This past year brought several important changes into the life of St. Luke‘s (Šiauliai) UMC, the most important of which are the usage of the newly built annex as the church sanctuary and the appointment of a Lithuanian pastor. These two developments are not only significant for the life of the local church; they are also reflective of the new stage into which Lithuania UMC is transitioning as a whole. The addition to the existing church building expanded the total square footage of the church nearly twice thus providing the congregation with a new opportunity to develop its existing ministries and to initiate other projects that will grow the church and serve the community. The appointment of a local, Lithuanian, pastor has allowed the church to start the transition into a new model of congregational life which more fully integrates pastoral care, preaching, teaching and other ministries of the church and Lithuanian context. The combination of these two factors creates an atmosphere which is very conducive to spiritual and numeric growth.
As of this October, several important ministries have been revived or started at St. Luke‘s. Every Sunday morning before 11:00 worship service the congregation gathers for Bible study; seasonal Bible studies are offered on Wednesday nights. The attendance has not always been stable but hopefully people will continue to be drawn to the Word of God and to fellowship with each other. Youth group has resumed its regular meetings, averaging 3 sessions a month, usually held on Sunday nights. Movie nights, discussions, Bible study and prayer times have proved to fill the existing need among the young people in the congregation. St. Luke’s youth currently encompass a wide range of ages, anywhere from fourteen to later twenties, which presents an occasional challenge. Women’ group has been slowly resuming its activities as they have thrown their talents behind several major events held at St. Luke’s UMC. A more structured approach towards women’s ministries as well as leadership training is needed.
St. Luke’s UMC has been enjoying the spotlight as it opened its expanded facility and extended its hospitality to brothers and sisters from other churches in Lithuania and across different faith traditions. Early in March an ecumenical Bible study, which grew out of monthly ecumenical pastors’ meetings, was held at St. Luke’s UMC, with pastor Gražina leading. Women’s World Day of Prayer celebration was hosted at St. Luke’s as well, attracting more than 60 women and men and featuring musical gifts from many different congregations. A district wide meeting of United Methodist Women is also planned for early May and a women’s seminar in late October, all to be hosted in Šiauliai.
While the church has been blessed with many gifts and talents and great facilities, our biggest challenge remains realizing the opportunities to witness Christ to the world through outreach and evangelism in the broadest sense of the word. The congregation’s resources and time are consumed by the socio-economic crisis and the daily struggle for survival as Šiauliai is bracing itself for record high unemployment rates, predicted to rise up to 80% by the end of 2009. Financial strain often times accompanied by job loss has already deeply affected the members of the congregation, and thus make our attempts to move towards greater self-sustainability much more difficult. Even so, we continue to look to God in our midst for answers and wrestle with questions about what it means for us to be the body of Christ in this broken world.
In order to provide a greater focus for its ministries and to define its mission in the city of Šiauliai at a time like this and beyond, St. Luke’s UMC will engage in a visioning process, with a tentative date for initial meeting set in May. It is our hope and prayer that we will have eyes to see and ears to hear what God is doing in our midst and will offer ourselves whole-heartedly to His service.
