What Is the Association’s Literary Ministry All About?
During the Association ministry leaders’ meeting held on August 14, an important question was raised during the report presented by Petr Panasenko, Director of the Literary Ministry: What is the significance of literature — prose and poetry — and especially Christian literature?
“People pass away, and what remains after them is what they themselves or someone else has written about them,” Brother Petr noted. “We know about the lives, experiences, and ministries of people such as Vera Sergeyevna Kushnir, Pavel Iosifovich Rogozin, and others only because they wrote about them in their books and left this legacy for us.”
Preserving and sharing this literary heritage is at the heart of the Association’s Literary Ministry. The ministry collects and publishes works by both established and emerging authors, introduces their writing to a wider audience, and encourages authors to continue developing their creative gifts.
Over the years, a substantial library of works has been assembled in both print and digital formats. Each year, a literary almanac is published featuring testimonies, stories, and poetry by authors from the United States and other countries.
The websites “Nashi Vremena” and “Vymogy Chasu” offer information about published books and their authors, along with descriptions of the books. Many works are also available to read in Russian and Ukrainian.
For those who prefer digital books, the “Nashi Vremena” app is available through Google Play and the App Store. Through the app, readers can learn about new books and authors and can read or listen to both new and previously published works anytime and anywhere.
And if you write prose or poetry yourself, are just beginning to explore creative writing, or have been writing for years but have never had the courage to share your work with a wider audience, we encourage you to contact the Literary Ministry at multiculturalassistance22@gmail.com or (916) 224-4187.
The ministry team will be glad to listen, offer guidance, and help you explore opportunities for developing and publishing your work.
And if you know someone who writes but is hesitant to share their work with a wider audience, encourage them. Perhaps your encouragement will help that person take the first step toward publication through the Association’s Literary Ministry.
Literature preserves the memory of people, their faith, their experiences, and God’s work in their lives. What is written today may one day become a spiritual legacy for those who come after us.
Take courage, and may the Lord bless you!
Olga Avetisova
