At this morning’s service it was announced that The Rev’d Tuomas Mäkipää will be leaving at the end of May to take up his new appointment as Chaplain of St Alban’s Church in Copenhagen. Tuomas has been Chaplain at St Nicholas’ for the last 12 years and we give him our utmost thanks for all that he has done to build up the Church here, not just at St Nicholas’ but also with our sister congregations outside of Helsinki and with our ecumenical partners. We hold Tuomas, Suvi and their children in our prayers as they prepare to embark on this exciting new journey and ministry.

Our Assistant Chaplain, The Rev’d Dr Mika Pajunen, writes:

‘We receive the news of Fr Tuomas’ appointment with joy and a little sadness. Tuomas has carried out extraordinary work as our Chaplain, leading St Nicholas and our various communities and ministries all over Finland for over a decade. For all of this we are grateful and proud that his good work has been noticed beyond our circles. However, we are also sad to see him leave after having been a member of our community for over twenty years, and forming strong ties with many of us and our loved ones.

Yet there is time for everything, and this is the change Tuomas more than deserves after his loyal, loving and long service. Furthermore, he is not leaving immediately and there will be plenty of time for us to pay him and his family our farewells. By this, we also begin to prepare for the next chapter in our common life, building on the sure foundation Tuomas and his predecessors have laid, even Jesus Christ our Lord, trusting in God who gives us a future with hope (1.Cor. 3:11; Jer. 29.11).’

Churchwarden Johnson Samuel, writes:

‘We have been fortunate to have Fr. Tuomas as our parish priest for more than a decade. His ethics and faith, which have guided his daily conduct and actions, have been an inspiration for us: his ability to make time for everyone; nurturing of children and young people; fellowship and support to the elders; faithfulness in his ministry and calling; leadership to our Chaplaincy; building ecumenism; and developing lay leadership. Fr. Tuomas gave us extraordinary leadership during the unprecedented and challenging times that we faced with Covid-19. Most of all, what stands out to me is how Fr. Tuomas strives to make our worshipping community a free, safe, and an equal place of worship for everyone.

It is therefore with mixed feelings of joy and sadness, in equal measure for me, to hear that our Chaplain Revd. Tuomas Mäkipää will leave us from the St Nicholas Chaplaincy for a new appointment in the Diocese. This is a great opportunity for Fr. Tuomas to serve in the wider Diocese and we are overjoyed in this new phase of Fr. Tuomas’ ministry.

1 Tim 6:12- Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

As we begin bidding farewell to Fr. Tuomas and his family, we thank Tuomas for his good works.

St. Paul writes in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 20-22, “Christ Jesus Himself is the corner stone. He is the one who holds the whole building together and makes it grow into a sacred temple dedicated to the Lord. In union with Him, you too are being built with all the others into a place where God lives through His Spirit.” We pray to Almighty God for wisdom as our Chaplaincy continues to grow in the faith journey.

We hope you will be able to join us for Tuomas’ last service at St Nicholas’, which will be on Trinity Sunday, 26th May. Please save the date in your diaries so that we can bid him a fond farewell together.

 
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A course led by Dr Joel Gillin, at St Nicholas’ Anglican Church, September 2023