known as Komsomolskiy Prospect. Many people were walking quickly down the sidewalks on either side of the street, and rush hour traffic continually filled the side of the four lane thoroughfare leading out of the downtown area near the Kremlin. However, there were almost as many cars heading the other way. It seemed tense, and the noise of the speeding and stopping cars felt almost like an assault to me.
I had to work hard to keep the feelings I had of peace and joy in the midst of such busyness all around me. So I thought the best thing to do was just to pray for the people I saw. Of course, that increased my joy and the knowledge of the presence of the Holy Spirit. So I praise God for the Lord's grace and faithfulness.
Several people wrote and commented on my descriptions of the food here, so I will tell you about lunch today. We had one of my favorite Russian foods -- pilmeni, which are kind of like the Italian tortellini (little ravioli). They are served either in soup or with a big dollop of sour cream on top. Actually often people put sour cream in soup like borscht (beet soup) or shchi (cabbage soup), too.
I was just about to send this and I realized that it was time to meet with two of the students for some English conversation practice. We started doing that a few days ago, and sometimes there have been four of them. It's always fun to teach English. In this case, I am also able to brush up my Russian as we go back and forth between the languages.
After the English conversation practice, I was invited to have some tea in another student's room with three students and three young people who are visiting. It was fun to be with them all, and I enjoyed hearing their jokes and laughter, and in taking part in their joy. We had tea, bread, fried eggs and Ukrainian sausage. (Actually that was one of the jokes, though . . . it wasn't really Ukrainian!) Though now that I have written it, I realize that I guess you would have had to be here to get it . . .
*grin*
Most of the young people eventually left to head out into the beautiful "Podmoskovniy Vecher" -- Moscow Evening. There is a song called "Evenings in Moscow" that everyone has heard on muzak in elevators. If you realize the music you hear is from a balalaika orchestra, it just might be that song!
I was just humming it as I came back to my room after visiting with the student who hosted the evening tea party also known as a vecherinka. I was blessed as we talked and found that she and I have some similarities in our spiritual journeys and our calls to ministry. And I was touched that she would share with me as she did.
How lovely to find new sisters and brothers in Christ!
May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and yours.
With Love -- Kathy
His Eye is on the Sparrow
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Matthew 10:29-31
Kathleen Ware Harris © 2010
kwharris777@gmail.com
Wishing You Joy, Peace and Love . . . Now and Always! April 2010
Dear One --
How are you? I hope all is well with you and yours.
I am leaving for Russia on Saturday and decided to use Constant Contact to send my usual travel journal entries. It's easy to unsubscribe if you want to -- and if you are interested in forwarding the e-mail to a friend, that's fine with me.
You may know that I am heading overseas again. It's a blessing that I will be able to spend almost three months in Russia to work on my Doctorate of Ministry, God willing. Bishop Hans Vaxby, the United Methodist Bishop of the Eurasian Area (which is most of the former Soviet Union) has given me permission to work on two independent study courses and my doctoral project over there. I'll be in Moscow for almost a month, and then travel around a bit to visit with friends who are pastors and District Superintendents of the Russian United Methodist Churches. I hope I will be able to be encouraging and helpful to them all.
With great joy, for the last week I have been visiting my Mom and Dad in Florida. We had a lovely time on Easter yesterday when my sister Jennifer, her husband, Mike and their daughter, Chelsea joined us. We had a delicious Easter dinner and then Dad and Mike went out fishing for a while. They both loved that, and even caught some fish!
When my son Tom called to wish us Happy Easter from southern California, the earthquake happened in the middle of our call! They were all OK, but it shook me up for a few minutes. Blessedly, they know what to do when they first feel a tremor, and they all got out of the house right away. A few minutes later Tom said that my daughter, Krista, was calling him because he saw her number on call waiting. Seems like they are close enough that she knew right when to call, just when they had been feeling the earthquake tremors!
Tomorrow I fly to Washington, D.C., to pick up my passport and to spend some time in the Wesley Seminary library before heading to Moscow. I would appreciate any prayers for safe travel and for my family while I'm in Russia, if you feel led.
During my travels, I will be able to check my e-mail off and on, so please keep in touch if you feel like it!
As ever, I will be praying for you and yours.
