Last spring, I was asked to write about faith, language, and culture for the series on the topic in First Pres Times (First Presbyterian Church, Berkeley Publication). This is how I started,
“My kids know about God, but they have no idea who Jumala is.“
(Jumala = God in Finnish) This comment by my friend, Riitta,
stopped me to plunge more deeply into the question of language,
culture and faith. It’s a topic that has been a central theme in my life
I’ve often stated that a person I can truly become friends with must
share the two important ‘F’s in my life: FAITH and FINNISHNESS.
To me, those two represent so deeply who I am, that true intimacy
needs to include both. Lately though, I have realized Finnishness is
not enough; it helps if my close friends are fellow tightrope walkers -
representatives of the third culture. This is because I am not perceived
as entirely Finnish or American - I have become a hybrid.
This fall in Jyväskylä, I realize that my reflections above came from a cerebral perspective. Now that I have attended a couple of church services and an intergenerational women's small group meeting, I realize how emotional the experience can be. On Sunday night, I joined a new style service in the main church in the center of the town. It was a modern service with a dramatic piece about oppression taking the place of a sermon. Also the music we sang was contemporary. But actually, I think it could have been just about anything. The beauty of the surroundings and especially the fact that everything took place in Finnish touched me so deeply that I had to fight back tears the moment I stepped in. Afterwards, there was tea, rye- and wheat bread, ham, cheese and sliced cucumber (you make your own open-face sandwich) in an old vicarage near by. It was a beautiful building, all lit by candles. All this familiarity, beauty and spiritual food in my own language were almost too much to bear. I would have cried all the way home on my bike – but realized the night air is definitely getting too cold for tears.
Jyväskylä Main Church –
a brick church with Roman and Gothic influences
a brick church with Roman and Gothic influences
Vanha pappila – the Old Vicarage
Neo-Classical Style
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