Ten reasons why Canada and Finland are secretly sisters, separated at birth
Reason #1: Hockey. Need I say more? But just in case: Reason #2: Finland’s huge telecom communications company, Nokia, is responsible for a large chunk of the country’s economic activity. Nokia had some trouble with its handset business and now, seems almost invisible. Our telecommunications giant – Nortel – actually did disappear. Reason #3: winter. #4: Finland knows what it’s like to live close to overbearing, powerful neighbours. Think the United States makes life difficul
The Young Finnish Women Pioneers of Montreal
The earliest waves of Finnish immigrants to Montreal consisted overwhelmingly of young Finnish women. Unlike in other areas of Canada, where Finnish immigrants engaged in forestry or other labour, in Montreal the gender balance was definitely female! These determined and resourceful young Finns often worked as domestic help in the ‘grandes maisons”, or the large and rich homes of the Montreal wealthy. They were the primary movers behind starting the congregation, and the init
Under the North Star
In 2014, I produced this documentary, featuring many of the members of St. Michael's/St. Mikaelin Finnish church, who traveled and sang in Finland as part of the North American Suomi Choir. I asked them the question "Where is home?". Here's what they said...
The annual Finnish St.Mikaelin Bazaar
The bazaar is a chance for all Montreal Finns, whether they're 'church people' or not, to get together and enjoy each other's company, and to welcome the neighbourhood. This short film celebrates the 2017 bazaar. Why not come out to the next one?
It all started with young Finnish immigrant women...
St. Michael's Finnish church in Montreal is unique - it was a group made up mostly of young working class Finnish immigrant women who started the church and made sure it kept going. As a result, there has always been a strong feminist streak to St. Michael's. Learn more here....
LUTHER SHORT FILM
Why is this particular church 'Lutheran' and what makes it so? This blog post introduces you to Martin Luther (after whom Martin Luther King Jr was named, btw!) The original Luther was a monk in the 16th century, who tried to reform the church. Unfortunately, between his often irate personality and the troubled church of the day, there was no place for cooperation and change, either way. Luther was thrown out, the western Christian church split into parts, and the rest is sad
