Destin United Methodist Supports Russian Church: Pastor Ken Taylor Mentors Russian Pastor
Posted on: Saturday, 2 September 2006, 18:00 CDT
By Keri Holt, Destin Log, Fla.
Sep. 2--About 400 children in seven orphanages in Kirov, Russia, rely on Destin United Methodist Church for clothes, shoes, furniture and various necessities of life. Russian hospitals depend on the church's outreach ministries for some supplies. And the one and only Methodist church in Kirov especially looks to Destin as its sole support of just about everything. Ken Taylor, the pastor at Destin United Methodist Church, first visited Kirov five years ago. It's a city of 750,000 people, 800 kilometers northeast of Moscow. Taylor visited orphanages, conducted vacation Bible schools, distributed Russianlanguage Bibles and preached to those interested. Since his visit, Taylor has encouraged his congregation in Destin to support the Kirov area. To give his parishioners a better idea of the conditions in Russia and to familiarize them with the mission they support, Taylor brought Kira Volkova, soonto-be-pastor of the Methodist church in Kirov, to Destin. "I wanted our people to know her," Taylor said. "I understand what the need is because I've been over there and I've seen it. The congregation could only see that in my eyes. Yet, now that they've met Kira, they have a deeper bond and connection. They now share the vision." Volkova, a 23-year-old recent graduate, spoke to the congregation on Aug. 20. She was recently assigned by the Bishop to pastor the church in Kirov. She has yet to see Kirov or the apartment in which she'll live. Therefore, Volkova was anxious to meet the people of Destin to learn as much as she could about her new destination, she said. As the sole supporter of the Russian church, Destin United Methodist Church provides the church's total annual budget, which is less than $6,000, including Volkova's salary. It also provides materials, literature and any other materials needed to make the church a success, Taylor said. "I wanted to come and hear the hopes and expectations that the church here in Destin has for the church in Kirov," Volkova said. "And, since I've never been to Kirov, I wanted to get some information about the church. I have no friends or family in this new town, so they gave me names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of people they know there." As a means of encouragement, Volkova spoke to the Destin congregation about her experiences with Americans and how they introduced her to religion. When she was 10 years old living in Ulyanovsk, Russia, an American family came to her town and started a Methodist church. Volkova was baptized into the Russian Orthodox church when she was about 5, yet she knew nothing about God. "The Russian Orthodox church does not preach openly, so you hardly ever heard anything about God at home or at church," she said. "It was popular to be baptized, but you weren't baptized for salvation. It was to protect us from illnesses and diseases." After being invited by the American family, Volkova attended a few services. "I wasn't really listening," she said. "I just enjoyed the music and the songs and the American influence. Four years later, I attended a camp, and that changed me. I didn't miss a single Sunday after that." Volkova's plan was to be an English teacher, yet the idea of spending six days away from the church each week seemed too tough. She wanted to go every day, she said. Therefore, she decided to become a pastor. Her first job after graduating from a seminary in Moscow is at Kirov. With Volkova being fluent in English, Taylor is optimistic that his own church's relationship with the church in Russia will deepen. "The pastor before Kira couldn't speak a single word of English," Taylor said. "Now that Kira is there, we hope to do more in that area. I've developed a friendship with her so I can now go to Russia to preach and she can interpret for me." The Russian congregation is currently holding its services in the apartment in which Volkova will live. The Destin church is working to raise funds to provide the congregation with a more permanent building.
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Copyright (c) 2006, Destin Log, Fla.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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Source: The Destin Log (Destin, Fl.)
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