Siberian Lutheran Mission Society, Author at The Siberian Lutheran Mission Society

Letters From Siberia – March 3, 2019

By Siberian Lutheran Mission Society | March 5, 2019

Dear Robert [Keifer, SLMS Treasurer],

Thank you very much for your help!

Today I served the liturgy (the last Sunday before Great Lent) in Novosibirsk, and other priests were in the travels.

Rev. Pavel Khramov was in Novokuznetsk.

Rev. Alexey Streltsov was in Chelyabinsk (where he came from Beloretsk — as we have the mission station there).

Rev. Vitali Smirnov (our newly ordained priest) served in Yurga. So the Church life is going on. We serve our people, we visit parishioners who are sick, we travel to the mission stations. All this things are possible because of support of SLMS.

This is wonderful grace for us.

Thank you for your care!

In Christ,
Vsevolod,
Bishop, SELC

Matching Funds Now Available for Seminary Endowment Gifts

By Siberian Lutheran Mission Society | February 14, 2019

Unexpected Matching Fund Donation ignites new incentive among the friends and supporters of the young Lutheran Seminary in Novosibirsk, Siberia.

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Snohomish, WA has kicked off the New Year with a $60,000 matching gift donation for the Novosibirsk Seminary. Beginning February 1 through March 15, up to $60,000 in donations received will be matched by the Shepherd of the Hills donation. Thanks be to God!

The Novosibirsk Lutheran Seminary is part of the Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church which is in altar and pulpit fellowship with the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Graduates of the Seminary are serving in congregations and mission stations from Moscow to the Far East. They are bringing the Gospel to a nation devastated by decades of communist tyranny. (1917-1991). The Seminary would not exist today if not for the mission and churchly vision and generosity of the Marvin M. Schwan Charitable Foundation. The Seminary was established in 1997 as part of the Concordia Theological Seminary “Russian Project,” and financed entirely by the Schwan Foundation. After 22 years the Foundation has reduced their support by over 50% and plans are in place to end support completely in approximately four years. The Seminary must abide by Russian laws. If the institution is closed, even temporarily, it is unlikely in today’s political environment that it could ever be reopened. To make sure it stays open, healthy and strong, your help is needed.

To fund the Seminary in the future, we need to create an endowment fund of about $7 million, the earnings of which will finance the seminary in perpetuity.
To continue daily seminary operations, we need to supplement Schwan’s reduced financial support with $75,000 per year.

The gift from Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church along with donations from many congregations and individuals are without question an answer to our prayers and are received with great joy and relief. Thank you for your gifts and please continue to keep the work of the SELC and her Seminary in your prayers.

Zion Lutheran Church of Bridgeville, PA Hosts SLMS Presentation

By Siberian Lutheran Mission Society | February 7, 2019

Zion Lutheran Church of Bridgeville, PA hosted Rev. Alexey Streltsov and Dr. Timothy Quill of the Siberian Lutheran Mission Society on Saturday, January 5, 2019. About seventy Lutherans from the area attended a luncheon and presentation followed by an Epiphany worship service.

Streltsov, who was raised as an atheist in the waning years of the Soviet Union, first encountered the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a student at the University of Novosibirsk. He has earned two degrees at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne and currently serves as the president of Lutheran Theological Seminary in Novosibirsk.

An audio recording (approximately 20 minutes) of the presentation is available on Zion’s web site. In this presentation, Streltsov discusses some of the challenges of operating a seminary in Siberia and why it is imperative that the Seminary achieve financial independence so that it can continue to operate.

Rev. Alan Ludwig Interviewed by KFUO’s Faith’n’Family

By Siberian Lutheran Mission Society | July 10, 2017

KFUO’s Faith’n’Family interviewed Rev. Alan Ludwig, who serves the LCMS in Siberia, on June 21, 2017. In this interview, he speaks of how ten weeks of teaching in Siberia in 1997 led to his twenty years of service there, what it is like to serve our Lord there, and the history of the Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church.