The first service led by a new Latvian minister in Ireland is scheduled Jan. 6 (Zvaigznes diena) in Dublin, reports the Web site of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church (Latviešu Evaņģēliski Luteriskā Baznīca, or LELB).

The Rev. Uģis Brūklene is expected to arrive in Ireland on Jan. 5 to become the first permanant minister for the growing Latvian community in Ireland. Brūklene is being sent by the church in response to a request last year from Latvian Lutherans in Dublin. In a letter to church leaders, the Latvians in Ireland said that for some Latvian Lutherans a critical period had arrived, for they had been without regular religious services for five years.

The pastor is expected to serve in Ireland for at least a year, the church Web site reported. For the first three months, he will get to now the congregation and local conditions. He then is to briefly return to Latvia to give an update to LELB leadership.

The Latvian Lutheran group also is working to become registered as an official LELB congregation.

The first church service ever for Latvians in Ireland was held in December 2004. The service was led by the Rev. Elīza Zikmane, pastor of the United London Latvian Lutheran Church. Zikmane has held other services in Ireland and in other locations where new Latvian immigrants have arrived in recent years, such as Guernsey in the Channel Islands. The Dublin group, which has held services once a month, also has been visited by guest ministers from Latvia. On average, 30-60 people attend the services, the LELB Web site reported.

The Jan. 6 service by Brūklene is scheduled at 14:00 hours in St. Finian’s Church, 24 Adelaide Road, Dublin.

Brūklene was born in 1974 and ordained in 2001, according to LELB. He has held the position of dean for the Piltene district in western Latvia and has served as pastor to congregations in Usma and Ugāle. Brūklene received his religious education at the University of Latvia and the LELB Luther Academy. He is married and has two children.

Dace Copeland, head of the board of education for the World Federation of Free Latvians (Pasaules brīvo latviešu apvienība, or PBLA), has been awarded a Cabinet of Ministers Certificate of Recognition for her selfless and successful work for Latvia and its people.

The Secretariat of the Special Assignments Minister for Social Integration Affairs announced Jan. 2 that Integration Minister Oskars Kastēns would award the certificate to Copeland.

Copeland, who lives in the U.S. state of Michigan and is a member of the Kalamazoo Latvian community, is a former past president of the American Latvian Assocation. In 2002, she became the first woman elected to the post.

Slightly more than 7,000 people in Canada report Latvian is their mother tongue, according to 2006 census figures released earlier this month. Of those, less than 2,000 regularly speak Latvian at home.

The number represents a 13 percent decrease from the 2001 census, when 8,230 persons reported Latvian as their mother tongue. In 2001, a total of 2,540 persons regularly spoke Latvian at home.

Language use data from the 2006 Canada census were released Dec. 4 by Statistics Canada. The data are based on a 20 percent sample from the 2006 census.

A total of 7,150 people reported Latvian as their mother tongue, with 150 of those saying they have at least one other mother tongue. The greatest number live in Ontario province, a total of 5,310. Within Ontario, a total of 2,975 live in Toronto, 520 in Hamilton, 285 in Ottawa, 175 in London, 155 in St. Catherines, 105 in Barrie and the rest in other locations.

Other provinces with persons whose mother tongue is Latvian are British Columbia (615), Québec (475), Alberta (365), Manitoba (235), Nova Scotia (45), Saskatchewan (40), New Brunswick (25), and Newfoundland and Labrador (10). A total of 10 persons each in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon Territory also reported Latvian as their mother tongue.

Of the total whose mother tongue is Latvian, 3,165 (44 percent) are men and 3,980 (56 percent) are women.

In all, the census estimated 8,025 Latvian speakers can be found in Canada. Forty-four percent of those, a total of 3,520 individuals, are age 65 or older. In 2001, the census found 9,540 speakers of Latvian.

The 2001 census estimated 22,610 persons had at least some Latvian ancestry. Detailed statistics from the 2006 census about the ethnic makeup of Canada will be released in April.