LCC Missions: Ukraine Update

At church

by Rev. Oleksiy Navrotskyy

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time… (James 4:13-15).

Unpredictable changes have come into our lives with COVID-19. Since March of 2020, it has become very difficult to plan anything… Any traveling, any meetings, and any scheduled events have become uncertain and unassured. Since March we have referred to James Chapter 4 more often, reminded by the Apostle that each one of us is “a mist that appears for a little time”– and thus we follow James’ encouragement and say to one another with deep faith and hope, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that”.

Morning devotion in Lviv

Even now as I write this letter to you, my beloved friends, I am experiencing some fever in my body, and my wife, Viktoria, is waiting for the results of a COVID-19 test. Last week, I attended a meeting with my brothers from the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Ukraine (SELCU) at Odessa Theological Seminary. On September 2-3, the Board of SELCU pastors had its scheduled meeting in preparation of an upcoming annual convention (scheduled for September 27-28). After the meeting, some of the attendees began showing symptoms, and were required to see their doctors and stay home for a period of time.

Life seems increasingly unpredictable, yet it is still beautiful and intriguing, remaining a Gift of God. I am glad I have been able to continue serving in my pastoral and missionary vocation in Mykolaiv region with only small obstacles. Nikolaev Lutheran Church, where I serve as a pastor, has a large sanctuary and thus we were able to continue with Divine Services without breaking the required physical distancing protocols.

The pandemic has not caused any significant changes to my weekly schedule. Every Tuesday and Thursday, I have my office hours at church, open for visitors. On Tuesday evening I have a meeting with the church elders, where we study homiletics, discussing current needs and works of the congregation and our mission in the region, praying and studying together. Wednesday is a day for pastoral visiting and shut-ins. Not many people are open for an in-person pastoral visit, but most of them are happy to communicate via phone or Skype. Also, the team of our Sunday school teachers come together for planning and prayer once a month, usually on Wednesday evenings. On Thursdays, I lead evening adult Bible study on the Gospel of Mark for a group of 6-12 parishioners.

The church youth

Friday evening is a youth evening. When all school classes are done and all home chores (works) are finished and weekend is coming – a group of 6-10 teenagers come to our church building for Youth Bible study and fellowship. This summer, having a vehicle, I was able to take my youth group to the SELCU Youth Camp for a week, as well as make a trip to the Black Sea beach. These trips and activities refresh the relationship among young people and give us an opportunity to communicate with them on personal level.

The village church

In addition to my duties at the local church, I have some other responsibilities. Once a month I visit Second Lutheran Church of Nikolaev and serve Holy Communion there. This congregation has a long and difficult history within SELCU and, unfortunately, has been vacant for the last 5 -7 years.

Rev. Navrotskyy and Vicar Timerkan

Twice a month I visit two village churches and one mission station located in Bashtanka, Nikolayev region and serve Holy Communion there. Since June, these village churches have received Yuri Timerkan (under my supervision). Last week I was glad to give a positive report to the Board of Odesa Theological Seminary and SELCU Council on his service, recommending Yuri Timerkan for ordination. I hope that Yuri Timerkan will get the call for pastoral Ministry from the two village churches and will be ordained in early 2021. His presence in Bashtanka region has become a great blessing to the Christians there and, if the Lord wills, a great benefit to the churches of the region for years to come.

As well, I have been commissioned by Lutheran Church–Canada and SELCU to visit Lviv once a month for mission work. Lviv is the largest Western city of Ukraine, located more that 1000 km from Nikolaev. A small group of people (4-6 families) are welcoming us for fellowship and the study of God’s Word. Despite a long break (because of national quarantine), I was able to make another trip to Lviv at the end of August. By chance, I had an opportunity to introduce my friend and SELCU pastor, Rev. Valery Verba, and his wife, Irina, (who were at Lviv for vacation) to the members of the mission group. In the morning, we had a small group Devotion. In the evening, more than 12 people came for Bible study. It is difficult to predict the future of this mission at the moment, but it has a good potential for development.

The Lviv group

At the end of June, I had the joy of leading a four-day retreat for SELCU Pastors and church elders which gathered more than 20 people at the beautiful riverside town of Savran in the Odessa region. During the retreat participants studied the subject of church leadership in the light of God’s Word, shared personal experiences and spiritual needs. Along with studies, brothers had time for fellowship and common prayer. Such events strengthen and inspire our brotherhood.

SELCU Retreat

Plans & Needs

If the Lord wills, we will live and continue our mission to the people in Ukraine, in Nikolaev, Bashtanka, and Lviv using all available resources, including livestreaming of the Divine service, and distribution of books and goods. The season of Autumn is marked with annual events which may suffer as a result of quarantine restrictions. Thanksgiving Day will be celebrated in our congregation on September 19. The SELCU Annual Convention is scheduled for end of September. Both events might be postponed till a better (safer) time (possibly in November). Before winter comes, we are planning the distribution of warm clothes to the people in need. Unfortunately, all international partners of SELCU have cancelled trips to Ukraine because our country is closed to foreigners until at least the end of September.

The family is fine. Viktoria is working hard for a software company. Our boys are enjoying the beginning of the school year but expecting a new level of quarantine when school will close the door again and switch to distant education. My mother turned 80 this August and we thank God for her life and her love to us.

We hope that the season of autumn will be different than Spring and will not affect us in a significant manner.  We keep trusting on our Gracious Lord and expecting all good remembering that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (James 1:17–18).

Soli Deo Gloria.

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Rev. Oleksiy Navrotskyy is a missionary for Lutheran Church–Canada and the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Ukraine (SELCU).

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