MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR THE VICTIMS OF
JULY 22
On Juy 27th,
2011, a memorial service was held at the Norwegian Church and Community Centre,
Lachine, Quebec, to honour the victims
of the July 22 attacks in Oslo and on Utøya, to allow
the local Norwegian community to come together to share their thoughts and
feelings about the event, and to allow non-Norwegians to show their support.
The church was filled with flowers -
including a beautiful spray of red, white and blue blooms at the altar - and
candles representing each of the victims. White ribbons marked the pews. The
church was filled with Norwegians, friends and supporters, and media covered
every detail of the ceremony.
The service was exactly right for the
occasion. Pastor Matti
I Terho beautifully combined liturgical, emotional
and patriotic elements in a way that allowed attendees to mourn and hope, to
honour the dead and missing and to extend their condolences to the people of
Norway.
The service opened with the singing
of the Norwegian national hymn, followed by music, poetry and messages of
condolence from the archbishops of Finland, Germany and Sweden, as well as from
and His Holiness the Pope – all read in their original languages. Honorary
Norwegian Consul General Richard Pound delivered a message from the Norwegian
Embassy in Ottawa.
The sermon and prayers focused on
comfort and forgiveness. The most poignant moments of the service were the
reading of the names of dead and missing victims, while people placed white
flowers on the steps of the altar. The memorial closed with the singing of the
Norwegian national anthem.
Refreshments were generously supplied
by members of the community and served in the hall following the service. This gave those present an opportunity to
share their thoughts and feelings about this tragic event.
The event was covered by virtually
every medium in the city, including radio, TV and newspapers, and many
dignitaries joined the 250 plus people present to pay their respects and show
support.
----------*---------
Opening prayer and Kyrie
:
Almighty God, look with mercy upon this fallen world, again the subject of terrible violence.
Be with us in our grief, that we may know your consolation.
Be with us in our anger, that we may receive your peace.
Be with us in our confusion, that we may be led to your truth.
And be with us in our fear, that we may be delivered into your surpassing love.
We pray today for the victims of violence in Utøya and Oslo, and in so many other places.
Strengthen us as your people, to minister to those in need and to receive the help we ourselves need. Guide sinners to repentence and lead us to forgiveness, that your grace may be our sustaining Word, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
KYRIE
For a world so marred by intolerance, in which race is a reason for hatred and communities are torn apart, Lord have mercy, Gud Fader, miskunne deg.
For a world that is shattered by violence, in which innocent lives are taken in the name of the prince of peace, Christ have mercy, Herre Krist, miskunne deg.
For a world in which parents are grieving, for their children who didn’t come home. For communities who’ll always remember, Hellig Ånd, miskunne deg.
May God our Father forgive us our sins, and bring us to the eternal joy of his kingdom where dust and ashes have no dominion. Amen
Pictures and report from
the memorial service held July 27. 2011:
Rapport on the memorial service from Canadian Immigration :
Pictures from the memorial service
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49472531@N05/ - Click on “Montreal candlelight” at the right.
Greetings from the Embassy of Norway in Ottawa
Greetings from His Holiness The Pope
Greetings from the archbishop of Finland
Greetings from the archbishop of Sweden
Greetings from the archbishop of Germany
New York Times interview with Kong Harald Sunday October 16th
Greeting from the Embassy of Norway in
Ottawa
Dear all of you,
We would like to
thank all of you for coming together to express your grief and your condolences
with the victims and their loved ones in the wake of Friday’s gruesome attacks
in
Today we commemorate
the victims of the terrible attacks. We
honour their memory and send our deepest condolences to their families and
loved ones.
These horrible events
have marked us all.
Our Prime Minister
Jens Stoltenberg said it very well when he spoke to the crowds in
In
Also abroad the
reactions to the attacks have been overwhelming. Messages of condolences and sympathy have
reached
Yesterday, Prime
Minister Stephen Harper and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Baird came to
sign the book. Prime Minister Harper
wrote: “Please know that the free and open society that is
Most of the people
who have come to sign are ordinary Canadians.
Some have a relationship with
At the Embassy, we
are extremely moved by the support of the Canadian people. Once again,
Together we will be
even stronger in the wake of 22 July.
After the Second World War we said “There will never be another 9
April.” Today we say “There will never
be another 22 July.”
A message from the Papal
office:
“ Une fois encore malheureusement arrivent des nouvelles de mort et deviolence. Nous éprouvons tous une douleur profonde pour les graves actes terroristes survenus vendredi dernier en Norvège. Nous prions pour les victims, les blessés et leurs proches. A tous, je veux encore réitérer un appel pressant à
Abandoner pour toujours la voie de la haine et fuir les logiques du mal.”
