Lydia Istomina, the new pastor at First United Methodist Church in Independence, talks to a visitor during the church's garage sale fundraiser this week. Istomina, who moved to the United States in 1995, helped start the first Methodist church in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union and is believed to be the country's first female pastor. [Photo courtesy of Sue Shineman]
By Mike Genet mike.genet@examiner.net As she has settled in during her first weeks as the new lead pastor at First United Methodist Church in Independence,…
