End of June

This week my free days are Monday (the 21^st) and Friday. I’m in another bureaucratic problem but this time with the bank (Spare Bank Nord-Norge). I can’t log into my account because of the change of my Norwegian ID number. They ordered a new credit card for me but it hasn’t arrived yet. But at least my credit card works at the stores. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I had funerals each day (each at a different church). Tuesday evening there was a thank-you party to those who were involved in this past year’s confirmation class. On Wednesday evening there was a Sankt Hans party at church. They served the traditional meal: rømmegrøt. Thursday was a wonderfully sunny and warm day. Unfortunately I had to spend most of the day indoors: midday prayer service, a devotional service, a funeral, and a rehearsal with a trumpeter. But on Thursday evening I rode my bike to one of the Seven Sisters trails (Botnkrone) and hiked up to see fantastic views of the area.

The lilacs are just now beginning to bloom. I’ve notices a few rhododendrons are also beginning to flower.

Friday evening we had a terrific down pour with thunder and lightning. The lightning knocked out many TV’s in the area. People were upset that they couldn’t watch the soccer matches. The lightning also knocked out the wifi that I’m hooked up to. Hopefully it will be fixed soon. In the meantime I’m using someone else’s that isn’t locked.

Saturday I had two weddings: 2pm and 3pm at different churches. I was able to just make the 3 pm wedding (arriving at 2:55). A very good trumpeter played at the 2^nd wedding. During the morning I rehearsed with a bass trombonist who will play a piece for the 11 am Sunday service.

Longest Day

Here in Norway the week ends on a Sunday. In the U.S. the week begins on a Sunday, at least according to the calendar. At end of this week (24) there was celebrations for Petter Dass (1647-1707) who was a clergyman/poet here in Alstahaug community. He wrote many hymns, several are still in the Norwegian hymnal. On Sunday morning there was a festival service at Alstahaug. The Bishop from Bodø attended and preached the sermon. During the afternoon I rehearsed with the Helgelands Choir for the program at 6 pm. For the concert there was a good turnout, about 100 to 125 attending. It was a great success. The director, Chris Eva, lives in Lurøy (north of here about 25 miles). He’s a Brit who has lived here for about 15 years. The program included several pieces by Norwegian composers, a few British pieces (Purcell, Gibbons & Tallis) and a Buxtehude cantata on Jesu, meine Lebens Leben. The program was well performed and was very well received by an appreciative audience.

Today (or tomorrow) is the longest day of the year. Tomorrow the days will begin to get shorter, and hopefully warmer.

Last weeks of increasing sunlight

Monday, the 7^th of June. This week promises to be great weather. (If it’s good weather in southern Norway it’s usually stormy up north, and vice versa) I took a bike ride in the Botn area and saw my first tulips of the season. Temperature was only about 50. I received notice that my residence permit has been approved. Tuesday morning I took my paperwork back to the police station. They will let me know when my passport can be stamped with the permit. The Folkeregister people took back my application and will process it. I don’t think I’ll need to go back to that office any more. Tuesday is a great arctic summer day – you only need one pair of long johns!

Thursday evening I played a few accompaniments for the men’s chorus here. This year is the 100^th anniversary of Bjørnsterne Bjørnson’s death. You ask, who? In the 19^th century Bjørnson was more famous than his contemporary, Henrik Ibsen. A hundred years later practically no one outside of Norway has heard of Bjørnson. He received the Nobel Prize in literature in 1903, was a prolific writer, poet, and fighter for human rights. He is the author of Norway’s national anthem, Ja, vi elsker dette landet (Yes, we love this country). The Norwegian national anthem isn’t much better than the Star Spangled Banner (musically), but at least the texts speak of peace and love, not guns and bombs exploding. The men’s chorus presented a concert consisting of several pieces with Bjørnson texts.

The weather this week has been great. All early flowering plants are in bloom. Saturday I cycled to Alstahaug and back (32 km roundtrip). This time it didn’t seem so hard. Maybe I’m getting in shape. I walked around the Petter Dass Museum and bought a few cards. In Saturday’s mail delivery came my new resident number/tax number from Folkeregister. Now the only bureaucratic item left is to get my passport stamped with the resident permit.