Benoit XVI, le Pape
Translation : Regretfully once again we have received the bad news of violence and death.. We all feel a profound sense of sorrow after these serious acts of terrorism in Norway, last Friday.
We pray for the victims, the injured and their loved ones. For everyone, I wish to reiterate an urgent appeal, to abandon forever the way of hate and to turn away from evil intentions. “
Benedict XVI , the Pope
A letter from the
Archbishop of Finland, Kari Mӓkinen, sent to
the Archpishop of Norway:
“ Illan ja aamun uutiset ovat kertoneet kauhistuttavasta tragediasta Norjassa.
Ajattelen rukoillen teitӓ kaikkia, jotka olette joutuneet kӓsittӓmӓttӧmӓn jӓrkyttӓmiksi, uhreja, pelastuneita, pelastustyӧntekijӧitӓ ja kaikkia, joiden turvallisuus on jӓrkkynyt.
Rukoilen Sinulle, muille piispoille ja kirkon tyӧntekijӧille voimia ja Kristuksen lӓsnӓolon tuomaa levollisuutta tilanteessa, jossa kirkon tehtӓvӓon jakaa ihmisten yhteinen suru, jӓrkytys ja voimattomuus
ja tuoda se Jumalan eteen. Tiedӓn, ettӓ monissa Suomen kirkoissa rukoillaan huomenna teidӓn puolestanne.
Jumalan rauha, joka ylittӓӓ kaiken ymmӓrryksen, varjelee teidӓn sydӓmenne ja ajatuksenne, niin ettӓ
Pysytte Kristuksessa Jeesuksessa. “
Translation : The evening and morning news have brought us a story of a most horrific tragedy in Norway.
I am prayerfully thinking of you all, who have been shaken by an inexplicable event, the victims, survivors, emergency workers and all those whose security has been shaken.
I am praying to God asking Him to grant you, all the other bishops and the church workers strength and calm that comes from the awareness of Christ’s presence with you, in a situation where the task of the church is to share in people’s sorrow, shock and powerlessness, and to bring it to God. I know that in most churches in Finland, prayers will be offered on your behalf in tomorrow’s Services.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Swedish Archbishop,
Anders Wejryd’s letter of condolences to the Church
of Norway :
Brӧder och systrar i Jesus Kristus !
På Svenska kyrkans vӓgnar uttrycker jag mitt stӧd i fӧrbӧn fӧr er och delar fӧrtvivlan ӧver det som mӓnniskor utsatts fӧr genom bomben och skjutningarna.
Må ni inte tveka om det viktiga uppdrag som kyrkan och kristna mӓnniskor har i att vara nӓrvarande och dela bӧn och upprӧrdhet med de drabbade men också sӧka vӓgar framåt. Kyrkans kraft kommer från Gud som genom Kristus visat sig vara bade det verkliga med-lidandets och hoppets Gud.
“Jag ӓr med er alla dagar till tidens slut” har Jesus lovat – nӓr vi lever livet Gud get oss, det farliga, utsatta och underbara livet.
Må ert ӧppna samhӓlle, med respect fӧr mӓnniskors frihet och av Gud givna bestӓmmelse, bestå och stӓrkas !
I bӧn Anders Wejryd , ӓrkebiskop.
Translation:
Brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ !
On behalf of the Church of Sweden I wish to express my support for you in prayer and share your sense of despair over things that people do with bombings and shootings.
May you not weaken in your fulfillment of the important mission that the church and all Christian people have; to be close to those suffering and offer prayers and support, but also to seek ways to go forward. The Church gets its strength from God who has shown through Christ that He is a God of both
condolence and hope.
“ I am with you all the days of your life ” is what Jesus promised – when we live the life God has given us, sometimes dangerous, vulnerable, but still wonderful life.
May your open society, with respect for the freedoms of individuals and God’s commandments continue prosper and flourish !
Prayerfully, Anders Wejryd, Archbishop.
Statement by Nikolaus
Schneider, president of Evangelische Kirche Deutschlands :
“ Ich bin tief erschüttert von den brutalen Gewalttaten die sich gestern in Norwegen ereignet haben und die so viele unschuldige Menschen in den Tod gerissen haben. Unsere Gedanken und Gebete sind bei den Familien und Freunden der Getӧteten und bei allen Menschen, die fassungslos sind angesichts dieser Gewalt. Wir trauern um die vielen Jugendlichen, die auf der Insel Utøya ihr Leben lassen mussten. Und wir beklagendie Opfer der Bombardierung der Regierungsgebude in Oslo.