May God continue to bless and keep you and all those you love.
Blessings -- Kathy
* * *
Blessed Are Those . . .!
"Blessed are those who are poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." [Matthew 5:3-9]
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Here in Moscow April 13, 2010
Wishing You Joy, Peace and Love . . . Now and Always! April 2010
Dear One --
How are you? I hope all is well with you and yours.
I am writing today from the United Methodist Seminary in Moscow, praising God that I arrived here safely on Sunday afternoon! Since I last wrote to you, I traveled from Florida to Washington, D.C., after visiting with my parents and my sister and her family. I needed to be in D.C. to pick up my passport with the visa imprinted in it, andthere was a bit of a time crunch because it is somewhat unpredictable how long it will take for the Russian Embassy in D.C. to process a visa request. I also wanted to spend some time at the Wesley Theological Seminary (WTS) library in preparation for the studying I am here in Russia to do.
I was blessed that a dear friend in Washington offered her generous and gracious hospitality to me again. I also stayed with her back in January during my Doctorate of Ministry Session at WTS. However, a few days after I arrived in Washington, my friend's mother passed away after suffering with several health issues during the past six months or so. Please keep my friend and her family in your prayers as you feel led. Of course they are dealing with their grief, but also celebrating the life of my friend's mother, who was a fabulous, joy-filled and very loving woman, as is my friend.
During the first few days I was in Washington, it was unseasonably hot -- in the 90s. But on Saturday morning, it was much cooler, like a normal spring day in April there. I had arranged to take a taxi to Dulles Airport with the same driver who had driven me from National Airport to my friend's house on last Tuesday evening. He told me that he was Ethiopian when I commented a small cross I saw hanging from his rear view mirror. On both drives we talked about how things are in Ethiopia, how long he had been in the U.S., and our faith. That reminded me of something I have been wanting to write about for a long time.
When I was ordained some friends gave me a gift of an ancient silver cross from the early days of Christianity. You can see the curved edges of three of the five silver Roman coins from which it was made at the bottom of the cross and at each end of its two arms.
I saw a coin like it in a collection of coins found on his archeological expeditions in Jordan by one of our WTS Old Testament professors who is also a biblical archeologist, Dr. David Hopkins. He said that coins of that type were minted by the Roman Empire between 100 B.C. and 200 A.D. So the cross I was given is between 1600 and 1800 years old. The particular style of the cross has its origins in the Coptic Church, which began in ancient Ethiopia and still has believers in Egypt and in modern-day Ethiopia (and also some who are immigrants in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere!)
According to the traditions of the Coptic Church, the Ethiopian people came to believe in Christ because of an event narrated in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 8:26-40). An Ethiopian Eunuch, who was an official of the court of the Candace, the queen of the Ethiopian people, had been worshipping in Jerusalem for the Passover at the time of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. The Apostle Philip had an encounter with him, and he asked Philip to explain prophecies about Jesus Christ in the Hebrew scriptures. Philip did as he asked. Upon hearing the Gospel that Philip proclaimed to him, the Ethiopian Eunuch asked Philip to baptize him. His conversion led him to share his faith when he returned home, and the Ethiopian people were one of the first nations to become believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Two good friends gave me the cross arranged on a leather string along with fourteen ancient glass beads made from pink sand. One of the friends was working in an antiquities shop, and she told me that the beads might be over two thousand years old. She also told me about the symbolism of the design of my cross.
From the top down there are four different symbols, each from different cultures in the Roman Empire around the time of the Early Church. The very top of the cross curves in a semi-circle, and there are little rays protruding from the curve. It looks like a sunrise and signifies the dawn on the day of Jesus' Resurrection. Early believers in Christianity saw significance in the idea that Resurrection Day was the dawn of a brand new era for creation.
Underneath the curve of the rays there is a symbol that has four ovals connected to each other in the middle. I was told that it is a traditional African design representing the Creator. Beneath that symbol there are several bars of silver with spaces in between them. Below that, the body of the cross has a kind of lattice work design with open spaces in between the overlapping diagonal strands. The lattice work is reminiscent of a Celtic symbol for eternity.
If you look up "ancient Coptic crosses" on a search engine online, you might find a photo of a cross that looks like the one I was given.
