Our Brothers and Sisters in Siberia

Written by Pastor Nuckols Wednesday, 25 August 2010 19:01

This article was written for the Siberian Lutheran Church's Newsletter to supporters here in the United States.  When in Siberia, both Carla and I met and spent time with Gloria.  Her 'story' is a beautiful one.

The perseverance of faith: The story of Gloria Vladimirova

translated by: Olga Netaeva

I have been in the Lutheran church in Tomsk almost from the beginning. It's not right to say that I was strongly interested in God, but to a degree I was looking for some spiritual protection, confidence, and consistency. When I came for the first time to the Lutheran church it really didn’t matter to me what kind of church it was. Besides, I had just come from a Christian ecumenical camp in France, and it seemed to me that all Christian confessions are good, and that it makes no big difference where you attend.

I won't say that it was my first experience visiting a church. Several times I went to an Orthodox church. The beauty of the decor and the mystery of the ceremonies attracted me. But I didn’t understand the liturgy, and there was no one who was willing to explain it. Then I went several times to the Roman Catholic Church, where a few things attracted me. First of all, the liturgy was simpler and understandable. Second, I really liked it when people shook each other's hands with the words, “Peace be with you!” Third, I saw that there was a library in the church with specialized literature, from which it was possible to learn more about the doctrine. Plus, they had a youth group. One more thing drew me there: people communicated with each other not just in church, but also outside of it. I also wanted to have such an environment. For me at that time God was more a means for socializing than He was an end in Himself.

Then I heard from a friend that a Lutheran church was going to form in Tomsk, and I gladly agreed to take part in its founding. I wanted there to be a youth group in our church like the Catholics had, where people understood and encouraged each other. In the beginning there were very few of us. But at that time my husband was a student in Novosibirsk, and I began to go often to Novosibirsk for the monthly seminars that were held especially for the young people of our church. These trips may even be considered my real route to God. Indeed, faith comes above all through hearing.

Participation in the Divine Services in Novosibirsk (by that time they had a congregation such as I imagined a congregation should be) with constant reception of the Lord’s Supper, confession and absolution, hearing the sermon and listening to the liturgy, as well as reading and study of the Bible, all gave me faith in God. Not that I had some unintelligible faith in some vague god, but through the preaching of the Word and participation in the Holy Sacraments I received a faith that leads to the repentance of forgiveness and a desire to be in Divine Service with Jesus. Also, with every seminar I had a new revelation about God’s plan for people’s lives, and for my life as well.

Then at the end of 1999 the first homeless shelter in Tomsk was consecrated, and I become its director. It was a new step in my life, with new responsibility and obligations. It was my desire that these homeless people would know about God and His love for them. Not only were these people homeless in a worldly way, but also homeless without God. Our missionary, Gennady Artin, held conversations and Bible studies with people from the shelter. He showed them through the Gospel that even though they may not have a roof over their head, in Holy Baptism they will always have a home with Jesus.

Gennady was tragically killed in February of 2002. A man came to the church looking for money and killed our Missionary. This was very sad for our parish. But we know that in this world we walk in the shadow of the valley of death every day. I also got to know another, emotional side of faith. It happened that my husband fell into sin and left the church, abandoning me and our daughter. Only the constant presence of Christ in my life through His Word and Sacrament, found in the Church, and the help of my brothers and sisters in the faith prevented me from falling into a deep depression. A great reassessment of my values took place. And here again, just as Scripture says, suffering produces patience, patience produces character, and character produces hope. To this day I live with hope. The Gospel is indeed a healing medicine.

I have been in the church for 8 years. There have been periods when it seemed that God and faith were in second place and not very important to me. This is because I thought there was no time to think about these things, and there were more important matters. But all the same, I kept coming to church, heard the Word, received the Sacrament, and believed that in spite of all my sins and my imperfection He had not forsaken me. Now I know that there is nothing more important in my life than Jesus and His mercy toward sinners like me. Even though I have experienced the pain of abandonment in this life from those I trusted, I know that Jesus will never abandon me. I am baptized! To this, all I can do is thank Him for His love – with hope and trust in His mercy. This is what I have learned from my pastors in the Lutheran church.