Nichts und niemand kann solche feigen Anschlӓge rechtfertigen, keine politische oder religiӧse Lehre kӧnnen Begründung sein für diesen Akt des kaltblütigen Mordens.
Am morgigen Sonntag warden Christinnen und Christen in den Gottesdiensten in Deutschland die betroffenen und das norwegischen Volk in ihre Gebete einschliessen. “
Translation : The news from Norway yesterday about so many innocent people being brutally slaughtered has deeply shocked me. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the murdered victims as well as all the people who are at a loss to understand why, in the face of this violence. We mourn the many young who lost their lives on the island of Utøya and we grieve those killed in the bombing of the government building in Oslo.
Nothing and no-one can defend such outrageous attack, no political or religious doctrine could ever be offered as reason or excuse for this kind of coldblooded murder.
Tomorrow’s Church Services in Germany will include prayers for all those touched by this tragedy and especially for the people of Norway.
Kong Haralds
tale ved den nasjonale minnemarkeringen for 22. juli, 2011 i
Oslo
Kjære alle sammen.
Nå er
nesten alle ord brukt opp.
De siste
fire ukene har vært tunge for oss alle. Men nettopp
da er det
godt å kunne være sammen. Mine tanker har vært spesielt
hos dere som var direkte
berørt av terroren og
dere som har mistet noen
dere var glade i.
Som far, bestefar og ektefelle
kan jeg bare ane noe av
deres smerte. Som landets konge føler
jeg med hver enkelt av dere.
Etter slike traumatiske opplevelser kan det ta lang tid
å bygge seg opp igjen. I denne
tiden er det viktig å huske
på at sorgen har mange uttrykk, og det må være rom
for dem alle. Følelse av skyld
og angst, raseri og tomhet.
Vi fortsetter å sørge sammen. Men
midt i sorgen
har jeg også
stort behov for å takke.
Jeg vil takke alle dere
som var i
regjeringskvartalet og på Utøya,
og som har
bestemt at det dere har opplevd
ikke skal få knekke dere.
Jeg vil takke alle hjelpere
– innenfor politiet, brannvesenet, helsevesenet, kirken og
de religiøse miljøene, forsvaret, sivilforsvaret, frivillige organisasjoner – og alle dere
som på egen
hånd trådte til og bare måtte
hjelpe. Alle sammen har vist
oss hva omsorg
og mot betyr
i praksis når det gjelder
som mest. Mange reddet andres
liv, noen med fare for sitt eget. Fortsatt
står mange på for å lindre sorg og støtte dem som trenger
det.
Jeg vil også gjerne takke
statsministeren, regjeringen
og departementene.
Statsministeren har på en imponerende måte maktet å være en trygg, nasjonal forankring i en unntakstilstand. Samtidig har han og hans apparat
klart å holde hjulene i gang under svært krevende forhold. Lokale myndigheter har stilt opp på en imponerende
måte, og
de politiske partier har vist solidaritet – med hverandre, med folket og med de direkte berørte. Det har
stått tydelig for meg at alle har
gjort hva de kunne for å støtte og hjelpe.
I tiden som nå ligger
bak oss har
vi fulgt 77 mennesker til graven. Vi har alle
fått muligheten til å bli litt
kjent med hver enkelt av de omkomne
– gjennom historier fortalt i media, og gjennom minneord.
Vi mistet 77 mennesker som ønsket
å bruke livene sine til beste for samfunnet
de var en del av. Vi skal hedre deres minne
ved å arbeide videre for verdier som var viktige
for dem.
Jeg ønsker i dag å gjenta det jeg sa dagen etter tragedien: Jeg holder fast ved troen på at friheten
er sterkere enn frykten. Jeg
holder fast ved troen på et åpent
norsk demokrati og samfunnsliv. Og jeg
holder fast ved troen på våre muligheter
til å leve fritt og trygt
i vårt eget
land.
Tragedien har minnet oss om det grunnleggende
som binder oss alle sammen i
vårt flerkulturelle og mangfoldige samfunn. La oss ta vare på
denne erkjennelsen – og la oss
ta vare på
hverandre. La oss som enkeltmennesker være tydelige på
hva vi står
for, og bruke våre muligheter til å påvirke samfunnet
vi lever i på en positiv måte.
