Desperate opposition

In 2006, a fellow pastor and I were reported for heresy to the diocesan chapter of Porvoo. The reason eas that we had participated in an ongoing debate about sexual minorities in the Church, and since we wanted to accept them, we were labeled heretics. Well, the Chapter didn't agree and we were exonorated.

Now, an even flimsier excuse has been used to report another pastor to the Chapter of her diocese, Mikkeli in eastern Finland. Pastor Maarit Hirvi of Sammonlahti parish wrote a letter to the Editor of a local paper, saying that if the gender neutral marriage law now being prepared is passed by Parliament, and if pastors are given the right to marry same-sex couples, she would be prepared to do so. Kotimaa24 reported this on October 18.
So, if a hypothetical legal situation arises, she is willing to follow the law. That was the extent of her message, but that was enough for someone to react. This reaction is, in my opinion, desperate and ridiculous. If you are opposed to the aforementioned law, to the Church adopting its principles, and to pastors willingly following it, then there are ample political measures yet to use in your struggle. Legally persecuting individual opponents is hardly above board.

I have no doubt that pastor Hirvi will be exonorated, just as we were eight years ago. But i know how taxing the situation can be, so I wish her strength!

The archbishop apologizes to the LGBT community

The archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF), Kari Mäkinen, has apologized on behalf of the ELCF to homosexuals and other sexual minorities for the cruelty with which both church and society has treated them.
According to Mäkinen, homosexuals have during the years been repulsed in the society and in the church, with references to illness, crime or a special sinfulness. “It is a cruel part of the Finnish story, and also of the story of the church,” he said in a speech on July 14, 2014.
He estimates that the cruelty is subtler that before, but has not been erased. It exists e.g. in the forms of silence, repulsion and looking past a person. And cruelty is always the same, even if it is invisible, motivated by religious or "natural" arguments, or covered with a tolerance that is looking from above.

Pastors and alcohol

Some months ago, on a Saturday morning, I was driving to work. I had a funeral. All of a sudden, the police stopped me. They were having a razzia to check the alcohol level in the drivers' blood stream. Many have alcohol in the gas tank, as well, but that they didn't check.
When the officer came to me and saw that I was a pastor, he said: "Oh. But in the interest of equality, we'll check you, too." And I was stone sober, of course, as I have been the last 21 years. No problem.

Sadly, the officer's assumption that a pastor would be sober behind the wheel is not self-evidently true. The latest example of the opposite comes from eastern Finland. Savon Sanomat reports (25.7.13) that a pastor, having performed a  funeral, drove off, only to be arrested by the police after having been found to have 1,89 promille alcohol on his breath (in Finland, 0,5 is the DUI limit, and 1,2 is the limit for aggravated DUI). Apparently, this is not the first time this pastor has shown signs of alcohol abuse.
The police will charge him, and his vicar has reported the case to the Diocesan Chapter, who will deal with it later in the fall.

Same-sex couple sent as missionaries

A same-sex couple in a registered partnership will be sent as missionaries to Cambodia by the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (FELM), Kotimaa reports 29.5.13. They will be blessed for their task in June, and one of them will also be ordained.
According to the article, this is probably the first time in history that a same-sex couple is sent as missionaries anywhere.
Very few details are available about the presumptive missionaries, not even their gender, but I suppose more will be forthcoming.

There is some controversy about the appropriateness of publishing news of this kind, i.e. stressing someone's ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or the like. From the point of view of journalistic ethics, there might be a problem, but it's an interesting item, all the same.

Archbishop of Finland supports same-sex marriages

When the current government was formed in Finland a few years back, the Christian Democrats demanded that it would not propose any legislation allowing same-sex couples to marry, or the party would not participate in the government. The other parties agreed to this.
Therefore, MPs from the other parites tried to introduce a motion to legalize same-sex marriages. This failed, however, since the motion didn't gain the necessary support; only 76 of the 200 MPs signed the motion.
As a consequence, a citizen's motion was created. If 50 000 signatures are gathered, such a motion could be discussed in Parliament. When this motion was introduced on 19 March on the home page of the Ministry of Justice, it gathered the necessary signatures in less than one day - the first such motion ever to collect enough signatures. At 11:47 today, a week later, the motion had been signed by 138 226 citizens. The motion will remain on the home pages for six months, and the Ministry will then take it to Parliament for discussions.

