From Sudan to Finland: Refugee journey ends and joyful new journey begins


Sunday was a memorable day in the life of the Anglican Church in Finland. Five children from two Sudanese refugee families were baptized in St Nicholas's regular Sunday Eucharist in Espoo. This small community gathers every other Sunday for Eucharist in a small room in Tapiola (Lutheran) church.

The Espoo congregation is quite used to songs in Swahili but on Sunday the room was filled with songs in Arabic as the Revd Amos Manga (priest-in-charge of the White Nile congregations in Finland) presented five children for baptism. Muntase, Mawahib and Manar arrived in Finland last winter. Muntaser (2000) and Mawahib (2001) were born in Khartoum before the family had to flee to a refugee camp in Cairo. Manar was born in the camp in 2006. Ten years later they have now arrived in Finland and have received pastoral support from Fr Amos. Other candidates were Yasine, who was born in Khartoum in 2001, and her sister Fairuz , who was born in Cairo in 2006.

Fr Amos Manga
The Revd Tuomas Mäkipää, the chaplain of St Nicholas, Helsinki (which includes Espoo) presided at the service, while Fr Amos did the actual baptism in Arabic. In such situations in the diocese in Europe we find that the Church of England's liturgical texts must (and indeed can!) be adapted for various kinds of situations. It was a moving service, signifying not only the safe ending to a perilous journey these children have been on already, but a new beginning on the journey of life in Christ.

At the end of the service the newly baptized were given a lighted candle depicting the patron saint of the Helsinki Chaplaincy, St Nicholas the Wondermaker. St Nicholas is the patron of children. He is depicted on the candle with children in a tub and his hand raised for a blessing. While handing out the candles Fr Tuomas reminded the congregation that according to one legend, St Nicholas helped children to have a better future by giving gifts. These were enough to give a better future for these children and their families. The other legend is the one where St Nicholas raised three children from the dead thus giving them back their lost future and adulthood. Fr Tuomas noted that those fleeing from their homes and homeland today want to do precisely the same thing; to give their children better chances in life and to restore what has been lost.


Here is a short video clip of the opening song.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Farewell to the Diocese in Europe

Image
Deacon Frances and I packed up our office yesterday and turned over our official files, emails and equipment. Thus a close working together for 22 years comes to an end. So it is hard to believe that today, St David's day, a new chapter begins, after 44 years of stipendiary ministry, 22 years as deacon then priest and 22 as a bishop.  Here are just a few memories from the last couple of months...   But now it is time to begin a new chapter.  O God, by whose command the order of time runs its course: forgive our impatience, perfect our faith and, while we await the fulfilment of your promise, grant us to have a good hope because of your Word,  even Jesus Christ our Lord. (St Gregory Nazianzus, 330 - 390)
Read more

Archbishop of Canterbury's Pentecost Letter: A European Consequence

Image
In his Pentecost letter, the Archbishop of Canterbury warned of certain consequences for provinces of the Anglican Communion which have failed to stand by the three moratoria . (No authorisation of blessings services for same-sex unions; no consecrations of bishops living in same-sex relationships; and no bishop authorising any ministry within the diocese of another bishop without explicit permission). One consequence would be that representatives from such provinces w ould not be able to participate in the formal international interchurch dialogues of the Communion. One of those dialogues is the Anglican-Old Catholic International Co-ordinating Council ( AOCICC ), the official instrument set up to deepen the relationship of communion established in 1931 between the Anglican Communion and the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht . As the member Churches of the Union of Utrecht are all European, the AOCICC is effectively a European body. (I am one of the members, appo...
Read more

Bishop Austin Rios of California

Image
It was a joyful, colourful, multicultural three-hour liturgy. At Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, the Revd Austin Rios was consecrated the bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of California. I have known Austin from his time as the Rector of St Paul's Episcopal Church in Rome, where he was a great friend and collaborator with our own Church of England All Saints Chaplaincy in that city. The liturgy, appropriately, marked the multiculural make-up of the diocese, with prayers, readings, hymns and songs in English, Spanish, Tagalog, Tonga and Mandarin. The final procession was led by a Chinese dragon! I was told that there were about 300 in the procession and 2000 present in the beautiful gothic cathedral on Nob Hill San Francisco. My good friend and ecuenical colleague from Rome Fr Keith Peckers SJ was also in attenance, so the Church of Rome and the Church of England were both represented! Among the bishop friends present were Bishop Mark Edington of the Episcopal Convocation in Europe, a...
Read more