Church Night 2014 in Sarkandaugava

Church Night, taking place this year for the first time and so far only in Riga, unfolded much like Museum Night, with houses of worship of various denominations opening their doors to visitors on the evening of 6 June from 18:00 to 24:00. In my view, a very good idea for spending a Friday evening with close ones, family, children, or on one's own - exploring the architecture of houses of worship, meeting the members of a particular congregation, listening to music, taking part in various educational activities, or simply having a cup of tea and sitting by a bonfire.

Where to begin? We start with the nearest neighbourhood and the congregations within it. Sarkandaugava has three houses of worship - Lutheran, Catholic, and Orthodox (the last was closed to visitors that night).

First we headed to Christ the King Roman Catholic Church, located on the border of the Sarkandaugava and Mežaparks districts. The church surprised us with its size, brightness, and spaciousness, as well as a certain austerity - because Catholic churches are usually quite ornate, decorated with paintings, gilded finishes, wood carvings, and intricately carved columns.

This church was consecrated in 1943, a historically difficult period for Latvia. It is a relatively recent structure compared to other traditional denominational churches that have survived from earlier centuries. It was consecrated by its first pastor (1935–1944), Kazimirs Vilnis, born in 1907 in Nautrēni Parish, Ludza District, who passed away in 1988 in Sweden, where he is also buried.

Since 2012, the pastor of the church has been Marcin Woźnak. Judging by the surname, a Pole. It is no coincidence that prayers at the church are held in three languages - Latvian, Russian, and Polish. The church actively maintains its website www.kristuskaralis.lv and profiles on the social networks Facebook and Twitter; Masses are noted in a Google calendar and the schedule is available to all interested. A children's corner has been set up in the church.

A pleasant surprise was the fairly large church choir, which gave a concert for visitors that evening. Singers with excellent vocal gifts, strong female and male voices. Accompanied by the organ. Later, the convent sisters also sang praises to God accompanied by guitar.

We then climbed the hill where Sarkandaugava Park is located and visited Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, an old building (dating from 1878). The first attraction - an orienteering activity in the old cemetery. A parish representative gave us a map on which 8 objects of significance to the parish itself had to be marked. There were monuments at the graves of clergy, an old wooden cross of at least 3 centuries, and an old water pump.

In the church, the few visitors were treated to hot tea and home-baked bread, while in the church garden two girls sang songs accompanied by guitar. According to one parish member, they are the only singers in the congregation - rarely does anyone else join in.

The current pastor is Ivo Ķirsis, who took up the ministry only at the end of last year. The congregation has its own website www.3vienbaznica.net and no social media profiles. Services are held in Latvian.