A Russian church that had been gutted by the Communists, used as an elementary school and a school for diesel mechanics, and finally abandoned is once again being used to teach the Gospel. And a retired Albert Lea pastor has been there to help.

The Rev. Milton Ost, the longtime pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Albert Lea who retired in 1997, spent June 8 to July 2 at the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary in St. Petersburg, Russia, teaching two courses: pastoral ethics and communication skills.

Ost said Grace Lutheran has a connection with the seminary going back about 10 years. He was asked last winter if he’d consider teaching a course there.

&uot;I said I would if we could get past the language problem,&uot; Ost said. &uot;They did. They furnished a translator.&uot;

Ost said the Lutheran church has served in Russia since the 1570s, but all churches and seminaries were closed and many destroyed by Joseph Stalin in the 1930s. In fact, the pastor of this particular church was executed in 1936, he said.

In 1992, with considerable American help, the former Lutheran church building was purchased and rebuilt as the seminary. &uot;When they first bought the building, I thought, ‘There’s no way,’&uot; Ost said. &uot;But in two years, it was ready to go. It’s an amazing story of how it got put together.&uot;

The building opened as a seminary in 1997. The main floor of the old church now has classrooms, a dining room and a library. Upstairs are dormitory rooms, faculty living space and offices.

Ost said the Russian churches are going through what Americans did well over 100 years ago. Anywhere from five to 20 families will meet together in homes to worship, with lay pastors doing a lot of the work. He said to date, there are only about 500 Lutheran congregations in Russia, with about 50 ordained pastors. The seminary has graduated two classes of pastors since opening.

The students in the seminary have been told once they graduate, they won’t be paid. &uot;They have to maintain whatever other jobs they’ve been trained for, plus take on church duties full time,&uot; Ost said.

Ost taught 10 students, six men and four women. &uot;They came from the whole of Russia,&uot; he said. &uot;One of the students even came farther than we did.&uot;

The pastor said the students were &uot;bright and full of energy and faith.&uot;

&uot;They were full of questions about the church in America and what they are going into,&uot; Ost said.

Approximately a dozen American pastors have taught at the seminary since it opened, Ost said. There’s one full-time Russian professor on staff there, as well as two full-time German professors. Others, who teach such things as music or speech, are local.

This was Ost’s ninth trip to the region. &uot;It’s been a great experience,&uot; he said. &uot;There are so many students and pastors I know now.&uot;

Ost’s wife, Delores, accompanied him on this trip, and when he was not teaching, they saw more of St. Petersburg, including the castles, and went to Moscow and even some of the villages normally not available to tourists. There they learned about the craftsmanship involved in making beautiful black lacquered boxes, for which the villages are famous. The craft had formerly been used to make church icons, but when Communism took over, the artists had to learn to make non-religious items, Ost said.

The pastor said if asked, he’d consider the opportunity to teach in the seminary again. &uot;It is indeed an honor and a holy privilege to be asked to help there, and to have a small role in influencing the pastors there for the next generation,&uot; he said.

(Contact Geri McShane at lifestyles@albertleatribune.com or call 379-3426.)