Newsletter and Gustaf Adolf Nordic Congregation in Liverpool Dear Readers

12 Pages·2016·0.44 MB·English

29th Issue
April 2016-November 2016
Newsletter

From
LiNC
and
Gustaf Adolf
Nordic Congregation
in Liverpool

Dear Readers,
The sun is, after a not too cold winter, shining warmly on our faces at the beginning
of April, the change into British Summertime makes the days seem longer, which of course
they are; we stay up longer in the evening compared to getting up earlier in the morning. But
we could be missing out on something, there is many an early morning when we could sit
and enjoy a quiet moment with the song-birds before the morning rush traffic starts to
drown them out. For us of Nordic extraction, we remember the fast increasing hours of day-
light in our homelands, culminating in the high season of the summer when it never gets
dark; when you can walk in the countryside and not lose your way at all. It is a far cry from
the darkest winter nights we also have to endure. But now it is summer we look forward to,
wherever we are going to spend it!
We have the usual on offer, programme for the summer season and reports from
the chairmen, but most importantly, subscription forms to fill in and send away to us. Why
do we mention this so often? Because it is the member numbers that matter, we want as
many people as possible to feel that they belong in this building --in whatever way you wish
it to be-- and not just a cosy little club for a few. So, if you are Nordic in origin, have contacts
with Nordic countries, just love the television series and films or you are just curious about
the Nordic Cultural Centre, come and enjoy the activities that take place in this building!

Church AGM 29 MAY ----- a change from last year, make a note of it!
LiNC AGM as usual in November.
LiNC Chairman, Roger Metcalf:
Time passes very quickly and now, at the end of March, we look forward to the summer. This
magazine will tell you of the events that are currently planned, but the list always increases as time
goes by, so keep up to date by looking at our web site.
We have had our usual busy period of activity leading up to Christmas. This year the bazaar
was even more successful, and resulted in a record level of income. We need to keep this improvement
going, even if it is harder work for our volunteers on the day, who deserve a big thank you. Thanks to
those of you involved in the preparations. We need to give even wider advertisement to the occasion
this year, and more help from volunteers will be very welcome.
The Lucia Concert in the Liverpool Cathedral was attended by fewer people than last year and
this again emphasises the need for us to ask you to help in the advertising of the event, which is a really
spectacular occasion in the Cathedral. Our own Lucia at the church was, as usual, a very special occa-
sion and was well attended. Many thanks to all the families that took part in the performance.
Our volunteers have continued to keep the church building open for our usual activities, coffee morn-
ings, conducted tours, concerts and of course church services. I thank the volunteers very much for
maintaining all this activity over the winter. The change to having a wider range of volunteers organis-
ing the coffee mornings has been very successful, and I thank all those involved.
We have been informed that the building work on the development of the Heap’s Mill area
next to the church may well be starting in the near future. In fact, I am attending a meeting with the
architects and the developers this month, where I will be getting much more information. We are, of
course, very concerned that all the construction work will not harm the safety of our Grade II* building
or our access to the church.
The Social and Cultural visit events have continued to increase in number, particularly the vis-
its from heritage groups, and the number of concerts and local Liverpool group gigs have increased. It
will be very welcome if some more of our members can volunteer to help out at these events. Please
get in touch with me if you are able to do this.
The Nordic Liverpool web site is now updated regularly. This is a challenging piece of work,
and would be an ideal work experience job for a young person (or not so young!) with an interest in
working on up-dating websites. If there is anyone who would be interested, please contact me or any
member of the board.
I thank everyone, particularly the committee board members, who has been helping us
throughout the year and very much appreciate the work that is carried out by volunteers to make
events and activities happen. As I have said earlier, more volunteers are always welcome, so if you can
help, please inform me or any of the members of the board.
As usual, thank you to all the people who give so generously to our charity in terms of membership,
money and their time to help out at all our events.
____________________________________________________________________
Members of LiNC Company: Preliminary date for AGM: Sunday 13 November 2016.
You will be called to the Annual General Meeting by letter or email, please make a
note in your diary. If you cannot attend, make sure you take part in the elections by
filling in the accompanying proxy form.
LiNC Charity Company Ltd
(Registration in England 8351592 Charity registration 1152041)
By becoming a paying member, you have a right to vote in elections of Directors at
a general meeting and vote for any resolutions put forward by the directors. A
third of the directors are elected or re-elected each year. You will get copies of the
financial accounts and the Chairman’s report. We ask you to pay £25 for each
person in the household per year, this to reflect the costs of running and maintaining the building along with the
costs of all activities. Make cheques payable to LiNC Company Ltd, (Send this form to 138 Park Lane, Liverpool,
L1 8HG
I, ............................................................................................................................(capitals, please)
wish to make a donation of £...........for 12 months’ subscription.
OR: I wish to make a bank standing order for £............/ month/year. Please contact Harriet Busby for
bank details.
I will tell you when I no longer wish to be a member. I agree that I will not be considered a member
when the renewal date is overdue by 3 months.

