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In August, an ACCTS staff member traveled to Belarus to attend an annual conference on Reconciliation. Here is his report.
In 2 Corinthians 5:18, we are reminded that God has reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and that He has given us the ministry of reconciliation. This emerged as an important theme during the 14th meeting of the Brandenburger Reservisten and the Belarusian MCF "Vera I Chest" (Faith and Honor), which took place in Minsk, Belarus, from 24 - 28 August 2015. Nine delegates from Germany took part, as well as one from Poland and me. The Belarusian MCF hosted the five-day program, and we stayed in a clean and comfortable monastery hotel.
Program highlights:
*Visiting a monastery with its own hospital for treating patients with alcoholism, physical maladies and disease, as well as psychological and spiritual afflictions. It also had various work areas for producing mosaics, icons, fine clothing, glass ornaments, and books for sale to support their work.
* Visiting an educational center of the Ministry of Special Situations for training fire fighters, engineers, and first responders. This was followed by a visit to their museum, which documented the history of fire fighting in Belarus.
* Meeting with the Deputy Director for Administration of the Pervomayskiy Region of Minsk to learn about military retired pay, humanitarian care programs for retired people, and other issues.
* A Special concert of violin, piano, and vocal selections in honor of Tchaikovsky's 175th birthday.
Special highlights:
* I led a roundtable discussion on reconciliation and forgiveness, using both personal experiences and the paper of a German delegate. This was the first time the group had addressed the issue of reconciliation so directly. The spirited discussion that followed indicated that this will be a long process that cannot be resolved in an afternoon meeting, and led to a resolution to spend more time on the topic at next year's (15th) meeting in Dresden.
* Visiting Igor Lazarev's school for foreign languages, where several of his English language students presented a play about Easter, followed by talks on how Easter is celebrated in the United States and in Germany. We then enjoyed special Easter cake, coffee and tea.
* Visiting Father Sergei's church in Tarasovo (north of Minsk). He gave us a tour of the the church complex (a café, chapel for funeral services, a baptismal pool, and the main church), and answered questions.
* Following our meeting with Father Sergei, we placed flowers on a memorial to fallen Belarusian soldiers of WW II, and then traveled to a nearby cemetery where a German delegate placed flowers at the site of two German war graves - an outward gesture of reconciliation.
 Special blessings: - Praise God for: * A thoughtful paper on reconciliation that opened the door to meaningful sharing of long-held feelings about this topic. * In-depth discussions on reconciliation with members of the German delegation. * An eagerness to meet again, with plans already being made for the 15th meeting that will take place during in Dresden during the last full week of August 2016. * The opportunity to share a meal and have extended conversation with Father Sergei, whom I had met more than ten years ago!
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