June 2023 Prayer Requests

Dear Friends of Estonia!

Thank you so much for your prayers for the ministry in Estonia!

I’m thankful to God for 21 church conferences that have already taken place. It has been wonderful to visit different congregations, spend time together and learn of their joys and concerns. Please pray that the remaining 3 visits would go well also. Please continue to pray for all of our congregations and their pastors for renewed strength and anointing in their ministry.

Please pray for the upcoming Annual Conference on June 16-18 in Tallinn. May the Lord give us wisdom and grace as we gather for worship, to report, and plan for the future of the Estonian Methodist Church.

Also, please pray for the camp Gideon, which is starting its 31^st season. Please pray for the special blessing and protection over all camp participants and for people to meet with the Lord in a life-changing way. Also, please pray for the planned renovations and finances needed for that work.

Thank you so much for your prayers and your love for the church in Estonia!
May the Lord bless you!

Dear friends,

This is, regrettably, will be my last message to you in this context and format. I would like to share with you very briefly why. The Methodist Church in Estonia has decided to disaffiliate from the UMC, and this process will be complete in about a month. It breaks my heart to be separated from the church I have served (I started as pastor in Pärnu 40 years ago, in September 1983) and loved, which has nourished and challenged me for many years. Some of you know that I helped raise funds and various support (from the United Methodists, of course) to build the Agape church in Pärnu, the first Methodist church built after World War II in the former Soviet territory. For me and Meeli, the United Methodist Church in Estonia has truly been our life.

Now that the church has made its decision, it hurts us deeply, but we cannot leave the UMC. We cannot give up the multitude of UM connections in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere. With all the diversity we have experienced, with all the diversity where there is so much we do not agree with, we are still deeply embedded in UM connections and relationships and hold these dear. We have tried to avoid influencing anyone toward our choice but felt it was proper to explain why we want to remain United Methodists. Surely there is a lot more to be said, but in the format of this prayer letter, I have kept it as short as possible.

When you pray for the Methodist Church in Estonia, please also give a prayer for us with Meeli, even as we will not be part of this church anymore after this month. We are struggling a lot due to this decision of disaffiliation.

And let me take this opportunity to thank you all so much for this prayer fellowship over so many years (first facilitated by Carolyn and now by Andy – thank you!). This has meant so much to me. I have needed these prayers, and I have been blessed by being able to share some of my ministry with you. If you are looking to connect with me at some point, here is my email: UTankler@umcmission.org.

June events and prayer requests:

Every Wednesday, we have prayer for Ukraine.
On June 11th, we will have a Sunday service with the Estonian community and follow that with a picnic.

June 16-18 will be the annual conference of the Estonian Methodist Church. Please pray for God’s wisdom when making important decisions for the church.

We have begun preparations for the 26 June – 1 July – Youth summer camp, one of the highlights of the year in youth ministry. Please pray for the young people’s hearts and minds.

Thanks for your prayers and support!

Pray for all students , that they will finish their classes well. Especially for graduate ones.
Pray that their relation with God will be intimate and good during the summer time.

Pray for our Annual Conference, for all decisions and plans. Pray for people who are waiting for ordination.

Pray for our families, for elderly people, for young people. Pray for every congregation member,for all of us will be filled with Spirit and willing to share Good News.

Blessings!

We thank God that the school year is ending and that all the children in the children’s center are graduating from their class, and one girl is graduating from high school with very good results.

We pray for Angelina, a 12-year-old Ukrainian war refugee whose grandmother suffers from cancer and is in a serious condition. Because of her Grandmother’s illness, Angelina has to care for her younger sister; they have no parents.

We pray for the situation of 12-year-old Clement, who is currently in a shelter because his mother has an alcohol problem. Clement himself really wants to go home, but his mother has not done anything to improve the situation.

We pray for 14-year-old Aleks, who has severe depression, and for Ruslan, whose mother went abroad to work, he now lives with his grandmother, and his father should be released from prison soon.

We pray for the hearts and minds of all the teenagers, a 14-year-old girl recently organized a new gang, and last week there were already the first problems with the police.

We ask for God’s blessing on the Asbury Church Team (Tulsa), who conducts two weeks of summer events with the children, and for the summer camp with Calvary UMC (Nashville) Team so that God’s protection and blessing will be with everyone. We pray for the flight of our lovely guests and that everything goes as planned.

Have a blessed summer!