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BY MARK SCHOEFF JR.
UMConnection Correspondent

On a sunny, warm fall Saturday recently in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, young brides and grooms strolled along the Dnipro River promenade taking pictures to capture the beginning of their life together.

But the wedding photographer had to find an angle that didn't include smoke stacks in the background. In this city of 1.2 million, which used to produce nuclear weapons for the Soviet military, the factories are a sign that manufacturing still undergirds the economy.
 
The pollution emanating from chemical and metal production and other industry poses a challenge to local schools because many are located in the same neighborhoods as the plants. In response, they have designed educational programs to promote healthy lifestyles and environmental stewardship.
 
In late September, a Volunteers in Mission team from the Baltimore-Washington Conference traveled to Dnipropetrovsk to visit six schools that have instituted the new curriculum.

The group was led by the Rev. Alex Karakcheyev, pastor of the Russian United Methodist Church in Washington. Fred Beamer of Foundry UMC in Washington, Dave Tingley of Centenary UMC in Bermuda, and myself, a member of Foundry, traveled to Ukraine.

It wasn't a typical VIM trip. Participants didn't build or refurbish homes or community centers. It was an exploratory mission that sought to establish relationships with Ukrainians that might lead to the establishment of a Methodist church in Dnipropetrovsk.

Those connections started at schools that are focusing on children's health and protecting the environment.

The newest generation of young  people in Ukraine has no memory of the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown or of the Soviet Union, which collapsed in the early 1990s.
 
What they do encounter each day are the economic and social struggles related to living in a country that aspires to join Europe by becoming democratic and capitalistic.
 
That transition away from a state-run economy brings with it a growing gap between rich and poor and ongoing corruption. These conditions are made worse by growing rates of alcoholism.

In the city center, teenagers hang out on street corners drinking beer. If you look down while walking, it won't take long to see an empty vodka bottle on the street. Other problems include drug addiction and HIV/AIDS.

The Baltimore-Washington VIM team visited several schools that are teaching children to take care of themselves and their community.

'We decided to create a school that (focuses) on physical health improvement but also spiritual health improvement,' said Lyudmila Pashaeva, director of School No. 24. 'We are trying to create some sort of system to grow healthy kids.'

That effort is made more urgent by the demographics of the school. Of the 470 children who attend, many come from households that make less than $200 each month.

The VIM team made tangible contributions by donating fax machines, a personal computer station, a DVD player and a stereo system to various schools.
 
The group also donated 400 children's Bibles, 10 puzzle Bibles and 20 Christian books to School No. 24. Foundry and Centenary combined to finance about $2,500 worth of books and equipment.

The Bibles were an initial step in building a spiritual link between The United Methodist Church and Dnipropetrovsk. Religious life was suppressed generally during the communist era.

While commentators praise Ukraine for its religious pluralism, it will be a challenge for The United Methodist Church to establish roots. There are only 10 Methodist churches in the country ?  and none in Dnipropetrovsk.

Methodism can find a foothold in his hometown by introducing a practical kind of Christianity that can transform difficult daily lives through grace, Karakcheyev said.

'The United Methodist Church has a lot to bring to Ukraine,' he said. 'Ukrainian people, in order to survive, have the skill and the instinct to think ahead one step at a time. Russians and Ukrainians like to live by a method. They are Methodists in their heart, and they just don't know it.'

'We have witnessed that people need more God and love in their relationships,' he said. 'Tomorrow will be fine, if you just trust God. They don't understand that with God, it's easier to live.'

But that kind of faith interaction with Methodists will take time.

'A lot of what we were doing was building trust until you can get to that point,' said Tingley. 'I think we did build a lot of relationships. There is a huge opportunity here in terms of spreading the word of Christ.'

Beamer was impressed with the work the schools were doing to foster the next generation. 'There is a lot of hope for the future in Ukraine,' he said.

Perhaps that future will include a Methodist church in Dnipropetrovsk. 'In five years, we're going to sit in our own fellowship hall and eat Ukrainian borscht,' Karakcheyev said