World Environment Day #timefornature

Friday 5th June is World Environment Day. At 1pm the Hope Cathedral will be broadcasting live on Facebook from the building site. there will be beautiful music from our two ambassadors, Helene Bøksle and Solfrid Molland, important addresses from many different people of various religious backgrounds, and we will be celebrating the occasion with the world’s first ever Sustainability Cake! The United Nations initiated this event in 1974 and every year around 150 nations take part. It has become an important date for bringing people together in the cause of conservation and environmental protection, tackling marine pollution and climate change. In 2020 the focus is on species diversity and the slogan is #timefornature. Join us on Facebook for this lovely occasion - and we invite you to share it with your friends so that as many as possible can experience this special event that we are so much looking forward to.

Plastic beads turned in hope

This spring, the media has written extensively about the environmental disaster involving several tonnes of plastic raw material which leaked from a container ship. The authorities, together with the Coastal Lottery and the Oslofjord Outdoor Council and a number of other voluntary actors, have initiated a large-scale clean-up operation to have the white beads removed. The Hope Cathedral has received a few hundred kilos of them with a view to using them in the roof of the cathedral. many hours of volunteer wok have gone into cleaning the plastic, and it looks as if we have achieved a high enough degree of purity to use the plastic in the roofing elements. NRK covered the story in their news broadcast, as you can see here.

Multireligious prayer

The corona times have been demanding and difficult for many, while others say that the period has given them the opportunity to think longer thoughts and have more time for dialogue. At the Hope Cathedral we wanted to find out more about whet prayer and reflection means for individuals from different religions. A week after Norway’s National Day we asked people from different faiths about the importance of prayer, the use of rituals and symbols and, not least, the role that nature and the environment have in their faith. The result is on film. We would like to share some pictures of lovely days and good encounters at the Hope Cathedral.

Photo: Solveig in conversation with Sami and Shaman Eirik Myrhaug

Photo: Priest Sunniva Gylver in silent prayer at the Hope Cathedral.

Photo: The Kaur Family are Sikhs and they participated in the film about prayer in our time.

Creation Day at the Hope Cathedral with a visit from praeses Olav Fykse Tveit

The Norwegian Church will be streaming a nationwide church service on Creation Day, 7th June, live from the Hope Cathedral at Isegran. It is hosted by Kråkerøy congregation and the sermon will be given by praeses Olav Fykse Tveit. The service can be followed at 11.am on the Facebook page of the Norwegian 

Hope yoga

When the keep-fit organisation Friskis og Svettis invited its members to an outdoor yoga session on the Hope Cathedral barge, it didn’t take long until it was fully subscribed. With suitable social distancing between participants all those taking part were able to enjoy the session at Isegran. This won’t be the last time, says yoga instructor Barbro Catharina Flodin. Now we’re starting up every Wednesday at 7 - 8. pm. There’s room for 20 - first come, first served!

The corona bench is the place to be!

In May we have been practising social distancing together. We’ve managed to carry out voluntary work session and thus been able to meet and be together. Our long bench has been put to good use, since it allows us to sit with a good distance to each other. Like everything else in society, progress on the Hope Cathedral has been delayed. This means that our date for completion and opening is postponed until spring. One advantage of this is that we will have more time fro involvement, cooperation and broad participation. There are still many school children, confirmands and other groups who still haven’t visited us and taken part in our work sessions. With building activity both this autumn and in the spring, there will many opportunities for even more participation.

Photo: Peter found out that these old plastic beer barrels could be used as self-watering pots - or as corona protection!

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.hopecathedral.no