Today, I gave a brief presentation about the now-lost medieval church of my native village of Hyen in the Western Norwegian fjords. The presentation followed an outdoors church service, arranged as part of our annual village festival, according to an established tradition. These services are usually in non-consecrated places, but this year the service was held on the site where the medieval church once stood - at least in overwhelming probability. The former church site is located next to one of the neighbourhood farms, and the family of that farm had done a great job to prepare for the service and lent equipment for the occasion. I will write more about this service and my presentation at a later point, but to catch the mood of this unconventional church service, I give you the church bell, suspended from an old walking cane belonging to the farmer family, stuck into the walls of the now-torn-down barn. While the bell was brought by the representatives of the parish church, the arrangement was done through what was readily available on the farm, a mixture of conventional and unconventional that highlighted how such church services are made possible through team work and contributions from the local community. It serves as a good symbol for the occasion, and filled me with great joy.
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