Epiphany Russian Lutheran Congregation - News

New Year thanks to all partners

Tue, 04 Jan 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Dearly beloved community - all friends, partners, and benefactors of the Epiphany Congregation in Riga.

We are immensely grateful for your loving support this year as we continued to overcome the challenges of the pandemic.

Because of your generosity, we had enough money to pay our heating and electricity bills, as well as for projects to preach the Word. Because of your support, we have continued to minister the Word and Sacrament online and in person through worship services, workshops, and Bible study courses.

All of this has been made possible by your concern for our community and your loving contribution to preaching true regeneration in Jesus Christ by grace through faith, the restoration of every person and the spread of dialogue and peace throughout the world.

Please accept our sincerest thanks on behalf of our entire ministry! May you be blessed in the coming year 2022! Peace and goodness!

Father Paul.

Pastor of the Epiphany Russian Lutheran Community

Igor's story: thanks to the Lutheran community, life is getting better

Fri, 26 Nov 2021 13:54:00 +0000

Igor and I met in a difficult situation for him in life. Left homeless, he was preparing to spend the night in the entryway of a house. Where he was met by a believer who attends our church. She called the pastor and together they organized a car to bring him to the temporary housing center for the homeless. But another problem arose there: the lack of a PCR test, without which Igor was refused admission. With great difficulty Igor was able to sleep warm and seek a way out of his difficult situation. If Christians had not provided a shoulder to lean on in time, things might have gone differently.

Here is what Igor says: "I have been attending Lutheran services recently. A well-respected woman, Lyudmila, brought me here. It gives me purification, freedom, a different way of thinking. My life is changing and flowing. Thank you!"

The dream of our community is to create a permanent center where people who happen to be in difficulty can find support, guidance, and the opportunity to rebuild their lives. You can also get involved through your donations to our charitable programs: https://epiphany.mozellosite.com/donate/

"A generous soul will be filled; he who quenches the thirst of another will also not thirst himself." Proverbs 11:25 NRSV

Testimony of Ilmars on the ministry of the Epiphany congregation

Fri, 26 Nov 2021 13:48:00 +0000

The Epiphany Russian Lutheran congregation in Riga serves all people regardless of nationality, language or social status. Watch the video of our regular parishioner Ilmars. You probably even know him - he is that street musician, who plays every day in the heat and rain on Dome Square by the wall of Radio House. On Sundays, he participates in the liturgy of our parish. Why this is important to him and how it changes his life - find out from his story.

Ilmars says:

"I have been asked many times: How do you, a Latvian, go to Russian worship? How did I get here the first time? I was told it was real here. I came, and indeed - everything here is real! My son isn't an unbeliever, but when he listened to services in Latvian he would always say, "Well, there's something wrong here, as if it wasn't for me. I began to translate for him what I was hearing in this church, and he just loved it. He says to me, "What a pity I don't speak Russian! I would go for sure, because every word that is preached here is God's Word and nothing superfluous." Since the first time I came, I have been just drawn here all the time and energized for the week. You start to see the world differently. It becomes brighter.

If you would like to support our gospel preaching in the center of Riga, you can do so here: https://epiphany.mozellosite.com/donate/

May God bless everyone who participates in our mission as ministry partners!

Post-Lockdown Worship Services

Tue, 23 Nov 2021 21:20:00 +0000

Epiphany Russian Lutheran Church continues its ministry after the lockdown. We are now holding two services: one modern-style service with guitar (admission with certificates only) at 5:00 p.m., the second is a classical Lutheran liturgy with piano at 6:30 p.m. (online, or individual attendance for prayer).

Also, please be advised that repairs to the temple will continue until February. Please take note and do not be disturbed.

Russian-speaking Lutherans in Latvia celebrate the "Season of Creation"

Tue, 02 Nov 2021 15:55:00 +0000

In September, the Russian-speaking Lutheran Epiphany Community (LELC) launched the "Season for the Protection of Creation", celebrated by Christians around the world.

Every year from 1 September (World Day of Prayer for Creation) to 4 October (Feast of St Francis), the Christian community celebrates the Season of Creation by praying and acting together to protect our common home. Tens of thousands of Christians around the world celebrate this season each year with the support of leaders from other faith traditions.

