... a few days ago – the longest day of the year. How quickly that seems to come and go each year. Many cultures celebrate this time of year – we do it with our Skt. Hans Fest. 

May and June have kept us quite busy. Preparations for, and then the actual day of, our Spring Bazaar were completed with great effort producing even greater smiles and spirits from the participants, as well as good results. And the weather also fell in line to make it a truly “hyggeligt” event both indoors and out. It was great to see so many people make use of all the facilities we now have available for events such as this. We all know these bazaars are significant fundraisers for the church – thank you to all for your help and support.  

In early June we helped celebrate the Danish Constitution Day at Sunset Villa – another wonderful day complete with an outdoor service in the Mindepark. 

We just celebrated Skt Hans Fest complete with a farewell service by Simon, a BBQ in the park, and a draw for winning tickets of our Skt Hans Lottery. It was wonderful to see how many came to participate in that special event. No flies on us – that’s for sure!

It´s no secret that Simon and family are returning to Denmark in July. That has kept the board very busy behind the scenes to do our best to find a replacement that can fill as much of Simon’s shoes as we can. He does have big feet you know – even with a broken ankle attached. We have had good response to our job posting, and also contacted a few of our former pastors to ask for their help in spreading the word for us. We are hopeful to have a new pastor in place possibly by this fall. In the meantime, we will have to manage with temporary pastoral help. We have made arrangements with a Canadian pastor Pamela Kormano, formerly of the St. Ansgar Lutheran church in Toronto, to help us for the month of July. And then we have a nice surprise. Our old friends Jørgen and Kirsten Flensted-Jensen will help us with services in August and September. We are very grateful to these two pastors for their help to keep us connected especially on Sundays. Remember, there are no services on the Sundays of long weekends, and check the calendar for the language of the service.

July and August will be rather quiet as many of the activity groups will be on break until September. The church will still be in good use as we have the children’s French Language Day Camp there all weekdays for those two months. 

We have set up a new “Grand Piano Fund” after several requests to raise funds for a new piano to complement the newly upgraded sanctuary. We will keep this fund open until June 30, 2025 – any and all contributions will be gladly accepted. All donations to this fund will get a tax receipt in the new year. We are also hoping to get some of the needed repairs looked after (ie flooding in the basement, broken tiles on the front steps, among others). 

Keep in mind that while we are without a full-time pastor, both of our interim pastors are there to help with any and all pastoral needs – whether a baptism, wedding, funeral, visit to the sick or elderly, or just a consultation. Please contact myself or Gerda Andersen – or any board member (see list at the back) and we will make sure the pastor gets back to you. 

This is your church and cultural centre. We need your help to keep it going. Participate when and where you can - the opportunities are there. Join us – you will have a grand time.

Have a wonderful and safe summer!!

Sune Overgaard