The Jukola Forest Church is a warm and dignified tradition that annually gathers hundreds of participants and visitors to pause in the middle of the forest for a communion service. In the midst of the event atmosphere and shared celebration, the Forest Church offers a moment to pause and reflect and be together.
This year the Forest Church is organized by the Kotka-Kymi parish, with Anna Mykrä-Siljander serving as the liturgist. The Forest Church begins on Saturday evening at 21:00.
This year, a silent moment in memory of deceased orienteers will be introduced as a new element. The Jukola Relay brings together the orienteering community each year – friends, teammates, clubs, and generations. At the same time, we know that between each Jukola we lose valued members of the orienteering community – dear orienteering friends and fellow club members, whose memory lives on in our community.
We want to offer an opportunity in the Forest Church to pause in remembrance of them. During the silent moment, we will remember orienteers who have passed away since the previous Jukola and honor their significance to the orienteering community.
Before the silent moment, the name of a person who has passed away since the previous Jukola – in this case after Mikkeli-Jukola – may be read aloud together with the club or team they represented. The aim is to establish an annual tradition that carries memory and connection from year to year.
If you would like the name of a deceased person to be read in the Forest Church, please send the following information by email to :
– Name of the deceased
– Date of death and age at passing, if the family wishes these to be mentioned
– Club or team the person represented in Jukola
– Your relationship to the deceased
– Please ensure that you have the consent of the family before submitting the name.
If fewer than five submissions are received, names will not be read out individually in the Forest Church; instead, the deceased will be remembered together in a shared moment of silence.