Wonderful news over the Summer in Finland.  Archdeacon of Eastern Europe and Germany & Northern Europe The Ven Dr Leslie Nathaniel explains;

'The Anglican Church in Finland has its first woman Chaplain since services were officially recorded in 1923! On Sunday 10th August, The Reverend Maria Obafemi-Onuigbo was licensed and installed as Chaplain of St Nicholas’ Church in Helsinki by The Ven Dr Leslie Nathaniel.  In her new role Maria will be welcoming people who come to Helsinki from all over the world, it was therefore fitting to have a multicultural service which celebrated the diversity of the Chaplaincy. The service also demonstrated the close relationship between the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Church of England, which has flourished under the Porvoo Agreement.  Like several other chaplaincies in the Diocese in Europe, Finland’s Anglicans worship not in their own buildings but in local churches through cooperation with their Lutheran parish. Indeed, the Licensing service for Maria was held at Helsinki’s iconic Mikael Agricola Church which is home to a variety of thriving communities including the St Nicholas chaplaincy. Through this partnership Mikael Agricola church welcomes the largest number of people to church on Sundays in Finland, with St Nicholas’ providing the only English language service.  The cooperation between the churches is visible in a multitude of ways, not least through St Nicholas’ extended team of largely Lutheran clergy who have the Bishop’s permission to officiate at Anglican Services in Finland.

We therefore gathered as a worshipping community drawn from a wide range of  contexts - ethnic, cultural and even denominational - excited to witness and celebrate the licensing of the Revd Maria Obafemi-Onuigbo as the new chaplain in St Nicholas Anglican Church in Helsinki.

Revd Maria brings a wide variety of gifts and experience to her ministry. She has studied and worked in both England and Finland in different capacities, and has been much loved for her ministry. In 2002 she was ordained as a distinctive deacon in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. She moved to London in 2004 where she became actively involved in the Finnish Seamen’s Church in London, serving the Finnish community in Great Britain and Ireland. Maria then went on to train for the priesthood in the Church of England at Westcott House, Cambridge, In 2010 she was ordained Deacon in the Southwark Diocese, and then priested in the same Diocese in 2015.

At the end of her curacy in 2018, Maria was appointed Rector of The Good Shepherd and St Barnabas in Manchester.  After seventeen years in the UK, Maria moved back to Finland and was until recently working in the Helsinki Cathedral Parish. This new appointment brings together her experience and understanding of our two churches, a wonderful opportunity to further build on the cooperation between them.

Maria´s Nigerian roots and her long years of presence and engagement in both Finland and England is a clear sign that the Diocese in Europe will embrace diversity in its mission and ministry.

In her spare time Maria enjoys reading historical fiction and singing, having previously sung in Lahti Chamber Choir and Morley College's Gospel Choir.

We look forward to her ministry among us and a new chapter in the life of the Anglican Church in Finland.'

Rev Maria reflects; 'I am looking forward to get to know Anglican communities around the country and learning about their ministries.'

Please pray for Maria and the chaplaincy in Finland over the coming months. Here is a video of the celebratory service;