This past week we had the opportunity to once again welcome Alexei Vylegzhan, a talented young organist from Novosibirsk, to our parish. He had come in January and given a couple of concerts that were so impressive, that Fr. Mike wanted to invite him back again, and the beginning of May was good for him and he willingly came again. On Saturday evening he did a concert featuring music of Bach and Mendelssohn, and another concert on Sunday evening featuring music of Frank and Evens and Buxtehude. He was well received, attracting a crowd of musically minded people and others who wouldn’t have visited our church otherwise. On Monday he invited the students from the local Music School to come and play with him. Some he accompanied as they sang or played and he played several duets on the organ with young musicians from Magadan. It was a delightful time for all.

Today we began our Pro-Life counseling work, right in the middle of the local women’s clinic – the very place where they do abortions. We have been allowed to use a room (2 hours a day, 3 days a week) where our trained ladies can sit and be available to talk to any who desires. Our sign hangs on the door, and brochures are always available. There is a lot of doubt by the doctors there that we will be either faithful or effective. That first day only the staff workers looked in to see if indeed someone was there. It might be a long time before any woman comes in, or anyone is referred by one of the doctors. It is our hope that if the staff sees that one of the women has some doubts or desire to keep their child, they will at least let them know that there is someone they can talk to, that there are people who are ready to help. But, to not do the abortion would mean less money for the doctor and staff, so of course they are very reluctant to support anything that will lessen their income. But it is now official government policy to work for the reduction of abortions and an increase in the birth rate, so they are begrudgingly willing to work with us. Still it will be a long hard road. Please pray for all the Russian women contemplating abortion.

We marked several anniversaries this week, with a Mass of Thanksgiving and reception afterwards. Over 40 people showed up on a Tuesday evening to pay tribute to our honorees.
Sr. Marta was born in Poland and entered the Daughters of Charity 50 years ago. She served in Poland, including the seminary in Krakow when the future Pope John Paul II was archbishop, often serving him meals. She also served in The Ukraine and finally being chosen for the first mission in Russia at their new house in Magadan.
Sr. Jean Marie, was born in the U.S. and joined the Daughters of Charity 25 years ago, serving in the Midwestern Province and the Western Province including Alaska, where she volunteered for the Russian assignment, having always a love and interest in Russia.
Fr. Michael will be celebrating his 60th birthday this year (in November), 30 years as a priest, and 15 years in Magadan. He’ll be taking a little extra time back in the US this year to celebrate and renew himself.
Fr. Dave prepared a little slide show of photographs, and each talked about their ‘call’ and what it has meant for them to be sisters or priest. We congratulate them and wish them all the best for the next 50, 30, or 25 years.

Serge, the artist/creator of the new windows, had informed us months ago that the panels were being completed, and that he would be able to ship them in Sept, and then come himself to install them. So of course we timed the visit of the Bishop to be when Serge was still here, after the completion of the installation, so that the Bishop would bless them right away. These windows tell the story of the Wonderful Works of Salvation which God has done for us; beginning with the Creation of Adam and Eve, and the events of the Old Testament on the left-hand windows, and then the Annunciation and the events of Christ’s life through Pentecost and the New Heavenly Jerusalem on the right-hand side. So after the Mass of Confirmation, our parish bell choir presented a festive concert, and then participated in a rite of Blessing for the New Windows, accompanying the recitation of a Litany of Thanks recalling the Wonderful Works of Salvation, depicted in these windows. Ten times everyone joined in singing the response: Lord of All to You we raise, this our Hymn of Grateful Praise.

Bishop Kyrill Klimovich, the ordinary of the Diocese of St. Joseph centered in Irkutsk, Russia, visited Magadan this week to celebrate the Rite of Confirmation, and to bless the new Stained Glass windows. We also took this opportunity of our bishop’s visit to celebrate the baptism of a young lady, and the reception of her family into the church. Valeria, along with her mother and father were protestants from our mission in Sokol, who, disillusioned with the fighting and divisions in Protestantism, found their way to the Catholic Church. They had a long catechumenate, in order to fully understand all the teachings of the Catholic Church, and to come to truly accept them. Now Valeri, the father of the family, former protestant preacher, can truly say, we have found the truths of the Catholic faith to be the teachings of Christ and our new home. One other lady was received into the Church and another eleven, having been baptized or come into the church since the last visit of our Bishop, were also confirmed.

