Peace to you, dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
According to the request of Pastor Vitali Gavrilov of Tuim (Khakassia), we would like to send you his short report about the repairs in the church of Transfiguration. As you remember, the church building was damaged by fire at the end of last year (see our Newsletters #256 and #258).
The Church is the Body of Christ, and separately we are members. Members do not exist by themselves, but they represent united, inseparable construction.
And our parish of the Transfiguration of Our Lord (Tuim, Khakassia) is not autonomous and independent, but we are part of the Church. When we suffered fire damage, it became a problem for the whole Church, and no one was indifferent. You, beloved brothers and sisters, did not leave us in our trouble, but very soon responded and helped us to repair the very old premises of our parish (this house was built in the fifties of the last century).
Yes, more than 60 years ago this house was built for the Soviet administration of the village, but already for twenty years now the Lord Himself dwells here, supporting His children with the Word and feeding them with the salvific sacraments.
Please look at the new photographs. We have not finished the repairs yet, because we are trying to do everything neatly and reliably. Now the church building is warm and cozy. Here we thank God for the redeeming Sacrifice of Christ, here we pray for all of you who helped us during a difficult time for us.
And we again ask you for help. Our parish of Saint Luke the Evangelist in Abakan is also in a difficult situation right now. The church building is dilapidated and requires considerable efforts and money for repairs. The foundation sagged and cracked, it needs to be repaired, because the water from outside is poured into the basement. The heating system becomes unsuitable, our selfmade coal-fired furnace is already poorly fulfilling its purpose, very old heating pipes are clogged with rust and scum and heating very poorly. We really need to change the oven to a more modern and efficient one, because during winter it is very difficult to heat the room. The temperature does not hold, it becomes very cold very quickly. We ask you, brothers and sisters to help us, please!
We ask you to pray for the Lutherans pastors and parishioners in Khakassia.
“Faith and hope”
Please see attached photos.