Archbishop Kari Mäkinen

The Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Kari Mäkinen, appeared this morning on the TV channel MTV3 and gave his support to the proposed legislation about same-sex marriages.
"I think it is an important goal, and I hope that equality will be achieved in this," Mäkinen said in the programme Huomenta Suomi (Good morning Finland). "Within the church, marriage has traditionally meant a covenant between a man and a woman. The present discussion creates a dicsussion within the church as well, where the foundations of the concept of marriage are evaluated. I see in this discussion an immensly positive will to relate to every human being equally."

The proposed legislation would not compel the churches to perform same-sex marriages.

Update: Later the same day, the Archbishop denied that he had taken a stand on the legislation, saying he talked about "treating people and their relationships equally." Helsingin Sanomat published the comment.

Vicar elect

The diocesan chapter today decided to appoint me vicar of the Swedish parish of Lovisa, where I have been working as vicar pro tem since January. I will become vicar proper starting December; the rest of November I might be called vicar elect.
I thank the Lord for the possibility to serve as vicar. Just a few years ago I was convinced that I’d never have a chance to do so because of my controversial opinions on a certain subject, but the situation has changed more rapidly than I had thought possible.

Lovisa is a small town east of Porvoo/Borgå where I live. It is situated about 90 km east of the Finnish capital Helsinki, on the coast of the Gulf of Finland (an arm of the Baltic Sea). My parish, consisting of the Swedish-speaking members of the ELCF in the centre of Lovisa, had 2.661 members as of the end of last year.

On the Sunday after Epiphany, January 13, 2013, I will be officially and ceremoniously installed in my new office by Bishop Björn Vikström. The festivities start at noon in the church and continue in the Högstadiet school, as the parish’s own buildings probably would be too crowded. Welcome to attend!

Finnish for foreigners

järki = reason, sense, intelligence

järjestää = organize

järjestelmä = organization

järjestelmällinen = organized

järjestelmällistyttää = organizationalize

epäjärjestelmällistyttää = unorganizationalize

epäjärjestelmällistyttämätön = antiunorganizationalized

epäjärjestelmällistyttämättömyys = antiunorganizationalization

epäjärjestelmällistyttämättomyydellä = with antiunorganizationalization

epäjärjestelmällistyttämättömyydellään = with his antiunorganizationalization

epäjärjestelmällistyttämättömyydelläänkö = is it with his antiunorganizationalization?

epäjärjestelmällistyttämättömyydelläänköhän = I wonder if it is possible, with his antiunorganizationalization?

epäjärjestelmällistyttämättömyydelläänköhänkään? = I wonder if it is possible, even with his antiunorganizationalization?



Seventeen syllables in one word - how about that? You just have to love that language!

No State Church in Norway - or in Finland

The Norwegian Parliament - Stortinget - decided yesterday (21.5.12) to abolish the State Church system. Good for them!
Voices in Finland have been raised for the same thing to be done here. This shows, of course, a lack of knowledge of both history and of the background of the relationship between Church and State. I've blogged about this before.

I'm not saying that reforms couldn't be made, but a non-existant State Church cannot be abolished, can it?

Finland: Vicar in registered partnership

In western Finland, not far from Turku, there is a small municipality called Koski. The parish is, of course, equally small, with some 2.500 members. The vicar, Terhi Latvala, is a woman, and she recently formed a civil partnership with the parish’s youth deacon, another woman called Katri Tuori.
At first, the good people of Koski were stunned, but they soon came to accept the situation. Only a few discordant voices were heard. These were, naturally, the ones that the yellow press seized on.
But the fact of the matter is that the vicar of Koski is a lesbian, living openly with her partner, and no-one gives a hoot.

Good for Koski!

And congratulations to the new partners!

Latvala ja Tuori virallistivat parisuhteensa (Auranmaan Viikkolehti 25.11.11)
Työntekijöiden rekisteröity parisuhde puhuttaa Kosken seurakunnassa (Kotimaa 25.11.11)
Lesbopappi kuohuttaa pikkukunnassa (Iltalehti 14.12.11)
Lesbo kirkkoherra hämmentää Koskella - nai nuorisodiakonsa! (Hymy 15.12.11)



ELCF extends hand to immigrants

A remnant of the bond between Church and State in Finland is the fact that members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF) have to have a registered home municipality in Finland. Citizenship is not required, however.

