Dear reader, you too can participate in the SRK Summer Services (“Suviseurat”), an annual Christian event held both on site and digitally at the turn of June and July in Finland! During that weekend, the living word of God and the forgiveness of sins in the name and blood of Jesus can be heard in ten languages on the event’s website suviseurat.fi and the SRKnyt Youtube channel.
What are the SRK Summer Services?
Organized by the Central Association of Finnish Peace Associations (SRK), Summer Services are an annual event of the revivalist movement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, the Conservative Laestadianism faith. It brings together up to almost 100.000 people and includes a large number of audio and video stream viewers from around the world. Due to the large number of people, Summer Services are now only held at airports that no longer have regular air traffic.
For Conservative Laestadians, Summer Services are the most anticipated event of the year, and many come with their entire families to spend the midsummer weekend, meet friends, and above all, listen to the Word of God. There is a huge sermon tent in the central square where the services are held. The tent can accommodate about 4,000 listeners, but the sermon is also broadcast through hundreds of loudspeakers to other parts of the approximately 200-hectare area.
The program mainly consists of sermons, which involve the reading and explaining of the Word of God, as well as prayers and singing of hymns and “Songs of Zion” accompanied by the organ. In addition, there are teaching sessions specifically aimed at children and young people.
The sermons are mainly held in Finnish, but visitors both on site and via the internet anywhere in the world can listen to interpretations of the sermons in English, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Swedish, Estonian, and Hungarian. The sermons are also interpreted into the Finnish sign language. For visitors arriving to Summer Services from abroad, there is also a service point for international visitors in the area. There is no entry fee for Summer Services, but accommodation must be paid for.
Summer Services are like a small town
Many areas suitable for use as summer camps are located in small communities. As a result, the number of people gathering in the camp area for a few days often exceeds ten times the population of the community. Visitors mainly stay in caravans, motorhomes, and tents, which explains the need for a large area. Some visitors also spend the night in houses and hotels in the surrounding area.
With only a few exceptions, Summer Services have been held every year since 1906. The event is organized entirely by volunteers, so that the facilities are built specifically for Summer Services and taken down within a couple of days after the services. Each year, different people are responsible for organizing the event, and they are asked to take on their roles years in advance. The project, which requires the work of more than 10,000 volunteers, is planned and documented in a very detailed manner. The event, which lasts one weekend, is prepared over several years.
The nature of the event is such that guests stay in the area for the entire weekend. This presupposes that the area has all the services that guests need: a grocery store, showers, a bus station, a restaurant, a snack bar, an ice cream and candy kiosk, a large number of public toilets, first aid and medical services, security services, etc. The area also has a resting place for the elderly and a safe place for lost children.
An oasis in the wilderness
The organizers of Summer Services hope that as many people as possible who have not yet been forgiven their sins will listen to the services. Their prayer is that God would awaken listeners to feel their sins, believe in the forgiveness of sins, and enter into God’s kingdom as His children.
Many believers also often experience weakness and fatigue in their journey of faith. Evil and secular times tempt and seek to carry believers away, sin takes hold, and doubts surround them. Therefore, where there are even a few believers, they strive to gather together as often as possible to hear the Word of God and to hear the personal proclamation of forgiveness of sins from other believers. It is like the washing of feet according to the example of Jesus, which the believing traveler longs for.
It is the common experience of believers that the annual Summer Services are an important event, not only socially but especially in a spiritual sense. Sermons, worship services, praying and singing together with thousands of fellow believers, as well as discussing matters of faith with friends and hearing and believing the words of forgiveness for sins, give strength to continue striving with a clear conscience. For believers, Summer Services are like an oasis in the desert.
Come and see!
What does it look like at Summer Services?
Antti Halonen
Image: SRK