Address.......................................................................................................................................................................

................................ Email address..................................................................................Phone.................................
Please tick here.......... if you agree that we communicate with you in the future by email.
We will save on a lot of postal costs and administrative work!
Signature: .......................................................................................................Date.........................
__________________________________________________________________________________

I, ............................................................................................................................(capitals, please)
wish to make a donation of £...........for 12 months’ subscription.
OR: I wish to make a bank standing order for £............/ month/year. Please contact Harriet Busby for
bank details.
I will tell you when I no longer wish to be a member. I agree that I will not be considered a member
when the renewal date is overdue by 3 months.

Address.......................................................................................................................................................................

................................ Email address..................................................................................Phone.................................
Please tick here.......... if you agree that we communicate with you in the future by email.
We will save on a lot of postal costs and administrative work!
Signature: .......................................................................................................Date.........................
Charity Gift Aid Declaration – In order to Gift Aid your donation you must tick the box below:
I want to Gift Aid my donation of £________and any donations I make in the future or have made in the past
4 years, to Liverpool international Nordic Community Company. I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less
Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year it is my
resp onsibility to pay any difference.

Title ______ First name or initial(s) ___________________ Surname _____________________________________
Full Home address ______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________ Postcode _________ Date_____________
Please notify the charity if you want to cancel this declaration; change your name or home address; no longer pay
sufficient tax on your income and/or capital gains. If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to
receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self-Assessment tax
return or ask HM Revenue and Customs to adjust your tax code.
Stan Royden: REPORT FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF GANC
Yes, we are GANC – the Gustaf Adolf Nordic Congregation – but the faces are still the same,
for good or bad, and here are the chairman’s observations, albeit in somewhat random order:
Our pastor Jo Jan is finding his feet and has made some useful contacts, especially with the
German church. He is making strenuous efforts to cope with Scandinavian languages and is involving
more members of the congregation in the services, which is very laudable. We have extended his con-
tract to the end of this year, but can still only afford to pay him for eight hours per week, unfortunately.
Attendance at the services has been fairly stable and the special events (Lucia, Christmas Eve,
etc.) have been very well supported. The Lucia choir saved their only practice until just a few hours
before the actual “performance”, but all went well, thanks in no small measure to the superb leader-
ship of Cinna (once again).
Don’t forget that you can “donate” flowers for the altar in memory of a loved one; Mette will
make sure that they will look lovely in the sanctuary.
There have been fewer visiting clergy lately, for obvious reasons, but by the time you read
this, Eva Massey (Swedish) will have preached at the Palm Sunday service. Lars Ruden continues to hold
a Norwegian communion service once a month, now using our new Norwegian hymn-books, donated
by Torbjørn Holt from the Norwegian church in London, in exchange for the grandfather clock that
stood in the coffee-lounge(!)
The seat cushions are another addition, bought on the initiative of the craft group and paid
for jointly by them, the church council, LiNC and an individual member of the LiNC board. The general
opinion is that they improve the look of the church considerably - as well as being comfortable.
We have regular “gigs” and concerts in the church, bringing in much-needed income. Roger
Metcalf has made an attractive “rope-and-post” barrier to discourage anyone from accessing the sanc-
tuary, and house-custodian Ole and his wife Vernissa make sure everything is put back where it belongs
