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| Solborg Folkehøgskole (sometimes translated as "Folk High School"), Stavanger, site of the 2025 Nordic Yearly Meeting. Photo taken at 10:15 p.m. |
About a year ago I wrote about the 54-foot sloop Restauration, whose 21st-century version is set to leave Stavanger's harbor tomorrow on a transatlantic voyage. By this voyage it will be commemorating the 200th anniversary of the start of the organized migration of Norwegians to the USA.
Among those aboard that original ship were several Quaker members and attenders, as well as participants in the Haugean renewal movement in the Lutheran Church in Norway. Their Atlantic crossing took over three months, during which a child was born.
Now, 200 years later, among those planning to be at the departure of the new Restauration are Norway's king and queen, and Liv Ullmann ... and a crowd of Quakers from the Nordic yearly meeting that began today.
They won't just be commemorating a peculiar event of Norwegian and Quaker history. As the restauration.no Web site points out, the commemorative voyage is intended "to honor, among others, those who left in 1825 in search of a better life. History must not be forgotten, and is highly relevant in light of the current situation in the world."
Usually, the Quakers of the Scandinavian countries meet in their separate yearly meetings, but every third year they have a combined gathering like the one that started today. I have never been at a combined Nordic Yearly Meeting. The only time that I was at Norway Yearly Meeting was 29 years ago. All that plus tomorrow's departure of the sloop—I've been looking forward to this visit for a long time.
This evening's sessions were a wonderful start. I brought greetings from Camas Friends Church and Moscow Friends Meeting; other greetings came from Friends from meetings and Friends organizations in at least seven countries beyond Scandinavia and Finland. The evening program included some singing: specifically some Scandinavian and Finnish lullabies. Just what your jet-lagged blogger needed.
I'm going to stop here and get some sleep.
FRIDAY UPDATE: Here is my video of the Restauration's departure. The scene starts with the royal party returning to the royal yacht Norge, and then pans to catch the Restauration entering the frame from the right.
Two impressions and a question: Reflections on Nordic Yearly Meeting (July 10).
You can keep track of the new Restauration's progress on these maps.
Elderchaplain on choosing life, one day at a time.
I proposed—and he [Bruce] agreed—that we engage in a dialog I called “Hard Earned Wisdom,” an open conversation regarding his experience with ALS and the insights and realizations this has afforded him. No one would choose this path to wisdom....
I continue to be eager to find out how you understand the words "racist" and "racism."
Blues from Sweden (Louise Hoffsten) and Finland (Wentus Blues Band).
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