St. Michael’s Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church
Pyhän Mikaelin Suomalainen Evankelisluterilainen Seurakunta
L’Église évangelique luthérienne finlandaise St-Michel
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ABOUT US
When is a church more than a church? When it's also a cultural centre, a luncheon meeting, a cooking class, a language school, a midsummer's dance, a kantele (Finnish dulcimer) practice....and so much more!
OUR COMMUNITY
Like many churches, our most regular churchgoers tend to be elderly. Their experience and vision is a treasure. We also have a young church council, and a number of younger members engaged in various ways in both the church and the community programming. Most of us have Finnish roots or some sort of a connection to Finland -a spouse, a friend, or just an interest to the culture. Great friendships can be created across all ages and backgrounds at St. Michael's!
WHAT WE DO
We hold worship services about once a month, in English and Finnish. We provide a home for the Suomi-koulu language school and the Montreal Kantele Group (a lovely kind of Finnish dulcimer). We work with the Canadian Friends of Finland and enjoy celebrating Kalevala day in the spirit of our national epic, Finnish labor day "Vappu", cooking classes, church confirmation, and much more!
OUR VISION
We are a place that is for both Finns and Finnophiles -people who love Finland and Finnish people. We are a church, but one that is more about questions than answers, about exploring faith and life and spirituality, rather than saying "you must believe this and that". Questions are always better than hard answers, because life always seems to challenge an easy answer!
THE FINNISH CHURCH HOME
St. Michael's Church is led by pastor Mira Salmelainen. We are a Lutheran faith community located at 4345 Av. Marcil (metro VILLA MARIA), in the Monkland Village, NDG area of Montreal. The church works cooperatively with, and actively supports, many different Finnish groups in Montreal.
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We Finns rent from, and often hold joint services & work with St. John's Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church.
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St. Michael's Church/Pyhän Mikaelin seurakunta is a member congregation of the ELCIC (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada) Eastern Synod (http://www.easternsynod.org/), and is associated with the Suomi Conference of Canada (http://elcic.ca/) and with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (http://notes.evl.fi/EVLen.nsf).
MEMBERSHIP
St. Michael's is always open for new members. In addition to building a spiritual connection, as a member you will be making sure that for any future important congregational decisions (such as buying or selling a building, moving, or hiring a pastor), your voice is counted! We do not have a membership fee, but we do keep a record. You can become a member by filling in a membership form right here on our website, or on paper when you visit the church.
A feminist past....and future!
St. Michael's Church is unique! We were formed, 90 years ago, not by a group of rich men, but from the hard-earned pennies of working class Finnish immigrant women working, often as domestic help (maids and housekeepers) in Montreal. Ever since St Michael's formation in 1927, the congregation's women have been at the forefront. This video tells something of the history of the church. (Video by Matthew Anderson, our pastor 2008-2018)