Newsletter from The Hope Cathedral Oktober 2020

A beautiful autumn month

During October we’ve been able to enjoy beautiful autumnal weather, an incredibly successful TV fundraiser for the ocean under the auspices of WWF and, not least, the completion of our fourth workshop in traditional building techniques. We’ve started work on preparing the laths which will go on the roof so that the plastic can be attached. The work is being carried out by the world’s best crew of volunteers who turn up loyally every week. A big thank you is also due to others who contribute to the volunteer sessions in other ways, either musically or by preparing food or baking cakes. The building site is buzzing with life both on weekdays and at the weekend, and in these Covid times we’re fortunate to have such a lot of space at our disposal and to be outdoors. We’re lucky!

Ask and Alma

In October  we started work on erecting the entrance to the Hope Cathedral. It consists of two trees. One is an approx. 200-year-old ash and the other an elm of a similar age. We have christened them Ask and Alma. Both trees were diseased and had to be felled. They will be resurrected at the Hope Cathedral! The construction work took place during a week-long workshop led by mentor and course leader Steinar Moldal who has been with us three times before. Happy memories and a an important milestone.

Pop-up with Foghorn

Richard Burgess is a volunteer for the Hope Cathedral, translating the newsletter from Norwegian to English so that our friends abroad can also follow the progress of the project. As well as being an Englishman he’s also a musician and frontman in the shanty trio Foghorn, along with Tore Lia and Jon Buer. They have been singing together for 25 years, based in Fredrikstad but performing in Sweden, Germany and England. Richard performed for us back in 2019 at the launch of the barge, then again just after the Covid lockdown in April, when he performed the song «One April Morning». In October he turned up with Tore and Jon and performed several shanties and sea songs. A real pop-up concert in broad daylight that was enthusiastically received by everyone at Isegran!

An ocean of opportunities

This year’s Norwegian TV fundraiser was launched on 18th October. This annual national fundraising campaign has existed for 40 years and employs more than 100 000 volunteers raising millions of kroner for good causes through support for the major Norwegian aid organisations at home and abroad. This year it was the turn of WWF with the funds raised going to preventing plastic ending up in the ocean. Well over 200 million kroner were raised digitally, the money going to WWF’s five projects in Asia. The Hope Cathedral is proud to be a partner and we send our congratulations for a fantastic result.

Photo: Fredrik Myhre and Vibecke Østby from WWF and the TV Fundraiser. Below: Five-year-olds from Smertulia kindergarten visited the Hope Cathedral during the TV Fundraiser. 

Innovation and sustainability

This autumn students from the Innovation and sustainability programme at Frederik II Upper Secondary School  have been focusing on the issue of plastic in the ocean. Not least through cooperation wit the Hope Cathedral, students have been researching the possibilities and challenges presented by plastic that goes astray. The project culminated in an exhibition called «Hope in plastic» and we had the pleasure of participating at the opening. We’re both profoundly impressed and proud of the work students and teachers have done in connection with the exhibition.

Photo: The students Ylva and Nora tell us what they have learned during the course of the autumn about plastic as a problem and a resource. 

Volunteer work all week

Volunteers preparing laths to go on the roof  of the cathedral.

Successful scout service held by the Methodist Church in Fredrikstad.

Alice Grønneberg came to the volunteer session with freshly cooked crabs and apple cake. To the delight of the volunteers.

Freshly cooked local crabs contribute to the completion of the Hope Cathedral.

Solveig Egeland and Steinar Moldal. The latter is the project’s mentor and course holder in traditional building techniques.

There’s nothing like taking a break in the sunshine. Here we see Rolf Hohmann and Paul Berthelsen.

In October we’ve had visits from Trara school in central Fredrikstad and Nøkleby school in Lisleby.

Christmas market 5th December

Welcome to our wonderful Christmas market at Isegran on Saturday 5th December between 12:00-16:00. Here there’ll be the sale of great gifts made of wood and textile, woollen jumpers, sheepskins and honey. There’ll be peg whittling, heat from the fire pan and the sale of coffee and pancakes. Covid restrictions observed.

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.

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