Greetings from Moscow where we have just marked the end of our first full day. I should say that many roads gathered in this most Russian of cities as we came together yesterday from flights leading through Washington, Vienna, Toronto and Dusseldorf, but we all made it safe and sound.
We began today at the longstanding Baptist church in downtown Moscow, where we participated in a Trinity Sunday service. We were welcomed warmly, and heard some very beautiful singing from the church choir. The texts were from John, of the sending of the Holy Spirit, and from Luke’s account of the Road to Emmaus.
After that, we toured the Tretyakov Gallery just off from the Kremlin. Our guide, Svetlana, led us through this greatest of all Russian art collections; topped off by a walk back in time to some of Russia’s most prized icons. After that we had free time over lunch, which some took in at a lovely sidewalk cafe, whereas others walked about the canals of this part of the city. And that was just half-way through our day, as a tour of the city followed before we finally made it to Red Square. Many consider this to the very heart of Russia, and for good reason. We had our evening meal beside one of the oldest walled sections in all of Moscow, and capped off our evening with a performance at Moscow’s famed circus.
We are all well and in good spirits. Tomorrow begins our last full day in Moscow, and a chance to be part of an Orthodox worship service in “Christ the Saviour Cathedral”, a church that was destroyed in Stalin’s time only to be rebuilt after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
So it goes! For now, and for the group,
~ Len Friesen