Sunday was a busy day. At about 9:40 am I met our senior minister-dean and his wife at the office and we drove to the ferry connection to get to the island of Tro. There were about 20 people attending this 11:30 service at a school. After the service we took the ferry back. Olav Rune (senior minister-dean) and his wife Marit invited me to dinner at their house. They grilled some pork tenderloin, sausages and mushrooms. We ate outside with their daughter Marta under a summer enclosure. The weather wasn’t so warm, but at least there was not a steady rain. After coffee and dessert I went to the church to prepare for the evening service at 6:30. Everything went well.

At the end of week 23 (June 13) sunset is about 1 am, sunrise is at 1: 15 am. The sun is now spinning around us in one large circle.

Monday morning: there must have been a power failure during the night. Both of my electric clocks were two hours off and my alarm clock was two hours late. Tuesday I waited about ½ hour in line at the bank to get a new credit card. My new resident ID number requires that I get a new credit card which gives my id number. I can’t access my bank account by computer but at least I can continue to buy things by credit card at the grocery store. The bank official said a new card has been ordered and it will be in next week. On Wednesday the staff at church had a going away party for Kristine Almås. She directs the gospel choir and the Friends choir. Wednesday evening I attended the church council meeting. They wanted to know my thoughts and intentions on the choral program.

Scandinavia has a fixation with the microphone. Last weekend I watched a Danish program on music on television. A wind group (flute, oboe, clarinet, flute, horn and bassoon) played a few pieces together, and then each player demonstrated his instrument. The music was all classical – mostly baroque. At the end they had a vocalist with a microphone sing something in a pop style. I don’t understand this mixing of styles, and I probably never will.

The church in Sandnessjøen has two groups of singers in which each singer has a microphone. Maybe Scandinavians have a karaoke complex. I don’t understand it. I’ll ask some musician friends who can explain it. At the Friends concert they used a cd player as accompaniment: music minus one. (Which reminds of the definition of a castrato: music minus two).

Friday I played for a end-of-term ceremony/church service for a nursing school. I keep on forgetting that there is no separation of church and state here. The ceremony marked the important step for the graduates. The service included 4 hymns, prayers, a biblical reading, sermon, Lord’s Prayer, creed, and Ten Commandments.

Friday afternoon I finally got a car, actually I’m leasing a small van. The vans are cheaper to rent/buy than a passenger car. The van I have is no longer than a regular car, but it is higher. There is only one passenger seat, so if I have more than one guest I will have to rent a regular car. But on the practical side I can put my bike in the back.. Not having driven a car in nearly 2 months it was a little strange at first.

After the summery weather last week, we’re back to early-spring weather. This past week was mostly cold and rainy, but at least it didn’t snow.

First week in June

The end of week 22. We’re getting closer to the summer solstice. Last week it seemed to be getting warmer with hints of summer. This past week put an end to thoughts of summer: we didn’t have snow but it hailed on Friday. The temperatures didn’t get much higher than 50 F.

I was finally able to open a bank account. More about that in a later post.

The wedding season gets busy later this month, especially at Alstahaug – the medieval stone church. I had a wedding on Saturday. Beginning in late June there are 2 ceremonies each weekend.

On Sunday there were two confirmation services at Alstahaug Church: one at 11 am and the other at 1 pm. About 150 at the first service and 200 at the second. It’s amazing that the minister (Katrin Wiegmann) got through all the liturgy and blessing of each confirmand in just under 45 minutes for each service. Sverre Rattsø played alto saxophone for each service. Everything went very well.

I need to get a car, especially for this summer. With all the weddings and other services/devotions at the other churches I can’t depend on local bus (they don’t run on Sunday mornings. On weekdays there is one at 7:15 am. The next one is at 1 pm). The best solution seems to be to rent long term. Not knowing how long I’ll be here, this seems to make the most sense.

Today sunrise is at 2 am, sunset at 12:20 am. Length of day: 22 hours, 20 minutes.