Inspired Sunday

 

Today elections are held in the Church of Sweden, i.e. the Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. Liturgically and theologically it is "high church". It was state church from the Reformation until 2000, and is still the largest Christian denomination in Sweden with over 5 million members. It is an open national church with a democratic organisation, including the right of members to vote in elections, which still resemble political elections. To which extent they should continue to do so is one of the questions debated in later years; but for now, that's how it is. In the church elections, candidates are listed either with a political party group, or with a 'non-political' group (there are more than one of those as well). I'll refrain from trying to explain further, as I'm rather confused about it all myself!

Back in the previous century I usually didn't bother to vote, but in later years I have. The possibility to vote in advance in this election opened two of weeks ago, and I went to do so one of the first days; in the parish house next to the church above. It is the oldest church in town, dating back to the late 1600s. In later years I've attended church services and concerts here every now and then; but not since the pandemic.

On my way back from voting, I took the opportunity to go into the church and play tourist - i.e. wander about a bit and snap some photos with my phone. (I think it is usually kept open in the daytime on workdays; but I don't normally pass by it.)

If you wish , you can light candles for prayer.

A "christening" tree - a rather modern addition .They add the names of recently baptized people on it. (I've seen similar trees in other churches visited on holidays in recent years.)

If all goes to plan, Sweden will be lifting the last of its corona restrictions at the end of September. For my own part, I'm still feeling a bit hesitant about "crowds", though. Not sure yet when I'll feel ready for a well-attended church service or choir concert...?

Inspired Sunday

Ramnakyrkan, Ramnaparken, Borås, Sweden

Picking up where I left off in my Thursday post A Visit to the Past.

Like all the other buildings in our Museum Park, the wooden church too has been moved here from its original place, a village around 10 km south of Borås. The central parts of the church date back to 1690. As with many old churches it went through some changes over the centuries, even before it was moved here (1912). During the first 20+ years here it was only used as museum, exhibiting objects collected from various other old churches as well. In 1930 the building was again sacralized to be used as church, for special occasions like weddings and christenings.

I've been inside on several occasions before, but of course that did not stop me from going in again to snap some more photos, when I had the chance. (The guide had by then returned to other duties, so I was in there alone.)

The church's double function as church and museum shows in that it houses an unusual amount of old altar pieces and sculptures and other objects. And also not just one but two old pulpits at the front.

Inside the porch.
Old keys etc on the wall,
and a collecting box.

 

 

 

 

 

The bell tower comes from some other countryside church; and the actual bell from yet another one. (The book that I have about the buildings in the park does not mention the gate, but that too probably comes from somewhere different.)

Looking up from the computer in my study, on the wall right above my monitor hangs this picture:

It's a water colour painted some time in the past by my maternal grandfather. Undated, but my guess is from the 1930s or 40s. (It's one my mother kept after he died, and I in turn inherited it from her.)

 

 

 

Inspired Sunday - Allerum Church, Skåne

Going back to my holiday photos from 2019, it struck me that I probably have some church photos left that never got blogged about. (And should I happen to repeat something - well, never mind...)

Allerum Church (Allerums kyrka) is a church in Allerum, Skåne, Sweden. The tower and chancel of the church are medieval, while the rest of the church was heavily rebuilt during the 18th and 19th centuries.

 

 

As I know I've mentioned several times in other church posts in the past, votive ships are common in Scandinavian churches. They were usually given as gifts to the church by seamen as a thanks for being saved from a shipwreck.

 

Snow

The past week was mostly grey and dull and windy - with a bit of snow in the air now and then, but only just enough to make the streets either icy or slushy (or both). Yesterday I didn't go out at all. But today, for a change, I woke up to a proper winter world with blue sky, crisp air, no wind, and the sun shining on a fresh layer of white snow. Unfortunately I had the laundry room booked in the afternoon; but after having put my first load into the machine at noon I was able to go out for a walk around the old cemetery nearby, while the washer did its job. One has to grab the moments...

Animal footprints - hare/rabbit, and some bird

Rabbit and Humans...

The sun is still low even at noon,
and hence making looong shadows...

Someone else had been really happy about the snow,
too, and expressed it creatively in a piece of snow-art...

What tomorrow brings, remains to be seen!
(Temperatures still hovering around freezing point.)

December 22 - 4th Advent Sunday

Seven-branched candlestick in Lund Cathedral.  

The seven-branched candlestick is to remind of the Menorah in the Temple in Jerusalem. The one in Lund Cathedral is from the 15th century and made of bronze. It was made in Hamburg and was transported to Lund in three parts.

The four figures at the bottom are the traditional symbols of the four evangelists in the New Testament: Angel (Matthew), Lion (Mark), Ox (Luke) and Eagle (John).

In the Old Testament, the prophet Ezekiel describes a vision of four living creatures, each of which had four faces (and wings): "Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle." (Ez 1:10)

A similar scene is described in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament: "In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures ... The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle." (Revelation 4:6-8)


Very early on in Christian tradition, these creatures became symbols of the authors of the four gospels in the New Testament.

 
 

December 15 - 3rd Advent Sunday

Old Bible in St Nikolai Church, Halmstad, Sweden
(open at the book of the prophet Jeremiah)

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.

St John 1:1 (NIV) 

 

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
    before you were born I set you apart;
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

 Jeremiah 1:4-5 (NIV)

 St Nikolai * Church, Halmstad 

* Saint Nicholas of Myra (15 March 270 – 6 December 343) was an early Christian bishop of the ancient Greek city of Myra in Asia Minor during the time of the Roman Empire. He is also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker and his legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus.

 

Halloween 2

In my previous post (Oct 31), I showed some photos from a large woodland cemetery on the outskirts of town. The photos in today's post are from an older and smaller cemetery, closer to where I live. Not quite "next door" as there is a railway and a road to cross in between... But with a footbridge over the railway (which runs in a narrow valley down below), only a few minutes away. In fact, I usually walk either along, across or around this cemetery several times a week. Either on my way to/from other places, or just for a walk. Having lived where I live for 11+ years now, I estimate that I have probably walked across or along that cemetery like 4000 times - whereas during the 50+ previous years of my life, maybe I visited a graveyard once or twice a year (at most!). In some ways, it probably helped to take the "edge" off some of my own losses (and fears) over the same time period... Because while each walk in a cemetery is a reminder of death, at the same time it is also a reminder of Life...

A week or so before Halloween, before the trees dropped all their leaves, I walked around that cemetery taking photos of some of the old graves that have more recently been recycled. (The system here is that when there is no one left to care for a grave, and a certain number of years/decades have passed since the last burial there, it can be reused.) When there are lots of "extra" decorations added on an old grave, that usually indicates a more recent burial - and often of someone young, or someone with roots in another country and culture. (In the photos I have avoided including names, though.)

So many stories...

Inspired Sunday #340