wfn.org | Finland: Live Church Services from Helsinki

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Adventist Church via Internet

November 19, 2000
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
http://www.stanet.ch/APD

Finland: Live Church Services from Helsinki Adventist 
Church via Internet

Helsinki, Finland.        "Media7", the Media Centre 
of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Finland, situated 
in its capital Helsinki, is providing live church services 
from the Helsinki Adventist Church in Annankatu 7 via 
the Internet.

Most church services from the Annankatu Adventist 
Church will be broadcast live through the Internet on 
Sabbaths (Saturdays) at 11.00 hours. Services may be 
accessed with a RealVideo programme at:
<http://media7.adventtikirkko.fi/live.smil>.
"Our target is to serve Finnish-speaking people in 
areas where there are no Adventist churches," reports 
Pastor Anne Helminen, Media7 manager and pastor 
of the Annankatu Adventist Church.  "Many Finns - 
both in Finland and abroad - will benefit from this 
service.  Maybe later in the future we will also provide 
English and Russian services through the Internet," 
Helminen adds.

Media7 and the Finnish Adventist young adults have 
been dreaming about this for a long time, says Helminen.  
Annankatu church, established in 1894 as the first 
Adventist Church in Finland, has become a centre of 
evangelism and an initiator of new church plants.  
Its members were involved in establishing a new 
church in Espoo, a suburb of Helsinki.  Currently in 
the same building there is a Swedish-speaking 
congregation and a new Russian church plant.  As the 
Finnish church is becoming more and more international, 
there is also a great need for a new English church plant.

Annankatu church is also involved in sponsoring a new 
church plant called "Café-SEED". "The core group of SEED 
has been making plans since the beginning of the year 
to establish a new church for un-churched people in 
Helsinki," explains Helminen. "The first service of 
this carefully-planned operation will be held in 
September 2001.  As the SEED community waits for its 
facilities to be renovated they, together with the 
Helsinki Adventist young people, have started to 
evangelise through small groups and cafe-evening 
churches.  These services may also be accessed via 
Internet.