Annual Report 2018 The Anglican Church in Finland, Chaplaincy of St Nicholas, Helsinki

Transcription

1 Annual Report 2018 The Anglican Church in Finland, Chaplaincy of St Nicholas, Helsinki The Church of England is part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, worshipping the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It professes the faith uniquely revealed in the Holy Scriptures and set forth in the catholic creeds, which faith the Church is called upon to proclaim afresh in each generation. Led by the Holy Spirit, it has borne witness to Christian truth in its historic formularies, the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, The Book of Common Prayer and the Ordering of Bishops, Priests and Deacons. Preface, Declaration of Assent Five marks of Mission We are part of the Church of England s Diocese in Europe, geographically by far the largest among the Church of England dioceses. There was an Anglican congregation in Helsinki already at least in The congregation grew rapidly when many members of St Andrew s Church in Moscow left the city during the Russian Revolution and settled in Helsinki. The Anglican Church in Finland is part of the Archdeaconry Germany and Northern Europe. We serve Anglicans and other English-speaking Christians in Finland. The Chaplaincy of St.Nicholas, worships at the Agricola Church. This is a sign of commitment to common service with the Finnish Lutheran Church under the Porvoo Agreement. This Annual Report is structured according the 'Five marks of Mission', the Anglican Communion s practical guide to the holistic nature of mission and a key statement about everything we do in mission and of what all mission is about, which is based on Jesus own summary of his mission. We proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom Arranging public worship in English remains to be the primary function of the Chaplaincy. The style of service is what could be described as modern catholic. Sung Eucharist is in the heart of weekly programme. Holy Eucharist was offered every Sunday and on Principal Holy Days and on major feasts.

2 2 Figures from 2012 onwards are accurate. The annual Nine Lessons and Carrols Friday 21 st ; December, was attended by ca 900. We are very thankful to Paul Dillingham and Agnes Goerke without whose contribution of time and skills this service would not be possible. Summer Locums in 2018 were: 25th June -Tapio Hietalahti, 2nd July -Timo Viitanen, 9th July -Jeremy Tayler, 16th July -Mika Pajunen, 30th July -Henri Järvinen, 6th August - Jaakko Rusama. On 6 th December 2018, on the Finnish Independence Day, the Chaplain assisted in the National Independence Day Service at the Helsinki Cathedral. The Lutheran Archbishop of Finland preached. The Prime Minister and the President of the Rebuplic were in attendance.

3 We teach, baptize and nurture new believers The Sunday School teachers (Sarah, Jane, Julian, Tino, Jayawin) are writing: 3 We meet most Sundays in the crypt during the church service. We have between 7 and 15 children who regularly attend. They are aged between 2 and 13 years. It is a real blessing to us and we think it is an important ministry. All the children are very enthusiastic and willing to join in. Between February and May we are running a First Communion course to prepare children for taking Holy Communion on 26th May. 12 children have decided to follow the course. We have started a Youth Group for the older children, aged 10 and above, and we try to meet once a month. We hope that in future the Youth Group members can become more involved with the service. We take safeguarding seriously and all Sunday school teachers receive safeguarding training and checks. The Chaplaincy follows the Diocese in Europe s Safeguarding Policy, which is available at europe.anglican.org/safeguarding

4 4 Figures are accurate from 2012 onwards. Parents were encouraged to bring their children to baptism. All members of the church are encouraged to come forward for confirmation but in 2018 no confirmation service was arranged. The number of baptisms, marriage services and funerals has remained in the same level for the past seven years.

5 5 On Corpus Christi a group of congregants traveled to Koski Tl to take part in a Eucharist which followed the Scottish Espiscopal Church s Prayer book from early 1900 s. The day continued with pot-luck lunch and fun in the Koski Tl Parish s camping centre. Chaplaincy Day Retreat was at Arne Laitinen s home in Karkkila in July. A task was undertook to translate Thy Kingdom Come prayer material into Finnish. The Chaplaincy worked togther with Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop of Canterbury s office, to provide prayers for the season between Ascension Day and the Day of Pentecost. Translation work was done by The Revd Dr Mika Pajunen. Different social media platforms were used to inform both the regular church visitors and seekers about the Chaplaincy events.. Webpafe and Facebook were updated regularly. Council s Creetings was intorduced to improve to communicte better the work of the Chaplaincy Council. Greetings, published on our website, is intended to be a way of sharing information about administrative maters. We respond to human need by loving service The Chaplaicny supported diaconia by giving grants and distributing food. The Collect from the Annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols Collect was donated to the Arabic Speaking ministry in Anglican Church in Finland and to St.Andrew s Anglican

6 Church in Moscow through the Bishop s Advent Appeal. 6 The Directors of the Diocese in Europe Fund made a request of increase in our contribution to the Common Fund to improve the mission and ministry of the Diocese in Europe. After the increase, the Chaplaincy pays 7 per cent of its annual income to the Common Fund. This is planned to go up to 10 per cent by Various methods were used to meet with people in need. We made visits at home and hospitals, made phone calls, wrote s. Many of the everyday encounters with numerous people were the basis of the pastoral work of the Chaplaincy. Bazaar was arranged on the eve of the Feast of Christ the King. Attendance was less than previous year. Next year we will take notice on better advertising and emphases on Pre- Orders. In future, we must consider if a later date would work better for the Bazaar. We liaised with our partners and networks: The St.Nichols s Foundation, The Ecumenical Council in Finland, The Helsinki Ecumenical Committee, Helsinki Lutheran Parishes and other Churches, Christian communities and faith-based NGO s in the Capital City Area and in the wider community. We transform unjust structures of society, challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation The Chaplaincy participated at the Finnish Ecumenical Council work transforming unjust structures of society, challenging violence of every kind and pursuing peace and reconciliation. Our representatives at the Ecumenical Council were The Revd. Mika Pajunen (Board member), Dr. Kaihsu Tai at the Committee for Ethical Issues and The Chaplain at the Faith and Order Committee. We began to strengthen our relationships with people of other faiths, through dialogue built on mutual understanding, respect and trust. We explored the possibilities for participating in the interfaith dialogue through the existing interfaith organizations and faith-based NGO s actively working in the interfaith. We wish to engage in the inter faith dialogue from the bases of our common humanity, the need in a plural world to work together for common human ends, and the need for neighbourliness. Such dialogue makes it possible for Christians to share with others in service to the community, and can become a medium of authentic Christian witness.