I'm still jet-lagging, so I won't write more tonight. I will tell you more about the rest of my trip to Moscow and my impressions of the city compared to how it seemed when I was here three years ago.
As ever, I will be praying for you and yours. Please let me know if you have any specific prayer requests. And please pray for the pastors and people of the United Methodist Church in the Eurasia Area. Already today I have been blessed to see old friends and to meet some folks I haven't known before, including several of the students who are now studying here at Grace Russian United Methodist Seminary in Moscow.
May God continue to bless and keep you and all those you love.
Blessings -- Kathy
* * * *
God Has Good Plans for You
For I know the plans for you, says the Lord, plans for good and not for evil to give you a future and a hope. When you call out to me in prayer, I will hear your prayers. When you seek me you will find me, if you seek me with all your heart
Jeremiah 29:11-13
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Dear One –
It seems like I have a lot to tell you, so I think I will relate all I have to say over the next few days. My impressions of Moscow this time, three years after I was last here include things that have changed and things that seem to have stayed the same. First, though, I want to back up and tell you more about the trip over here.
I flew from Dulles airport to JFK airport in New York in one of those smaller shuttle airplanes often called a puddle-jumper. It was packed. In the waiting area before boarding and while on the plane, I spoke with several people who were also heading up to JFK to catch planes going overseas.
Two were heading to Nigeria for a conference on AIDS education, and the wife of an elderly couple told me that they were thrilled to be on their way to Egypt for the first time. I told her that as a child I had loved learning about ancient Egyptian history and culture and that I went through a phase when I wanted to be an anthropologist or an archeologist. She said that was a phase she had been through as well.
Once we arrived at JFK, we deplaned down a ladder and walked under an enclosed canopy hallway for what seemed like two blocks. I had to make my way to the terminal next door to the one where I had deplaned from the flight from D.C., and I had about four and an half hours between flights. The Aeroflot counter didn’t open until around three fifteen, so I had some lunch while I waited to check in for the flight. Having to go through two airport security processes in the same day was kind of frustrating, but necessary. It’s better just to “go with the flow” and not fuss about the things I can’t change.
The weather in New York was the same as it was in Washington, with the cold air of an early spring day, but still bright and sunshiny. Turned out that Moscow was in the same state as New York was in terms of what was green, and what wasn’t. The temperature was about the same and the sun shone brightly in a beautifully cloudless sky.
The long flight to Moscow was uneventful and pleasant. I watched two movies and had several conversations with the young woman who sat next to me. She was on the way to visit her family in Minsk, but married to an American man. She told me that she had a ten year old daughter and studied singing in a conservatory. So she sings as a soloist in the choir of a Russian Orthodox Church in New York.
As she described her solo for the Resurrection liturgy, I could just imagine how beautiful it must have been. She said she had come with her choir to the celebration of the reunion of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad with the Church in Russia. During the Soviet era, as you probably know, the two parts of the Russian Orthodox Church were estranged because of the repression of faith by the Soviet government.
The reunion was celebrated during the first week that I was here in Moscow in 2007, and I wrote about it in my 2007 Moscow Journal. It was fun to tell the young woman who sat next to me that I had also been in Moscow when she and many others were praising God in song and worship at the beautiful Christ the Savior Cathedral that they finished rebuilding in 2004. I described the beauty of that cathedral in the 2007 journal, too.
With great joy, I saw Christ the Savior Cathedral again on Tuesday because it happened that I went to visit an old friend in his office which is a few blocks away from the Cathedral. I know that many of you received the entries in the 2007 journal, so I don’t want to be repetitive here. If you would like me to send you more details about Christ the Savior Cathedral because you didn’t hear about it earlier, or you don’t remember what I wrote about it so long ago, I will be glad to oblige. Just let me know.
After leaving the Sheremetyevo International Airport on the outskirts of Moscow, I found and cab and was driven to the Methodist Building.
If you come to visit on the Moscow Metro’s Red Line, you will find that it is about five Metro stops southwest of the Kremlin, which is in the hub of downtown Moscow, though it is not exactly in the center of the metropolis. The Moscow River winds its way through the downtown area in the south central part of the city, and the Kremlin was originally built as a fortress on its banks.