Tiden som
kommer vil fortsette å kreve mye av oss
alle. For dere pårørende vil det
være spesielt tungt når den nasjonale
sorgen gradvis avtar. Når det sterke fellesskapet
vi har følt
på denne tiden, ikke er
fullt så merkbart lenger. Da trengs det
medmennesker som ser dem som sørger
og dem
som sliter med livene sine – noen som kan være
hos dem når
oppmerksomhetens lys begynner å slukne.
Når hverdagen
skal leves.
Som nasjon skal vi ta
denne tiden med oss i våre
hjerter, i vår erfaring – og huske at vi er vekket til
en ny bevissthet om hva som
virkelig betyr noe for oss.
King Harald’s speech at the national memorial
ceremony for July 22nd, 2011 in Oslo
Translation
Dear all of you.
Now just about all words have been used up.
The last four weeks have been heavy for all
of us. But exactly then, it is good to
be together. My thoughts have been
especially with those of you who have been directly affected by the terror and
those of you who have lost someone you loved.
As father, grandfather and husband I can
only imagine some of the pain. As king
of this country I feel with every one of you
After such traumatic experiences it can take
a long time to recover. At this time it
is important to remember that the sorrow has many expressions, and there has to
be room for all of them. Feelings of guilt and fright, fury and emptiness.
We contine
to grieve together. But in the middle of the grief, I have a
great need to thank.
I want to thank all those of you who were in
the government quarters and at Utøya, and who have
decided that what you have experienced will not break you.
I want to thank all the helpers - within the police, the fire brigade, the
health services, the church and the religious communities, defence, civil
defence, voluntary organisations – and all of you who on your own stepped up
and just had to help. All of you have
shown us what care and courage mean in practise when it is most important. Many saved the life of others, some
endangering their own life. And many
continue to try to ease the sorrow and support those who need it.
I should also like to thank the prime
minister, the government and the departments.
The prime minister has in an impressive way had the power to be a safe,
national anchorage in this exceptional situation. At the same time, he and his organization
have managed to keep the wheels going under very demanding circumstances. Local authorities have mustered in an
exceptional manner, and the political parties have shown solidarity – with each
other, with the people and with those directly affected. It has been very clear to me that they have all
done what they could to support and help.
During the time that now lies behind us, we
have followed 77 people to their grave.
We have had the possibility to get to know each one of those who
perished – through the stories told in the media, and through memorials. We lost 77 people who wished to use their
lives to the benefit of the society they were part of. We shall honour their memory by continually
working for the values that were important to them.
I wish to repeat today what I said the day
after the tragedy: I am firm in
believing that liberty is stronger than fear.
I am firm in believing in an open Norwegian democracy and community
life. And I am firm in believing in our
possibilities to live in freedom and safety in our own county.
The tragedy has reminded us of the basics
that tie us all together in our multicultural and complex society. As single individuals, let us be clear about
what we stand for, and use our possibilities to influence the society we live
in in a positive manner.
The time that is coming will continue to
demand much of all of us. For the
relatives it will be especially hard when the national sorrow gradually
wanes. When the strong togetherness we
have felt at this time is not quite so noticeable anymore. Then fellow citizens are need who see those
who are in sorrow and those who struggle with their lives - someone who can be with them when the
light of the attention is starting to fade.
When the weekday is to be
lived.
As a nation, we will take this time with us
in our hearts, in our experience – and remember that we have been awakened to a
new consciousness about what really means something for us.
Again in Norway, Events Provide Test for a King’s
Mettle
King Harald V of Norway
served as a symbol of patriotism after the July killings, as his grandfather
did in defying Nazis in 1940.
By STEVEN
ERLANGER Published: October
15, 2011
OSLO — The
government buildings where Anders Behring Breivik set off a bomb are still cordoned off, under repair, and bullet holes
still mar the primitive buildings on the island of Utøya,
where he then proceeded to murder scores of children.
Seventy-seven people were killed on July
22, and Norwegians are not through grieving. They want to return to
business as normal, said their monarch, King Harald
V, but that is not yet possible.
“I think it still lies in the future how we
will cope with this in the long run,” the king said in a rare interview last
week. “We haven’t got to the stage where people have gotten mad yet. I think
we’ll go through that as well. That has to come and go before we are finished
with this. And we have to let that happen.”
King Harald, 74, was
crowned in 1991 and has reigned during an oil-and-gas-driven economic boom. He
is the country’s first native-born king since the 14th century, the grandson of Norway’s first king after the dissolution of
the union with Sweden in 1905. That king, who took the title Haakon VII, was imported from Denmark but made his
reputation forever by his refusal in 1940 to surrender to Nazi Germany.
