In Depth:  John Woods

letter from Latvia

John Woods

Over the last month or so, the Latvian Men’s International football team has played England at Wembley. The match was a one-sided affair with Latvian parking the defensive bus and spending most of their time in their own half trying to keep England out. They did well to restrict England to three goals but the difference in depth and quality was plain to see.

The other example of Latvia punching above its weight came at this year’s Oscars ceremony. Flow (Latvian: Straume) is a 2024 animated adventure film directed by Gints Zilbalodis, written and produced by Zilbalodis and Matīss Kaža, which won the best animated picture category. It also won in the same category at the Golden Globe awards in January. The film was made on a budget of less than $4million, which is tiny compared to the budgets of giants like Disney, Dreamworks and Pixar, all of whom were beaten by this lo-fi animated film from Latvia.

letter from Latvia

John Woods

I am writing this letter while in Latvia on one of my regular visits to teach at the Latvian Biblical Centre (LBC) in Riga.

Over three weekends I am contributing to four of LBC’s programmes. So far, I have been teaching on Identity for the School of Christianity, Work and Society, Introducing the Prophets for the foundation course: Theology and Ministry, and The Kingdom of God on the Missional Church Programme. This is an example of the range of things that LBC offers. My final weekend in Latvia will be with the School of Preachers Course that I started in 2018. This is a two-year programme consisting of eight weekend teaching sessions with regular cluster group meetings for application in between these weekends. There have been 44 graduates from the course so far. It is a joy to see some of our students coming back to preach at our weekend sessions and field questions on how they approached their preparation.

letter from Germany

John Woods

There are 1.5 million Ukrainians living in Germany. This is approximately 25% of those who have officially left Ukraine since the beginning of the recent conflict there.

The German government have been generous in their welcome and support for Ukrainians seeking to find a safe place to settle down. The generous financial safety net is helpful, but some have found themselves stuck on benefits, with their working lives on hold. For many Ukrainians their main western European language is English, which makes learning German yet another hoop to jump through to establish themselves.

letter from Latvia

John Woods

All the major church denominations in Latvia would have a conservative approach to sexuality. The soon-to-be-retiring Archbishop of the Lutheran Church in Latvia has made something of a point of holding firm on these issues, John Woods writes.

In my own teaching on human identity and sexuality I have made use of some of the ideas outlined in Andrew Bunt’s excellent short book: Finding Your Best Identity: a Christian introduction to identity, sexuality and gender.

letter from Latvia

John Woods

December saw my sixth visit to Latvia in 2023. I have now been coming here for 30 years.

I was accompanied on the first part of the trip by a friend from church who took part in one of the sessions on identity, on the Christianity, Work and Society course at the Latvian Biblical Centre in Riga.

letter from Latvia

John Woods

My Spring trip to Latvia coincided with the Ice Hockey World Championships. Ice Hockey is a big deal in Latvia, so we readjusted our lunch break in our School of Preachers seminar to fit in watching the first quarter of Latvia’s semi-final against Canada.

We saw Latvia score once, but after that they suffered a heavy defeat. The next day sadness turned to joy when tiny Latvia beat the mighty USA in the bronze medal play-offs. The Latvian Parliament met in special session on that Sunday evening and agreed, a few minutes before midnight, to declare the following day a bank holiday! The next morning tens of thousands of people gathered around the Freedom Monument in the centre of Riga to greet the national team. The last time I witnessed crowds like that in Riga was when President Bill Clinton visited in June 1994. When he said ‘Brivibas’ (Freedom) there was a huge cheer, and another when he said: ‘Never again will hostile foreign troops occupy Baltic soil’!

John Woods

A new Central and Eastern European Bible Commentary (CEEBC) has been launched by Langham Publishing.

It has been a mammoth undertaking, writes John Woods, delayed by the pandemic, and the death of the General Editor, Corneliu Constantineanu from Covid during that time. The commentary is in English, because this is as close to a common language for all of the countries represented by this volume.

letter from Latvia

John Woods

One of the questions I am asked whenever I return from Latvia is: ‘What is the mood in Latvia at the moment?’

The question relates to the fact that Latvia shares a land border with Russia and has many historical reasons to be anxious about the intentions of its larger neighbour.

letter from Latvia

John Woods

Life at Communitas International Church in Riga is never predictable. This is the church I attend in Riga. It meets at the Latvian Biblical Centre in downtown Riga. With over twenty nationalities from all five continents in the congregation, each week has its surprises.

The last Sunday in November concludes with an American style Thanksgiving lunch, but the turkeys are cooked in American, Latvian, Croatian and Indian Style. There is corn bread and Naan Bread, Roast potatoes and Basmati rice, pumpkin pie, and Latvian pastries. It was a meal that tantalized and challenged the taste buds!

letter from Latvia

John Woods

It was a great joy to be present at the recent Latvian Biblical Centre’s Graduation Service.

It was a massive achievement for the 50+ students, who managed to complete their studies during the strange period that coincided with tight Covid restrictions over the past two years. Many of these students were graduating from the counselling course. This course, which has recently been added, has proved to be particularly popular. Eleven students graduated from the latest two-year School of Preachers programme.

letter from Latvia

John Woods

Latvia continues to live in the shadow of the war in Ukraine.

Anxiety rises with the daily arrival of refugees passing through or settling in Latvia. A variety of Christian organisations here are using their properties to house, feed and assist those who have been displaced by the conflict. Convoys of aid are being sent to provide relief both to refugees in countries bordering Ukraine and for those who still remain at home.

John Woods

The first face I saw when I stepped into the Latvian Biblical Centre in March was Helena from Northwest Ukraine. She was surrounded by aid boxes waiting to be sent to help refugees at the Polish border. The thing that I noticed about Helena was her smile. How has she managed over the past few weeks?

‘It was a shock when I found out that the Russian Army had invaded us. This was a regular day when I was preparing my daughters for school. We heard a loud noise and thought that neighbours were doing some work on their building. It was then that we had a message from the school to say it would be safer for the girls to stay at home. Three days later we began to leave. This involved a 12-hour wait to get through the border; some of this journey was on foot. We were overwhelmed by the kindness of people at the border. Free buses, food, and people willing to offer accommodation, before being taken to family in Latvia.

letter from Latvia

John Woods

My first visit to Latvia in the Spring of 1993 coincided with the arrival of an abundance of bananas in Riga.

Up to then they had been the preserve of an elite few; now everybody could buy them, and they did! It is the first time that I have thanked my host with a bunch of bananas as well as the usual flowers.

John Woods

It is great to be in Latvia in late summer when the daylight still holds until late evening and the temperature can still be hot. It was a particular delight for me to be there with Anthony Billington, associated with the London Institute of Contemporary Christianity, to teach a weekend course on Whole Life Preaching as part of the two-year School of Preachers programme at the Latvian Biblical Centre (LBC) in Riga.

It had been nine months since the group were able to meet in person. We have managed to maintain the teaching via Zoom involving three languages. It was lovely to have the buzz of personal interaction in those September sessions.

John Woods

Spring and summer are important seasons in Latvia. After the cold months of winter, longer warmer days are very welcome.

One very important feature of a Latvian summer is enjoying sunshine and fresh air in the countryside. Dotted around Latvia there are a number of Christian campsites that have been a key factor in reaching children and young people with the gospel message. Each year hundreds of camps are organised by churches and Christian organisations. Due to Covid restrictions in 2020 many of these camps were not able to take place. In 2021 they are back, albeit on a smaller scale.