Now, the ELCF is endeavouring to help immigrants join its ranks. Most immigrants, a majority of which are nominally Christian, do have a registered home municipality, but some, especially refugees, do not.
In September, the House of Bishops gave support to a change in the law to allow immigrants to join even if they do not have a registered home municipality. Archbishop Kari Mäkinen says the aim is to ensure that immigrants could join any congregation without legal obstacles. I welcome this move; it is about time!

The ELCF has developed various services for immigrants over the years mainly in big cities. Other denominations also offer similar services. Membership of non-Lutheran denominations such as The Finnish Free Church or the Finnish Orthodox church does not require registration.

Evangelical Lutheran Church extends hand to immigrants (YLE News 14.9.11)
Ingen finsk hemort inget hinder för medlemskap (Kyrkpressen 15.9.11)

Eviction notice recieved

In Porvoo, chaplains (second pastors, curates, whatever we're called in your tradition) have been living in Kaplansgården (Chaplain's House) since 1763. Four years ago, I became the latest in the series. Little did I suspect that I would also be the last.
The parishes of Porvoo have decided to break this tradition just before it would celebrate its quarter millennium in 2013. Last week, we recieved our eviction notice and have to move out before the end of March, 2012.

This is, of course, sad news on a personal level. Where will we move? Should we buy a house or go on renting? How about the children's school? There are many questions and problems to be considered.
The way the eviction was handled also shows little regard for the human side of the story. I knew that the decision was coming on October 5, but last week the leading bureaucrats all of a sudden were in a great hurry to present the eviction notice. Since we have a legal six month period of grace starting from the end of the calender month in which the notice is presented, they wanted it done in September rather that October, so we'd be out in March rather than April. This in spite of the fact that the decision itself hadn't been made yet.
I think this is very poor personnel management, and am now thinking seriously about whether or not I can remain in the employ of such a "firm" or whether I should start looking elsewhere. One problem there is my vociferous engagement for the rights of sexual minorities within the ELCF, which has made me persona non grata in many circles, and which might affect my job seeking negatively. We'll have to see how it goes.

But what saddens me the most, I think, is the lack of historical sensibility that the bureaucrats and the Church Council displays in this matter. It seems to be enough that our Cathedral stems from the XIII Century - other historically valuable buildings don't count (Kaplansgården is not the only object to be sold). What counts is their economical value. Yes, by selling Kaplansgården, the parishes would probably net a round million Euros to be used for many good things, but a million is not that much money, after all. In a few years (if that!) it will be gone, and so will a bit of the city's and the church's history.

"A people who forgets its history has no past - and no future."
- Robert A. Heinlein

See previous blogs in Swedish here and here.

Luther Foundation's ordination in Orthodox parish hall

The Luther Foundation is at it again.
Last Saturday, September 17, three new pastors were ordained by the Foundation's bishop Matti Väisänen (see blogs here and here) in the Orthodox parish hall in Kuopio (eastern Finland). The ELCF had denied them any venue for the ordination, so they turned to the Orthodox Church. Its leading bishop, Ambrosius, asked the Orthodox parish of Kuopio to refrain from giving space to a schismatic group in the Lutheran church, but went unheeded.
Two of the new pastors will work in eastern Finland, and the third, Sebastian Grünbaum, will build and coordinate a Swedish-speaking community in Turku in the south-west. Grünbaum has studied theology in Swedish at Åbo Akademi in Turku, where there are several strongly conservative students and teachers (among a moderate majority, I hasten to add). The Luther Foundation will thus probably reap more fruit from that Theological Faculty.

The Luther Foundation protests against female pastors and against the increasingly positive and humane attitudes towards sexual minorities within the ELCF. It is akin to the Mission Province in Sweden and has for some years ordained its own pastors. In 2010, it consecrated its own bishop. These acts are, of course, schismatic, and neither the bishop nor the pastors have any standing within the ELCF. The Foundation refuses, however, to take the logical step and form its own denomination, which would allow it to build ecumenical relations to other churches, e.g. the ELCF. Since it repeatedly breaks the rules of the ELCF, it can go on pretending that it is persecuted, which I suppose gives its members a sense of righteousness.
But I don't feel that it is quite honest to do so.

