One of the main strategic tasks of The Church of Ingria is to introduce new people to the church. Our congregations do this not only through public worship, but also through cultural and educational activities. Since last summer, Manna, an autonomous nonprofit organization established by the ELCIR, has been participating in culture and arts grant competitions.We’re happy to announce that Manna’s project called “Open Kirche” has won a presidential grant! The project involves 25 historical Evangelical Lutheran parish church buildings in Leningrad Oblast and St. Petersburg. The project will set up information stands in those churches, which will be there on an ongoing basis and present materials talking about the history of each church, its parishioners, and its cultural status. The stands will feature a QR code which will link the user to an interactive map of the region showing functioning and ruined historical Lutheran churches. The map will be developed as part of the same project.
This way, any local resident or visiting tourist will be able to learn about many existing church congregations and their history and also about their life today. The project’s goal is not only informing, but also helping preserve the historical memory of our region.
Many thanks to project servants Yelena Kugappi and Marina Mikhalitsyna!