The building search for ERSU continues. The building on which we set our eyes for 6 months was sold, so we are back to looking again. This was a hard blow, but we feel God is teaching us and accomplishing something at each stage: clarity of criteria and vision and motivations.
We're looking again, and we've found a dozen possibilities, but all except two are now put aside. But those two offer real possibilities!
One option is average price, within our range, and although we could start holding classes there in short order, it would take some extra construction and funds for it to meet all our criteria. It is smaller than we would like, but it has a nice green yard for conversations and even volleyball.
The second option is CHEAP and HUGE! However, it will take some major refurbishing, although we would have funds for it, once we sell our current office. It would take us a year to get in, and another year to reach full possibilities, but it could offer conditions not only for seminary, but for local churches, retreats, seminars and conferences. It could even possibly provide options for a Bible college.
So, we need much PRAYER at this time: for WISDOM, UNITY, and the Lord's TIMING in it all. Walk with us in this adventure!
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ERSU Seminary congratulates our 2010 graduate
Nikolai Koretsky
on the successful defense of his thesis for
Masters in Sytematic Theology
at Kampen University in the Netherlands!
CONGRATULATIONS!
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Consultation Day, Lviv, 5-6 July 2016, Holy Trinity Church office
Eleven teachers and educators participated in our first Christian Education Consultation Day, to give some orientation and direction to our CE Project.
Each participant shared what they have done in education in their local setting. Most shared about Sunday school, telling what materials they had used or developed. We spoke of the challenges and blessings.
We began each day with a devotional and worship, assisted by Juliette Hacquebord on keyboard. Clay Quarterman, Coordinator of Christian Education for ERSU, and Dasha Pilipenko, CE Assistant, shared about the vision and structure of the work, how ERSU is serving the churches, and what we have done over the past 2 years, as well as giving some ideas for the future, including website, library, materials development, training, and conferences.
Each participant came prepared and shared a report about Christian Education in their city/church, and it was wonderful to hear all God is doing in each place, and to see the wonderful gifts and creativity God has distributed throughout his Body. The greatest emphasis was on Sunday schools and summer camps, with each person sharing what materials they were using.
All agreed that a big hole exists in one special area: Youth Work (ages 12-17). This is a crucial time in these people’s lives. There are very few leaders but also few materials and few people who know how to lead in this area. Sunday school is provided up to a point, and then there’s no place that is age-appropriate for continued training of the young people. They are often just lumped in with the adults, and we lose a lot of them at this point. There’s a big need for materials and training.
One suggestion was to help each church identify a married couple who could take some responsibility in this area and provide them with training, materials, and encouragement. ERSU will be asking churches if they have good materials and help disseminate them, providing some of the info on our CE site.
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Pray for the Evangelical Reformed Seminary building program. We need our own dormitory building to cut costs. A church offered us land to build, but, after a full year of planning, the city denied our rezoning request in January!Yet, we hope we’ll soon have our own facility for our intensive seminary sessions! Since our building project was turned down, we’ve been shopping for a new location. Our seminary colleagues were busy in negotiations while the Quartermans were gone, locating a great building for the seminary office, library, classrooms, and dorm! Although this came at huge extra cost, God has provided the need funds!
This deal even includes a trade for our current office, obviating our need to find a buyer. If it works, we’ll have to install some showers and a kitchen and buy some furniture, and we’ll be ready to move in! It seems ideal, so we really need prayer.
We need much wisdom in this huge and complex project! One doesn’t often think that missionary work entails banking, international finance, negotiating with Communists, learning legal jargon, architectural drafting, subcontracting, bookkeeping, interior design, etc. But Praise God for providing the funding! Pray that we take wise steps from here. This has been a large part of our long-range vision for years.
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We held our first Christian Education Consultation on July 5-6 in Lviv, having identified six leading educators among the churches in our two denominations (Presbyterian and Reformed). Our goal was to enlist their help to start a whole Ministry of Christian Education to serve our churches! It worked! It was amazing at the Consultation to hear how much all these educators have been doing, and others need to hear it, too!
So we’re now developing networks (Facebook, Skype, etc.) to keep them in touch and to connect with others. We’ve even developed a new website dedicated to reformed Christian Education in Ukraine. There, educators can meet and share their materials, reviews, and ideas.
[Read more here: Consulting Day in Lviv]- Details
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