After a week and a half of work, the installation of the new stained glass windows was completed, and the scaffolding removed. These new windows are the work of Serge Nouailhat, of Mortain, France. He is a member of the Community of the Beatitudes and became familiar with us here seven years ago, through Sister Tamara, another member of the Community of the Beatitudes, who had helped organize the pilgrimage of the relics of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus to Russia. He visited Magadan 4 years ago, and the dream and design of the windows was begun. It was two years ago that we gave him the ok to begin work on the 10 main windows. For the last two years, he has worked on this project, cutting, staining, firing, leading and assembling the literally thousands of pieces of glass for the more than 100 panels that make up this project. It was only with the final installation, that he himself at last was able to see the fruit of his work all assembled and in place. “They’re extraordinarily beautiful” said many of our parishioners seeing them for the first time. They give a whole new feel to our chapel. See more photos on the Stained Glass Windows Page.

The first gathering of expectant and new mothers, as part of our Pro-Life program, Nativity Inn, took place on Monday, Sept. 8. Five young mothers and their newborns joined us for fellowship and support. As part of our promise to support these new mothers, we want to be there for them, but also that they can share and support one another. Thus they shared some of the problems they encountered, and others shared their solutions. General information was given about ongoing nutrition and health concerns. Our workers were on hand to continue distributing the baby clothes, vitamins, pampers and supplies that people have so generously sent. And of course tea and cookies were enjoyed by all. The women were so grateful for this time together. See the photographs on our Pro-Life page.

Bishop Kirill Klimovich called unexpectedly last week requesting help filling in at the Parish of St. James on Sakhalin Island. The priest there has to leave unexpectedly for health reasons, and no one was available for the Easter Celebrations. Bishop Kirill very much hoped that one of us would be able to take the parish for two months. Since it was a real request of our bishop and need of the diocese, we considered that we have to respond somehow in obedience. Unfortunately that means that Fr. Michael will be alone and have all the Easter Celebrations here in Magadan, Sokol and in Ola. Fr. Milosh has also left for several months. The Parish of St. James has a nice church built by the Maryknoll Fathers when they served there. Unfortunately Maryknoll has pulled out of Russia, and now the Korean Missionary Society also. There are many Koreans on Sakhalin, but also Russians and Americans working in the oil industry there. They even have a Sunday Mass in English for them. Thus the need for a priest who also speaks english. Plus a community of the Sisters of Mother Theresa is serving the poor there, and they also use english for their community Mass and life. "I am happy to serve and have a chance to be at a different place for a little while" said Fr. Dave, "it's too bad its at such a bussy time for us all, but then that's why the need to go is so great." Please pray for Fr. Dave and his temporary assignment on Sakhalin. And for Fr. Mike who will be here in Magadan alone.

Having already offered and completed two ALPHA Courses, we at last have had all the material translated and now can also offer the follow-up course – Alpha for Catholics. Alpha is the beginning course – a basic introduction to Christianity. It is designed particularly for people who don’t know about Jesus or Christianity. Both times we have had completely new people show up, and several people join the Church because of Alpha. But our people also use Alpha as a renewal course. We encourage that, as it’s always important to know the basics well. But then from that we must go on to those points that are particularly ‘Catholic’. So this course then covers the Sacraments and Morality. Thus Catholics are able to know their faith better. But even with this course, we have a number of protestants who are participating. They too are interested in Catholic Teachings. Check out the photos in our Photo Album.

All Souls Day is usually the day we visit the cemeteries here in Magadan. This year, though, we had a blizzard so our visits were postponed until the following Sunday.

That Sunday was sunny, without too much wind and not too cold. So Sr Malgorzata, Sr Marta and I along with Liza from the Church drove to Marchekan Cemetery, the older of the two in Magadan. Here are buried members of the Red Army, inportant party official who have the Soviet five point star on their tombstones (see above left) and ordinary folks. Interestingly after the cemetery was half full and perestroika had occurred, the Orthodox cross began to replace the red star. A more recent and elaborate example is seen in the photo to the right.

Our little group trudged our way through knee deep snow to visit the grave of Liza’s mother Olga who died suddenly last May. On the way I tripped and fell face first into a deep bank of snow. The only thing that was hurt was my pride!

We finally found the grave. It was enclosed in a wrought iron fence like so many of the grave sites. On the large wooden Orthodox cross which marks the grave are inscribed the names of Liza’s Mom and her grandparents who are all buried here together. Liza dug a little hole in the snow, lighted a small vigil candle and set it in the hole to protect it from the wind. Then in the quiet of the Sunday afternoon we all prayed together for the repose of the souls of Liza’s family; for Nina Nikolaevna and Ann Feodorovna to whom we ministered over the past two years; and for all the souls of those who lie in the sacred, scarred ground of the Kolyma.

