Progress in Riga, Latvia

After church, the day following the lecture, the members and I talked about progress and challenges within this church group (in Riga, Latvia). Two years ago they established a Sunday School and it is well attended. They have 6 or 7 regular students ranging in age from 3 to 13. They have been working on a translation of S&H into Latvian and are nearing completion on this project. The project is has been receiving a little financial support from a CS Association in Switzerland and a member of that Association was in Riga to talk with them about the project's progress. Talking about the project opened the door for talking about community outreach. They had been thinking about the translation of SH as a project mostly for themselves, but we explored the idea that this is something for their whole society and that they should begin right now thinking about how to share it with the community and growing into a more self-sufficient role in providing for that outreach. The two forms of outreach we discussed were the possibility of opening a RR and the lecture activity. They want to takes these steps and are praying about it - they know this kind of progress is natural. They have come a long way in the last few years. They were officially registered only a few years ago (a huge step in which TMC played a significant role by providing an attorney to help them), they established a Sunday School two years ago, and they hold Wed meetings twice a month. They currently rent a space just for the hours of their services, but they are praying about and working toward purchasing a place of their own. We talked about the possibility of a Reading Room that could be used for church services too. They are a small, but dedicated group, and your prayers and financial support of the lecture activity are playing a significant role in allowing them to continue growing and serving their community. They all expressed their gratitude for the support from TMC and from the private sources.

-Marie

English church sponsors lectures in Russia

We discovered the Spiritual Resource Foundation and came to appreciate its work in Russia so much. Our branch church is registered with them as a ‘sister church’ in that several members are working conscientiously for it and for the work of Christian Science there each day. So it seemed logical to sponsor lectures there, and thanks to the generosity of our members we were able to contribute to the expenses of two lectures there – one in Riga and one in St Petersburg. The fruitage to our membership of working with and for the Russian field is incalculable, it has given our membership a lift and enabled us to feel, tangibly, that in some way we are helping to “feed and clothe a hungry world.” All members have gained a broader sense of community since deciding to support 2 lectures there and have rejoiced with the reports of fruitage Marie Helm has sent us, and have responded immediately when alerted to the need for specific work. We are so very grateful for the work undertaken there and feel privileged to be able to support it in some way.

- Alex