Summer services in Perho, Finland in 2005 Flags represent countries where SRK (the central organization of Conservative Laestadians in Finland) or its sister organizations are regularly active The main tent for the services used between 1960–2008 Summer services (, , ) is the annual meeting of the Finnish

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

movement known as Conservative Laestadians. In addition to the primary Finnish gathering, similar meetings are arranged in North America, Sweden and Russia.

Suviseurat in Finland

Summer services (Finnish: Suviseurat) is a large gathering of Laestadians in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. The event occurs every year at the end of June. It is organized and hosted by a Finnish

Conservative Laestadianism Conservative Laestadianism is the largest branch of the Lutheran Christian revival, revival movement Laestadianism. It has spread to 16 countries. As of 2012 there were about 115,000 Conservative Laestadians, most of them in Finland, the U ...

association known as the Suomen rauhanyhdistysten keskusyhdistys (SRK). Summer services are among the most visited Finnish summer festivals and the largest spiritual meeting. Summer services are attended by tens of thousands of visitors from Finland, Russia,

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, Sweden, Norway, United States, Canada and many other countries. The number of visitors reaches its peak usually on Saturday night, when the services have 80,000 simultaneous visitors. Summer services take place over the course of four days, usually a Friday through Monday. The program consist mainly of sermons and hymns and songs of Zion. The Summer services areas is about 100 hectares (270 acres). The size of the event requires the need for loudspeakers to carry sermons to all of the listeners. On Saturday Holy Communion is offered and in the evening there is a presentation which is mainly for younger listeners. A gathering for pastors is also held during the Summer services. The Summer Services take place in a different location every year. 2020 summer services in Reisjärvi will be 112th in order. Services were held in for the first time in 1906 with

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

being the host city. Recently, sermons have been broadcast via the Internet into many languages.

Host cities in Finland

*(†) 1915 summer services in Alakainuu, Sweden were cancelled due to

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

epidemic. *(††) 1941 summer services in

Haapajärvi Haapajärvi is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Nei ...

were cancelled due to

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

. *(†††) 1944 summer services in

Nivala Nivala (formerly known as ''Pidisjärvi'') is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The muni ...

were officially cancelled due to Continuation War. Nevertheless, the cancellation message did not reach everyone and thousands of guests and speakers arrived. Services were held unofficially. * Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 summer services in Reisjärvi were conducted solely via radio broadcast and were accessible online.

Summer services in North America

Festival gate of Perho summer services in 2005 Summer services in North America are arranged by members of the Laestadian Lutheran Church. They take place every year during the first weekend of July. They are mostly attended by North American guests, but some guests come from

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

, and elsewhere. The service schedule consists of devotional speeches and Songs and Hymns of Zion. The purpose of the services is to invite all people to hear the Word of God. The core of the proclamation is the message of Jesus as the redeemer of sins and the call to repentance. 2013 - Deer Park, Washington hosted by Spokane Laestadian Lutheran Church 2014 - Rogers, Minnesota hosted by Rockford Laestadian Lutheran Church 2015 - Outlook, Saskatchewan hosted by Outlook Laestadian Lutheran Church 2016 - Essa Township, Ontario hosted by Toronto Laestadian Lutheran Church 2017 - Howard Lake, Minnesota hosted by Cokato Laestadian Lutheran Church 2018 - Snohomish, Washington hosted by Seattle Laestadian Lutheran Church 2019 - Monticello, Minnesota hosted by Rockford Laestadian Lutheran Church 2020 - Loretto, Minnesota hosted by Laestadian Lutheran Church 2021 - Monticello, Minnesota hosted by Laestadian Lutheran Church 2022 - Kelso, Washington hosted by Longview Laestadian Lutheran Church 2023 - Monticello, Minnesota hosted by Monticello Laestadian Lutheran Church 2024 - Monticello, Minnesota hosted by Northern Minnesota Congregations

Sources

External links

{{Commons category, Suviseurat
Official English website of the Finnish Summer Services

Summer Services in North America
Lutheranism in Finland Laestadianism Annual events in Finland Summer in Finland