A delayed thank you 2020

The cosiest and most hectic month of the year!

Even though the calendar shows January, we would like to send you a short Desember report from the Hope Cathedral.

In December we have been making bee cathedrals at the workshop at Isegran. With the assistance of both our Norwegian Conversation pupils, Kirken Bymisjon and other volunteers we have produced around 700 bee cathedrals which hopefully have found their way under Christmas trees this year. It’s a gift that benefits both the bees and the Hope cathedral. At a time when many people are staying indoors, it’s been particularly gratifying to do voluntary work together. We are grateful for some fine experiences during the year and are looking forward to a new, eventful year with the official inauguration of the Hope Cathedral on the 5th June 2021.

We tested the atmosphere at the Christmas workshop just before Christmas. Check out these Christmas elves!

Photo: Prisca and Marie have been helping at the workshop before Christmas. This is from Lucia Day.

450,000 from the Prospera Foundation to the Hope Cathedral

In December we signed an agreement with Prospera which means that their pro-bono consultants will assist the Hope Cathedral with regard to communication. The project will very soon be going from the construction phase to the establishment phase, which means we will be working rather differently in the period ahead. Prospera draws on expertise from various fields and is putting together a team that will be working with us at the Hope Cathedral and helping us lift the project up and out to new target groups. This work has a value of kr. 450,000. We are looking forward to this.

Popular Christmas lottery

Two of our industrious volunteers, Erika and Janne, have started a Christmas lottery of their own to raise money for the Hope Cathedral. They have been “downtown” and collected lots of wonderful prizes. Two lottery books and 2000 tickets are sold! Impressive! Among the prizes were two paintings by artists Leif Nyland and Jaqueline Yetta (see photos). Our thanks to all those who contributed prizes. Most generous!

Christmas porridge and volunteer work

Instead of a Christmas party we met outdoors at the construction site for porridge and gifts. This crew have contributed over 3000 hours of volunteer work in 2020. Every Wednesday and Thursday they have sweated and smiled for the Hope Cathedral. That is a huge teddy bear hug in itself.

We have made a film cavalcade of the year summarizing what we have been doing at the Hope Cathedral.

View the film here.

The Wednesday volunteer session is usually blessed with sunshine. The last session in 2020 was no exception. The joke is that it’s “because we deserve it”! Porridge, gifts and warm smiles.

Traditional porridge is served, anno 2020.

No Christmas porridge is complete without a hidden almond. The lucky winner of the marzipan pig was none other Mother Elf herself, Erika.

This group of adult men visit the Hope Cathedral every Thursday. It’s extraordinary how much we can understand each other without a common language.

Ibrahim is one of our Norwegian Conversation pupils. His cheerfulness is infectious and his wonderful humour is balsam for the soul.

Thanks to everyone for keeping the wheels turning

We would like to thank everybody for the invisible jobs that are done bringing, transporting, fetching and delivering, and constantly exposed to the risk of infection. It’s an added strain that many live with every day. A merry Christmas to you! This wonderful bouquet of flowers is from Viuno in Hvaler who have been transporting bee cathedrals for us.

The Inauguration of the Hope Cathedral

It has now been decided that the official inauguration of the Hope Cathedral will take place on the 5th June 2021 at 2 pm at Isegran. The day will be celebrated with invited guests and an exciting programme. On Sunday 6th June Creation day will be celebrated at the Hope Cathedral.

Thank you for your contribution, Tore!

In December we received the sad news that Tore had passed away. We remember his participation in the first workshop we held in 2018 and as one of Foghorn, the trio that performed for volunteers as recently as 16thOctober. Rest in peace, Tore!

Photo: Tore Lia was one of three musicians in the folk group Foghorn. Here he is in a pop-up concert at the construction site on the 16th October 2020. From the left: Tore Lia and Richard Burgess

The Hope Cathedral is an inter-faith and sustainable art project based in Fredrikstad. We are building a 120 m2 barge of wood which will support the Hope Cathedral. The framework is inspired by stave churches, while the 300 m2 roof will be built as an innovative project using plastic from the ocean. The cathedral will be a symbol of hope built through cooperation. The project is under the leadership of Borg Diocese. Both the process and the finished cathedral is open to all.

FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM

Contact Anne Skauen anne@hopecathedral.no +4795912552 www.håpetskatedral.no