Hope Cathedral

Autumn 2021

The cathedral’s first wedding

In beautiful August weather, the cathedral had its first wedding. The happy couple were Christina Holden Rønning and Thor René Stryger. The priest was Thore Henrik Meberg-Hansen. With an open wall looking out on Isegran's beautiful alder trees and the swallows flying through the cathedral, it was a beautiful and unforgettable experience. Weddings can be held in the spring and summer. Get in touch in January if you want to make a booking.

“Arendalsuka” 2022

Yes, you read that correctly. Our aim is to tow the cathedral to Arendal next August for the annual political festival there. This year we were there to reconnoitre  and to air the idea with the organisers. We believe that the Hope Cathedral will fit perfectly in among the throng of boats in Pollen in Arendal, and act as an important communicator of  the values ​​we stand for; respect for nature and the creation, diversity, inclusion, circular economy and, not least, cooperation. This is really something we are going to be working for. During our visit this year, Solveig participated in a debate on the Norwegian Church’s sailing ship, Kirkeskipet , on the theme of apathy and hope in connection with the climate issue. Seen here with the leader of Changemaker,  Naja Amanda Lynge Møretrø, Anders Bjartnes of the Norwegian Climate Foundation, Archbishop Olav Fykse Tveit in the Norwegian Church and leader of the Co-operation Council for Faith and Philosophy, Ingrid Rosendorf Joys.

We're up and running after the summer

After a summer in which the cathedral was open to the public, we have some experience of the interest the cathedral has generated in the population.  There has been a daily stream of visitors from Fredrikstad, but also from other parts of the country and even abroad. It almost seems as if the cathedral has already reached out to people! On a normal sunny day, we spend all day telling interested visitors about the project. Our Wednesday work sessions started in August and the school workshops are booked until well into the autumn. It’s great that people are interested. Now we’re set for an exciting test year, with many different activities, to find out what people want from a floating multi-religious cathedral with a roof of marine plastic.

We are all Pinocchio

August has been spent planning  the big event of the autumn, namely the art exhibition "We are all Pinocchio" by artist Pietro Raffone, which will be exhibited in Minemagasinet on Isegran 5.9 - 19.9. The artist Raffone has spectacularly donated more than 100 pictures, all of which deal with the popular Italian folk tale about the wooden doll Pinocchio. The pictures are a gift to the Hope Cathedral from Raffone, who believes that the symbolic value of the cathedral and our joint efforts for hope and the ocean, are some of the finest things we humans can do at this time. More about this in the next newsletter.

Young people’s own art exhibition

At the end of August, six talented young people immersed themselves in the story of Pinocchio and got under the skin of this beloved Italian folk tale. On Wednesday 8 September at 18.00, they invite you to a vernissage and exhibition in the exhibition room of the library, together with artist An Doan Nguyen. The young people from Fredrikstad have spent three evenings working at the library under the direction of artist, who has pushed and challenged the young artists to put aside perfectionism and "doing it nicely". Based on the story of Pinocchio, they have had to work with new challenges and short deadlines, to find new paths and new aspects of themselves.

Crowd-funding for the back wall

The cathedral’s last remaining wall will be built in October and November. It has to be sealed before the winter in order to avoid leakage and take care of the beautiful carpentry of the barge and the structure! We’ve organized a crowd-funding where everyone can contribute and support the construction work. With the last wall in place, we are ready for a full program of activities in the cathedral. This summer, public interest has been beyond all expectations and we simply can’t wait to test out different exciting content when the cathedral is completed. Feel free to share the crowd-funding within your own network.

SPLEIS - Crowd-funding for the back wall of the Cathedral of Hope

The Hope Cathedral is an inter-faith and sustainable art project based in Fredrikstad. We have built a 120 m2 barge of wood which supports the Hope Cathedral. The framework is inspired by stave churches, while the 300 m2 roof is built as an innovative project using plastic from the ocean. The cathedral aims to be a symbol of hope built through cooperation. The project is under the leadership of Dialogforum Østfold, Norges Buddhistforund, Caritas Norway, Fredrikstad kirkelige fellesråd, Borg Diocese and Kirkens Bymisjon. Both the process and the finished cathedral is open to all.

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Kontakt Solveig Egeland sol@solveigegeland.no +4741512518 www.håpetskatedral.no