Latvia Annual Conference 2015

A small team of four headed to Latvia in August to attend the 2015 Latvia Annual Conference. Mark and Julie Croft, Jesse Sowell, and Melissia Mason represented FUMC Grapevine at the meetings, in support of our partner church, Riga First, and all of our friends in Latvia. The worship times were touching, and the hard work of the Latvian church was evident in each of the reports we heard. Click here to read the Conference Report (pdf).

In addition to the business meetings, we also got to enjoy Latvian cooking and culture... including a few history lessons about the area. We worshiped in Matras, visited Tasi's manor house and goat farm, and enjoyed time at Wesley Camp for picnics and folk dances.

Astra Dannenfelte, the Associate Pastor at Riga First, was commissioned as a probationary member of the Conference (one more step on the way to becoming an Elder). Zinta Dzintara, member and song leader at Riga First, was commissioned as a Lay Pastor and appointed to assist with the ministry in Kuldiga.

After the work of Conference was over, we visited with our friends at Riga First about the progress of renovations in the basement, needs for the winter, and ways we can grow our relationships. We thought of several ways we can connect with each other, including Skype and email. If you would like to connect with a member of Riga First on a personal level, please contact Melissia Mason and we can work to match you with someone in their congregation. We are also interested in connecting Bible Study groups that would like to either study the same lessons as the group in Latvia or develop relationships through email or skype. Most of the young people speak English, and there are many who are willing to translate for the older generations.
Last, we discussed plans for next summer’s mission trip. The tentative plan is for us to depart the US on Friday, June 24, arrive Riga June 25, worship at Riga First June 26. Then we would help with basement renovation (probably in the room they want to use for outreach ministry) June 27-30. For those who might not want to do “manual” labor those days, Wesley Days is going on at Wesley Camp and some might want to do that. The Friends of Latvia meetings will then be held July 1-3, and we would return to the US on July 4. We need to begin gathering an estimate of how many people will be attending for planning purposes… please let Melissia know if you are considering it.

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