The new year in Biržai as usual begins with the annual ecumenical week on January 18-25. It is pleasant to note, that this ecumenical event in Biržai has already become a tradition and it lasts not just one evening but four or five evenings and it has also become a tradition that the Superintendent of the United Methodist Church in Lithuania participates at one of these evenings as well.
In January our congregation was paid a visit by the students of Methodist Theology Seminary in Tallin. The students shared their witnesses, their experience and their insights of living Christian life and how God works in their life.
To my mind February 13 was an especially important day both for us, the congregation, and for me, personally, because we had a double celebration on that day-the official opening of the church building, with a lot of guests from other Methodist churches and other denominations, including the Mayor of the town and the first wedding which was served in our church.
As I was delegated by the District Conference to the District Youth Committee, I recommended to have one of its meetings in Biržai. So in May we had a two-day youth gathering in our church-we watched Christian films, discussed important and relevant issues.
In June, on Father’s Day, we had the service of Baptism and Pijus was baptized on that day.
In August three new members joined our congregation.
In June we were invited to take part in the Annual Conference of the Norwegian United Methodist Church in a marvelous town of Bergen, where the headquarters of our good friends, the Methodist organization called Bettany, are established. In the conference there was a special time, dedicated to our church and we had to present our town, our congregation and its ministries and its projects.
In July we had a group of friends from Pennsylvania (USA) visiting us. It was a group of volunteers, led by Dr. Don, who spent ten days in our town, working, fixing and making our old building in Stoties street look nicer.
September was also quite a busy time for us. September 20-22 we hosted a Lithuanian-Latvian Methodist seminar for clergy, conducted by Bishop Christian Alsted, the Superintendent of the United Methodist Church in Lithuania William Lovelace and the Superintendent of Latvian UMC Gita Medne. I was glad that our church has been chosen among a lot of Lithuanian and Latvian churches. The seminar turned out to be of big importance and interest.
We had some of our old friends visiting us from September 25 to October 5. It was their third visit and they came from Grand Rapids United Methodist Church in Michigan (USA). It was a group of volunteers, led by Broderick Norkus. They worked in our church building and in Pačeriaukštė Help Center.
I took part in several Lay Preachers’ Training Sessions, in the seminar for the members of the Councils of the Ordained Ministry in Piarnu, Estonia. I also took part in the meetings of the Administrative Council and the Council of the Ordained Ministry and the District Youth Committee.
Rev. Raimondas Piečia
Pastor Raimondas