Across the Pastor’s Desk

By the Rev. Todd Walsh, Grace Lutheran Church

Grace Lutheran Church has related to the Lutheran church in Russia for more than 20 years. I have been privileged to visit our Russian brothers and sisters four times in the last 12 years. It has been remarkable to see church buildings reclaimed and rebuilt in that formerly officially atheist country. It has been more remarkable to meet some of the people who have rebuilt those churches. They are people who do not have much but have given everything of themselves to God’s church in a land begging for the good news.

I would like to share with you about just one of those people. And this is someone I met in 2000 and who unfortunately died of cancer in 2005. His name was Peter Urie. Peter was born in what was communist East Germany. Peter did not buy into communist atheism but became a self-described hippie. He visited a Lutheran church and eventually became a Christian and a leader in the barely tolerated Lutheran church in East Germany.

Peter became an effective evangelist with his gentle and inviting manner. He was also an outstanding scholar and communicator. The East Germany secret police threatened him but he continued his ministry. Then they tried to hire him as a double agent. He refused. History caught up with East Germany and the communist government collapsed. Peter, like any East German who wished to, later got to see his Stasi file. He learned then that there would be one more attempt to recruit him but if he refused he would be killed. East Germany died before it could kill him.

Peter then decided to become a pastor in Russia. He knew the Russian language thanks to his communist adversaries, so what better place to share the good news? That’s where I met him in 2000, serving as the pastor of the Peter and Paul Lutheran Church in central Moscow.

He and his wife were most gracious hosts. We sat in his humble kitchen, and he shared about sharing the good news in the former heart of the communist world.

Peter gave the Lutheran Church in Moscow a strong place. Bible studies at the church were a popular place of the university community. Peter also learned that female university students would sometimes pay for their education with prostitution. The Lutheran church became a leader in educating women on the dangers of prostitution and helping them find jobs to make money in a safe way. Even the all-powerful Russian Orthodox Church took notice and copied Peter’s efforts.

What is God’s lesson in Peter Urie? The gospel of Jesus Christ is for anyone, even a wannabe hippie. All of us can share the gospel where we live. Our faith will be challenged but we can meet those challenges. We can address the tough issues of life. And our faith lived out in the community of the faithful can make a difference.