The presidents of the North and South German Unions of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Johannes Naether and Werner Dullinger, as well as the leader of the working group of Russian-speaking Adventists in Germany, Pastor Dr. Pavlo Khiminets, call on their congregations for peace and calm in view of the war in Ukraine.
In their statement, they declare: "In this threatening and tense situation, we as leaders, together with the Russian-speaking working group, would like to send a conscious signal of peace and prudence to our communities with these lines."
Not hostile to each other
War and other political conflicts can also lead Adventists into an emotionally exceptional situation, so that their actions in everyday life, and in the local Adventist congregation, are also shaped by these conflicts. If such issues were to become controversial in a congregation, this could be enormously stressful for everyone. "We are well aware of how challenging it can be when brothers and sisters in faith meet in the congregation whose home countries are hostile to each other through violence and destruction."
Successful integration
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Germany has experienced a common integration process over the past 30 years, so that their congregations have been able to live and develop in harmony and love. "We can look back on this time with gratitude and be thankful that very different life experiences and cultural differences have not separated us. We see this as a gift from God because, through His Spirit, He has opened our hearts to each other."
So that peace can spread
In Christ, believers are a new creation. Racial, cultural, educational, national, social, and societal differences must not be divisive among us. In Christ, all are equal, joined together by one Spirit for fellowship with him and with one another. By the grace of God, Adventists would be richly endowed and empowered for peace. Their churches and families should be such places of peace and reconciliation.
5,000 Russian-speaking Adventists in Germany
According to Pastor Khiminets, there are about 5,000 Russian-speaking Adventists in Germany. From 1991 to 1995, they came mainly from Central Asia and Siberia, then also from Western and Southern Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet republics.
Church leadership as "bridge builders”
Khiminets explained that the church leadership in Germany had used Russian-German pastors who had received their training in Germany and, therefore, knew not only the cultural background of the ethnic German repatriates but also that of the local people. Russian-speaking “working groups” had also been set up regionally and throughout Germany. These had proved very helpful in clarifying and understanding various problem areas.
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