Hope Cathedral

June 2021

Hope Cathedral is inaugurated

What a day it was! World Environmental Day 2021 will go down in history as a red-letter day for all of us involved in building the Hope Cathedral. Beautiful speeches, songs and music. Since then we have experienced tremendous interest from individuals dropping in and groups visiting us. We have also experienced many enquiries from people wanting to get married in the cathedral. This summer we will be staying open to anyone who wants to visit or use the Hope Cathedral. You are most welcome!

We have made a short film of the opening. You can see it here:

Inauguration of the Hope Cathedral

A visit by our patron HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit

On June 3 we had a visit from none other than Norway’s Crown Prince and Princess. Such an honour! We were in the midst of hectic work making ready for the inauguration, but took time off to show them around. With axes and planes and the smell of tar everywhere, Isegran was at its most authentic. The Crown Princess was clearly proud as she told the Crown Prince about the project. They got to meet the volunteer group that make the bee cathedrals, our plastics supremo Dag Skottene who explained how the plastic was collected, our godmother Celine who talked about volunteer work and the team of Anne, Andreas and Solveig who talked about the building process. It was an hour of quality time in which we experienced keen interest from the wonderful royal couple. Afterwards the Crown Princess recorded a powerful and beautiful speech to be used in the Inauguration.

Colors by Fargespill Østfold

At the very end of May, we were visited by Fargespill Østfold, a fantastic group of children who dance and sing. They were to make a music video for their latest song Colors and were inspired by the story of the oak from the Cathedral Park in Fredrikstad, were several branches have become the wreath of hope in the Hope Cathedral. They started filming early in the morning and finished late in the afternoon. An impressive piece of work, some patient and skilled children and filmmakers gave this brilliant result. Watch the video here, and feel free to share with your friends. Nice if this nice movie comes out!

Colors a music video by Fargespill Østfold

Creation Day and dedication for

church purposes

On Sunday 6.6, the Norwegian Church in Fredrikstad celebrated Creation Day at the Hope Cathedral. The cathedral can now be used for Christian events such as weddings, baptism and confirmations. Or how about renewing the marriage pact, as the couple Sommerfeldt/Øverland did earlier in June? From next season onwards, you can book weddings in the Hope Cathedral. Our goal is that all religions will make use of the cathedral.

Profane to Sacred

-is the title of the bishop’s cloak, a work of art that made the journey from the River Thames in London to Isegran on the occasion of the inauguration of the Hope Cathedral. With a common vision of turning bad to good, both Solveig Egeland and artist Sarah Wilson have have found a deeper meaning in taking rubbish from the ocean and creating something radiant and beautiful to inspire hope. The bishop’s cloak, which has been worn by priests, bishops and other church dignitaries,  featured in the inauguration of the Hope Cathedral, worn by both Bishop Sommerfeldt and dean Kari Mangrud Alvsvåg of Fredrikstad Cathedral. The cloak is made of self-coloured fabric and rubbish taken from the River Thames. We came into contact with Sarah through the Bishop Nicholas Holtam of Salisbury Cathedral, and it only took a Teams meeting to convince the enthusiastic artist that she had to send us the cloak for the inauguration. The good news is that she is now making a cloak specially for the Hope Cathedral, inspired by the cathedral roof and its colours «from earth to sky» as created by Solveig. 

We all know autumn is coming…

We will continue work on the Hope Cathedral after the summer. 

On Monday 23 August work will start on the rear wall under the guidance of skilled craftsmen. If you would like to participate, please contact Solveig in advance sol@solveigegeland.no

The Wednesday volunteer session starts up on 25.8, 9 am - 2 pm. All are welcome. At these sessions we work on many different things and we can promise you lots of fresh air, physical work and good company. If you are thinking of joining us for the first time, please contact Anne at anne@hopecathedral.no

The school workshop starts up again on Tuesday 31 August at 10 am. Every Tuesday until Christmas, schools can book a 3-hour sustainability workshop. Pupils contribute by making bee cathedrals that are sold for the benefit of the Hope Cathedral. 

Art workshop for young people in the library 30.8-5.9. In collaboration with artist An Doan Nguyen, the Hope Cathedral is holding an art workshop in the library based on the fairy tale of Pinocchio. This involves immersion into some of life’s great challenges, such as greed, selfishness, lies and anxiety. The workshop will be concluded with the selling by auction of some of the pictures in library’s exhibition room on 4.9.

We are all Pinocchio - vernissage on September 5. This is an exhibition showing around a hundred pictures by the Swedish-Italian artist Pietro Raffone. The exhibition is in collaboration with the Hope Cathedral and opens on Sunday, 5.9 at Minemagasinet, Isegran. It will hang until 19.9. The exhibition be open Thursday to Sunday during that period. 

The establishment of Friends of the Hope Cathedral, Tuesday 21.9. The association’s mandate will be bring together voluntary forces for joint efforts for the Hope Cathedral through volunteer sessions and events. Feel free to join us - there is much to look forward to. Questions? Contact Anne anne@hopecathedral.no

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 an innovative project using plastic from the ocean. The cathedral will be a symbol of hope built through cooperation. The project has been under the leadership of Borg Diocese, but in October 2021 new owners will be welcomed. Both the process and the finished cathedral has been and will be open to all.

Follow us on Social Media

FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM

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