7 Activities of Yhteiskunnallisten kysymysten jaosto (Committee on Public Issues) of the Finnish Ecumenical Council This year, the Committee on Public Issues of the Finnish Ecumenical Council (FEC) continued to focus on two major topics, namely hate speech in public discourse and environmental issues, especially climate change. On the first topic, a couple of proposals have been brought to the FEC Board, encouraging the churches to reflect on their own practices and promote constructive public discourse. 7 On climate change and other environmental issues, an ecoretreat with discussions from participants from various denominations will be held in Enonkoski monastery in late April. Through the FEC Board, the churches will be encouraged to follow the lead of the Lutheran Church s strategy to become carbon neutral by 2030 (see Further, the committee is exploring how to engage other players in society including large corporations about these issues. WE invite the chaplaincy to consider who should succeed Dr Kaihsu Tai as the Anglican member on this committee after the current mandate concludes at the end of We strife to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth We are committed to the safeguarding, care and nurture of everyone within our community. We promote a safer environment and culture and responded promptly to safeguarding concerns and allegations. We educate all clergy and Readers with Safeguarding training and consider the following of Safeguarding Policy as a normal part of their ministry. Our lay volunteers are being encouraged to go through the process to ensure that our congregation is a safe place for all people. This is achieved by following the Diocese in Europe safeguarding policy, including training programme. The Safeguarding officer has actively monitored the status of training and background checks of those working in the Chaplaincy,. The Chaplaincy has actively sought ways to reduce its carbon footprint. As a sign of this, all A4 paper used in the Chaplaincy office is made of 100% recycled paper. Stewardship and Administration

8 8 After-service coffee Thank you to those who volunteer to serve coffee and tea after the service each week as well as clear up afterwards. It is an important opportunity to socialise with each other and provide support to each other. Thank you to all the volunteers on the coffee rota: Rebecca, Cat, Hana, Jane Mammen, Tuula, Linda, Rachel. And thank you to all those who contribute baked goods, food, tea, coffee, milk and sugar. We are always looking for more volunteers to help with coffee or tidy up. Please contact Jane Mayhew-Smith. Leyenhorst Trust St. Nicholas Foundation The trustees worked on the paperwork to officially register the trust and to establish a foundation. An extra-ordinary meeting of the Church was arranged in November in order to approve the rules of the Foundation and its capital. Martinus Leyenhorst s bequest was worth of euros which was donated to the Foundation. The trustees worked on setting up the trust and looked into investment opportunities with different banks. It is hoped that the foundation can be of benefit to the Diocese and charitable causes. Finances The Council continued to investigate other possible banks and services that will best suit the Chaplaincy and also considered the latest advances in technology. The surplus shown in the book-keeping is the result of the sell of the Chaplain s housing on Bulevardi. The Chaplaincy made a profit of almost euros. The funds received from the flat on Bulevardi were re-invested on Council behalf by Handelsbanken. The Council asked offers and advice from both Nordea and Handelsbanken. After considerartion, Handelsbankens offer was found to meet the requirements of the Church in a more satisfactory way. In managing investments, the Chaplaincy followed the Church of England Ethical Investment Group s policy on ethical investments. Some funds were kept in the Chaplaincy Council s account to cover the loss in the rental income.

9 9 A raffle was organised on the 28th of January for the disposal of items left over from the bazaar and anything discovered on the Cleaning Day. Office Assistant The Council took action on hiring an office assistant. It was decided that the Chaplain and churchwardens be present at the interviews. Virpi Paulanto was proposed as Council secretary and an Office Assistant an unanimously elected as the secretary of the Chaplaincy Council. Virpi was welcomed and introduced as the new office assistant and introduced herself at the Council meeting in November. Licences Council of St. Nicholas Helsinki endorsed the Bishop s intention to renew the licence of The Revd Deacon David Oliver as Assistant Chaplain and the Revd Amos Manga s licence as Assistant Curate. Council s Matters The Council took note of Alex Cheruiyot absence and considered him to be resigned. The Revd Amos Manga, who has been leading a refugee congregation for 15 years (White Nile), was granted a stipend for 3 months (October, November, December). Due to unexpected travel to South Sudan to assist with the peace talks between the Government and opposition groups, the payment of the Stipend was postponed. Plans were considered on how to financially support the White Nile Congregation. The Chaplain accepted the resignation of The Revd Deacon David Oliver. David retired from his long ministry in the Anglican Church in Finland and moved to Innsbruck, with his wife Tuula, to be closer to their son. The amended Constitution was forwarded to the Patents and Registration Office for their consideration. The Constitution, as amended by the Patents and Registration Office is likely to return to the Annual Meeting for final approval. The Church has informed the Civil Register Office of all new members of the Church and any members that have left. Currently there are 171 registered Anglicans in Finland The Chaplain and the Chaplaincy Council would like to thank every one who are part of the Church community and welcome all to take part actively in the life and mission of the

10 10 Church in Almighty God, Give us reverence for all creation and respect for every person, that we may mirror your likeness in Jesus Christ our Lord. Collect (2nd before Lent, Additional)