|
|
Thank you for the past year which brought many challenges upon us but also bestowed many blessings. I wish to thank the Churchwardens and the Council for their efforts to keep the church open and available for all during these challenging times. My thanks go also to all clergy and laity who have assisted in the church services and other events. It is a sign of a healthy church that we are not any more so dependant on the same individuals. The ministry and mission of the Church are carried forward by a great team of people who contribute their various talents and time for the church’s use. Sarah has worked very hard in the office to establish a more solid approach to communications, office management and the council’s work.
|
We look with hope to 2022 and pray that it may be a year of grace to all. May God bless our labours and may he continue to allow us to live in peace with justice and mercy also this coming year.
|
|
|
|
|
2nd JANUARY 2022 - SECOND SUNDAY OF CHRISTMAS
|
10am - Eucharist (no choir)
|
|
|
The 'Heavenly Trinity' joined to the "Earthly Trinity' through the incarnation of the Son - The Heavenly and Earthly Trinities, By Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
|
|
|
|
|
SUNDAY SCHOOL & YOUTH GROUP
|
|
|
Sunday School and Youth Group resume on January 16th, after the school Christmas holiday. Thank you to all the children and parents for supporting Sunday School in 2021 and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year!
|
|
|
|
Sunday School takes place on Sundays at 10am in the crypt! Please wash and sanitize hands on arrival.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu
The Chaplain wrote on December 26th...
|
'We are saddened to learn about the death of a truly faithful Anglican leader whose life and ministry was - and continues to be - a source of inspiration to many.
|
His passion for freedom and equality - that God's love belongs to all - and his witness and ministry to the gospel of Christ was often seen as 'rebellious'. But it was being faithful to the gospel he was called to preach and living out his calling as a deacon, priest and bishop.'
|
You can watch a moving by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba by copying this link into your browser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBM1NX6V9Rw.He recalls that Archbishop Desmond Tutu 'wanted every human being on earth to experience the freedom, the peace and the joy that all of us could enjoy if we truly respected one another as people created in the image of God.”
|
Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, observes that 'The world itself feels a little smaller without him. His expansive vision of how the Christian faith shapes the whole of life has touched many hearts and changed many lives. The Anglican church in particular gives thanks for one of its greatest saints. But Christian people everywhere, and all people of goodwill, will be mourning the loss of someone who showed the world what following Jesus looks like and where it leads.'
|
We pray in particular for his family and for our sisters and brothers in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.
|
|
|
|
|
1831 -2021
|
|
|
New Year's Traditions in Helsinki
This year celebrations are again affected by the pandemic and will be more subdued. Tradition usually sees crowds gather in Senate Square, or more recently Kansalaistori, where there are speeches and live performances. At midnight we wish each other “Hyvää uutta vuotta!” (“Happy New Year” in Finnish) or “Gott nytt år!” (in Swedish).
|
|
|
|
|
Aside from the typical fireworks, a rather unusual and fun Finnish tradition is melting tin. Miniature tin horseshoes (which used to be more lead than tin) are melted in a pan and then quickly poured into a bucket of cold water. As the tin hits the water, it cools and instantly re-solidifies. The resulting random shapes are then held in front of a light and the shadow is interpreted to predict a person’s future health, wealth or happiness. A bubbly surface refers to money, a fragile or broken shape misfortune, ships refer to travelling, keys to career advancement, a basket to a good mushroom year, and a horse to a new car! The tradition, which arrived in Finland via Sweden, is shared in other Nordic countries as well as in Germany and Austria. The Finnish horseshoes that you may have spotted in the supermarkets this week are a more environmentally friendly version than in the past, as they are now in-line with an EU ban on the use of lead. (Picture Credit: Lehtikuva)
|
|
|
|
|
A Season for all Things Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
'For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
What gain have the workers from their toil? I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover, he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; moreover, it is God's gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil. I know that whatever God does endures for ever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already is; and God seeks out what has gone by.'
|
|
|
|
|
SAVE THE DATE!
Evensong at Töölön Kirkko
|
Festival of Easter at St Nicholas,
|
An evening of readings, music & hymns
|
7pm in Mikael Agricola Church
|
|
|
|
|
SUPPORTING US
Your continued support is greatly appreciated, please consider donating towards our ongoing costs via our Donate buttons on our website or by means of a bank transfer using the details below:
|
Suomen Anglikaaninen Kirkko (The Anglican Church in Finland)
|
IBAN: FI73 3131 1000 3282 07
|
You can also use Mobile Pay to make a donation, using number 95789.
|
|
|
PRAY WITH US
Oh, God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose years never fail and whose mercies are new each returning day: let the radiance of your Spirit renew our lives, warming our hearts and giving light to our minds, that we may pass into the new year in joyful obedience and firm faith; through him who is the beginning and the end, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
|
Church of England: Diocese of Chichester, Bishop Martin Warner, Vacancy – Bishop of Horsham, Vacancy – Bishop of Lewes Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland: Diocese of Mikkeli, Bishop Seppo Häkkinen
|
|
|
|
|
Father Tuomas Mäkipää (050-3099132)
|
|
Sarah Tahvanainen ( Safeguarding Assistant)
|
[Please use the contact emails provided]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|