Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 10, 1993 TAG: 9306100280
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NANCY BELL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Phil Graybeal remembers himself at 17, standing in the middle of a field on his parent's Pennsylvania farm, struggling with the issue of what to do with his life.
The decision was difficult for the youngest of four brothers. Three had already left to pursue other careers.
"I really enjoy seeing things grow and develop into maturity for the harvest, but I would rather be involved with growing people than crops," he remembers. And so young Graybeal left, with his parents' blessings, to study education.
Now 40 and a Christian educator, Graybeal recently took part in the planting of a lifetime. Graybeal, associate pastor for education at Roanoke Valley Christian Schools, traveled to Russia to sow the early seeds of Christian education in the aftermath of communism.
Graybeal was part of a historic team called the CoMission, made up of more than 60 American church groups, foundations, and Bible colleges and thousands of volunteers. At the invitation of the Russian Ministry of Education, the CoMission has organized a five-year campaign to teach 120,000 Russian teachers and administrators about Christianity and how to incorporate it into public-school curriculums.
"Seventy-five years ago the message of Christ was silenced [in Russia], God was declared dead and an entire generation was spiritually deprived," Graybeal said.
But with the demise of communism, public-school educators sought a curriculum that would encourage ethics and morals, he said.
"I saw lives change right before my eyes."
Graybeal's team conducted a series of government-approved convocations in the cities of Penza and Vladimir, near Moscow. Ironically, the sessions took place in what once were facilities for young communists.
"The people there are thirsty for news of the Gospel. . . . Ninety-six percent said they would carry what they had learned into the classroom," said Graybeal, who has maintained contact with several Russian educators.
Armed with thousands of copies of a two-hour film documentary called "Jesus," thousands of Russian-translation Bibles and a prepared curriculum that could be used in public schools, Graybeal's team met with groups of about 500 educators per four-day session during its three-week stay.
"Change came over the people once they saw the film," he said. Those attending the sessions received free copies of the video, in Russian, for use in public classrooms and other gatherings.
Graybeal found his experience in Russia so profound that he ended the last session with a Christian hymn, which he sang in Russian.
"I practiced for about 10 minutes. And then I did it," he said.
Working with Russian educators presented challenges to Graybeal and the team.
The Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church infiltrated Christian efforts with look-alike materials, paying members of the general public to attend meetings, confusing people, Graybeal said.
He was also struck by the level of economic despair.
"An experienced teacher's salary is under $9 a month - a medical doctor's under $12 a month."
"The cost of travel was described by one Russian as `the new Iron Curtain.' They have so little money that travel outside of their country is unthinkable for the average person."
Graybeal was also struck by feelings of uncertainty among people.
"Communism is by no means dead. . . . At one school, they literally gave us their communist flags right off the flagpoles as souvenirs of a past era, yet in another school, the headmistress welcomed us warmly but stood beside the statue of Lenin in her office to say, `We are not yet ready to give up all of our history.' "
Graybeal, who has been at Roanoke Valley Christian for 14 years, recently accepted the position of administrator at Southside Christian School in Greenville, S.C. He will leave Roanoke in June.
by CNB