A new book titled Candles for the Defiant by author Kaia Gallagher, who has Estonian roots and lives in Denver, Colorado, has just been released. The book is based on her family story and depicts the experiences and trials that people lived through during the Second World War. It tells the brave and heroic story of patriotic resistance to the Soviet occupation, conveying the history of the Baltic countries during these tough times through personal accounts of experiences and the fates of these individuals.
Oh, the enchanting and far away cold continent. Few of us will ever see this place of tremendous extremes, of warm tonal beauty and beguiling cold rigour. Valmar Kurol has, five times now, beginning in 1993. Since that first visit he has very successfully translated and recorded his affection and appreciation for Antarctica through the language of music and art. The latter through photographs and paintings, most recently seen on display at the EKKT, Toronto Estonian artist’s society 2023 fall exhibition. The former through CDs, the latest of which arrived from Montréal recently. Kurol’s sixth such recording and fifth collaboration with Michael Stibor.
Last month, Laas Leivat wrote a thoughtful article about the hateful anonymous commenters that spoil the comment sections of online publications and followed it up last week with another article about the anger in the Toronto Estonian community and its aftermath. I had been meaning to write about this topic for some time, but Laas has given me a reason to publish this long delayed article.
A lot of misinformation about our congregation and Council has appeared in Eesti Elu and the Estonian World Review. The Council of St. Peter’s church wishes to clarify its actions and the decisions which have been taken to solve the congregation’s financial problems.
We emphasize that Council has had no discussions nor has it any connection with the International Estonian Centre (Keskus).
The most egregious lie about our community is that we are disappearing, writes Reet Marten Sehr on social media. At the same time, St. Peter’s church has seen its attendance to plummet to no more 8 – 10 parishioners in church on any given Sunday. We should separate fact from rumour and concipiracy theories says Ms Sehr in her post.