The Methodist Building houses the Grace Russian United Methodist Seminary, the offices of Bishop Vaxby, and a worship space which several congregations use. Upon arriving, I immediately felt that I had come home and was graciously welcomed and escorted up to my room on the third floor, where the students and others who work in the Seminary live. The room I was given is right next door to the room I stayed in three years ago! It also has a window skylight in the slope of the roof, but is a larger room that has three beds in it.
Three years ago my bed was right under the window, and I enjoyed watching the night sky and being awakened by the light that shone through the window in the morning. However, this time I gave myself a few nights to sleep on a bed in the furthest corner away from the skylight window. I was still sleeping at unpredictable times because of jet lag, so that made more sense. But last night I moved over to the bed under the window and enjoyed waking up because of the light this morning.
I promised you some reflections on first impressions this time in Moscow. The main changes I noticed during the ride from the airport were that there were even more billboards, more new buildings and more cars on the main highway from the northwest outskirts of the city where the airport is all the way to the Khamnovichesky Val near the Weavers District where the Methodist Building is.
As I wrote in my 2007 journal, Leo Tolstoy owned a house in the Weavers’ District, a few blocks from the first Russian Orthodox Church I went to in Russia, called St. Nicholas of the Weavers. Both his house and the church are in walking distance from the Methodist Building, and I walked by the church the other day. It was wonderful to see it again.
Probably that is enough for now. I have some reading to do before I head to bed. Hopefully tonight and tomorrow morning I will finally find that my internal clock has caught up to the time zone here. We’ll see!
May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and yours.
With Love -- Kathy
The God of Peace Will Be With You
The Apostle Paul wrote to his beloved friends in Philippi -- “ . . .whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is righteous, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—think about these things. 9 All that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”
[Philippians 4:8-9]
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Chirping Birds April 15, 2010
Wishing You Joy, Peace and Love . . . Now and Always! April 2010
Dear One –
Hope this finds you and yours well and happy.
The window in the sloping ceiling of my room is open this afternoon, and I can hear the birds chirping in the trees around the Methodist Building. Situated in the courtyard between some apartment houses, a school building and a factory/office complex, the building has some fruit trees in its yard. There are deciduous trees that provide shade, too. And beyond the fence that surrounds the grounds around the edifice, also situated in the courtyard sheltered by the other twelve and fifteen storied buildings towering over the three stories of the Methodist Building, there is a playground.
Apartment complexes in Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union are often designed with what amounts to a little park in the space in between the buildings. When I’ve been outside, the only birds I have noticed are some pigeons, and I’m sure the chirping I have heard all day does not originate from them. Three years ago, I know the robins were around in May. They arrived back to northern Georgia in March, and I saw some in Washington, D.C., last week, but I think they are still being expected here. I will keep looking for them.
A friend in England wrote to ask about Christ the Savior Cathedral and some questions about what we have to eat here and the standard of living in Russia, etc. I will copy what I wrote to her:
I will tell you some things I know about The Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow and you can see some good photos of it and find out more of its history on the official web site:
http://www.xxc.ru/english/index.htm
And also on the Wikipedia web site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Christ_the_Saviour
When it was built in 1812 it was the largest church in all of the countries that were Christian. Stalin had it torn down in 1931, and an outdoor swimming pool was built on the site. The pool was heated and used year-round in the Soviet era.
In the fall of 1977 when we met some Soviet exchange professors, our friend who was the head of the Geo-Thermodynamic Department at Moscow University told us that he was one of those who swam in the pool for exercise all year round. I marveled at that, wondering what it must be like to swim outdoors when it is snowing.
But my friends who live in Rosemont on the western slope of the Rockies in Colorado often go to the natural hot springs pool in Ouray, even in the winter, so they too, must know what it is like to swim when it is snowing. There is kind of a canyon in the part of Ouray where the hot springs pool complex is, and even in the summer, it is lovely to sit in the hot water and look up at the mountains on either side. So they might understand how it was here in Moscow swimming in the winter, although swimming in the midst of a city on the plains compared to swimming in a canyon between the mountains would still be different!
