“The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed...” Matthew 13:31
Last Sunday afternoon Marsha Coyner, wife of the late Bishop Mike Coyner, called to share a story with me. She thought of it because of something I shared in my sermon that morning. I talked about a book I learned about called Refugia Faith by Debra Rienstra. As I explained, refugia is an ecological term referring to places where life is sheltered, like seeds or small critters, in threatening, harsh conditions. Those places become like little refuges that allow life to grow once the conditions become more habitable.
I ended the sermon talking about the Methodist Church in Russia. It was allowed to come into the country after the fall of the Berlin Wall because of the faithful “refugia” of Methodist missionaries a hundred years earlier. Marsha called to say that when she and Bishop Mike lived in the Dakotas, their first episcopal assignment before returning to Indiana, the conference supported the Methodist Church in Lithuania. She learned that Methodism’s influence in Lithuania happened in much the same way as Russia. Methodists in Germany went to Lithuania in the 1800’s and started new churches. After the February Revolution in 1917 and the start of Communist rule, the Methodist Church had to go underground. Then with the Nazis in World War II, it remained out of sight. But refugia was happening.
Who did the work of the church during these long winter-like years? Babushkas, older women and grandmothers who cared for others, taught the scriptures and encouraged faith. They preserved the work of the church during harsh times and today there is a Methodist Church in Lithuania.
Ten years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and reemergence of religion, Bishop Mike traveled to Lithuania. There was such a pressing need because of the years with no help or resources. At last other United Methodist Churches could support this work. Marsha sent me this picture I absolutely love. A true babushka greeted by a true leader of the faith.
How can you be a babushka, a provider of refuge for someone? Do you know any babushkas—figuratively speaking? How might you support them?