The Christmas peace in Stord in Vestland came to an end when the local church sent out a press release on the third day of Christmas. The municipality gives NOK 2.1 million less than what they asked for. In response, they now turn the temperature in Stord church down to 11 degrees. In practice, this means an end to all ecclesiastical acts in the church. It was built in 1857, but since the Middle Ages there has been a church in the same place. Gerda Malene Øen has been baptised, confirmed and married in Stord church. – I belong to this church. Photo: Eli Bjelland / news Everything has now been moved to Nysæter church, which was consecrated in 1992. It is smaller, and does not have the same symbolic value for many in the municipality. Many in the municipality have reacted strongly after the local newspapers Stord24 and Sunnhordland first mentioned the case. Want to take matters into my own hands – I think it’s completely crazy, says Gerda Malene Øen. She has a clear plan about what will happen on the day she dies and the main church is closed. – They can only take me straight from the hospital chapel, drive me to Haugesund 6 miles away to be cremated, and then place the urn in the churchyard here a few weeks later. Stord municipality has two churches. Nysæter church was consecrated at the beginning of the 90s. It is modern and easier to warm up. Photo: Olav Røli / news Being buried from the other church in the municipality is not an option, she says. That’s why she wants to open up herself to keep the main church open. – I would have done well. And there are a lot of people who have money lying around. I think the politicians have choked the permits Kyrkjeverje and the daily leader in Stord church, Liv Kari Bru, defends the drastic measures. – When the politicians in the municipality cut NOK 2.1 million from the budget I submitted, and cut far more than what the administration proposed in its budget submission, then it has dramatic consequences. Over several years, she believes that the politicians in the municipality have cut off the permits. The brass dish in the baptismal font in Stord church is from the 17th century. Liv Kari Bru believes they have no other choice but to say no to the use of the main church until further notice. Photo: Eli Bjelland / news Figures from Statistics Norway also show that Stord municipality is among the municipalities in Norway that lend the least to their churches. Bru thinks it hurts to close the main church. – The situation is absolutely terrible. Especially when it happens to those who are going to have a funeral, says the church official. – Is it an alternative to let people pay themselves for funerals, for example? “We haven’t discussed that yet. Basically, it should be free to use the churches according to a principle of equality,” she replies. She underlines that the municipality has a duty under the Trust Societies Act to keep the church building in a safe condition. Stord church should use its own funds to maintain operations, a majority of the politicians in Stord municipality believe. Photo: Eli Bjelland / news Law on communities of faith and beliefs (Communities of Faith Act) Section 14 states, among other things, that: The state provides subsidies to the clergy and the church’s activities nationally and regionally. The municipality provides subsidies to the local business of the churches, such as subsidies for the construction, maintenance and operation of church buildings. The grant must ensure that church buildings are kept in a safe condition, so that they can be used for church services and church activities. Source: Legislative data Councilor Kjersti Toppe: – I don’t like it Children and Family Minister Kjersti Toppe doesn’t like people in one municipality being asked to use another church. – I cannot go into the finances of each individual municipality. But I am concerned about the churches being open, she says. – I feel that many churches are experiencing tight financial conditions, but that the municipalities are doing a lot to keep them open. Minister for Children and Families Kjersti Toppe believes that the municipality should ask itself whether it is sound business to allow so little to the church that they have to close. Photo: Eli Bjelland / news Toppe adds that it is enshrined in the constitution that municipalities have a responsibility to operate the folk churches in Norway. – When they then reduce the temperature so much that the church is closed, the municipality must ask itself whether this is proper operation, she says. The mayor thinks the church must use funds Mayor Sigbjørn Framnes (Frp) in Stord municipality says the message from the church came like lightning from the blue. – In advance, the joint council signaled that this could mean longer grass in the churchyards this summer. Not that they had to close the church, he says. For several hundred years there have been church buildings right at the entrance to Leirvik in Stord municipality. For many, closing the church is not an option. Photo: Olav Røli / news Nevertheless, they did not budge an inch on their budget. Framnes believes the church must use the money they have in the fund. – They have NOK 3.6 million in funds. I think it is right and reasonable that they take this money in what must be defined as an economic crisis year for the municipality.
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Stord church closes due to lack of money – The politicians ask the church to use saved funds – news Vestland