after the events. We have been asked by a promoter to have the piano moved upstairs (at their ex-
pense), at least for a few concerts, so we’ll see how that goes.
For the last few months we have had the pleasure of John Grundy helping at our Sunday ser-
vices. John is a member of the United Reformed Church and is almost half way through his training at
Northern College in Manchester. For his placement he asked to come to us “to be part of a multi-
national community and experience worship in different languages, Lutheran liturgy and cultural
styles”. His input has been considerable, but he will be moving on in May and we will be sad to see him
go. We send him our very best wishes and assure him that he will always be welcome back.
As I write these notes, we are looking forward to hosting the LCiGB synod, on Saturday 16th
April, so you will have to wait for a report on that until the next newsletter.
Phil Benzie continues to play the organ at all our regular Sunday services. His reliability is very
reassuring.
We are delighted that a stalwart member of our congregation, Joan Reece, is joining the
church council; her experience and enthusiasm will be a great asset. I thank, as ever, all the current
members of the council for their unflagging support and willingness to offer help and advice.
Finally, please note that our AGM has been brought forward and will now take place on Sunday 29th
May. Make a note in your diaries!
God bless
Stan
___________________________________________________________________________
Members of Gustaf Adolf Nordic Congregation Company:
You will be called to the Annual General Meeting on Sunday 29 May 2016, by letter or
email, please make a note in your diary. If you cannot attend, make sure you still partici-
pate in the elections by filling in the proxy vote form in the accompanying letter or email.
2016/17 Subscription form for membership of the

Gustaf Adolf Nordic Congregation Company
at Gustaf Adolf Church, Liverpool
Company registration in England and Wales 7034654
As a member you have the right to vote at the congregation’s AGM and
elect the church council members/directors. This board decides on the
activities and expenditures of the parish.
It has been decided that we should recommend a congregational
membership fee of £25 per annum for each individual and you must
be over 18 years of age. We are aware that you might not be able to
pay as much but we do appreciate whatever you can contribute to the
congregation.
1st person in the household ----Capitals, please:

I ............................................................................. wish to make a donation of £...........for 12 months.
OR: I wish to make a standing order for £............/ month/year. Please contact Harriet Busby for this.
See back page for contact details. I wish to be a member...... or a sponsor........ (tick appropriately)
Signature: .................................................................................................................Date.......................
Address....................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
Phone..................................Email............................................................................................................
IMPORTANT! By giving us your email address you agree that we can contact you in this way.
2nd person in the household: ----Capitals, please:

I ..............................................................................wish to make a donation of £..............for 12 month.
OR: I wish to make a standing order for £............/ month/year. Please contact Harriet Busby for this.
See back page for contact details. I wish to be a member...... or a sponsor........ (tick appropriately)
Signature: ...................................................................................................................Date......................
Address.....................................................................................................................................................
Phone..................................Email............................................................................................................
IMPORTANT! By giving us your email address you agree that we will contact you in this way.
Make cheques payable to Gustaf Adolf Nordic Congregation. Send this form to 138 Park Lane, Liver-
pool, L1 8HG. I am/we are willing to volunteer and can help in these areas:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_
Charity Gift Aid Declaration – In order to Gift Aid your donation you must tick the box below:
I want to Gift Aid my donation of £________and any donations I make in the future or have made in the past

4 years, to Gustaf Adolf Nordic Congregation Company. I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less Income
Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year it is my re-
spo nsibility to pay any difference.

