The Centenarian Mission Church

The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (formerly The Finnish Missionary Society) was founded in 1859 in honour of the 700th anniversary of the coming of Christianity to Finland. The founders of the society had the vision that it was time for Finns to help to disseminate the good news.

In the 1890s the Missionary Society experienced a time of rapid growth and the work was expanding from South West Africa to China. The growing interest in the mission raised the urgent need for a new premises with a chapel. The chapel provided a place where supporters of mission could meet, pray,find encouragement in the face of future challenges, and where students of the mission school could practise preaching sermons and teaching the Christian faith. The new prayer house - the present Mission Church - was built and dedicated in 1900.

In 1906 and 1928 the Missionary Society's headquarters were extended. In the process, the Mission Church underwent some structural changes and it rededicated in November 1928. The church was refurbished the following time in 1959, after which it was rededicated a third time. The church was rededicated a fourth time on 19th December, 1999, when it was again thoroughly renovated for the centenary year.

The two treasures of the Mission Church

The aim has always been to preserve the Mission Church in its original state as far as possible. The pulpit is situated in an unusual position behind the altar, directly beneath the cross. Until 1959, an altar piece depicting Christ in Gethsemane was placed in the location where the cross currently resides.The altar was donated to the Engela Parochial College in Namibia and replaced by a cross made of Namibian wood.

On both sides of the altar are stained-glass windows which were made in 1922. They were designed by Carl Wilhelm Sjöberg. The themes, the birth and crucifixion of Christ, were provided by K. A. Wrede. The stained-glass windows were destroyed in an air raid on Helsinki in 1944, but they were replaced by new ones made to the original plans in 1952. The two halves of the globe in the lower part of the windows remind us of Jesus' command to go into all the world.

The present organ dates from 1971, but its facade is similar to that of the original organ of 1901. The acoustics of the church is very good for musical performances. The Mission Church is idyllic, pleasant and well-suited for weddings and Baptisms.