Kotimaa om Nokia och Luther (Kalles kyrkliga kommentarer 16.10.06)
Missionsprovinsen till Finland? (Kalles kyrkliga kommentarer 4.12.06)
Förfalskade präster (Kalles kyrkliga kommentarer 26.1.07)
Yle: Ortodoksit tarjoavat Luther-säätiölle tiloja pappisvihkimykseen (Kotimaa 10.8.11)
Ambrosius toivoo Kuopion ortodoksisen seurakunnan peruvan Luther-säätiö-päätöksen (Kotimaa 10.8.11)
Pappisvihkimys Kuopiossa 17.9.2011 (Suomen Luther-säätiö 30.8.11)
Lutherstiftelsen får svenskspråkig verksamhet (Kyrkpressen 5.9.11)
Konservativa ÅA-teologer stöder Lutherstiftelsen (Hufvudstadsbladet 7.9.11)
Luther-säätiö vihkii ”kolme uutta pastoria” (Kotimaa 8.9.11)
Lutherstiftelsen vigde tre nya egna präster (Hufvudstadsbladet 17.9.11)
Luther-säätiö vihkii yhä pappeja kirkon vastustuksesta huolimatta (Helsingin Sanomat 17.9.11)
Paarma ennustaa: Luther-säätiö lähtee kirkosta (Ilkka 18.9.11)
Ilkka: Paarma ennustaa Luther-säätiön lähtöä (Kotimaa 18.9.11)

Prayers for partnerships: Reactions in southern Finland

Last year, the General Synod of the ELCF decided to allow prayers for couples in registered partnerships (i.e. same-sex couples) to be performed, as long as these events are clearly distiguishable from marriages. In February, the bishops, as requested, gave instructions on how these events should be performed in practise.

This has given rise to strong feelings in different parishes around the country.
In Huittinen, Sinikka Ritakallio, a member of the Church Council, wants the parish to refuse to perform such prayer meetings altogether. This is not, however, in the power of the Church Council to decide. The bishops have given their instructions, and they, not the Church Council, are the foremen of the pastors. The Church Council can decide not to allow these prayers to be performed in the church building, but that's it.
In Nurmijärvi, the Church Council has, slightly surprisingly, reached a compromise that allows same-sex couples to be prayed for in the chapel, but not in the main church. It is said that this practise would show that the church doesn't equate same-sex partnerships with heterosexual marriages. I agree that the idea is discriminatory, but isn't the chapel a consecrated building just as much as the church? Wherein lies the logic?
In my own parish in Porvoo, we have a preliminary order of service for the event that it would be needed. I worked it out with the clear intent to balance between the needs of the parishioners and the instructions of the bishops, and I think I succeeded. At least, my colleagues approved. The other day, I was accosted by a man in the street, who talked a lot about how God does not bless sin. He never specified, but I assume that it was in context with this question, since both the local paper Borgåbladet and the church newspaper Kyrkpressen interviewed me about it the week before. I didn't rebut, for he was so elliptical in his statements that I easily agreed: God does indeed not condone sin. Homosexuality, however, is not a sin, of course.

Huittisissa yritetään estää homoparien puolesta rukoilu (Turun Sanomat 25.2.11)
TS: Huittisissa halutaan estää rukous homoparien puolesta (Kotimaa 26.2.11)
Domkyrkoförsamlingen först med förbönsformulär (Kyrkpressen 20.7.11)
Rukoukset homosuhteiden puolesta kappeleissa (Nurmijärven Uutiset 27.7.11)
Nurmijärvellä parisuhderukoukset kappeliin (Kotimaa 29.7.11) 

Finland: "Christian" anti-gay campaign

Last fall, a TV debate about homosexuality led to a massive wave of resignations from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF). I blogged about that PR catastrophe at the time.
Now, a Christian campaign against homosexuality has caused a new rise in the number of resignations from the Lutheran Church. Some 500 people resigned on Tuesday, March 22, compared to the usual average of 50 for this time of year, according to the online church-resignation service Eroakirkosta.fi. In a week, some 2,000 people have resigned.
The reason for the rise is clear, according to the Eroakirkosta.fi press officer Johanna Sauna-aho. "We’ve received a lot of feedback, which gives the reason for people’s resignation as this campaign," she said.

