Easter 2018 celebrations
Easter is a special celebration in the yearly church calendar. On Easter Sunday, April 1st, St Michael's Finnish Church offered a joint service with the St. John's Estonian Church, since the church building is the home for both congregations. We enjoyed music from the Kantele Group, and the confirmands of St. Michael's were invited to assist with the Holy Communion! In a joint service such as this one, it is a powerful experience to hear the Apostle's Creed and Father's prayer being read together in different languages, by people with different backgrounds. But perhaps doing so specifically at this service touched us a little deeper, as we came together to celebrate the miracle of Easter.
We had another reason to celebrate that Sunday: Pr Matthew Anderson has served St. Michael's church for 10 years! We are immensely grateful to have him in our community not only as the pastor, but as a friend. A little bag of design from Finland was handed to him to express our appreciation for everything he has done, and continues to do, for the community. Thank you, and Happy 10th Anniversary, Matthew! For us you are a gift from above!
Here's some video evidence of our surprise speech and delivery of the gift to Pr Anderson.