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New Toronto Minister to Serve All of North America Interviewed by Kajsa Norman
All photos courtesy of Maria Thorsson
Meet Maria Thorsson, the newly appointed pastor for the Swedish Church in Toronto. Her mission is to serve Swedes across all of North America.
“T
o boldly go where no one has gone before” reads a tattoo on the left upper arm of Maria Thorsson, the new pastor for the Swedish Church in Toronto. “People often assume it’s a Bible quote, but it’s actually from Star Trek,” she laughs. When asked why she
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identifies so strongly with the sci-fishow, she explains, “Their mission is to explore unexplored territory, not just in a geographical sense, but also spiritually.” That is an approach to life that Maria has taken to heart both personally as well as professionally. Born in Skurup in southern Skåne, Maria has spent the better part of the past two decades working as a pastor around the world in places such as Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK, and Africa. She has also completed several deployments as military chaplain with the Swedish Armed Forces in Timbuktu, Mali. The mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, has been dubbed the world’s most dangerous UN mission with more than 200 peacekeepers killed since its inception in 2013. Here, even pastors have to undergo combat training before deployment and be heavily armed whenever leaving the camp. For a minister to be constantly armed and ready for battle may seem incongruous, but Maria has given it a great deal of consideration. “I believe the most important part is that you’ve really thought it through before deploying. I felt like I’m sure
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most soldiers feel; I don’t ever want to take somebody’s life, but if I end up in a situation where I have to pull the trigger in order to protect the group and myself, I will. There are missions in which the pastor isn’t armed, but instead they have bodyguards. For me it makes no difference if I take the shot or if someone else does it for me. The end result is the same.” Sweden hasn’t suffered any casualties in Mali thus far, but it falls on the minister to make sure there is a refrigerated container and coffins ready if needed. Their presence act as a constant reminder of the risks involved. And for some, the proximity of death can become a gateway to faith. Several of the soldiers who had been raised as non-believers took an interest in existential questions in Mali. Some even found God with Maria shepherding them through religious studies to Christian confirmations in the camp. All told, the experience proved among the most rewarding of her life. “Mali transformed me as a human being. It was incredibly humbling to witness how people who live in appalling conditions, and who have been subjected to so much suffering,