Title ______ First name or initial(s) ________________ Surname ________________________________________
Full Home address
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Postcode _________ Date_____________
Please notify the charity if you want to cancel this declaration; change your name or home address; no longer pay
sufficient tax on your income and/or capital gains. If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to
receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self-Assessment tax
return or ask HM Revenue and Customs to adjust your tax code.
Events for LiNC and the Gustaf Adolf Nordic Church and Cultural Centre in Liverpool,
April-November 2016
Norwegian and Swedish language classes every Thursday evening at 19.30 -unless noted below.
Craft café/Knitting circle most Saturday morning at 11.00 -unless noted below.
April
17 Sun NO service
20 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning
23 Sat 14.00 Finnish school
24 Sun 11.30 Family service, lunch afterwards
25 Mon 19.45 Film night: Lotta, Aku Louhimies, Finland, 2003 (98 mins)
Refreshments served beforehand
27 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning
May
1 Sun 17.00/5pm!! Valborgsmässoafton celebrations. Short prayer service in the garden
A Swedish welcome to Spring; Janssons and meatballs served
4 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning
7 Sat 14.00 Finnish school
8 Sun 11.30 Communion service, lunch afterwards
11 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning NO Norwegian service
14 Sat NO Craft café
15 Sun 13.00!! 17 Mai celebrations, starting at Pier Head, then at church. Please phone
Mette or church for more information
16 Mon 19.45 Film night: Blind, Eskil Vogt, Norway, 2014 (96 mins)
17 Tue 18.00 Norwegian 17 mai dinner: Meat or fish served, phone church (0151 709
7763) for reservation and choice of dinner. £10.00 per person
18 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning
20 Fri 19.30 Linnea evening for Swedish-speaking ladies, info [email protected]
21 Sat 14.00 Finnish school
22 Sun 11.30 Service
25 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning
29 Sun 11.30 Short service, Afterwards: AGM for Gustaf Adolf Nordic
Congregation Company, lunch afterwards
Members will be notified
June
1 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning
5 Sun 11.30 Service, lunch afterwards. Celebrations of Swedish and Danish
national days
8 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning 12.30 Norwegian service
12 Sun 11.30 Communion service
15 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning
17 Fri 19.30 Linnea evening for Swedish-speaking ladies, info [email protected]
19! Sun 11.30 Early Midsummer service, Maypole and dance in the garden. Herring
plate and strawberry cream cake served.
22 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning
26 Sun 11.30 Communion service, lunch afterwards
29 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning

There will be NO Craft Café nor Language classes during the summer. Tutors will inform.
July
3 Sun 11.30 Communion service, lunch afterwards
6 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning
10 Sun 11.30 Communion service, lunch afterwards
13 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning
17 Sun 11.30 Communion Service, lunch afterwards
20 Weds 11.30 Coffee morning
27 Weds 11.30 Coffee morning
NB! The church is closed from 28 July to 3 September
September
3 Sat 11.00 Craft Café resumes
4 Sun 11.30 Communion service, lunch afterwards
7 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning
8 Thu/9 Fri/10 Sat 11.00-16.00 English Heritage Open Days, guides and refreshments available
11 Sun 11.30 Communion service, lunch afterwards
14 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning 12.30 Norwegian service
16 Fri 19.30 Linnea evening for Swedish-speaking ladies, info [email protected]
17 Sat 14.00 Finnish school
18 Sun NO service
21 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning
25 Sun 11.30 Family service, lunch afterwards
28 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning
October
1 Sat 14.00 Finnish school
2 Sun 11.30 Communion service, lunch afterwards
5 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning
9 Sun 11.30 Communion service, lunch afterwards
12 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning 12.30 Norwegian service
15 Sat 14.00 Finnish school
16 Sun NO service
19 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning
21 Fri 19.30 Linnea evening for Swedish-speaking ladies, info [email protected]
23 Sun 11.30 Communion service, lunch afterwards
26 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning
29 Sat 14.00 Finnish school
30 Sun 11.30 Family service, lunch afterwards
November
2 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning
6 Sun 16.00/4pm A Joint Reformation service at the German Church in Liverpool
9 Wed 11.30 Coffee morning 12.30 Norwegian service
11 Fri 10.45 Remembrance Day at Pier Head
11 Fri 19.30 Linnea evening for Swedish-speaking ladies, info [email protected]
12 Sat 14.00 Finnish school
13 Sun 11.30 Service
12.00 Preliminary date for LiNC Company AGM, 12.00.
Members will be notified
16 Wed NO Coffee morning, preparations for the bazaar
19 Sat 12.00-16.00 Christmas Bazaar
Ann Giles: Life in exile:
The Swedish mother in the check-out queue at IKEA Geneva; two extra-large pot-
plants in her trolley, plus a couple of smaller items. Probably not tealights but some other
essential. Her small son desperate for his lördagsgodis.
It’s a sign of what matters. At a guess the family had just moved to Switzerland, liv-
ing in a furnished flat, wanting plants to make the place feel more like home. And as long as
your child can have the lördagsgodis they expect (it was Saturday, after all), things will feel
almost normal, despite the rather exorbitant cost of sweets in this expensive country.
In the queue next to them, another mother with her – slightly older – child, not re-
quiring lördagsgodis, but wishing to buy some proper Swedish stuff, also to feel at home in a
new Swiss flat. This ’child’ is half British, but has grown up with an exiled mother who im-
mersed her children in things Swedish.
The day before, I had (because it was me) stood knee deep in Ektorp sofa parts and
swearing over Kallax shelves, wondering how on earth to get rid of all the packaging, stop-
ping every now and then to eat frozen IKEA lussekatter, which had been lurking in the child’s
freezer since December.
And how do you order the IKEA veggie balls for lunch, in French, when you don’t
speak French, and it says Grönsaksbullar on the menu? It’s one thing to attempt saying Pjät-
teryd ‘in English,’ and quite another to manage an ö with a suitably French accent. And what
to call the chips? (Chips, apparently.)
There are other places for the Swede in exile. Church, for instance. The Swedish
church in Switzerland is based in Lausanne, but appears to have most of its services in Gene-
va. Thanks to our Liverpool church background, we know to approach the church to see what
they have to offer.
In his email the minister says that it could be that the Norwegians have more for
students, and again, thanks to Liverpool, we feel quite at home with the idea that the Nor-
wegian church could be another home away from home. Especially since we remember Anne
and Oddgeir Bolstad who left Liverpool for Geneva. Might some of what their former church
offers be remnants of what they once started?
It’s not quite the Circle of Life but it’s comfortingly coincidental nevertheless. Reli-
gion. Furniture. Lussekatter and lördagsgodis. Old friends. New friends.
___________________________________________________________________________
Looking forward: 17 mai will be celebrated twice: on 15th May at the Pier Head and church, then on
Tuesday 17 May we invite Norwegians to a dinner and sing song at church. Reserve a seat early.
We hope to find a choir for the traditional Lucia concert in the cathedral, the date is set for Saturday
10th December. The day after, Sunday 11th, we have our own Lucia service at the church. Please contact
Cinna ([email protected]) in the autumn
Saturday 19 November will be the date for the annual Christmas Bazaar. Help needed on the day and a
few days before!
Looking back: Last year’s Christmas bazaar was a great success, some 400 came and with aftersales we
took well over £4 000.
Lucia in the cathedral had fewer people attending, probably due to the appalling weather. We received
£300 from the Swedish Embassy’s cultural fund, a most welcome addition to the coffers. The visiting
choirs generously pay most of their own costs, LiNC pays a very modest sum and only offer them some
meals and 10 B&B places instead of expensive hotel rooms.
A Crafty Story

Last year the Bazaar Group metamorphosed into the Craft Café. What’s the differ-
ence you may ask? The Craft Café is a chance to knit and natter and make something for
yourself. And of course, donations to the craft
table are always appreciated but not essential.
People come, do their own thing, bring their
own crafts, share skills and ideas.
If you are a beginner, others are on
hand to help. Activities include, knitting, felt-
ing, weaving, braiding, paper craft, to name
but a few- anything goes. Don’t feel you have
to be an expert- the atmosphere is friendly and
welcoming.

