August 17, 2015

• Stavkirke

  I promised you the next time I felt overheated and lightheaded I would tell you about the Stavkirke. I lied. The "next" time I felt that way, it was almost immediately followed by feeling too cold and I spent several hours shivering and shuddering, wearing my winter nightgown and fuzzy socks, under a pile of quilts, cuddling a heating pad. After that I got dehydrated and am just now getting back to normal hydration, but today the heat got to me again. It's not even that it's so terribly hot - only in the 80s - but the humidity is so much higher than we're used to here. And maybe I'm coming down with something that's making me more susceptible. Anyway, this is the time after the "next" time I feel overheated and lightheaded, so here's my post about the Stavkirke.

  

  Stavkirke is a combination of two Scandinavian words meaning "stave" or "pole" and "church." The stavkirke on Washington Island is a replica of one in Borgund, Norway which dates back to 1150 A.D. I am going to quote from the brochure about the architecture and construction of the church. Everything in italics is from the brochure.

  Four dragons at front and rear of the church were first sketched then carved from pieces of pine. These dragon heads are from a design in a Stavkirke book. Two side walkways called ambulatories served folks who due to illness or other causes, including poverty, could not be inside with worshipers were here still ministered to. This area was also a place to leave weapons of those inside and sometimes referred to as the "armory."

  Me again... You can see the dragon heads in the picture above. The half wall that goes around the front corner is one of the ambulatories. The other is on the opposite side of the church. You can also see three crosses, one on each of the lower roof peaks. Since the church is a replica of a medieval Norwegian church, there are elements of both Christianity and paganism in the architecture.

  

  There are twelve center staves, or masts, as well as heavy beamed, ship-like construction throughout the structure. Viking shipbuilding techniques characterize the all-wood construction: tongue and groove joinery; shaped masts; ship 'knees' or frames; and use of wood trunnels (dowels or 'tree nails') and heavy, wrought iron fastenings. Carvings and adornments blend both pagan and Christian symbols. Overhead, suspended from the rafters, is a model of a mackinaw schooner, a working sailing vessel popular for fishing and transporting goods across the lake in the mid-t0-late 1800s. This model was handcrafted from cedar net buoys used by a local island fisherman in the 1920s.

  Me again... There are no nails in this building. Where a nail might be needed, a carved wooden pin is used, just like the Vikings did it. The craftsmanship is astonishing. This building is still a work in progress, lovingly crafted by the congregation of the Lutheran church on whose grounds it is built. Its foremost purpose is as a place of prayer and meditation and it is open daily for that purpose. It is also a tribute to Washington Island's Scandinavian heritage.

  

  Two candelabras rest to the sides of the altar. Originally, candles were all that softly lit the interior of stave churches in Norway. Light is now provided through the thirteen clear glass windows on the north and south walls near the roof. One colored window softens the morning and evening sunlight. The words HAN ER OPPSTANDEN just above the altar table mean "He is standing above us" or "He is Risen." Twelve Saint Andrew's crosses surround the nave with typical Norwegian carving on nine of them. This work is still in progress.

  Me again... I think there are actually 6 clear glass windows on each side and the colored glass window is in the back of the church. Hey, look! I got my cousins in the shot above! That's Ginny standing on the left and Debbi sitting on the right.

  

  Still me... After we left the building, we wandered along the Prayer Path. There is a boardwalk access to the church which we used when we went in. The Prayer Path is a lovely footpath through the woods with occasional "stations" consisting of a plaque with a Bible verse and maybe a ship's helm or some other piece of nautical equipment to go with the mostly nautical theme of the Bible verses.

  

  The Prayer Path is intended to be a place for reflection and prayer. It features a number of prayer stations as well as meditation benches and engraved plaques containing selected verses of scripture which will help to underscore the sacred nature of this special place.

  

  Me again... In some places along the path there were simple cairns built by anonymous hands as silent memorials.

  

  The view along the prayer path was one of continual beauty and peace.

   

  • 4:24 pm
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