A new building for the Russia United Methodist Seminary in Moscow should be renovated in time for a Fall 2000 opening.

The former kindergarten building also will house the offices of Bishop Rudiger Minor and the annual conference. A multipurpose auditorium will allow the space to be used for Sunday worship by a local United Methodist congregation. Minor said the building is significant because of its "integration of the worshipping, the learning and the institutional church."

Currently the seminary in Moscow is crammed into two rooms, sharing a third room which serves as the bishop's office. Enrollment is 27 students in three classes. Cost of the building cost, at nearly $700,000, is covered by a grant from the Millennium Fund of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, Minor said. Renovation is expected to cost between $300,000 to $500,000, including the possible addition of a floor for dorm rooms.

A U.S. advisory committee, comprised of representatives from five United Methodist seminaries, assists the Russia seminary by supporting and recruiting faculty and helping with financial and logistical issues. The seminaries are Iliff, in Denver; Wesley, in Washington; Candler in Atlanta; Perkins in Dallas; and Saint Paul in Kansas City.

Several Advance projects support the work of the seminary. More information is available by calling the Rev. Bruce Weaver, director of the Board of Global Ministries' Russia Initiative, at (214) 826-3797 or sending e-mail to rbw101@aol.com.

October 14, 1999

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, New York, and Washington.