The Olav Festival started on Thursday 28th July.  We had been looking forward to quality concerts, pilgrim walks and worship services and we have not been disappointed  We have received plenty to take away, our horizons have been broadened and our faith in God, in humanity and in the world has been strengthened.

We worked steadily through our own programme on our conference theme from Monday to Wednesday.  You will find a short summary of what we have done by clicking here

The Welcome and Opening Presentation ‘A PILGRIMAGE TOWARDS HOPE’ by the Preces of the Church of Norway, The Most Rev Olav Fykse Tveit, can be read here

The sermon on ANNE AND JOACHIM preached at our Anglican Eucharist can be read here

An account of the Round Table Discussion by the Lutheran, Roman Catholic and Anglican bishops can be found here

‘WALKING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF CHAD’, the presentation by Bishop Michael Ipgrave can be read by clicking here

The presentation by Bishop Tor Berger Jorgensen, ‘NORWAY - AND THE CHURCH OF NORWAY TODAY’ is available here

For ‘ST OLAV IN AN HISTORICAL-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE’ by Dr Margrethe Stang click here

‘THE CATHEDRAL OF HOPE’ and its origin and purpose is explained by the Rev Einar Tjelle here

‘WHERE IS HOPE FOR THE PEOPLES OF AFRICA’, the presentation by Canon Hilda Kabia, is here

You can read about Thursday, the first day of the Festival, by clicking here

Our report of Friday, our final day of the conference, is here

On the Tuesday afternoon six of our members gave mini-presentations on aspects of their life and ministry that related to our dual theme of ‘pilgrimage’ and ‘hope’, and we were able to share in three of them.

PILGRIMAGE IN SPANDAU – Karsten Dierks’ described pilgrimage routes he and his colleagues have established in Spandau, a suburb of Berlin, Germany. His PowerPoint presentation can be viewed here

LOCKED DOWN – Charlotte Hudd told of her experience as a nurse in a care home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read all about it here

JESUS THE TROUBLEMAKER – Andy Roland explained how he found new insights by writing historical novels. His story is here

FINDING HOPE JUST OUTSIDE THE CHURCH – Helen Harding focused on burial grounds as places of hope. She has made a short film you can watch here  It takes just a moment or two to open so be patient!

LONDON ANGLICANS AND POLISH ROMAN CATHOLICS UNDER THE SAME ROOF – James Chegwidden spoke about an ecumenical journey that has led to a ministry among asylum seekers. We hope to be able to post it soon.

THE GOOD ENDING OF A NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN LOVE STORY – Kimberli Lile’s presentation included personal material. She’s obtained permission to share it here

A full account of the conference has been published in the September 2022 issue of The Window.