Our moods were quiet and reflective during the car ride back to the parish church. I am sure we were all pondering the meaning of what we had just experienced. I felt the peace of the cemetery which held the remains of Soviet party officials, Red Army members, simple workers, former guards and former prisoners must mirror something of the peace we will know in Heaven – when “everything is ours, we are Christ’s and Christ is God’s.”

I wish you a peaceful life and a happy death!

Sr Jean Marie

Fr. Mike was instrumental in organizing the first ever ‘Alpha for Catholics’ conference in Russia, which took place earlier this month in Krasnoarsk. Alpha is a program of Evangelization that has been used successfully by churches of every denomination throughout the world to bring people to Christ. Since the material was already available in Russian, we have used Alpha here at Nativity of Jesus Parish in Magadan, as part of the pre-catechumenate. Through Alpha people are introduced to Christ, and the basis tenants of Christianity. From there, they are free to continue to find our more or find a church of their choice. Using Alpha in a Catholic context does need some adaptation, and so Fr. Mike wanted to introduce other Catholic parishes in Russia to the possibility of using Alpha, and how it needs to be and can be adapted for a Catholic Content. Presenter came from France and Latvia to talk about how they have used Alpha in their Catholic parishes. The response from parishes here in Russia was overwhelming! More then 100 representatives of different Catholic parishes participated, and even 20 participants from protestant churches came just to find out about Alpha. The conference was a great success and at least 4 other Catholic parishes in Russia will be using Alpha already this fall, with others hoping to begin next spring.

Friends of Nativity Inn, the newly formed committee to support the Pro-Life activities of the Parish of the Nativity, in the Far East city of Magadan, Russia, will be holding a Pro-Life Mass and Meeting in the St. Louis area on Monday Evening July 23 at Incarnate Word Parish, 13416 Olive Blvd at 7 pm. Fr. David will be there to speak about the great tragedy of abortion in Russia, and what they are doing through their pro-life program -Nativity Inn - to overcome the problem, one child at a time. Fr. David explains: "The most important thing that people can do for us, and for the pro-life efforts around the world, is to pray. So, of course, the first thing we want to do to get our support group off the ground, is to pray and to celebrate the Eucharist. Only on that foundation can we begin to think about our projects and other efforts." After Mass there will be an organizational meeting, and sharing of ideas, of what people can do to support Nativity Inn. All are invited to attend.

Bishop Kyrill has asked Fr. Milosh to act as temporary Pastor for the two parishes in the City of Khabarovsk, until a new order can arrive in September to take over. Khabarovsk had been served by the Maryknoll Fathers, who unfortunately had to pull out their last priest, and they had no one to take his place. Luckily a new order will be arriving to continue the work there, but until then Fr. Milosh will be acting pastor. Khabarovsk is a city of more than a million people, and so in great need of a Catholic presence there. Please pray for Fr. Milosh's ministy there. We await his arrival back here in Magadan in September.

Friends and supporters of Fr. David, mainly from the St. Louis area, have formed a support committee to support the Pro-Life activities of the Parish of the Nativity in Magadan. Under the direction of Ms. Connie Hood, they have taken upon themselves fundraising efforts to support the women and children who are receiving aid through the parish, or will be staying at the small parish shelter for expectant mothers – ‘Nativity Inn’. Nativity Inn, while just a small apartment, is a place for several women to live while pregnant. We will be helping them not only in pre-natal and newly-born care for their babies, but will be helping them also to ‘get back on their feet’ - seeing that they can find work, and a place to live. The St. Louis group – The Friends of Nativity Inn – will be approaching the various pro-life committees already established in parishes, seeking their support, and doing direct fundraising themselves. While being able to accept some baby clothes and supplies, that will not be a primary emphasis as shipping these things to Russia is very expensive, and all can be found locally now. Sending the money that would be spent on shipping can go much farther here. “This will be a great help’ said Fr. Dave. “These women and babies not only need to be taken care of, but to know that other people care about them. They also need your prayers.” So of course, we’ll be sharing stories of these women, and their babies as they come to us and we are able to share with them the Love of God. Anyone interested in helping with this specific project, can contact Connie Hood at 314-863-0500 or e-mail Fr. Dave directly.

