?Bishop Kruse?s first visit to the United States offers area Lutherans a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our companion relationships throughout the world,? said Sandy Miller of St. Paul Lutheran Church. ?We want to emphasize our global connections and also our unity with one another.?
The 14-congregation joint mission festival is the first of its kind for the 4,300 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of American congregations of Kansas Area Five.
The festival, to be held at Gloria Dei in Wichita, will include a celebratory worship service with grand processional of the Russian bishop, area bishops, congregational presidents, combined mass choir and children?s choir. A combination of sight and sound experiences with informational displays will highlight the congregations? outreach projects.
A Ukrainian storyteller will read from ?The Secret,? a Russian-English bilingual book recently published to support the Lutheran mission to St. Marie?s Orphanage in Russia. The books and other items will be for sale at the event.