This year's theme is "A Home for All?". Restoring God's oikos". Christians will reflect on the planet as the common home of all living beings and our contribution to its preservation, and overcome the power lust and greed that lead to its destruction.

As part of the Season of Creation, several activities will take place in the community:

The parish has set up a special website that will provide materials to help believers become more environmentally conscious and teach them how to care for God's creation. http://seasonofcreation2021.tilda.ws/

Several lectures will be given by ecologists, theologians, scientists and philosophers who will address different aspects of the theme of protecting creation.

Also on Tuesdays, during an evening of contemplation, parishioners and guests will reflect deeply on biblical texts and meditate in silence in response to the word of God.

The opening liturgy of the Season of Creation will take place on Sunday, 5 September.

From September 5 to October 3, an ecumenical Creation Rosary will be held, with prayer prayers half an hour before each service.

The parish priest, Pavel Levushkan, also encouraged the faithful to "read and study materials on how we can reduce our negative impact on nature. Separate your waste. Use less plastic utensils. Buy a reusable bottle and a home-made water filter instead of disposable plastic water bottles. Use a reusable mug when drinking coffee. You can also follow a kind of micro-warning and at least reduce your consumption of red meat, which is considered to be the most environmentally friendly because its production is the safest. In general, make every small intention a habit. Follow it during the month dedicated to Protect Creation".

Prayer for the Season of Creation 2021:

Creator of all things, we thank you for creating our planet in a communion of love to be a home for all. In Your Holy Wisdom, You created the earth so that it could be home to a variety of living beings that would fill the soil, water and air. Each part of creation glorifies You in its own way and cares for each other, taking its place in the web of life.

With the psalmist, we praise you because in your house "even the sparrow finds a home and the nightingale a nest in which to raise her young. We remember that you call people to tend your garden, to honour the dignity of every creature and to preserve its place in the abundance of life on earth.

But we know that our hunger for power is driving the planet to destruction. Our consumption is out of harmony and rhythm with the Earth's capacity for renewal. Habitats become barren or disappear. Species disappear and systems collapse. Where once reefs and caves, mountain peaks and ocean depths teemed with life and relationships, wet and dry deserts are empty, as if unformed. Human families are forced to leave their homes because of insecurity and conflict, migrating in search of peace. Animals flee fires, deforestation and famine, wandering and searching for a new place to breed and live.

In this time of Creation, we pray that the breath of your creative Word may stir our hearts like the waters of our birth and baptism. Give us the faith to follow Christ to our rightful place in the beloved community. Enlighten us with grace so that we may respond to your covenant and call to care for our common home. In our work of tilling and tending the earth, gladden our hearts with the knowledge that, together with your Holy Spirit, we are renewing the face of your earth and preserving a home for all.

In the name of the One who came to proclaim good news to all creation, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prayer on St. Meinard's Day in Ikšķilė

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 14:53:00 +0000

On August 14, St. Meinard's Day, a prayer service organized by the Russian Lutheran Epiphany Community and the St. Meinard Foundation was held at St. Meinard's Island in Ikskile near the historic chapel built by the Apostle of Latvia. It was attended by ministers from Latvia and the Netherlands. The pastor of the church, brother Pavel and his ministers served Matins. During a short speech he mentioned the activity of St. Maynard and his ministry in Latvia. He said:

"St. Maynard's Day is an important day not only for our congregation and for the St. Maynard Foundation. Our foundation is named after St. Maynard. It is important for us to keep in touch with the first church, the origins of Christianity in Latvia and Livonia. "He came to Livonia only for Christ, only to preach..." (Chronicle of Indricus of Livonia, p. 2) St. Meinard carried out his ministry without violence. This was not typical of the missionary practice of the peoples of the day, who first converted the king to Christianity and then imposed it on the people by state methods. St. Meinard received permission for the mission from the Polotsk prince and worked with the people. The command of Jesus Christ to go and teach, go and baptize all nations ... was for Bishop Maynard not just words, but a vital call to turn the people of our land to faith in the Triune God. Maynard's descendants came with fire and sword and conquered all the peoples who lived in those places. But Maynard showed us that we can do otherwise, not by force, but by love and faith. So we can conclude that there was great meaning in St. Maynard's actions."

Rain and bad weather did not prevent the prayer service, after which participants gathered in a sheltered area, where a conversation about the saint's legacy and his significance in our day took place.