Christian organisations publicised the Älä alistu! ('don't submit') campaign, which warns young people against homosexuality. The campaign included 'Anni's story', a video detailing one young women's story of how her faith helped her to stop being bisexual. In one video she compares her situation to that of a reformed murderer.

The campaign was not organised by the ELCF, but it is supported by several organizations that receive funds from the Church’s tax revenues. Members of the church pay tax to support its activities, and according to Sauna-aho, this was one reason many people gave for their resignation.
The Finnish Lutheran Evangelical Association and the Finnish Lutheran Mission, who receive money from the church’s tax revenue, helped fund the campaign. Other organizers included the Finnish branch of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, the Finnish Bible Studies youth division, the Missionary and humanitarian aid fund, and the Finnish Luther fund.

Archbishop Kari Mäkinen and several other bishops have in no uncertain terms distanced themselves from the campaign. The archbishop stated that it will have repercussions on the funding of the organizations involved. And the conservatives, of course, screamed that they are being persecuted.

The political scientist Sari Roman-Lagerspetz speculated that the campaign could be a conscious revenge from the conservatives. By publicising their views, they wished to spark a reaction among liberal Church members and get them to resign, and so leave the conservatives in charge.
The researcher Virpi Mäkinen sees evidences of the collision of two different ecclesiologies. The Lutheran ecclesiology (view of the Church) is that the Church is a corpus mixtum, a mixed body of Christ to which belong all kinds of people. The fundamentalists have an exclusive ecclesiology, according to which only people who interpret the Bible in a certain way can be members of the true Church.

Arkkipiispa: Homoseksuaalisuus ei ole minkäänlainen synti (MTV3.fi 20.10.10)
Kristittyjen homovastainen kampanja ihmetyttää Suomessa (Uusi Suomi 21.3.11)
Kampanj vill bota unga homosexuella (svenska.yle.fi 22.3.11)
Eroakirkosta.fi:ssä kuhinaa – tässä syy (Uusi Suomi 22.3.11)
Ärkebiskopen kritiserar kampanjen (Hufvudstadsbladet 22.3.11)
Tutkija homovastaisesta kampanjasta: Ei minkäänlaista logiikkaa (Iltalehti 22.3.11)
Ärkebiskop Mäkinen deltog i webbdiskussion om homosexualitet (Kyrklig tidningstjänst 22.3.11)
Arkkipiispa Mäkinen osallistui verkkokeskusteluun Älä alistu -kampanjasta (Kirkon tiedotuskeskus 22.3.11)
Askola: Homoseksuaalien identiteettiä kunnioitettava (Kotimaa 22.3.11)
Motkampanjen raderades från Facebook (Hufvudstadsbladet 22.3.11)
Många lämnade kyrkan i går (Hufvudstadsbladet 23.3.11)
Anti-Gay Campaign Causes Church Resignations (YLE.fi 23.3.11)
Kohu homovastaisesta kampanjasta - Kristilliset nuoret kaipaavat suvaitsevaisuutta (Aamulehti 23.3.11)
Homojen eheyttämiskohu - vain vihreät heräsi (Aamulehti 23.3.11)
Ärkebiskop Mäkinen: du är värdefull som du är (Kyrkpressen 23.3.11)
Eheytymiskampanja politisoitui (Kotimaa 23.3.11)
Professori: Eheytyskeskustelussa palataan maailmaan, jota ei ole koskaan ollutkaan (Kotimaa 23.3.11)
Heikka: Eheytymisvideo saattaa vaikuttaa järjestöjen talouteen (Kotimaa 23.3.11)
Kampanj ledde till utträden ur Finska kyrkan (Kyrkans Tidning 23.3.11)
Kirkon eroluvut nousseet lähes Homoilta-kohun tahtia (Helsingin Sanomat 24.3.11)
Tutkija: Heterokampanja ehkä kosto kirkon liberalisoitumiselle (Helsingin Sanomat 24.3.11)
Arkkipiispa Mäkinen haluaa Älä alistu -kampanjan loppuvan (Kirkon tiedotuskeskus 24.3.11)
Ärkebiskop Mäkinen vill att kampanjen Älä alistu (Stå på dig) avslutas (Kyrklig tidningstjänst 24.3.11)
Arkkipiispa Mäkinen haluaa Älä alistu! -kampanjan loppuvan (Kotimaa 24.3.11)
Älä alistu! -kampanjan jatkoa pohditaan (Kotimaa 24.3.11)
Eheytymistä edistävällä Aslanilla yhteistyötä vain harvan seurakunnan kanssa (Kotimaa 24.3.11)
"Emme ole eheytymisristiretkellä" (Kotimaa 24.3.11)
”De borde ha vetat bättre” (Kyrkpressen 24.3.11)
Älä alistu! -kampanja päättymässä (Kotimaa 24.3.11)
Finska väckelserörelser i kampanj: Homosexuella kan bli botade (Dagen 25.3.11)
KD nuoret huolissaan Älä alistu -kampanjan vastareaktioista (Savon Sanomat 25.3.11)
Kohua herättänyt heterokampanja lopetettiin (Iltalehti 25.3.11)
Piispa Riekkinen pitää homokampanjaa puoskarointina (Savon Sanomat 25.3.11)
Heterokampanjan järjestäjät surevat joukkopakoa (Savon Sanomat 25.3.11)



