You are very warmly welcome to UCC!
As a international, multicultural church in the capital region of Finland, we are delighted to welcome guests and first-time visitors every week at our worship services. We hope that you will stick around after the service to get to know our leaders and people in our community, the rich fellowship we have as a local body of Christ each week, and the many ministries of the church. As many at our church can attest, the sooner you get plugged in to UCC’s community life, the better! Especially if you are new to Finland or the capital region, we would love to help you navigate the challenges of living in a new place.
You are very warmly welcome to finding out more about UCC – who we are, what we believe, and why we do things the way we do! We currently hold a Newcomers Meeting every second Sunday of the month after our morning worship service (Espoo).
In the meantime, we’d love to hear from you if you any questions! Come and chat with us anytime before or after our worship services, or fill out our digital visitors card and we’ll be in touch.
Sunday Worship Services
At United Community Church we gather for Sunday Worship Services at two locations in two congregations. Our morning service is at 10:30 in Matinkylä, Espoo, and our evening service starts at 16:00 in downtown Helsinki. Welcome!
Our Espoo worship service takes place at the Espoo Christian School (Matinkartontie 13, 02230 Espoo). Enter at the main doors in the courtyard (please leave your shoes at the door) and head up the stairs to find our fellowship area and our main hall where we worship. We have children’s Sunday school classes for kids aged 3 through till the end of grade 6 which take place on the premises during the sermon. We offer a separate Friday night youth program for teens. Read more about our children’s and youth ministries here. We also have a space and place for parents with children who cannot be left alone to participate in the worship service. If you need assistance in getting to the second floor, our welcome team will guide you to the elevators.
Our Helsinki worship service takes place in downtown Helsinki (Annankatu 7, 3rd floor) at 16:00. You can find a nursery room for parents with children who can’t be left alone on the balcony of the main sanctuary (4th floor of the building), as well as a Sunday school program which is tailored weekly to the attenders. We offer some light refreshments after the service on the 2nd floor of the building. If you need assistance getting to the elevators, please contact Miriam in advance at 0407259049.
Find us on the map at this page!
In case of any last minute changes to our services, we will let you know via our UCC Ministry Updates WhatsApp group chat – if you would like to be added to this chat group, please contact a pastor or staff member!
Some practical details:
Espoo – 10:30
The morning service at Espoo meets at a school, and parking spaces on the property are limited, but there are plenty of options just a short walk away! If you’re coming by car, please see this flyer for more details. If you’re arriving by metro, we are about a 10 minute walk from the Matinkylä metro station.
The service starts at 10:30 and is followed by a warm and vibrant time of fellowship with light refreshments or sometimes a meal.
The Espoo service offers Sunday school classes for the following age groups: 3-5 year olds, pre-school to 2nd grade, 3rd-6th grade, 7th-12th grade. There is also a nursery for children under 3. Find out more about our kids and youth ministry at this page.
Our pastors, leaders or members of our care team are happy to meet and pray with and for you after the service.
Helsinki – 16:00
If you are coming by car, parking is free on Sundays in most of the downtown area (but do check the street signs just in case). Click here more for more info about parking downtown. If you’re arriving with public transport, we are about a 15 minute walk from the central railway station, with some bus or tram options that will bring to within 5 minutes walking distance.
The evening service starts at around 16:00 and is followed followed by a warm and vibrant time of fellowship with light refreshments or sometimes a meal.
There is a nursery space for children who cannot yet be left alone. Currently we have just one Sunday school class for children of all ages, roughly 5-10 year olds.
We always offer prayer after our service with our pastors, elders and leaders.
A little bit more about worshiping with us:
UCC is a warmly welcoming church family. We follow annual rhythms based on historical church traditions, which we’ve incorporated into our church life today. Our worship services reflect our high view of Scripture, which you see in our call to worship, sermon and benediction, and hopefully in every song that we sing.
Call to Worship
We begin our Sunday services with a Call to Worship, a scripture passage to turn our minds to the God we serve, after which we sing together in praise and thanksgiving.
Testimony
We love hearing from our brothers and sisters – we often have a short interview or testimony in our services, and we encourage sharing of prayer requests or praise reports as well.
Corporate Singing
We aim to sing songs grounded in the Word with rich theology and musical quality. Most importantly, we seek to sing lyrics that align with the truths of Scripture and are centered on God. We also believe the songs we sing together should be beautiful, and should stir our affections for our Savior.
Corporate Prayer
We pray or read a confession corporately, after which we bless all the children in the service and invite them to their age-respective Sunday school groups.
Sermons
After a reading of the sermon text, we enjoy expository preaching from our pastors, or sometimes an elder or a visiting speaker.
Benediction & Announcements
We respond to the teaching of God’s Word in song, followed by a benediction from our pastor. We usually have a few announcements at the end of the service, and these are also available on the digital bulletin under the ‘announcements’ button.
Fellowship
We encourage fellowship after the service. Both services offer an extended time of fellowship with snacks or sometimes a meal. We love this time of relaxed fellowship with each other.