October 23, 2005 The first snow of fall

Last night we were awakened at 12:30 AM by fireworks about 2 blocks from our apartment. They lasted for 15 minutes. They were quite low and quite loud. The fireworks display was at the university in connection with meeting of small business owners. It was a shock to us. A more primitive person than I might assume that the fireworks caused the snowstorm that greeted us when we woke up. After all, these were the first fireworks we've seen in Joensuu and this was the first snowfall since last winter.

Last week we were in Savonlinna and the man we traveled with said that yesterday was summer, today is fall, and tomorrow is winter. This was because there was snow forecast for last week. This week when we saw him he apologized and said he was a week off. So now a few gold leaves and the snow are vying for our attention.

There is an old Carelian folk song:

Onpa taivaassa tarjona lapsillekin, jotka Jeesusta rakastavat
Kultakruunut ja valkeat vaatte hetkin harput, joilla he soittelevat.
Puhdas kulta on tie, jota astelevat kera laulaen enkelien.
Karitsan siellä kasvoja katselevat veriuhria syntisien.

And there is a poem which echos the song:
Miksi he haravoivat kultaiset, keltaiset lehdet poluilta, Kun kerrankin voisi sanoa:"Puhdas kulta on tie, jota astelevat." Here is a very rough translation of the song: In heaven, for the children who love Jesus there are gold crowns, white clothing, and harps for them to play. The road on which they walk with singing angels is pure gold. There they are looking at the face of the Lamb. The poem asks: Why do they rake the gold, yellow leaves from the path, when one could say again the road where they walk is pure gold? The people we have met in this area have a deep and abiding connection to nature and to the music of the region. The sister whose mokki this is immediately quoted the song and poem when we talked about the leaves falling and asked if we could help with the raking. Everyone seems to know the words and the tune which is in a minor key and rather mournful. But as they say, Something is lost in the translation.

Koli National Park

Koli is located about 70 kilometers from Joensuu. We took a quick trip up there to photograph the fall colors before the rains wash the golden leaves onto the ground. But it was a misty day. So we'll have to buy a postcard to get the fall colors in all their glory. It took us three trips to the Grand Tetons before we actually saw and were able to photograph the peaks. But I suspect this was our last trip to Koli.

Misty October day at Koli. 

October at Koli. Russia is off in the distant mist. 

Fall colors at Koli National Park 

Religion in Finland

I'm going to venture out into an area that I don't know too much about: the relationship of church and state in Finland. There are two state religions: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Finnish Orthodox Church. These churches are supported by a state tax of about 2%. It is possible to dissassociate from the church and then no tax is owed. We've noticed that all the churches we've seen in Finland are maintained very well which we attribute to the tax. Churches, in turn, perform some functions that might otherwise be performed by the state such as maintenance of cemeteries, birth and marriage registration, and some social services. The President of Finland is the ultimate head of the Lutheran church in Finland. Religion is taught in the schools. Parents may choose to have their children study some alternative topics. Any time there are 3 or more children in a school from a certain denomination that religion can be taught in the school. Missionaries regularly go to schools to present information about the Mormon church in the religion classes. At zone conference President Estes spoke about the results of a survey about religion in Finland. People were asked to rank religions according to how favorably they viewed each one. Lutheranism was number one, and the Salvation Army was ranked second most favorably. Mormons were at the bottom along with Jehovah's witnesses. President believes this low ranking is related to our practice and history of tracting in Finland and has asked missionaries to stop tracting and focus on performing service.

There was an article in the Helsingin Sanomat last week titled: "Lutheran Church loses nearly 400,000 members between 1984 and 2004." And resignations from the church are increasing. One reason seen for the rising trend is the new law on religious freedom, which came into effect in August 2003, which made the process of leaving the church easier. Since then it has no longer been necessary to make a personal appearance to cancel membership: sending a letter was enought. A survey has indicated that 70-80% of those quitting the church are young adults between the ages of 18 and 39 -- an age-cohort that the church ahs worked hard to keep within the fold.

Apparently, the trend toward secularization which dominates European culture and youth in particular is one problem that is affecting the growth of our church in Europe. President Perry while he was in Europe as area president decided that the future of the church in Europe lies with youth. Therefore, the Church is beginning to develop a system of centers located near universities where young people may gather.