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Forming Partnerships: Social Work in Russia

In January 2006, Beryl and I attended a summit of Christian social workers. It established a base of contacts which have since developed into working partnerships between RACU and Christian organizations involved in reaching out to at-risk children.	Beryl is focused on development of the university’s research capacity and efforts to network with churches.	Professor Beryl Hugen, the chairman of Calvin College’s Social Work department joined the Russia Ministries team!	Beryl travels with RACU to cities Kostroma and Vladimir to instruct orphanage caregivers and project how use measuring instruments (effects of life-skills training)

Beginning July 1, 2006, Professor Beryl Hugen, the chairman of Calvin College’s Social Work department joined the Russia Ministries team! He’s been serving in Russia for almost 10 years, primarily as Calvin College’s contribution as one of the 11 sponsoring universities of Russian-American Christian University. Dr. John Bernbaum, alumni of Calvin College, is founder and president of RACU.

Beryl joins CRWM’s ministry to Russia as the developer of Social Work program at RACU.

Bethany Christian Services in St. Petersburg is very active with Beryl in supporting the orphanages and lifeskills programs.

Community ministry: distinct dimensions of Christian faith as they apply to Social Work Ministry ( by Beryl Hugen)

"Community ministry is defined as "involvement in activities encouraged by your congregation that support the physical, material, emotional, and social well-being of people from your congregation, neighborhood, and community"

"Three distinct dimensions of Christian faith have been identified: faith as belief , faith as commitment , and faith as trust. Faith, therefore, is a response - a belief, a commitment, and a trust - to religious truths that clarify one's life in relationship to God".

"The Protestant Christian perspective defines faith as an activity of recognizing and accepting God's grace in our lives, and choosing to live a life appropriately directed toward God."

We can suggest the following list of activities - referred to as 'practices of faith' - that together constitute a Christian life of faith:

1. Worshipping together - praising God, giving thanks for God's creative and redemptive work in the world, hearing God's word preached, and receiving the sacraments given to us in Christ.
2. Telling the Christian story to one another
3. Interpreting together the Scriptures and the history of the church's experience, particularly in relation to their meaning for our own lives in the world.
4. Praying - together and by ourselves, not only in formal services of worship but in all times and places.
5. Confessing our sin to one another, and forgiving and becoming reconciled with one another.
6. Tolerating one another's failures and encouraging one another in the work each must do and the vocation each must live.
7. Carrying out specific faithful acts of service and witness together.
8. Giving generously of one's means and receiving gratefully gifts others have to give.
9. Suffering with and for one another and all whom Jesus showed us to be our neighbors.
10. Providing hospitality and care, not only to one another but to strangers and even enemies.
11. Listening and talking attentively to one another about our particular experiences in life.
12. Struggling together to become conscious of and to understand the nature of the context in which we live.
13. Criticizing and resisting all those powers and patterns (both within the church and in the world as a whole) that destroy human beings, corrode human community, and injure God's creation.
14. Working together to maintain and create social structures and institutions that will sustain life in the world in ways that accord with God's will.

Among these practices of faith, several relate directly to volunteer community ministry activities. These include providing hospitality and care to strangers, suffering with and for one another and our neighbors, carrying out specific faithful acts of service, and participating in activities that promote social justice in society.

News Update: Campus Construction at RACU

Many people who have followed the CRC's involvement in Russia will asked me, "How are things going with the Christian University in Moscow?" You may recall that the CRC posted me in Moscow when I started with CRWM in the year 2000 specifically to nurture relations with Russian-American Christian University in order to develop an Education Department for the training of Christian school-teachers. That did not materialize, but the Lord has blessed this university with 4 graduating classes, sending 75 graduates with Business Economics and Social Work degrees into the Russian communities, churches and workplace well prepared to shed the light of God's grace in their chosen profession!

When RACU completes the building of its 46,000 square foot facility in northeast Moscow in summer 2007, the Lord willing, it will be one of the few private educational universities in the country with its own campus. We invite you to join this historic undertaking and to become a financial supporter of RACU's new campus.

To see plans of the new campus, see photos of the construction in progress, or to make a donation to RACU's new campus, please Click This Link.

Beryl Hugen's Social Work class "History and Practice of Social Work in USA and Russia" enjoyed my guiding services in St. Petersburg. Moscow library staff also showed the Calvin group some local cultural sites.

I and the CRC remain firmly involved with the mission this outstanding university:

•  In fact, the CRC's main evangelistic project, the Moscow Christian Library consistently hires excellent part-time staff from the ranks of RACU.

•  I make monthly visits to foster ties for the sake of Calvin College's visiting professors and students. Calvin College and Dordt College are two of 11 sponsoring CCCU institutions of RACU.

•  I'm also RACU's informal 'ambassador' to the northern Russian capital, hosting the university's personnel who come to visit St. Petersburg, or assisting in its affairs of promotion or business activity. RACU president Dr. John Bernbaum visited our Christian Teachers' Conference in June 2004.

• A new professor at Calvin College will be teaching the courses on Russian history and history of Communism, after a 10-year absence of these courses. I will be developing links with the History Department in the near future.

•  I and our Moscow Christian Library staff provide logistics and cultural excursions for visiting Calvin College professors and interim study groups.

Calvin College professors and CRC persons who have taught at RACU over the years include:

photo left: Shirley Roels taught an intensive Business Management course in June 2004

Crucial Milestone: Accreditation

On Saturday, May 29, 2004, the Russian-American Christian University held its fourth graduation celebration. This year's celebration was particularly meaningful for faculty, staff, supporters, and students of RACU, due to a major milestone reached this past year: accreditation. This is a critical, significant achievement for RACU; the 2004 graduates are the first RACU class to receive diplomas recognized by the Russian Ministry of Education. RACU's accreditation, which was approved in November 2003, was noted several times during the graduation ceremony.

This approval comes after years of dedicated labor by RACU staff and faculty, the testing of RACU graduates, and the submission of hundreds of pages of documentation. Now all RACU graduates will be presented with diplomas stamped with the endorsement of the Ministry of Education. One problem for RACU over the years has been that male students attending unaccredited institutes and universities were not eligible for military draft deferments. RACU once again can become a school of choice for young male students. This change also means that acceptance at RACU will become increasingly competitive as the number of applications for the limited number of openings grows.

RACU President Dr. John A. Bernbaum celebrates this historic event in the university's development. "We are thrilled with this news," says Dr. Bernbaum. "We have worked hard to develop a solid academic program and to win the approval of educational experts in Russia. RACU's accreditation is a great step forward for our university, and we believe this will open up new opportunities for our students, graduates and faculty. As far as we know, RACU is the first private faith-based liberal arts university to be accredited in Russia's entire history."

Long-Awaited News! New Campus Construction

Recently the long-awaited news has come that construction ground is breaking in September 2004 for the new RACU campus to be built! Once RACU builds this 46,000 square foot facility, it will be one of the few private educational universities in the country with its own campus. At www.racu.org you can read and view some detailed descriptions of the 4-storey, dual-wing campus project in northern Moscow's growing "Babushkin Region" , get acquainted with the planning/construction team and understand all the benefits enabled by this new campus facility. At the site, you can find out how you join this historic undertaking and to become a financial supporter of RACU's new campus. New photos will be posted every month as the project moves toward in summer 2005 completion. God willing!