At the Easter Vigil, five members of the Church of the Nativity, who had already spent many months in preparation and education, were received into full communion with the Catholic Church, professing their faith, reciting the Creed along with the rest of the Faithful, and receiving their first Holy Communion. Tamara expressed it all saying; “It has indeed been all worth it. There were tears in my eyes, knowing that at last I was one with the Church of my Lord, and able to receive Him in Holy Communion.” The whole Church, which celebrated the Rite of Entry with these Catechumens back in November, and had been praying for them all these months, especially these last weeks of Lent, welcomed them with joy and a wonderful reception afterwards.
On Easter Sunday Morning, we had two baptisms in our beautiful immersion Baptismal Font. Lena and her daughter Natasha, two parishioners from the parish in Ola, wanted to experience baptism under full immersion, and so chose to come into Magadan for their baptism. It added an especially festival touch to the joyous Easter celebrations. The local television station was even present, taping part of the ceremony, and the reporter remarked, that we certainly had a very joyous celebration. Over all everyone was very pleased by how prayerful, and joyous were all the services of the Triduum and Easter. The Nativity Bell Choir ended the morning with a special Easter Concert, which still amazes all who hear them. We even had beautiful sunny days, though still with lots of snow on the ground.

"Everything was just beautiful!" That was the comment of so many of our parishioners once again this year after the nighttime Mass of Christmas. Actually we started our Christmas celebration on Saturday, Dec. 23, with a meeting of the survivors of Stalin's repression. The Bell Choir performed their first public concert, and the children put on their pageant for these lovely people who suffered so much. On Sunday, after our morning Mass for the 4th Sunday of Advent, we presented the Christmas Pageant for our children and the children of the neighborhood at 5 pm. We had more than 350 kids show up, plus hundreds of adults. That was a little less than last year, as kids still had to get up on Monday for school, and parents had to go to work as usual. The same for our night vigil, we even started it at 10 pm, with songs and readings to end the Advent season, and begin our Christmas. The Church was full, but all had places to sit. On Christmas day, we gathered in the evening at 7pm for the Christmas Day Mass. After Mass, the city’s a cappella choir, presented their concert of spiritual music. They were excellent, as always.

This year we have expanded our Nativity display in front of the Church. This project began last year, when Fr. Michael realizing how artistic Fr. Milosh was, and desiring to have a large public outdoor display here in this country, where for so long such things were prohibited, asked Fr. Milosh to create something. It was already December last year, when he had this thought, so we were only able to do Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, and an Angel and Star. So this year, beginning already in November, we added the three kings, shepherds, a camel, cow and donkey. So that we now really have a complete scene. Our worker, Volodia, built a large platform (it was -30 degrees c. that day), and all the figures, cut out of plywood, and hand painted by Fr. Milosh, were placed and secured on it. Plus electric lighting and garland, it makes quite a beautiful scene in front of the church. People stop by just to look, and the other day, I saw people taking photographs in front of the Nativity scene, so it is definitely doing its job, of attracting people to the church.

Today we dedicated the apartment chapel in Sokol. Fr. Milosh, the pastor, had completed the remodeling and been using the small room, dedicated to Blessed Charles de Foucould, for several months already, but now with a decree of Bishop Kirill officially establishing a chapel in the village, and with our own Fr. Michael, local dean, his representative presiding, the Chapel was blessed for the use of God's people and the celebration of Mass. Fr. David, preaching at the Mass, spoke of a chapel being a meeting place of God and His people, and how dangerous, yet wonderful, it was to have a place to encounter God. Blessed Charles, the spiritual founder of the Fraternity which Fr. Michael started with Fr. David and Milosh, is indeed an example of someone who encountered God, and his life changed, and he had to give himself to God totally. Sr. Marta helped prepare the luncheon afterwards, and everyone talked about how exciting it was to have a small but active parish now in this important little settlement near to our regional airport. Already the parish is growing and through Alpha and other means, reaching out to their neighbors around them.

Today the Church of the Nativity in Magadan, in the Russian Far East, celebrated the Rite of 'Enty into the Catecumenate'. This rite marks the beginning of a definate decision to prepare for entry into full communion in the Catholic Church. "Today we recieved 9 wonderful individuals into the Catecumenate" said Olga Astashev, director of the Catecumenate. "It has been a great pleasure and blessing for me to help lead them to this day, I'm confindent that they will make wonderful members of our parish family." We had one couple coming from a protestant background, that wanted to know the truth better. Several mentioned that the Unity of the Catholic Church was important to them, and they all expressed a desire to recieve Jesus in Holy Communion. "The teaching about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is something definately missing in our other church," said Alexsey - one of the candidates, "and the Catholic Teaching is the only one that takes Jesus' words in the Gospel literally. 'This is my Body'. I really need to recieve my Lord in Holy Communion, and anxiously await this coming Easter." All nine now continue their preparations and studies in order to fully understand the Catholic Faith, and prepare for the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. They will be recieved into the Church next Easter, or when they are ready to make that committment and step. Please Pray for them.