Today (June 26, 2011) I set out for the Sunday, 10 o'clock, Lutheran service at the Church of the Holy Cross in Vanha (Old) Rauma. As of 6-27-11 I was still having "issues" putting my own photos on this blog. Try the link above for an image of the church (much better than my photography anyway!)
This beauty was built at the end of the 15th century for the Franciscan Monastery around which Rauma developed, near the busy port, when Finland was still ruled by Sweden. I do not know enough about late medieval architecture to accurately describe its style but I do know it was not the first church in Rauma. The first, the Church of the Holy Trinity, was built in the 14th century. It burned down in 1610, by which time, most of Finland was staunchly Lutheran. At some time prior the Franciscans were routed and so the Church of the Holy Cross became the parish home for Rauma's Lutherans.
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| Church of the Holy Cross, in Rauma, Finland |
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| Altar Window, Church of the Holy Cross, Rauma |
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| Lych Gate at Church of the Holy Cross, Rauma |
Of course, I understood only two words: hyvä and päivä (good and day) of the entire service. The music was very traditional, and, of course, very Lutheran. Most of the hymns sung today were attributed to Martin Luther (1430's) or one of his disciples (1440's.) Perhaps because Roman Catholic liturgical music has become much more ecumenical in the past 40 years, I recognized several of the melodies. That may also be because of my grandmother, Berthen Kennedy, who played everybody's music as one of the only church organists in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada, in the early 20th century. As she played hymns at home she would always preface her selections with "This is Lutheran" or "This is Anglican," just so we'd know!
Like the congregation at the Church of the Holy Cross, their choir sounded a bit elderly. The organist seemed quite good however and pitched the hymn selections for "congregational" singing, which given the age of the average member, seemed (to me) downright robust.
I also learned why our Finnish friend Anne was comfortable attending Mass with us in 1999-2000. The (Lutheran) celebrant at the Church of the Holy Cross (her home parish) today dressed in pre-Vatican 2- style robes, sang substantial parts of the liturgy, had his back to the congregation during preparation for communion, and preached from an elaborate, raised pulpit which Roman Catholics have abandoned wholesale, even in those older churches & cathedrals that still have them.
I would guess that only the young, female altar server I saw today at the Church of the Holy Cross would have been familiar to most North American Catholics who have attended Mass regularly since 1963. Anne said she was surprised how similar our Roman Catholic liturgy was to what she grew up with here. So I guess, maybe what we thought were "radical" changes of Vatican 2, were not really that radical, after all!
The Church of the Holy Cross also has very nice collection baskets, really 2-handled collection "bags" made of dark green velvet. The handles are easy to grasp of carved/turned wood, and the round opening is no more than 6 inches across, but the bags are 8-12 inches deep. Nice if you don't want your neighbor to see (or hear) how much you put in! The ushers were all women, about my age, not young, but agile enough to conduct the collection in an efficient fashion.
What really distinguished this congregation from every Roman Catholic church I've ever attended in both Canada and the United States, was the behavior of the people as the last hymn was sung. They only sang one verse, but instead of stampeding out the door, the entire congregation waited while the celebrant and the server processed down the aisle and then waited for an entire instrumental selection on the organ, and then continued to wait, while a lay woman made an announcement. I think it was their equivalent of "The Mass is over. Go in peace & serve the Lord." Only then did people get up and start to leave. Very polite.
The rest of my day was pretty tame. I had to resort to going to McDonald's for lunch and free wi-fi as everything else in town was closed for the holiday week end. Anne called me about 4 pm to say she was making paella for dinner and invited me to join Saku & her and the twins. Of course, I did.
Tomorrow we may go to the seaside town, Uusikaupunki, for lunch & some touring, if Saku's mom can babysit the twins. Anne has only told me the name of the place several times, but as you can see from the spelling of typical Finnish names, my ears and tongue are pretty challenged!
But, as I am on vacation, it is all hyvä...
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