From April 6 through April 17 (with small
interruptions) I have been blessed with visits to different parishes of the
Ukrainian Lutheran Church. I had two
companions on this trip: Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Pastor Neal
Schroeder and Resurrection Lutheran Church Chairman, Brother Oleksandr Khyliuk. We have visited ULC congregations in Kharkiv,
Zaporizhia, Tokmak as well as we had a possibility to visit with pastors from
Kherson, Bereznehuvate, Kyiv, Malyn, Radomyshl, Kremenets, Ternopil,
Ivano-Frankivsk and other Ukrainian towns and villages. Pastor Neal Schroeder
was a preacher in our churches in Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Tokmak and Kyiv. His interesting and inspiring sermon was
built on words from Exodus (16:1-17). We thank the Lord for all our brothers
and sisters in faith, for their hospitality and commitment to the Gospel. It is
joyful to see how the God’s Word is being fulfilled, “As
the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not
return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and
flourish, so that it yields seed for
the sower and bread for the eater, so
is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for
which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11).
Picture: After the worship service in Tokmak.
On September 22, 2013 the first volume of Luther's Works in Ukrainian was presented to the Ukrainian Lutheran Church.Volume number 1 includes Dr. Luther's sermons on the Gospel of John, chapters 1 thourgh 4. The presentation of the 1st volume took place at the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Kyiv. The event was dedicated to the 1025th anniversary of introduction of Christianity in Ukraine and took place right after the God's service. Dr. Robert Rahn, Interim Executive Director of the Lutheran Heritage Foundation was the key presenter. Every participant of the celebration could receive a signed copy of the 1st volume of Luther's Works. The next volume of Luther's Works will be dedicated to Luther's wrtings on the Word and Sacrament. The book is available and being sent both to congregations and individuals.
