Twenty years ago, the first-ever telebridge of its kind united East and West, Moscow, Russia and Shreveport, LA in the US. United Methodists from two sister churches – Broadmoor United Methodist Church and First United Methodist Church in Ekaterinburg – came together for a special Easter celebration.
After 75 years of religious persecution and a great deal of technological and political turmoil, this event marks a true historic milestone in the life of Methodism in Russia and all over the world.
With Skype, GoToMeeting and Facetime; with high-speed, global Internet access; with YouTube and Facebook, it’s hard to imagine a time when we couldn’t look someone on the other side of the world, eye to eye. That Pastor Lydia, her brave congregation in Russia, and small Methodist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana were able to accomplish this in 1992, when it was almost impossible to get a telephone call through to Russia, and most people didn’t know email existed, is simply a miracle.