wfn.org | Finnish Lutheran archbishop calls churches to respond to needs

[FRANK.IMHOFF@ecunet.org]

LWF COUNCIL MEETING, TURKU, FINLAND, 14-21 JUNE 2000
PRESS RELEASE NO. 10

TURKU, Finland/GENEVA, 18 June 2000, (LWI) - Inasmuch as the history and
valuable memories of the Christian church are important, its vitality and
significance should be measured by how it responds to the daily issues that
people are confronted with.

This was the conviction upon which the Christian churches in Finland
together considered what would be an appropriate theme for celebrating
the jubilee year 2000. These remarks were made by the archbishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF), Jukka Paarma when he
delivered the sermon at a festal mass to mark the millennium year and
the 700th anniversary of Turku Cathedral on Trinity Sunday, 18 June
2000.

The worshipers included representatives of the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) member churches who are in Turku from 14 to 21 June participating
in the annual Council meeting of the LWF.

Christian churches in Finland are celebrating the beginning of the new
millennium jointly under the theme "Jubilee Year 2000   Year of Hope".
The jubilee season started on Advent Sunday 1999 and it ends at Easter
2001 when the churches of Eastern and Western traditions celebrate
Easter on the same day , 15 April.

"Hope courage and strength to live is what so many people need," Paarma
told the congregation as he cited cases in which human beings require
specific encouragement in order to go on. The day's message was based on
the subject, "Abide in me, and I will abide in you"   John 15: 1-10. A
simultaneous ecumenical service revolving around the same biblical text
took place at the St. Michael's Church also in Turku. (See separate news
article).

"Great courage and fearlessness to look towards the future is needed by
the young person who is seeking his or her place in the world.  Hope and
confidence by the one who has been made unemployed;  Courage and belief
in a just society by those who make decisions for the common good; and
Faith in life by those overcome by depression, illness, divorce, fear of
remaining alone," Paarma noted.

In addition, "hope is needed by those who are the world's most hopeless,
the population of the world's poorest countries those for whom the
possibility of rising above the poverty line to obtain the decent health
care or educational opportunities for their children is not even in
sight," the Lutheran bishop said.

It was the archbishop's prayer that even after the 700-year-history of
the Turku Cathedral, and after the beginning of the new millennium "we
may be able to hold fast to what Martin Luther said about the task of
the church "the Church's true treasure is the grace of God and the most
holy Gospel of Glory."

Recalling the history of the Turku Cathedral, the national shrine of
which the dedication was celebrated on 17 and 18 June 1300, Paarma said
it is also a time to give thanks for the work of "our forefathers as we
look forward into the future with hope." He said the cathedral is
familiar to Finnish generations for at least one thing. Since 1944, at
midday every weekday, the sound of the church bells has been broadcast
around the country and beyond. The situation 56 years ago (the Second
World War) was so dangerous and difficult that many were doubtful that
Finland would have a future and hope.

Paarma narrated how at that time, the president's wife gave a radio talk
in which she urged people to pray to God, because the country was in a
situation of great need. " And in these moments we will grow into a
united praying people who may believe that they will find God's help,"
he recalled, quoting the prayer of hope then by the president's wife,
Gerda Ryti.

According to the archbishop, the cathedral through its long history is a
reminder of the number of people through the generations "who have
climbed the steps into the house of the Lord seeking comfort,
forgiveness, peace and hope."

"It is impossible for us to know how many found help,   but that is why
our forefathers built this church, why it has been maintained so that
congregated people may find what they need to endure the trials of
life so that they may have the courage to look ahead, so that they may
have hope."

Paarma mentioned the memorials commemorated by the very presence of the
Turku Cathedral namely, the Lutheran Reformation and the work and life
of its messenger Mikael Agricola, who served as the first bishop of the
church, but noted that the history of the Christian church in Finland
goes back much further than to the cathedral building.

According to information provided by the ELCF, the main objective of the
jubilee year is to demonstrate the fact that what the churches are
celebrating is the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ,
which marks the beginning of the Christian era. The jubilee year season
is also meant to strengthen the Christian identity of the Finnish
people, making them aware of the need to raise issues of justice and
values to the central theme in church and society. Moreover, ecumenical-
cooperation should be consolidated.

Other churches represented in the service included Finland's Evangelical
Free Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.

(The LWF is a global communion of 128 member churches in 70 countries
representing 59 million of the world's 63 million Lutherans. Its highest
decision making body is the Assembly, held every six or seven years.
Between Assemblies, the LWF is governed by a 49-member Council which
meets annually, and its Executive Committee. The LWF secretariat is
located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted, material
presented does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its
various units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation
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Lutheran World Information
Assistant Editor, English: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
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