Bishop signs Euro agreement

The Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch & The Rt Revd Juhu Pihkala

The Bishop of Manchester signed a partnership agreement with the Church of Finland. The agreement allows clergy from Finland to take services in Greater Manchester and clergy from Greater Manchester to lead worship in Finland. It also allows church members to swap resources and cultural experiences.

The Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch said: “For a number of years parishioners and clergy from Finland and Greater Manchester have been visiting and learning from each other. There have been a number of youth exchanges and our clergy have studied in Finland. This agreement is a sign that, in Christ, we are all one.”

The Bishop of Tampere, The Rt Revd Juhu Pihkala, signed the agreement on behalf of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Finland.  The Bishop’s home city is Tampere in Western Finland and is in the second most important urban area in the republic after Helsinki.

Tampere grew on the profits of textile industry and today finds itself as a centre of the IT industry. It has two famous sports teams: Ilves and Tappara, although the game is not football, but ice hockey!