Finland: Chaplain boycots bishop

In December last year, bishop Björn Vikström of Porvoo visited the parish in Lappfjärd-Kristinestad in southernmost Osthrobotnia on the west coast of Finland. He had discussions with the clergy and other parish workers, with the different elected officials and with the parishioners, and took part in some church services. All very normal for that sort of thing.
What was less normal this time around, was that Markus Saarinen, the chaplain of Sideby (that nowadays is a part of Lappfjärd-Kristinestad), refused to attend the services in which the bishop participated. He did take part in the discussions, however. The reason for his refusal was that he considers bishop Vikström to be a heretic, since he is a Liberal and a good man with pretty much the same views as I on many matters. I wrote about a call for a boycot him and other ELCF bishops a while ago.
Since the vicar had ordered Saarinen to attend the services and he refused anyway, Saarinen was handed a reprimand. To my mind, this is quite logical - if an employee refuses to do his job, the employer or manager has every right to reprimand him. At least.

But, of course, the conservatives see this as outrageous. It is persecution of all who want to be Classical Christians, they say. And if being a Classical Christian equals being an ass, they are right, of course.
But I don't think it does. There are Classical Christian asses, as this case clearly shows - but the majority are good, considerate people that it is very nice to meet. It's the same as with Liberals or any other group of people. Some are nice and some aren't, pretty much regardless of their opinions.

Sidebykaplan bojkottade biskopen (Kyrkpressen 15.12.10)
Saarinen fick anmärkning (Kyrkpressen 18.1.11)

Finland: Opponent to female ordination fined by the Supreme Court

In March 2007, a male pastor, Ari Norro, was invited to preach in a church in Hyvinkää (southern Finland). One of the parish's pastors, a woman named Petra Pohjanraito, was one of the designated assistants in the mass. Since Norro is a member of the Lutheran Evangelical Association in Finland (LEAF), an association within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland that does not accept the ordination of women, this was a problem. There are several versions of the discussion that took place in the sacristy, but the outcome was that Norro stayed and Pohjanraito left.

The Finnish Supreme Court ruled on 22 October, 2010, that Norro was guilty of discrimination when he refused to work with a female colleague. The court slapped Norro with a 320€ fine for his discriminatory behaviour, thus upholding two lower courts’ decisions.
Norro has maintained that it is impossible for him to perform his duties alongside a woman and has demanded that charges against him be dropped.
However the Supreme Court ruled that religious freedom doesn’t imply that the law can be broken. Earlier court decisions emphasised that the church must abide by the same rules on gender equality as other workplaces.
“Actions determined by faith can’t lead to human rights breaches, such as gender-based discrimination,” the Supreme Court stated.

Around one-third of the pastors in the ELCF are women, but the proportion is growing.

