Moscow, Russia

Painting on the wall of the Russian United Methodist Seminary in Moscow.

With only one day to tour Moscow, we visited the Methodist Seminary in Moscow and toured the city on a bus on Nov. 3, 2011. Read about the seminary here.

This building is the Russian United Methodist Seminary.

This was right before a holiday (Unity Day) and so the traffic was quite congested. It turned out that Red Square was closed to the public, because groups were rehearsing for the upcoming military parade for the following Monday:

I later learned that:
"Thousands of Russian soldiers and military cadets marched across Red Square to mark the 70th anniversary of a historic World War II parade.The show honored the participants of the Nov. 7 1941 parade who then headed directly to the front to defend Moscow from the Nazi forces. The parade Monday involved about 6,000 people, many of them dressed in World War II-era uniforms."

Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Russia-marks-anniversary-of-1941-military-parade-2256020.php#ixzz1dp7k1Rfc

We took the metro (subway) to the train station where we met our bus and got our luggage. The artistry of the metro stations was amazing, with statues, mosaics, interesting ceilings. In the Revolution Square metro station, there are bronze statues depicting Soviet workers. One has a dog that is reputed to give you good luck if you rub its nose, which we all did:

Then we boarded a train from Moscow to Vologda, a trip that took us almost 8 hours. We slept in cars which had four bunk beds and arrived at 5:30 am the next day.

Avery's Baptism

Rev. Gloria Lear baptizing Avery Elizabeth yesterday.

Our granddaughter Avery was baptized yesterday by our dear friend Gloria Lear at First United Methodist Church in Corpus Christi, TX. Gloria also married Avery's parents in Austin five years ago.

Thanksgiving

Sanctuary, All Saints Episcopal Church
Corpus Christi, TX

I am grateful that I rejoined the Episcopal Church some years ago; though I didn't really "rejoin" because I "re-activated" my membership. The Methodist Church was a good beginning for my faith renewal in the 1990's; it is also where I learned what a community meant. It was the first place I knew people prayed for me and wanted me around.

However, yesterday I attended a funeral there for an elderly lady (Annelle) in the Conley-Wesley class, which no longer exists. The Conley-Wesley class started out in the early 20th Century as a large group (100+) of women. By the time I started teaching Sunday School classes there in the mid-90's, there could be 20 older women attending. As time went on ladies died, moved away, or were too ill to come. When the class closed about seven years ago, there were only two elderly women left, one of whom died this past week. I still taught every two months of each year until the demise of the class, which occurred about a year before I moved back to the Episcopal Church.

After the funeral, someone asked me if I was still going to "that" Episcopal Church. When I affirmed that, telling her that three of our four children had been baptized there in the 1980's, she then asked disapprovingly, "Isn't that church liberal?" Yes, it is!

I am grateful for the accepting, open-minded, and friendly people at All Saints Episcopal Church. The choir and liturgy on Sundays create a holy atmosphere. Today we are having one service, followed by a pot-luck. There is macaroni and cheese baking in my oven as I write this. (I wonder if people will like homemade macaroni and cheese, instead of the boxed variety.) Just as I once found a home at First United Methodist Church, I am grateful to be in the All Saints family now.