I always thought that was ironic, because even though he tore it down because he didn't believe in God, because the swimming pool was built on that site of the church, it was holy ground and all those years whoever swam in it was swimming in holy water, as far as I'm concerned!! The Orthodox Church rebuilt it after the breakup of the Soviet Union, and it is very beautiful. It is near the river, not far from the Kremlin, and on its grounds there is a statue of Tsar Nicholas II, who with his family was martyred by the Bolsheviks. The statue is of the Tsar saluting the Cathedral with his back to the Kremlin.
Russian food includes soup for lunch and supper -- lots of different kinds, but usually with potatoes in them . . . though the classic Russian soups are beet soup and cabbage soup. Often cooked bulgar wheat groats and other cooked cereals will show up at any meal. I have lunch in the Seminary on week days. It is made by a woman who cooks very well.
Yesterday the bulgar wheat groats had slices of gizzards or hearts in them . . . chicken or beef, I am not sure in addition to the soup . . . today we had some pasta with a light tomato sauce on it. There is always a salad of some kind at lunch or dinner, too . . . maybe little cubes of potatoes and carrots and tomatoes and some peas with tomato sauce, or with mayonnaise . . . or maybe some sliced tomatoes and sliced cucumbers with salt and vinegar and a bit of sugar . . . or sliced cucumbers and slivers of onions in vinegar.
In restaurants you can find shashlik -- shish kabobs -- as well as the classic Russian dishes like Beef Romanoff and stuffed cabbage, piroshki, which are buns stuffed with meat, cheese, or potatoes; and of course Chicken Kiev. (Okay, I know. . . Kiev is the capital of Ukraine, but it’s a common kind of dish in Russian cuisine.)
For my regular breakfasts and dinners on my own here in the Seminary Building I usually buy some fresh bread from the little store around the corner. There are also bigger modern grocery stores a few blocks away with everything you or I could hope to find in our grocery stores along with Russian types of food as I mentioned above. But there are also old-fashioned markets (bazaars . . . in Russian "bazariy") which are in buildings like big warehouses and outside of them are little booths or kind of like small cabins with windows you go up to in order whatever they are selling, and there is usually just one person inside. Everything is much less expensive at the bazaars compared to the modern type grocery stores.
The standard of living in Moscow depends on your economic class . . . I think I read recently that it has the highest percentage of billionaires in the world. But it’s a big city and there are lots of opportunities here. I have been told that outside of Moscow people have fewer opportunities, and the world economy is tough in many places. In Kazakhstan it was similar. In the old capital city, and in the new capital city, things were more like they are in contemporary Western economies, but in smaller cities -- and especially in small towns, and out in the countryside people were having very difficult time.
There was one other thing I wanted to tell you. Most cars seem to be black or silver. And maybe I have seen a few white or aluminum sided trucks. But the other day when I was walking back to the Metro near Christ the Savior Cathedral, I was very surprised to see a car that was the same shade of pink that the ladies who do very well selling Mary Kay Cosmetics drive. Do you suppose there are Mary Kay ladies here, too? I am hoping to find out, and I will let you know. Many Russian women are very stylish and wear beautiful make-up. So anything is possible!
May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and yours.
With Love -- Kathy
Don’t Worry About ANYTHING!
[ Jesus said,] ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." [Matthew 6:25-34]
_______
First Communion and Answers-April 16, 2010
Wishing You Joy, Peace and Love . . . Now and Always! April 2010
Dear One -
Hope this finds you and yours well and happy.
Seems like I left you yesterday with two questions (at least). The first one was answered by a Russian friend who now lives in Florida.
After reading what I wrote about seeing the pink car that reminded me of Mary Kay Cosmetics, my friend wrote to let me know that indeed, since 1991 there have been Mary Kay Consultants in Russia and other countries that were part of the former Soviet Union. Her sister is one of them!
The second question was: What kinds of birds were chirping in the courtyard? So last evening I took a walk and paid attention to the birds. I think the chirpers are sparrows, and I always love to see them because they remind me of the Gospel hymn, "His Eye is on the Sparrow", and of course the scripture passage on which the hymn is based (Matthew 10:29-31 - see below). Whenever I see them I remember that God watches over me . . . and over you, too.