We meet on Saturday morning, 11am to
1.30 pm at The Nordic Church, 138 Park Lane, Liver-
pool 1, just along from John Lewis. The cost is £5
and that includes lunch. We have a small car park.
Profit from the morning goes to LiNC and the craft
table.
All money taken from sales at the craft table
pays for extra equipment around the building. So far
we have bought new serving cabinets and chair up-

holstery in the community room, the electronic pi-
ano in the church, large cooking pots for the kitchen
and a contribution to the replacement pew cushions.
Everything we sell is hand made. You can buy cheaper from Primark but all our garments are
individually crafted. You’ll find beautiful scarves, gloves, socks, hats, stoles, ponchos, etc,
using quality yarns in a range of designs from traditional to modern, and we can knit to or-
der. It’s not that long to Christmas, so start buying now!!!

FOR MORE INFO CONTACT METTE AT 07543 160 800 OR SYLVIA AT 07703 844 107

The Craft Café donated last year £1600 to LiNC from their takings selling their work. A big Thank You
to all contributors and all who bought the beautiful crafted items!
Don’t forget that we have hostel-styled accommodations at the church. There are 4 rooms
with 10 beds in total. A simple self-served breakfast is included for the price of
£ 20/person/night. Email [email protected] for enquiries.
LiNC has not had any major expenditure last year but running repairs and improvements in
the building amounted to the sum of £15 000, almost as much as the catering (coffee morn-
ings, Sunday lunches, event refreshments) raised.
Gift Aid raised almost £1.800, thanks to you all who sign the declaration!
Congratulations to LiNC’s 100 + lottery winners:
October’s winners R Radcliffe and U Norddahl
November’s winners C Haastrup and Y Chubb
December’s winners Mrs Blomquist and M Royden
January’s winners H Arvidsson and N Black
February’s winners R Radcliffe and C Hughes
March’s winners B Edwards and H Burgess

LiNC 100+ club:
We have now reached the ‘100’; let’s try to get to the +, as ‘in more than 100’!
Don’t forget to renew your lottery ticket, ask Harriet for renewal details. Contact details on
the last page.
For every £1 per month you pay, 50p goes to LiNC, 40p to the winner and 10p to the runner-
up.
On the 2nd Wednesday in the month there will be a draw at the church coffee morning. The
cost is £1.00/month and share. You can pay either £6.00 every six months or £12.00 annually
per share
held. Prize money will depend on the number of participants each month.

I ………………….................................... wish to become a member of 100+ Club and would like
to buy ….. shares. I would like to pay (tick your choice) .....£12.00 annually or
......£6.00 every six months
!!!Make cheque payable to: Liverpool International Nordic Community Ltd.
Name____________________________________________________________________________
Address__________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________Phone______________

Email address______________________________________________________________________
Signature: __________________________________________________________________

Did you know that the 100+ club, Wednesday raffles and special occasion lotteries at
Lucia, 17 mai and dinners have raised £2500 during last year?

LiNC paid £1700 for refuse collection and council tax, £3650 on gas, £2800 on electricity,
£1100 on water and sewage and £4300 on insuring the building and public liability.

Don’t forget to sign the Gift Aid declaration on membership forms. We get an extra 25 p
from every £1.00 donation.
If you donate items for sale at the church, be it home-made jams or decorative items, you
can Gift Aid declare the sum raised. Talk to Harriet about this.