The congregations of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Moravia and the Milan Church in Locke have come together for a series of classes on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The joint venture of the two churches happened as an outgrowth of the relationship between their two pastors. According to the Rev. Dr. Janice E. Duncan, of St. Matthew's, Howard Russell, of the Milan Church, needed a mentor as part of his seminary studies. He is a graduate of Elim Bible Institute and in his second year at Northeastern Seminary in Rochester.

“Howard has only been here for six months,” Duncan said, “and he wanted to reach out to the other clergy in the area. We're working on Field Education and Clinical Pastoral Education. We've been meeting every Tuesday, and we decided that God had called us to do some kind of team ministry.”

Before Russell entered the ministry, he had worked for more than 20 years as a professional painter and drywall installer.

“I felt a call from God,” he said. “I had a dramatic conversion experience.”

Not only are the two pastors working together to build their ministries, their spouses are actively involved in church service as well. Russell's wife, Karen, has a local pastor's license and is “a full time volunteer,” according to her husband. Duncan's husband, Dan, is a deacon at St. Matthew's.

The first class, which was held on March 8, opened with an activity that allowed the group of 20 participants to get to know each other and themselves a little better. They first had to sit with a small group of people they knew, then switch to a group of people they did not know as well. The objective was to have the people evaluate themselves, compare it with the perceptions of others, and hopefully discover some of the gifts they may have received from the Holy Spirit.

The advertising for the classes challenged all who might join. “Have you ever wondered what your spiritual gift might be, how it could make a difference and where you could put it to work?” A worksheet the participants were given to help them with this self-discovery exercise offered some guidelines for the process. Unhurried prayer will guide them toward their particular ministries and they should expect to feel the most fulfilled spiritually and personally by recognizing and using the gifts God has given to them.

Pastor Duncan said, “Right now we're trying to help people identify their own gifts. No one person has every gift. Everyone has their own gifts working together for the church.”

In addition to the four Wednesday classes, the men of the two churches have been getting together for a monthly breakfast. The pastors are hoping to be able to schedule an ecumenical public baptism later in the year.

“We're a unique team,” said Russell. “We both go to the same nursing home for Bible story time.”

On Russell's business card is a slogan that shows both his optimism and his sense of humor. “Milan Church, a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.”