When I went for the walk my heart was full of joy because I had been invited by one of the students to come to a Communion and Praise service. The Communion celebrant is a friend who works with the Bishop. Three years ago I met her here right before she left to go to Washington to receive her Doctorate of Ministry degree from Wesley Seminary, and then I saw her again right before I left here, and she took me out to dinner.
Yesterday was the first time I had seen her since then, so I was very happy she was celebrating Communion at the service.
We sang some praise songs and then shared Communion together. There were just five of us there, so it felt very special. Two of the participants were young men who are seminary students here. There was also a student from Africa who is studying at Moscow University.
It was so lovely.
Some of the praise songs we sang were favorites of mine in English, translated into Russian, and some had been written originally in Russian. I love singing hymns and praise songs in the Russian language no matter how small or large the congregation is. Throughout the Great Thanksgiving of Communion and the time of singing praise songs, I felt the loving presence of the Holy Spirit very deeply, and praise God.
After Communion, we sat in a circle around a table, and one of the seminary students read "The Upper Room" meditation in Russian for yesterday, and we all took turns reflecting on it. The United Methodist daily devotional publication called "The Upper Room" has been published in English for seventy-five years. It is currently also published in forty languages all together, including Russian.
I just saw the Russian version for the first time a few days after I arrived here, and I was so excited. They have published it in Russian for about a year. Also in the past year meditations written by my friend who celebrated Communion yesterday, by the Bishop here, and by another good friend in ministry in the Moscow area have appeared in "The Upper Room." I was delighted to see their names at the bottom of the pages their meditations were on when I read them.
When we finished talking about "The Upper Room" passage, we then all spoke about our prayer requests. Finally each person prayed for his or her brother or sister in Christ on his or her left as we went around the circle.
By the time we dispersed my heart was so full of joy I just couldn't stay inside the building. The beautiful early evening light caused the edges of some small high clouds to be a bit pink.
It was cool, and after paying attention to the sparrows as I mentioned earlier, I left the courtyard to walk along the sidewalk of the busy boulevard known as Komsomolskiy Prospect. Many people were walking quickly down the sidewalks on either side of the street, and rush hour traffic continually filled the side of the four lane thoroughfare leading out of the downtown area near the Kremlin. However, there were almost as many cars heading the other way. It seemed tense, and the noise of the speeding and stopping cars felt almost like an assault to me.
I had to work hard to keep the feelings I had of peace and joy in the midst of such busyness all around me. So I thought the best thing to do was just to pray for the people I saw. Of course, that increased my joy and the knowledge of the presence of the Holy Spirit. So I praise God for the Lord's grace and faithfulness.
Several people wrote and commented on my descriptions of the food here, so I will tell you about lunch today. We had one of my favorite Russian foods -- pilmeni, which are kind of like the Italian tortellini (little ravioli). They are served either in soup or with a big dollop of sour cream on top. Actually often people put sour cream in soup like borscht (beet soup) or shchi (cabbage soup), too.
I was just about to send this and I realized that it was time to meet with two of the students for some English conversation practice. We started doing that a few days ago, and sometimes there have been four of them. It's always fun to teach English. In this case, I am also able to brush up my Russian as we go back and forth between the languages.
After the English conversation practice, I was invited to have some tea in another student's room with three students and three young people who are visiting. It was fun to be with them all, and I enjoyed hearing their jokes and laughter, and in taking part in their joy. We had tea, bread, fried eggs and Ukrainian sausage. (Actually that was one of the jokes, though . . . it wasn't really Ukrainian!) Though now that I have written it, I realize that I guess you would have had to be here to get it . . .
*grin*
Most of the young people eventually left to head out into the beautiful "Podmoskovniy Vecher" -- Moscow Evening. There is a song called "Evenings in Moscow" that everyone has heard on muzak in elevators. If you realize the music you hear is from a balalaika orchestra, it just might be that song!
I was just humming it as I came back to my room after visiting with the student who hosted the evening tea party also known as a vecherinka. I was blessed as we talked and found that she and I have some similarities in our spiritual journeys and our calls to ministry. And I was touched that she would share with me as she did.
How lovely to find new sisters and brothers in Christ!
May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and yours.
With Love -- Kathy
His Eye is on the Sparrow
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Matthew 10:29-31
Kathleen Ware Harris © 2010
kwharris777@gmail.com
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