LaLa's Adventures Abroad

Easter in Dublin

My New Church Home

Before I describe the lovely Easter week I have had, I want to introduce you to St. Finian’s Lutheran Church in the heart of Dublin, Ireland. It is affiliated with the Evangelisch-Luterischen Kirche in Irland (EKD) otherwise, the German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ireland. I highlight this especially as my first service I attended in early February was entirely and completely in German. You all know that my grasp of the German language is elementary/tourist at best…following the service was a stretch for me! I had not read the “fine print” on their website stating that most services are in German except for the last service of the month. I consider this a “sign” that I need to improve my German! It did not help that the membership assumed I am German speaking as I look very German as well as my last name…oh well!

St. Finian’s is the HQ for the Lutheran Church of Ireland, however, there are over 4000 Lutherans of various nationalities on the island of Ireland, including Northern Ireland, which are supported throughout with a network of community churches. St. FInian’s is also a member of the Irish Council of Churches, the Dublin Council of Churches, the Irish Council of Christians and Jews, as well as the Community of Protestant Churches…..keeping very connected and busy here on the island. St. Finian’s is over 300 years old, and I have asked the pastor if they have any history of the building and architecture…he is hopefully digging up some information!

For me, St. Finian’s feels a bit back to my roots of growing up Lutheran – the service is very similar to the ECLA church service. I enjoyed the aging organist who enjoys a bit of celebrity when he explains the selection of all of his music – which is beautiful every Sunday.

The first English service I attended was at the end of February. There was a baptism of a young boy, whose parents had attended St. Finian’s in their youth, but now live in Norway. The parents are both composers, so, not only had they composed all of the music for the service, but they brought in a professional choir to sing for the service! This was beautiful and special, but challenged the aging organist. He managed to keep up and rise to the occasion!

Holy Week was special here. In the recent past, I have not had as much participation in Holy Week services, however, I wanted to make it a priority as I have a lot of free time on my hands, AND the country of Ireland has bank holidays on both Good Friday and Monday after Easter. St. Finian’s had a Holy Thursday “Last Supper” in the evening which was well attended and interesting.

Good Friday, I attended an outdoor procession featuring the “stations of the cross” which was in combination with other churches in the areas. We began at St. Finian’s with the first station “Welcome, Introduction and Prayer”, then proceeded through the various stations, while walking a 2 mile trek through Dublin, including many of the neighborhood churches (Methodist, Presbyterian, etc.) , ending at the Mary Immaculate Church. I enjoyed the format – reading of the bible verse, then a dramatic enactment of what it might have been like to be present in the crowd, followed by a chanting as we processed. We were safely escorted by 3 Garda (members of the police force) so the 50+ attendees could cross busy streets together. We had a full spectrum of Dublin weather – wind, rain, sun, repeat – throughout the afternoon. It was special!

Here are some photos of St. Finians!