Brief history of the Agricola congregation

The Agricola Finnish Lutheran Congregation was founded under the guidance of pastor John Saarinen in 1931. The congregation met in a number of different locations until enough money had been saved to construct the present church in 1967. The beautiful simplicity of the cedar and fir used within the sanctuary reflects Finnish traditions and Lutheran values. The sanctuary has excellent acoustics and can accommodate 300 worshippers.

A new wing was completed in 1982 to better serve the congregation, and provide more space for Sunday School, as well as a nursery, office space and a meeting hall. Agricola has been the spiritual home for several generations of Finnish-Canadians and welcomes people from all ethnic backgrounds to take part in its thriving church community. Agricola is proud to host also Swedish and Estonian congregations for their weekly services.

Many of the Finnish community groups regularly meet at Agricola – Vox Finlandiae, Toronto Finnish Male Singers, Sisu Folk Dancers, the Finnish Language School, Kerho 86, a seniors group – and many others.

Agricola is pleased to provide space for the Swedish Lutheran church and St Andrew’s Estonian Lutheran congregation. Agricola is also home to Yes I Can, a nursery school focussed on children with special needs.

Toronto Finnish Community

The Toronto Finnish community is active, and many of the community groups meet at Agricola church.

Finnish- Canadian community organizations/ Greater Toronto area (Download List)