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 ( fi, suviseurat, sv, sommarmötet, russian: Большое Летнее Собрание) is the annual meeting of the Finnish

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

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 ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. 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 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 United States, Norw ...

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

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

will be 112th in order. Services were held in for the first time in 1906 with Oulu 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 as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

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 . Neig ...

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 from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...

. *(†††) 1944 summer services in

Nivala Nivala 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 municipality is unilingually Finnish. Ge ...

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.

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 The Laestadian Lutheran Church (LLC) is a religious Christian movement, its teachings based on the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions. From June 9, 1973, the organisation was named the Association of American Laestadian Congregations (AALC), ...

. 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 ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

, 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 events in Finland