St. Michael’s Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church
Pyhän Mikaelin Suomalainen Evankelisluterilainen Seurakunta
L’Église évangelique luthérienne finlandaise St-Michel
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LEADERSHIP & WORSHIP
Hi! Tervehdys! Bonjour! Tere!
And welcome to our website! If you are one of our regulars, it’s good to see you again! And if you are new to St. Michael’s, then let me start by saying how lovely it is to meet you. We hope you find all the info you need on here, but if you don’t, please let us know – we would be happy to answer your questions.
I’m Mira – or Pastor Mira, or Pastori, or Mira-pappi
- your pastor here at St. Mike’s.
So that we could get a bit more acquainted, I thought I would introduce myself with a few random facts.
I was born and raised in Helsinki – which, in my highly biased opinion, is the most beautiful city in the world – where I also went to university. But despite my city roots, I’ve also spent a huge chunk of my life at our family farm taking care of cows and chickens. I feel blessed for having had the opportunity to embrace both worlds!
I was actually never supposed to become a pastor. When I first felt the calling for ministry, I was convinced that God had the wrong number. Me? A pastor?! No way! As you can probably guess, I did, eventually, listen to God and was ordained in the Helsinki Cathedral (that big white church that pops on your screen if you google Helsinki) in the summer of 2014. A lot has changed since then, but one things remains: I still think this is definitely the best job in the world! Here’s a reminder for you: never ignore your dreams or think they are too silly. Respect them, because they might be God’s way of telling you something.
I moved to Canada after the Finnish Lutheran church in Sudbury, Ontario, had asked if I was interested in becoming their pastor. Full of excitement and gratitude and questions like “Is this really happening” I accepted the job I had applied for only a couple of months prior. What a blessed adventure my time in Canada has been! One of the chapters of this adventure started in 2020 when I relocated here to Montreal. People often ask me if I like Montreal. J’taime Montréal! I am grateful that St. Mike’s has trusted me with this position and am proud to serve this community.
Other than Montreal and my job I also love books, nature and good coffee and, like any other stereotypical Finn, have great appreciation for silence, hockey (go Habs!) and heavy metal. My long walks are spiritual in nature, because they are also my way of praying. Oh and I really enjoy superhero movies! Iron-Man is my favourite, of course.
St. Michael's Finnish Ev. Lutheran Church has been lead by pastor Mira Salmelainen since January 2020. To reach her:
- call, text or Whatsapp to (514) 550-3101 or
- e-mail mira.salmelainen(at)finnishchurchmontreal.com
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St. Michael's Church has Sunday Worship Services approximately twice per month, usually alternating between Zoom and in-person gatherings at the church. This way we can serve our members and friends near and far! Our Worship services are typically bilingual with Finnish hymns and readings, and sermon and prayers in English.
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We also organize monthly and seasonal evening devotionals, usually via Zoom. We send devotional texts via our emailing list during those weeks when we do not have a scheduled Worship Service.
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Detailed schedules are published on our website and shared via our emailing list, and we share lots of information also via our Facebook page. Links to our online events are shared via our e-mailing list. You can also contact the pastor to get the link if you wish to join in our online worship!
HOURS
SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES
on average, twice a month alternating at the church and on Zoom
10 a.m. Sundays