It is already cold in Kirkelandet church in Kristiansund. With 30 meters under the roof and a lot of glass, the insulation is not the best. The tripling of electricity prices means that it will cost around NOK 150,000 to keep the church warm in December. – I would encourage those who come to visit to sit with their jackets on, says church guardian in the municipality, Kjersti Harstad. Kirkelandet Church in Kristiansund will be even colder next year. Photo: Eirik Haukenes / news Concern for the funerals Electricity bills three times higher than normal mean that the churches have to turn down the temperature to 15 degrees. – We can raise the temperature a couple of degrees during funerals and church services, but it is still cold, says the church warden. Parish priest Tormod Sikkeland believes that the problem primarily arises when there are funerals. – When you have to bury your 80-year-old mother, and have to sit here shivering and freezing! It’s already cold enough on a day like this. Church warden Kjersti Harstad and parish priest Tormod Sikkeland. Photo: Eirik Haukenes / news No electricity support north of Dovre Sikkeland says that electricity is a huge challenge. At the end of October, the Storting decided that the churches further south should receive an electricity subsidy of NOK 30 million, so that they would be able to keep going through Christmas. But the churches north of Dovre did not get it. Earlier this week, the Ministry of Children and Families wrote in an e-mail to news that there are currently no concrete plans to extend the support. They also write that the municipalities are responsible for the churches. Trondheim and Ålesund do not turn down the temperature The organist in the church is already feeling the cold well, even though the temperatures are not to be turned down until Boxing Day. – The fingers are already cold, so I’m excited to see how it turns out, says cantor Paul André Nilsen Grande. Cantor Paul André Nilsen has already put on the wool sweater. Photo: Eirik Haukenes / news But in Trondheim you won’t have to sit with your down jacket or wool sweater on during funerals and church services. – The electricity is also periodically expensive here, but we have not gone to the assessments that we should lower the temperatures in the church at Christmas, says church guardian Kjell Inge Nordgård. The churches in Ålesund also have plans to keep the temperature up as usual, although electricity prices also affect them. – We are thinking of creating a good experience during the Christmas holiday, as far as it can be done, and then we have to make a new assessment over the New Year, says church guardian Andrea Hunger. Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim is among the churches where you do not need to wear outer clothing during services. Photo: Kjartan Ovesen / news
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