Welcome to the Finnish Lutheran Church of Melbourne
We offer a welcoming meeting place for all Finns in Melbourne, and provide spiritual care and a broad range of activities for all age groups.
On these pages you can find information on our background, services, usual activities, and calendar of activities.
In addition, you will find the latest Pastor's column below the news post hereunder.
On these pages you can find information on our background, services, usual activities, and calendar of activities.
In addition, you will find the latest Pastor's column below the news post hereunder.
NEWS: Changes to upcoming events
GOOD NEWS: WORSHIP SERVICES WILL BE RESUMING!
Whilst we have been experiencing a new and sheltered way of life in temporary lockdown due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the good news is we are slowly returning to worship services, with the usual safety precautions in place.
Our first tentative steps took place with a worship service at the Finnish Hall in Altona on Sunday the 14th of June, and with a current attendance limit of 20 parish members, we were well under that with a total of 9 members in attendance including Pastor Ian and the Director of Music, Satu Kirk - safely tucked away in the corner at the piano.
Hand sanitiser, 1.5m social distancing and 4m2 rules are still in place, and we all brought our own thermos of coffee and a little snack, in keeping with the "no catering" provisions that are also in play for the time-being.
Watch this space for updates to Covid-19 restrictions, or check out the Department of Health website for the latest information: https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus
Our upcoming program so far looks like this:***
Sunday 28th June, 11am:
Kotikirkko (Home worship) hosted by Mirja and Sami Vainikka in Sandhurst - CANCELLED
Sunday 5th July, 11am:
Sunday service followed by ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - Finnish Hall Altona
- more information and ZOOM meeting option coming soon
Sunday 26th July, 11am:
Kotikirkko hosted by Satu Kirk in Point Cook
Sunday 9th August, 11am:
Sunday service at Finnish Hall Altona, followed by coffee fellowship
***MORE DETAILS TO BE POSTED ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE AND IN THE SUOMI NEWSPAPER***
In the meantime, some of you have been enjoying a weekly column provided by Pastor Ian, so you can continue to enjoy The Word from the comfort of your laptop or iPad. This will continue on a more ad-hoc basis, but here is the latest column for you to enjoy:
Pastor Ian's latest post (Column number 14 - 25.6.2020):
Gracious Father
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound’ (Luke 15:21-27).
Today we have in front of us one of the most well-known, certainly one of the most beloved parables of all time—Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son. There are any number of reasons why this parable is a favourite, but part of it has got to be that it’s not hard to find ourselves in this parable. I was thinking of the other parables that Jesus tells throughout the gospels, and how often it is that he refers to things that were common in his day to make his point—things like vineyards and talents, sheep and fig trees. And while we, 2,000 years later, can learn pretty quickly what those references meant back in Jesus’ day so as to better understand what Jesus may have been saying, sometimes that need for translation has a way of making us feel the distance between our life and the life of the biblical world. But tell us a parable about sensitive family dynamics and we need no translation.
Many of us know the story by heart, but it’s such a good one, so let’s walk through it again. A man had two sons. The younger son asked his father one day for his share of the property. Now land wasn’t usually passed down until the time of death, so the younger son is basically saying here, “Dad, I wish you would drop dead.” The father who should have been quite offended by this somehow still decides to give the younger son his inheritance, and days later, that son takes off to live the dream in a distant land. And life was good for him; he splurged and partied and lived it up, that is, until the funds ran dry. He then became hungry and filthy; willing to do whatever he had to do to get the next meal. It didn’t take many days of cleaning up after pigs before the young son realised he could make more money working for his dad and decided to come back home.
Now let’s be clear at this point about what motivated his return. He’s starving. He’s scraping by, putting in his belly, if he’s lucky, and the leftovers of the food that he’s feeding to the pigs. Desperation. Filth. Starvation. That’s what sent him on the road toward home. Ever since the son has been gone, his father has been watching out for him in the distance. And then that day came. The father recognised his son far in the distance, and, breaking all the rules for how men were to conduct themselves, the father started running. He ran as fast as he could, until he could throw his arms around his beat-up son, kissed his dirty face, and welcome him home.
His young son began to utter the confession he had been practicing as he walked home, but the father interrupts him, because something other than confession is more urgent. He commands his servants to bring out the finest robe, to put a ring on his finger, sandals on his feet, to kill a fatted cow and put it on the grill, because what’s most important right now is that they celebrate, that they throw an extravagant party. “My son was dead but is alive again,” the father proclaimed. “He was lost but has been found! We have to celebrate!” Now where was the older son while all of this was happening? He’s working, of course and filled with anger he does not want to have anything to do with celebrating his wayward brother’s homecoming. His father comes out to invite him in, for he so desired for his sons to be together again. And this is where the parable ends. With the younger son dressed like royalty, having a great time at the party, with the father standing at the door, and the older son standing outside.
Talk about a cliff-hanger. We’re left wondering if the older son ever went in. Did he join the party? Did he just head to bed? We’ll never know. There he stands, 100% right, and 100% alone. Isn’t that often what happens when we value being right more than being reconciled. It can lead to a very lonely life. So the father stands at that door, begging for his older son to come to the party.
The older son doesn’t know it, but he, too, is lost—lost in his own pride, not knowing the depth of his father’s extravagant love and grace. That’s grace according to how God designs it. It’s terribly unfair, and it’s the only thing that can set us free.
Pastor Ian
Finnish services are broadcast on Yle Areena - to view the programs, follow the link here:
https://areena.yle.fi/1-3757226
You can also get a lot of information, devotionals etc, from Finland's church website, including English translations if needed. Visit:
www.evl.fi
Join the church
You can join the Mikael Agricola Finnish Lutheran Church by completing the attached membership form. Please print out, fill in, sign, and scan the form, and email it to ian.vainikka@gmail.com. You can also post the form to the church manse, 72 The Strand, Point Cook, 3030.
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