On the Boundary – Mind, Nature, Fragility

The topic of this Conference is ”On the Boundary – Mind, Nature, Fragility”, and it has been inspired by the work of Lutheran theologian Paul Tillich. In his book On the Boundary, published between the World Wars, he describes how a boundary constitutes the best place for acquiring knowledge. A boundary requires openness to new possibilities, but this becomes difficult as life in itself requires constantly making decisions which at the same time rule out other possibilities.

The topic of the Conference is also of current interest. The long-spun corona pandemic on the one hand, and the global climate crisis, on the other, have driven humankind to the border of its existence, to choose between annihilation or finding ways to stop it from happening. The war in Ukraine, for its part, has shattered our common feeling of security.

In their everyday work university chaplaincies throughout Europe also reflect on the challenges that university students face in taking full responsibility of their lives as adults, growing as human beings, learning the limits of their capabilities, and exploring a dialogue with different ideologies and faiths, as well as the boundaries between science and spirituality.

The Church Institute for Research and Advanced Training is located in Järvenpää, 40 km north of Helsinki, on the Campus of Church Training College, ´Seurakuntaopisto´. It is 2 kilometers from the Järvenpää railway station.

Address: Järvenpääntie 640 S, Järvenpää
 

ARRIVAL INSTRUCTIONS to the Church Institute for Research and Advanced Training

By plane 

At the Helsinki airport in Vantaa taxis are available in front of both terminals. 

There is also a commuter train service to Järvenpää. Follow the train signs at the airport to get to the train station.

Take P train from the airport to Tikkurila station. P train goes in every ten minutes. It takes 8 minutes from the airport to Tikkurila.

Continue from Tikkurila to Järvenpää by commuter train R in the direction Riihimäki. It takes about 15 minutes from Tikkurila to Järvenpää. There is 2 kilometers taxi ride from the Järvenpää railway station to the Conference venue in “Seurakuntaopisto”.

By train

Commuter train R runs to Järvenpää from Helsinki main railway station. Travelling time is about 30 minutes. There is 2 km taxi ride from the Järvenpää railway station to the conference venue in “Seurakuntaopisto”.

You have to buy the ticket from the ticket machine at the railway station before getting in to the train. Follow the instructions above to buy the ticket.

Please register for the conference here: 

CEUC2023 registration

CEUC2023 Järvenpää Finland 12.-16.6.2023

(The program will be completed in its final form by the end of April 2023)

Monday 12th June “Arrival”

9:00 Arrival & Registration 
12:00 Lunch
15:00 Welcome & Opening Ceremony 
Bishop Teemu Laajasalo
16:00 Keynote Discussion “On the Boundary” 
Professor Risto Saarinen & Docent Mari Anna Auvinen
18:00 Dinner
19:30 "Here I am. As I am." Meditative evening prayer
Vox Silentii Choir
20:00 Leisure Time & Open Bar
 

Tuesday 13th June “Mind”

7:30 Breakfast
8:30 Morning Prayer 
9:00 Keynote Discussion “How do we endure Change?”
Specialist Sanna Rekola & Rev.Dr. Jyri Komulainen
10:30 Coffee Break
11:30 Excursion Day - Visiting Metropolia & Helsinki University
Lunch at the Metropolia Campus
16:00 Keynote Lecture “The university of my dreams”
Head Principal Sari Lindblom, Helsinki University
18:00 Dinner in the center of Helsinki 
Director General Pekka Huokuna  
20:30 European Market 
Leisure Time & Open Bar & Sauna

Wednesday 14th June “Nature”

7:30 Breakfast
8:30 Morning Prayer 
9:00 Keynote Discussion “Ecological crisis – hope and despair”
Bishop Kaisamari Hintikka & Activist Benjamin Pitkänen 
10:30 Coffee Break
11:30 Lunch
12:30 Excursion Day “Walking in the nature”
different options / routes
18:00 Dinner
19:00 Leisure Time & Open Bar
20:00 Sauna

Thursday 15th June “Fragility”

7:30 Breakfast
8:30 Morning Prayer 
9:00 Keynote Panel “Supporting communities in cooperation”
10:30 Coffee Break
11:00 Workshops 
12:00 Lunch
13:00 Workshops 
14:00 Coffee Break 
14:30 "Our time with Ukraine" Documentary film about Ukrainian students in Finland
15:30 Regional Meetings
16:30 General Assembly 
17:30 Snacks Served & Leisure Time
19:00 Conference Dinner, Restaurant Krapihovi
 

Friday 16th June “Departure”

7:30 Breakfast
9:00 Reflection: What we have heard & learned
10:30 Coffee Break
11:00 Closing Ceremony 
12:00 Lunch
13:00 Departure
 

Teemu Laajasalo, Bishop of the Diocese of Helsinki

Risto Saarinen, Professor of Ecumenics at the University of Helsinki since 2001. His recent publications deal with hope, gift and recognition, European populism, and Reformation traditions.

Mari-Anna Auvinen, Dr. Pastor, docent of ecumenics and missiology at the University of Eastern Finland. She has researched postcolonial approach to marginalization in her dissertation about the Tswana theology, which is based on cultural wisdom and Lutheran theology of liberation.  

A medieval Duo, Vox Silentii: Johanna Korhonen (left) and Hilkka-Liisa Vuori

Sanna Rekola, Specialist, Foresight, The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra

Rev. Dr. Jyri Komulainen, Church Institute for Research and Advanced Training. He has specialized in interfaith dialogue with Asian religions. In addition, he has shown keen interest in developing Finnish Lutheran theology in the context of global Christianity.

Sari Lindblom, Principal of the University of Helsinki

Pekka Huokuna, Director General of the Church Council

Kaisamari Hintikka, Bishop of the Diocese of Espoo

Benjamin Pitkänen, Animal Rights Advocat

University Chaplain Sonja Jakobsson (in the middle) with Maria Kurtova and Vladyslav Šyšov. Maria and Vladyslav are students from Mariupol, Ukraine, who currently live in Finland.