RETIRED AREA MINISTER TEACHES IN LITHUANIA

Retirement doesn't always mean an end to work.

The Rev. Fred Schmucker, a retired Lutheran pastor, spent September through December teaching theology courses at the University of Klaipeda in Lithuania.

He will talk about his trip Feb. 11 at 9:30 a.m. at St. Mark Lutheran Church. The church helped sponsor his trip to Lithuania, a country about the size of Missouri.

In 1991, it became an independent Baltic State but previously had been part of the Soviet Union after World War II. When independence was declared, church leaders wanted to re-establish a theological school for pastors in the country. Under Soviet rule, the country was void of theological training for at least 50 years. A school for theology students was set up at the University of Klaipeda, but professors were imported from around the world.

"Anybody who wanted to study theology had to study with a pastor," Schmucker said.

When he arrived at the university's theological center, Schmucker had some difficulty teaching because of language barriers. Most of the students spoke Lithuanian and German, but only some English. So Schmucker asked a student who was fluent in English to translate most of his lectures. In one conversation with a student, he used English, German and Lithuanian to communicate.

"The student's English was broken but her German was good," he said. "Mine is not so good but I know what I said in German. We decided it was best for the student to speak in Lithuanian and translate to English and then I'd speak back in German. It seemed the best way to make myself understood."

Schmucker also helped students understand the concept of pastoral care and counseling. In the classroom, he used a manuscript he had written called "The Theology of Everyday Life."

Throughout the semester, Schmucker taught his students about how to deal with the everyday problems people face.

"Everybody has theology, whether it's good or bad," he said.

Most Lithuanians have grown accustomed to the bad, he said, adding that almost all the statues of Christ show a sorrowful, sad-looking figure.

"I almost didn't recognize it at first," he said, adding that most of the depression probably comes from always being under another country's rule.

Schmucker will return to Lithuania in August to teach another course on pastoral care.