Isn’t it beautiful when people live together in love and unity? I guess many people will agree to this when they hear about a unique collaboration, unity, and love between two distinct groups.
Dear readers, allow me to write about something that is quite different from what I have usually been writing about with a focus on Ghanaian/African migrants or groups and their accomplishments in Finland.
Today, I write about a unique way of collaboration between the Lutheran and the Catholic Church in Finland.
For almost four years now, the Africa Catholic Chaplaincy in Finland (ACCF) has used the Lutheran Church premises in Kallio, a suburb of Helsinki, Finland’s capital city.
Catholics using a Lutheran church premises
I found and still find it heart-warming that the Lutheran body would give their premises to members of the Catholic Church to use.
Indeed, using the Lutheran church became necessary when the African Chaplaincy grew in number and their original place at the St. Mary’s Church was too small.
On November 13, 2022, an important milestone in ecumenism was achieved when a Thanksgiving Holy Mass was celebrated by the African Catholic Chaplaincy in Finland (ACCF) at the Kallio (Lutheran) Church in Helsinki.
The main celebrant in that unique joint church service was Monsignor Emeritus, Teemu Sippo S. C. I., the Bishop Emeritus of the Catholic Diocese of Helsinki. Among the dignitaries were leaders of the Kallio (Lutheran) Church and the Finnish Ecumenical Council, and the Catholic Church in Finland.
No wonder that in announcing the mass service, the Catholic Church expressed appreciation this way: “In thanksgiving to the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Helsinki and especially the Kallio parish for the great ecumenical hospitality and cooperation in allowing the African Catholic Chaplaincy in Finland to celebrate Sunday Masses in the Kallio church”.
A gesture worthy of emulation, unity in diversity
What touched me about the whole idea and experience was not merely the coming together of faithful Catholic, Lutheran and other worshippers, but also the portrayal of love, unity, and harmony.
This, to me is a gesture worthy of emulation. The Lutheran Church should be commended for allowing the African Catholic Chaplaincy, which has been growing, to use the Lutheran Church in Kallio for their Sunday mass services.
The show of appreciation by the African Catholic Chaplaincy to the Kallio (Lutheran) Church for allowing them to conduct their mass services every Sunday in the Kallio Church is also commendable.
That mass service in November 2022 was indeed a well-attended religious occasion with unforgettable experience. It showcased unity among brethren and emphasised the importance of promoting unity despite their diversity backgrounds.
There was an impressive display of diverse cultures from different parts of Africa and elsewhere. The event was spiced by a rich cultural display of dances and colourful attires which were a delight to watch.
For example, members of the Ghanaian Catholic community wore their gay and colourful kente attire and led the procession into the church with their rhythmic adowa dance and music. Other communities such as the Cameroonian, Nigerian, Kenyan and Tanzanian as well as South Sudanese groups also put up well-choreographed performances.
The African Catholic Chaplaincy in Finland
The African Chaplaincy was founded on June 4, 2017, which was a Pentecost Sunday, in a Pontifical High Mass celebrated by Monsignor Emeritus Sippo S.C.I., the then Bishop of Helsinki, at the St. Mary’s Catholic Parish Church in Helsinki.
The Chaplaincy was created by Bishop Sippo to fulfil the desire of the Diocese to give African immigrants in Finland the possibility to be at ease and freely worship in their everyday lives in Finland. The Catholic Church in Finland has about 15,000 registered Catholics, half of whom are native Finns. The rest of the Faithful come from at least 100 different countries from all five Continents in the world.
In all, there are eight parishes in Finland, with two in the capital city, Helsinki (St Mary’s and St. Henry’s). There are also dozens of priests working in Finland.
The formation of the Chaplaincy in 2017 was as a result of collaboration by then Bishop Sippo with the Diocesan body when they detected a great flocking of African immigrants to Finland, the majority of whom were Catholics, in order to give them a possibility to integrate into the Finnish society by worshipping as Catholics and in their African cultural identity.
Email: perpetualcrentsil@yahoo.com
By Perpetual Crentsil
