Today Felm has, through several channels, requested information about possible abuse of children or other forms of mistreatment that may have occurred in the history of our work. When I began as Executive Director in the summer of 2023, I received contacts that raised various questions about Felm’s past. I believed that the events had been fully addressed and resolved decades ago—painful parts of Felm’s history. It now appears this may not be the case.
We consider it possible that there are matters in Felm’s past that we have not been informed about, or that were inadequately addressed at the time. Our work cannot contain secrets—not even when they concern events of the past.
Felm wants to protect the people within our activities and work. This also applies to those who, in the past, have been within the sphere of our work. We want to promote child protection and the realization of children’s rights. That is why we want everything related to our past to come to light. If wrongdoing has occurred, we will take responsibility for it. Above all, we hope that the victims of any abuse will be heard and that they will receive closure and peace. On my own behalf and on behalf of Felm, I sincerely apologize to anyone who, within Felm’s activities or in the name of mission work, has in any way been subjected to misuse of power or mistreatment.
The scope and impact of Felm’s work, as well as our engagement with people in the most vulnerable positions, create a particular obligation for openness and transparency. Even the possibility that there may have been more ambiguity or wrongdoing than previously known obliges us to investigate. We want to understand whether there is still something we can do. It is also important that each person can be heard and met in their own case.
Examining the past of mission work is a timely issue internationally
In recent years, the history of mission work has been critically examined in various ways. This international reckoning has included, for example, the relationship between Christian mission and the legacy of colonialism, as well as ethical self-evaluation of mission power structures and practices. As Christianity’s center of gravity has shifted more strongly to the Global South, the question of agency within local communities has become increasingly recognized. . Critical assessment has taken place both through theological reflection and by examining practical work. At Felm, critical reflection on the past has led to changes in partnership relations and decision-making structures.
Critical assessment of the past has brought forward not only what needs to be improved, but also the good that mission cooperation between churches and Christians has achieved. This critical reflection has strengthened the building of increasingly equal mission partnerships. Mission is God’s work in the world; it flows “from everywhere to everywhere”—it is “mission from the margins,” where the voice belongs to those who were previously on the periphery. Partnership, justice, and local leadership describe the shared vision of Felm and its partners for how we want to carry out our work.
Alongside the evaluation of mission structures, individual human stories have emerged. Personal stories bring large structural questions to a comprehensible micro level. In these stories, memories have helped individuals understand and make sense of their experiences. Those who have worked in mission or been part of its sphere have reflected on, for example, their sense of agency, how they faced difficult situations, and how they coped and recovered. These stories serve as tools for gaining understanding. It is important that individual experiences also drive the development of the structural aspects of mission work.
Mission work is carried out by people. The work involves people. Even in the future, our work and the ways in which we conduct it will affect individuals. Therefore, the past cannot be viewed solely through large structural narratives—such as the shift of Christianity’s center to the Global South—nor only through individual trauma-informed stories of survival. It is essential to address both at the same time, also in Finland, and to ask what this means for the future.
Openness, recognizing and acknowledging past wrongs, supporting victims, and learning from the past are key. If those who have experienced painful events are not heard, and those events are not addressed, they inevitably move from the past into the future. The past is always present. It shapes both the present and the future.
Pauliina Parhiala
Executive Director
