Gerry and Kati McNamara. Gerry will be visiting cvFree Church on Wednesday, March 9 for a special service at 7 p.m., where he will discuss his ongoing missionary work in Russia. (Photo from fmwm.org)

NORWICH — At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 9, cvFree Church will be hosting European missionary Gerry McNamara at their main campus location at 4299 State Highway 23 in Norwich. McNamara will be giving a presentation on the missionary work he is currently doing in Russia.

"I’m going to be presenting on Free Methodist World Missions in Central and Eastern Europe, and I’m going to be specifically presenting to you about Russia," he said in a video posted to the cvFree Church Facebook page. "Going to be talking about some very wonderful, exciting, pretty difficult, hard-hitting ministry that we have in Russia. Would love for you to come along."

He added that some of the content that will be covered in his presentation is not suitable for children or sensitive individuals.

"It’s not suitable for kids, and if you’ve got a very sensitive nature, probably shouldn’t come to this one," said McNamara. "But otherwise, we’d love to have you there, we’d love to let you hear a little bit about what God is doing in Russia, and reaching people all across Europe."

McNamara is the Regional Director of Central and Eastern Europe for Free Methodist World Missions (FMWM), and leads the supervision of ministry education and guidance across Europe. FMWM aims to spread the word of God and provide resources and ministry around the globe.

"He is the Free Methodist World Missions Director for that area, so he isn’t just in one specific city or part of the countries, he’s kind of over it all and overarching," said cvFree Church Operations Pastor Cathy Albrecht. "But his plan is to specifically talk about some exciting things that are actually happening in Russia currently, and explaining ways that people are coming to Christ and other great things there."

Tonight's special service is open to the public. cvFree Church Lead Pastor Westervelt said the night will kick off with a performance by the cvFree Worship Team, followed by McNamara's presentation in which he will share pictures, videos, and anecdotes about his work in Russia.

With the current situation unfolding in Russia and Ukraine, Westervelt said she expects McNamara to discuss that as well.

"I’m sure he’ll talk about the current state of affairs, because that drives ministry needs," said Westervelt. "That need has increased drastically amidst all the conflict that’s happening, so I'm sure that he’ll be able to share about how the ministry efforts that were already in place have been meeting the increased need."

Although cvFree Church usually offers live streams of their services, Westervelt said tonight's service will not be streamed or posted as it could endanger the communities McNamara works with.

"We need to be cautious about what we record and share because quite honestly there would be times when, people in areas in which they’re doing ministry, their lives could be put at risk if we make public to their government what they’re doing," she explained. "Christianity is actually illegal in some of those areas. So we have to be careful about that."

"We take for granted that here we can do our ministry work and the worst thing someone’s going to do is say, 'leave me alone, I don’t want any part of this.' But in other countries you can actually be arrested, put in jail, or even worse just for saying you’re a Christian," she added.

Albrecht also highlighted that the content discussed could be troubling for some, adding that "we wouldn't want to put anything on social media that would cause anyone any pain."

After the service there will be a short reception with snacks and hot drinks in the cvFree Cafe, where attendees will have the opportunity to meet McNamara and speak with him one on one.

cvFree Church has been a supporter of FMWM since they were established, and over time developed a connection with McNamara. Now, they provide support to McNamara through sponsorship, prayer, and packages of needed items.

"Definitely through my tenure we have had a specific connection with Gerry McNamara and his work in Europe," said Westervelt. "So as our finances have allowed, we have sponsored his ministry work financially."

During the times when financial assistance is not possible, Westervelt said they still provide support through prayer and regular communication with McNamara, who keeps them updated on his missionary work.

For those who want to support McNamara's work, Westervelt said there are a number of ways to get involved.

"Certainly, as I mentioned, through prayer, and there are opportunities for financial support," she said. "There have been times when, especially with COVID, we would have been able to put together packages to send that would meet tangible needs that his ministry also needs."

cvFree Church has also considered sending their own team to Europe to participate in the missionary work in the area. However, those plans have been put on hold for the time being.

"We also have had talks about forming a team to send, to be able to do some work in that area. That's on hold for right now obviously, between COVID and everything that’s happening in that area of the world, now is not a good time to be sending people over," Westervelt said. "But at the same time that is going to be a continuing conversation."

For now, Westervelt said the church is excited to host McNamara and help spread the word about what he and FMWM does.

"We’re just looking forward to welcoming our community so that we can help support a broader understanding of what’s going on in other parts of the world."

More information on cvFree Church can be found on their website, cvfree.church, or their Facebook page. Information on McNamara and Free Methodist World Missions can be found at fmwm.org and McNamara's blog, hungaryforchrist.com.