Welcoming President Martti Ahtisaari 2008 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former president of Finland Sunday, March 7, 2010
The Finnish community and Christ Church Lutheran invite you to … Peace Begins Locally: A Minneapolis Dialogue with President Martti Ahtisaari Holy Eucharist Service, 9:30 a.m. A service with peace themes and brief remarks by President Ahtisaari. Includes Finnish hymnody and music by Saana Ensemble and Osmo Vänskä. Church Coffee, 11 a.m. Welcome from Christ Church Lutheran Music by Saana Ensemble and Minnesotan Suomi-koulu children Remarks by Finland’s former UN ambassador Kirsti Lintonen Welcome from local peace organizations Questions-and-Answers with President Ahtisaari For information, contact Honorary Consul K. Marianne Wargelin, kmwargelin@comcast.net or 612-374-2718

Christ Church Lutheran and the Twin Cities Finnish community are partnering to welcome the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former president of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari, to the Twin Cities on Sunday, March 7. The morning Lenten worship service will include themes of peace and Finnish hymnody. Musical contributions will include Osmo Vänskä, conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra, playing clarinet, and Saana, a Finnish women's vocal ensemble.

Following the service, President Ahtisaari will be welcomed at the coffee hour, with a short program introducing him to the church and to Twin Cities organizations and people involved in community and peace issues. Ambassador Ritva Jolkkonen, consul general of Finland in New York, will also be present, and Saana Ensemble will sing.

President Ahtisaari will be in Minneapolis for the 22nd Annual Peace Prize Forum, to be held March 5-6 at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, where he and his work will be honored. He will present a keynote address on Friday evening, March 5, at 7:30 p.m. for that event. For more information, go to www.peaceprizeforum.org.

Prior to the events listed above, two weekday information sessions about the background and work of President Ahtisaari will be held at Christ Church Lutheran as follows:

Thursday, February 18, 7:30 pm: Introduction by K. Marianne Wargelin, Honorary Consul of Finland in the Twin cities, "Brief History of Finland from Independence through World War II."

Thursday, February 25, 7:30 pm: Saara Särmä, Visiting Scholar from the University of Tampere at the University of Minnesota, "Finland in the World: Multilateralism in International Relations," and Betsey Norgard, President, Finlandia Foundation - Twin Cities, will present information about the life and work of Martti Ahtisaari.

There will also be an adult Forum at Christ Church Lutheran on Sunday, February 28, 11:00 am - Noon, with K. Marianne Wargelin, Honorary Consul of Finland in the Twin Cities, speaking about "The History of Finland from Independence through World War II."

Past Events

Sunday September 27, 2009
Celebration of our National Historic Landmark designation.

Christ Church Lutheran held a public celebration to commemorate its designation by the U.S. Department of the Interior (Jan. 16, 2009) as a National Historic Landmark. World-renowned architects Eliel and Eero Saarinen designed the church. The celebration took take place on Sunday, September 27, 2009.

Festivities that day began with a worship service at 9:30 a.m., followed by a luncheon.  At 1:30 p.m., the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior made a presentation of the National Historic Landmark award, followed by comments on the building’s history and significance by Susan Saarinen, daughter of Eero Saarinen and granddaughter of Eliel; Thomas Fisher, Dean of the University of Minnesota College of Design; and others.

September 14, 2008 - January 4, 2009
Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future
Minneapolis Institute of Arts

This exhibition was part of a comprehensive project that explored the work of one of the most prolific, unorthodox, and controversial modern masters of 20th-century architecture and design. For more information, click here.