#andwerehoff Jönköping-Göteborg (Sweden)-Tønsberg-Kongsberg-Hof (Norway)
Jönköping was a beautiful host for the southern gathering of Oase Sweden's summer conference. We camped right around the corner from the rose garden, and enjoyed eating our dinner there one night.
Bishop Andrew Watson (bishop of Guildford, west of London) was an inspiring speaker who weaved biblical teaching and practical application from a place of authenticity. His insights on creating a discipline culture and on gospel multiplication were helpful. Here is the Wikipedia article https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Watson_(bishop)
The pastors gathered with Bishop Watson earlier in the day for a time of worship and teaching. I wish I could share the video of the pastors singing.
As we entered the Oas meeting, a journalist from Sweden's Christian newspaper interviewed us and took our picture.
The Oase movement in the Scandinavian countries (as well as in Canada), are organizations that are seeking to welcome and foster the renewal the Holy Spirit brings to the Lord's church. Each of the three movements we interacted with in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark certainly shared this goal in common. They lived it out in ways that were special and unique in their own cultural and historical contexts. At the Reformation, the Swedish Church had the most conservative view of liturgy and episcopacy. In concord with the Lutheran documents, they retained the mass and confession. They also retained apostolic succession and traditional vestments. You could see all of this at Swedish Oas. They embraced the use of the gifts of the Spirit at each of their meetings (prophecy, tongues, healing, etc) as well as having 5 priests ready to offer personal absolution at each meeting. Worship was Charismatic with space for full expression with dancing and singing, but the bishop also wore a cope and mitre, and processed in surrounded by wafting incense rising and filling the arena at the reading of the Gospel and the consecration of the Lord's Supper. Pleroma is the Greek word for "fullness" and it is a good description of rich worship like this.
We drove 1.5 hours west towards Göteborg and had a checklist with two boxes. I wanted to stop in the Dom (Cathedral) and we wanted to take a boat tour of the beautiful second city of Sweden. The Dom is not an ancient church, but an imporant one to me because of it's connection to Bishop Bo Giertz, my favorite author.
Here is a picture of Giertz from the same cathedral we visited:
Samuel, "Is that his cathedra?"
Pulpit. With a prayer, "Lord, let your Pentecost Wind blow through the church and dust off the Holy Scriptures and move us in mission to speak again with passion and compassion, grace and truth. Amen."
Boat tour of Göteborg. Really gorgeous city, I'd like to return to someday.
Entering Norway, the last leg of our trip. It is really great to be back.
We took the short ferry from Moss across the Oslo Fjord to Horten.
It was so fun to reunite with Inger Marie (fellow student at the mission school in Stavanger) and to meet her husband Oyvind, who is, no surprise, delightful! I've never seen a more heartfelt hug that Joy and Inger Marie gave to one another. She was a Godsend when we lived in Norway in 1999-2000. She helped us in so many ways, and kept us in humor the whole way.
Annika made fast friends, too.
We got a tour of the Verdens Ende, or the World's End.
Beautiful!
We made it to the Borgen's house that evening, then left in the morning for their summer cabin in the mountains above Kongsberg (see map above).
They havn't been back to their cabin for three years, as they have been serving on mission with the Norwegian Church in San Pedro. It was so fun to see their faces as they returned to a place so important to them. What an honor for us! We could see why they love it here. No one even asked for the wifi code (there wasn't one!). We took a magnificent hike.
I rested under this tree. It is as pretty as a church ceiling.
Joy took this picture.
We went "out" for supper.
Peter in blueberry land (literally)
The cover for Christian's first album. Melancholy, introspective, and reflective (I'm guessing).
The morning guys got up before everyone else and found a quiet place to play cards.
Thanks Borgens for the memorable trip!
At the base of the Borgen's cabin is the Flesberg Stave Church. The front portion was the ancient stave church, with modernizations coming in the 1700's. There was a picture of a pastor from a few centuries ago on one wall, and I asked the tour guide if he was the current pastor. She said, "No, but he was a terrific pastor, but didn't like people that much." I wonder what was terrific about him?
Old wood work which reminded me of Celtic interweaving.
The baptismal font had a wooden dove descending over it.
Guess what town we drove through on the way home.
Comments