July 22 was King Harald’s
test, and he is considered to have passed it — making a moving speech to the
nation that night, meeting with anguished families, weeping at a national
memorial service, and serving as a visible symbol of Norwegian patriotism and
solidarity.
“Now it’s important that we stand together
and support each other, and that we don’t let fear take over,” he said that
night to a shaken country.
A jovial man with a ready laugh, the king
plays down his contribution, saying that “many people did the right things.” As
for his own role, he said: “I’ve always had the feeling that in times of
crisis, that’s what we’re here for, really. That showed in 1940, and we’ll see
if this will come out the same way. You do what comes natural to you, and if
that’s correct, all the better for that. Everything was going very quickly, and
you have to work on intuition.”
But for a man who has never quite had the
common touch of his father, King Olav V, King Harald
still moved the nation after July 22, reaching out as best he could to those in
grief and shock. Asked in an interview in his office at the palace what he took
away from those meetings, he paused for a moment, then
spoke with a puzzled honesty.
“I don’t know what I came away with,” he
said. “I hope they came away with something.”
It was “a very strange experience,” he said.
“I felt very helpless, really. All these families who had either just got
someone back from this or had just got the message that they weren’t coming
back; it was a very strange atmosphere. Wherever you turned there were people
in grief.”
He stopped again, then
laughed, to break the mood. “When I came out I said to my wife I’d never hugged
so many people I didn’t know!”
King Harald caused
considerable controversy in 1969 by marrying a commoner, Sonja Haraldsen, but that
helped cement the “Norwegianness” of the family,
which was Danish and British. His son, Crown Prince Haakon, has
done the same, causing another controversy by marrying a single mother, a
divorced woman who admits to having had a rebellious youth. But the future king
and queen were also prominent after July 22, as they appeared at a huge rally
and he gave his own moving speech.
The couple were on their honeymoon on Long
Island on Sept. 11, 2001, and visited ground zero a year ago; King Harald and Queen Sonja first went in October 2002 and will
go again this month. Unusually, they will visit in the company of four other
Nordic heads of state or royal representatives: the king and queen of Sweden,
the presidents of Iceland and Finland, and the crown prince and princess of
Denmark.
After July 22, which many
Norwegians feel marked their country like the Sept. 11 attacks did the United States, there is a new resonance to the royal visit to
ground zero. But asked if he would feel different this time, the king said, “I
would think so, I don’t know, let’s see.” But in Norwegian history, he said, “people will say before and after 22 July 2011, it will be a
milestone like 9/11 in America.”
The king and his wife will also commemorate
the centennial of the American-Scandinavian Foundation after a visit to the Norwegian-American heartland of the Midwest, in
Minnesota and Iowa. There are more than 5 million people who identify as
Norwegian-American and keep strong ties to Norway, he said, whose own
population is only about 4.8 million.
“It’s very rare,” King Harald
said, laughing again. “It happens at
weddings and that sort of thing, but not so often.” A Norwegian architectural firm, Snøhetta, designed
the museum pavilion for the ground zero memorial, a source of pride here.
The king arrived in the United States at the
age of 3 when his family fled the Nazis. He spent his first two years of school
in Washington and remembers meeting President Franklin D. Roosevelt at his 1945
inauguration. His father and grandfather spent most of the war in London, with
the government-in-exile.
His grandfather was only 36 when he was
chosen to come from Denmark to be king. “He didn’t know anybody, he didn’t know
who he could trust and who he couldn’t, and had to find out for himself what
Norway was all about,” King Harald said.
He came to know his grandfather very well, he
said. “He did a very wise thing,” demanding a plebiscite on whether Norwegians
wanted him as king. “So many times when he was in trouble with our politicians,
he said, ‘Ah, remember, I’m elected, too!’ ”
Asked whether July 22 would define his reign,
as 1940 did for his grandfather’s, King Harald said
simply: “I don’t know. History will tell.” But he said he remembered seeing a
photograph of his grandfather driving himself off in his car to meet with the
Germans in April 1940, when he said his famous “no.”
“He drove alone in his car,” the king said,
with admiration. “But he never drove alone in his car. He always had his
A.D.C.,” his aide-de-camp, “with him. But this time there was nobody. I’m sure
he didn’t think he was coming back.”
Norway is in good hands, he said.
Learning to be king is a “lifelong learning period,” he said, but his son, the
crown prince, passed his own test on July 22. “He came up with some very good
ideas, and he made a strong speech,” his father said. “He did very well. We’re
a very good team, I think.”