Investigators later determined that the fire was arson, caused by two area men, ages 17 and 20. One stated that they went to the church to find something to steal, pawn or sell. The other declared that he was mad at everyone and went to the church to destroy the place.
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Places such as monasteries and churches are sacred to those wishing consolation and spiritual guidance, but also for those seeking an unguarded source of gold and silver ornaments that can be taken at little or no risk.---In the 800s, Vikings were well-known and feared for their quick and violent raids, where looting was the prime purpose.
History records the most notable Viking attack on a monastery at Noirmountier, France. This island monastery was attacked every summer. The monks tried many defenses, but they eventually left the island for safer lands.
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Other than for reasons of personal safety, Scandinavians left their countries for other reasons.
The earliest immigrants from Norway to the United States emigrated mostly because of religious motives, while 1825 marked a time of particularly fierce 
religious strife in Norway.
In July of that year, a group , seeking a haven from the official Norwegian state church, set sail from Stavanger in an undersized sloop, the Restaurationen
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Until just lately, the Lutheran religion was the official, state-supported church of Norway religion and Norwegian authorities did not approve of any other religious direction than Lutheran. Religious dissenters were persecuted and threatened by the government causing some dissenters to seek freedom elsewhere.
Probably many of this group belonged to a Norwegian local movement called the Haugeans, a Lutheran sect which derived its name from Hans Nielsen Hauge. Persecuted in Norway, Hauge had a large influence on both secular and religious history in Norway and brought that religious zeal to America.
Today,
more than 4.5 million people of Norwegian ancestry reside in the United States . Of these, approximately three million claim "Norwegian" as their sole or primary ancestry. Their religion was practiced in small groups as they settled in their new,often isolated rural areas and their church served as their social and spiritual center. Each group being very focused in their doctrine and beliefs often differing from that of another group or synod.
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Recently we were enjoying a family drive in our home area of Western Wisconsin, visiting the sights of the area we knew as youth when we noticed several cars on a usually very quiet rural road. Then we noticed people leaving their cars while carrying special golden painted shovels. They were gathering
for a ground bre
aking for The New Scandinavian Lutheran Church to replace that which was destroyed by fire a year and a half earlier. Congregation members, Pastor Briese and TV cameras were there to record the happy event.
The December, 2010 fire left them without a church and they decided to join a sister church in Dallas, Wisconsin to worship for the next year and one half. July 2012 marked the rebirth of The New Scandinavian Lutheran Church for the waiting congregation of 230 members.
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Barron and Dallas. Since 1913 it has been part of a two-point parish with Dallas Lutheran Church which was organized in 1892. With this new beginning in July 2012, they hope to have their new church completed enough to hold a Christmas Eve service this year after breaking ground for their new building that will replace their 135 year old historic church.
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This devote group of Lutherans may have mixed feelings about their loss, but after meeting with the two men accused of the burning, church officials have offered their forgiveness and New Scandinavian Lutheran Church is moving on.
This sounds like what recently happened to a church in Valer (Norway). The church burned to the ground in the middle of the night; all that's left is a foundation. Nobody has been caught, but teenagers were spotted on the church grounds earlier in the night. They are planning to rebuild.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad, though -- the old church was a nice traditional Norwegian church that looked a lot like the one in the top picture. The new church is also going to serve as a community center and a few other things, and from the plans that they printed in the newspaper, it just looks like a big, ugly cement box. The locals are pretty unhappy about it.