It's been a very busy two and a half days here, with very little time to write a blog. The seminar went well, and everyone seemed happy with the conference as well. The conference was a cooperative effort between the Lutheran Church and the university in Omsk. There were papers from university students and faculty as well as from pastors and leaders in the church. The day ended today with a reception with lots of food and drink, and plenty of toasts Russian-style. I told Bradn that the Russian toasting culture used to put me off. It seemed unnecessarily formal and a little contrived to me. But I have changed my mind. At least in situations like this, where people have been working together for quite a while and gotten to know each other well, it is a chance to express sincere thanks and make a connection that our (American) culture doesn't often allow. What I'm saying is that I think that we should have more parties and more toasts!
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| View from the church to the south |
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| A view from the same window to the southwest |
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| A view of our quarters toward the kitchen that I though was the former bishop's. It turns out that there is an identical kitchen on the other side of the building. |
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| A view in the opposite direction |
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| The Lutheran Center in Omsk |
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| The south wing of the complex houses classrooms, a kitchen, living quarters, and church offices for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Urals, Siberia, and the Far East. By geographical area it's the largest Lutheran synod in the world. |
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| Outside of the east side of the sanctuary |
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| Anton leading one of the sessions |
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| Seminar instructors partaking of Russian kitchen culture |
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| Bradn eliciting opinions at the end of the seminar |
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| Anton (right) with students of the seminar |
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| Pastor Evgenii Lukinov, one of my student my first year in St. Petersburg |
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| Students and instructors of the seminar |
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| Opening of the academic conference |
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| Co-president of the organizing committee |
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| Attendees hear the opening greetings |
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| Greetings from the Russian Orthodox Church |
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| Dr. Anton Tikhomirov, President of the seminary in St. Petersburg (and also on of my students during my first year) gives one of the introductory presentations. |
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| Bishop Otto Schaude |
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| Professor of Architecture at the university |
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| Musicians from the Omsk Latvian Club |
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| Lunch at a local restaurant |
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| The evening spread |
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| Toasting |
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