Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

December 5th and I can wear my new purple stole

@brittarnhild

Purple is the colour of advent.
As an ordained deacon I wear a white coat, an alba, and a stole when I take part in the service in church. For deacons to wear a stola is a fairly new tradition in Norway, and since I work in the diocese administration and don't serve much in church, it has taken me some time to purchase the four different stoles, green, red, purple and white. As a matter of fact I do not have the white one yet. The green and the red I've had for a few years, the purple one was given to me as gift for my 60th birthday last year, from my two best friends. Not only given, but also made by them.

The stole was finished on Monday, today I was able to use it for the first time. At a morning prayer in our cathedral, together with the bishop of Nidaros, Herborg Finnset.

Purple is the colour of Advent and of Lent, the colour of sorrow and suffering, the colour of fasting. Sorrow and suffering belongs to Lent, but also of Advent, helping us to see ahead to Easter. And traditionally not only Lent but also Advent was a period of fasting. The small fast, it used to be called in Norway.......a long time ago. Nowadays we tend to start the celebrations of the festive season, way ahead, so when Christmas finally arrives, we feel fed up.......kind of.

What about celebrating Advent this year, as a way to wait for, look forward to, what is coming. In a few weeks.

 

Attending the midday prayer

@brittarnhild

Every Wednesday at noon there is a midday prayer in one of the small side chapels in the cathedral. If I take a short lunch, I am able to attend. As I did today.

 

I am actually not allowed to film inside the cathedral, but I think its beauty is to be shared with anyone, so I made a youtube video for you :-)

 

 

Make yourself ready for photos

@brittarnhild

I went with the bishop yesterday to the ordination of a new deacon.
After the service it was time for photos.......

 

 

 

 

It took some time to get ready :-)

Can you see me?

 

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The link to the new advent blog is as always:
Vandring mot Kristmesse

 

St. Olav´s Day

@brittarnhild

July 29th 1030.
The day king Olav died.
One year and four days later he was canonised and work was started to build a church on his grave.

Nidaros Cathedral

The St. Olav Festival is here again,
to celebrate the patron saint of the cathedral, and of the church of Norway.

A Lutheran church.
A saint.

 

St. Olav.

Morning prayer with the bishop

@brittarnhild

Today I´ve had a full day meeting with the deacons in our diocese. As usual we started with a morning prayer with eucarist in the cathedral. This time in the St. John´s chapel. As usual I was there early. Always good to sit down in silence and prayers before the others come.

The bisjop has been with us all day. Among the things he talked about is that God has promised to be with us, always. This also means that whenever we come to an unknown place, whenever we do something which we have never done before, God is there already.

Our dear bishop Tor will retire in four weeks. Today was the last mass I celebrated with him.

 

Lagre

Lagre

We have a God who forgives

@brittarnhild

There was no Ash Wednesday service in my local church, so I went to another one, the one where I was ordained back in 1988, the one where I worked as a deacon at that time, the one where Ingrid was baptised in 1989, the one where our grandson was baptised on my birthday last year.

I will bring one thing with me into lent from the service:

We have a God who forgives

 

A new deacon

@brittarnhild

From time to time a new deacon is ordained in the Church of Norway. Because of my job, I get to take part in the ordination together with my bishop when this happens in our diocese. The woman in front, Tone, is the new deacon. You see me rihgt behind her. Those with a double red stole are priests, as deacons we wear a single one, draped over the left shoulder.

The stoles I have are made my by best friend, Solveig.

They are true pieces of art.

 

Here are three precious posts I have written about them:

A Deacon Stole and a Malteser Cross

My new stole

My first deacon stole

 

 

 

My new stole

@brittarnhild

A mass in a small chapel in The Archbishop´s Palace.  Me and the bishop.
It gave me a very special feeling finally to serve with the new deacon stole.

 

My first deacon stole

@brittarnhild

Can you remember I wrote about deacon stoles in the church of Norway some months ago? You find the post here. For many months, ever since before the summer, I have been planning today´s special servive, when all the deacons in the diocese would have their stole put on their shoulders by one of our two bishops.

The special service is today. As a matter of fact it is just now when I write these words. My green stole, made by my best friend Solveig, is finished, I should have been in the cathedral, but here I am, recovering from a nasty stomach bug.......

Well, you never plan your stomach bugs do you? And when they come there is nothing you can do........or actually, there is something I can do. I am reading the embroidery on the back side of my stole, invisible to anybody else, seen by me and my Creator. Words from Paul´s letter:

and now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

 

Singing in Church

@brittarnhild

We have a beautiful organ in my church, a beautiful organ which makes beautiful music.......especialy when our cantor plays on it :-) The singing of hymns can be a challenge though. Some Sundays the huge room is filled with somng, other Sundays ony a few people open their mouth enough to be heard. Our cantor wants to do something with this, so on Saturday he sent an email to three of us asking if we could come to church one hour before the service started, to sing through the hyms and the liturgy.

I was one of the lucky three :-)
And I am looking forward to doing this again.