Hope Cathedral

May 2022

Pray for Peace in Ukraine

On Sunday 13. March, together with Kari Mangrud Alvsvåg, Bishop of Borg, we arranged a multi-religious prayer for peace for Ukraine. Representatives from different religions came to pray for peace. We also asked all visitors to write down their prayer on a piece of paper that was hung on the Wreath of Hope in the cathedral. Many thanks to all the people who participated!

Watch the film from the Prayer for Peace here.

Meetings between students and Buddhist monks

Two days in April, we arranged a meeting between seniors at Greåker upper secondary school and monks from the Buddhist monastery in Skiptvedt. Their teacher, Øystein Levinsen, wanted the students to have this experience as part of their religion studies.
The students learned about Buddhism and participated in a meditation. They were very interested and asked many questions, which the monks happily answered. We love such meetings where we can learn from each other.

Tourist in your own town 2022

Hope Cathedral was part of the “Tourist in your own town” on Saturday 23. April. This concept is designed to let you become better acquainted with your own city and also gives you the opportunity to visit attractions and museums for free or at a discount.

We offered guided tours and bee house (cathedral) workshops from 11 am until 5 pm. Unfortunately we were a bit unlucky with the weather, as it was quite cloudy and windy that day. Even so, there were many people who came to visit us.

Camilla led the “bee cathedral” workshop. Several children and young people made their first bee cathedral, and some also made a second or third. Two students from Glemmen upper secondary school helped us by selling waffles and coffee, as part of a project they have at the school called "Efforts for others". Heidi held two organized tours at 13 and 15. She has developed a "path" with different stations in the cathedral area that starts in the parking lot and she has also written a manual for guides. This was a great day to test the manual! Those who came were genuinely interested in both the history of Isegran and in Hope Cathedral. 

Hope builders rewarded with the “Plank Carrier Dinner”!

In April, Fredrikstad Brewery's friends held a wonderful celebration dinner and award ceremony for Hope Cathedral, in the beatiful location of the old brewery in Fredrikstad. There were great speeches from Dag Solheim in The Brewery´s Friends, from Bishop Emeritus Atle Sommerfeldt, Deputy Mayor Atle Ottosen and artistic director of Hope Cathedral, Solveig. We had delicious food and Senza Rigore choir gave us a beautiful concert.

Watch a film from the award ceremony here.

Our school workshops have been fully booked all spring!

The weekly school workshops we hold have become so popular! They fill up very fast, which makes us so happy. So far this year we have arranged over 20 workshops for over 500 children and young people in the district. They have learned about sustainability, what we can achieve if we work together, plastic in the sea and why it is important that we take care of the sea and our nature. In addition, they have built “bee cathedrals” and thus participated in the charity event to save our bees!

We will soon send out an invitation to the schools for the autumn-semester. If you are interested in bringing your class here on a Tuesday in the autumn please contact us soon.

tone@hopecathedral.no

In the past, we have been fortunate to receive support to hold these workshops. This year, we have unfortunately not received a grant. We truly hope and believe that someone will support this great project very soon. Feel free to let us know if you know of any supporters.

Here is what some of the students have said at the school workshops:

“Very fun to do something properly”

"I did not think this would be SO much fun!"

"Throwing plastic in the sea is all PlingPlong!"

“10 out of 10 on a great new experience!”

Hope Cathedral is a multi-religious environment and art project about building HOPE through collaboration. The cathedral, which is open to all, is a meeting place between people of all ages, nationalities and faiths.

We have built a 120 m2 wooden barge which is the foundation of the cathedral, that floats on the water. The structure is inspired by stave churches, while the 300 m2 large roof has been created as an innovation project of recycled plastic from the sea.

Hope Cathedral works with environmental, social and economic sustainability. We work with diapraxis, meaning that people from different religions and cultures come together to work.
We believe that not only talking, but actually doing something together is good both for our health and for our planet and it helps to create more understanding between us.