Pappi käännytettiin kirkkonsa ovelta (Kalles kyrkliga kommentarer 5.3.07)
Hyvinge, SLEY och kvinnliga präster (Kalles kyrkliga kommentarer 6.3.07)
Lisätietoa Hyvinkään tapauksesta (Kalles kyrkliga kommentarer 8.3.07)
Vielä Hyvinkäältä (Kalles kyrkliga kommentarer 10.3.07)
Male Pastor Fined for Discrimination (Yle News 22.10.10)
HD: Kvinnopräst diskriminerades (svenska.yle.fi 22.10.10)
HD förbjuder diskriminering av kvinnliga präster i Finland (Dagen 22.10.10)
Präst diskriminerade kvinnlig kollega - döms till böter (Kyrkans Tidning 22.10.10)
HD-dom om kvinnoprästmotstånd i Finland (Karin Långström Vinges blogg 22.10.10)

YLE: No Evidence of Homophobia Within the Finnish Defence Forces

Homosexual members of the armed forces in Finland do not face discrimination, according to the Defence Command of the Finnish Defence Forces.
The Defence Command further stated that the armed forces operated as a sub-section of Finnish society, and that homosexuals existed in the army just as they did anywhere else. It stated that no form of homophobic discrimination was permitted within the defence forces.
The Defence Command office was clear that no questions are asked about a person's sexuality either on joining the defence forces or at any point during a person's time within the service. It said that no complaints had been received from members of the armed forces about homophobic discrimination.
Seta, The Finnish NGO which works to protect the rights of sexual minorities, stated that they had received no complaints about homophobia within the Finnish Defence Forces, but commented that no study has yet been carried out on the issue.

YLE 3.12.10

The ELCF takes a mini-step forward

A meeting of the General Synod of Finland's Evangelical Lutheran Church voted Friday [November 12] to permit pastors to offer prayers on behalf of same-sex couples. The vote was postponed by a day because of extended debate on the issue. The annual meeting of representatives of Finland's dominant church approved a committee proposal that allows pastors to pray on behalf of same-sex couples, but not offer a blessing as is done in traditional weddings. The prayers will not be classed as a formal church service. This means that pastors will not be required to offer prayers for same-sex couples.
All 108 delegates voted, with 78 approving the plan and 30 opposing.
The committee backed the view that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.
Although a vote had been planned for Thursday, so many representatives asked to address the Synod that the debate was scheduled to continue late into the evening and the vote delayed until Friday.
Roughly eight out of 10 people in Finland are registered as Lutheran. The church suffered an upswing in resignations this autumn linked to gay rights issues.

YLE 12.11.10

A majority of Finns support gender neutral marriage

According to a poll made this summer and comprising over a thousand Finns, 54 percent are for and 35 percent against a gender neutral marriage law. The margin of error is 2,5 percentage points in either direction. Young people, women and people in the southern (more densely populated) parts of the country are more positive to such a law than others. Among Lutherans, too, a majority was for.
People who vote for the Christian Democrats or the populistic True Finns were generally against gender neutral marriages. However, most voters aren't interested in having the marriage law become a central issue in the Parliamentary elections next spring.

YLE, HS, Hbl 21.8.10

A poll made in October 2009 showed that 44% were positive and 39% negative to same-sex marriages performed within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (blog here).
In December, 2008, 106 pastors from the ELCF answered a poll, and over half of us are ready to bless homosexual partnerships. In the greater Helsinki area, the ratio is two out of three.
Another poll showed in August 2010 that a third of the 700 pastors interviewed would perform same-sex weddings (which isn't the same as blessing partnerships), while over half aren't ready to do so. Female pastors were in general more positive than male. A majority wanted to retain the Church's right to perform legal weddings, regardless of whether the State introduces gender neutral marriages or not.

Many Parish Candidates Approve Gay Relationships

From YLE:s News in English:

The majority of candidates for the upcoming parish elections of the Evangelical Lutheran Church [of Finland] approve of same-sex relationships.
In a candidate test that opened on Monday on the Church homepage, 72 percent of respondents support Church prayer vigils for same sex couples, while 48 percent of the candidates support gay marriage and blessing same-sex relationships. A total of 7,800 candidates were quizzed on the matter. The web-based candidate test, which helps voters find a suitable candidate, jammed on opening due to a large numbers of hits.
Following recent media discussion on homosexuality, interest in the upcoming parish elections is forecast to be exceptionally high. The elections will be held in three weeks' time, while advance voting commences next week.