Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

At our Christmas celebration BIC bid farewell to Ps Geir Sakeseid during a Holy Communion Service, that, was followed by a wonderful Dinner. May God bless you and your Family Geir in your new posting. As we welcome the new year we will also welcome our new Pastor Rev. Arve Hansen Haugland.

Welcome 2009, Welcome Ps Arve

Pastor Geir says good bye

Christmas Day will by the last worship service for Geir Sakseid as the pastor of Bergen International Church.

During the last seven and a half year I have seen this church grow from a small fellowship to a mature congregation. It has been a very exciting time! I am so grateful to God that he gave me this experience. I am also full of thanks to all those people who have walked with me during this time, and who will continue to be a part of this international family after I leave.
There have been many ups and downs since we started to plan this church. After one year of meeting in two small groups, we went ahead with the first official worship service, but then several of our key people left Bergen for other assignments. Still we struggled on. As some left, more people have always come. Even some of those who left in the early days have now returned from abroad and have become very active again.

I am sure that our God, who is behind this ministry, will also strengthen the church in the time ahead. We may not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future! God bless you all.

P.S. The new pastor will soon be presented!

Student Welcome Barbeque

On the 23 August, Bergen International Church joined with Fantoft Christian Fellowship, KIA, Bergens Kirken and Støretveit Church to welcome new students to Bergen. Over 150 students were hosted to a sumptuous Barbeque complete with a fact filled quiz at the end of it all. Welcome to Bergen.

International Women's Group

Susan Barnard from the UK is one of the ladies who have started the new International Women's Group in Bergen. The group is not related to any church, but holds its meetings in the parish hall of St. Markus Church. Susan writes:

You may have seen an advertisement in the Bergens Tidende for this group. We have just formed and are looking for new members from the International and Norwegian communities. Our aim is to meet for the purposes of speaking English, developing new interests and making new friends. We also hope to smooth the transition to life in Norway through invited speakers from the local community. Our first meeting was a resounding success with over 30 attendees and we now have 50 members from many countries including Norway. We plan to hold two informal meetings each month, one during the day and one during the evening so that you will be able to come along whatever your work schedule and if you like you can come to both! If you are interested in joining then e-mail us at iwgbergen@gmail.com or call Susan on 93 86 03 15. We look forward to meeting you!

A new baby in the family?

“You must be born again”.
This is what Jesus told Nicodemus, the Jewish leader who had come to him at night to talk with him. We find the story in the gospel of John, chapter 3. We sometimes use the term “born again” in the sense of being a bit fanatic, like a “born-again football fan” or a Christian who is a bit over-enthusiastic about his faith. But what does Jesus really mean when he says that “no-one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” and that “no-one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit”?

Read more in "Pastor's Pasture".

Outreach to India

Three former members of one of our cell groups, two of them now returned to Hong Kong, have been on a mission trip to India. They can report that God could use them in marvellous ways:

We were scheduled to do programs in schools in the slum in the mornings and kids club in the afternoon,but God let us have so many other opportunities to share with people. We shared the Gospel with people on the buss, in factories near the churches, the guesthouse we stayed at, and even the cell group meetings, new people came to look at us, and ended up accepting Jesus. It was amazing to See that though our words were simple, it was the Word of God being spread and it had power. The hearts of people were really open and ready, and around 90 accepted Jesus! Praise the Lord. Though we were out and around from 7 in the morning till 11 at night, with less than an hr to rest, it was so rewarding and God gave us strength, It was so encouraging to be a part of the work that was done by the poor there, and see the passion the people had for the Lord. Hearing all the prayers getting answered and worshiping with the Christians there, it was a real blessing to all of us. And we feel privileged to have been a part of it. Our heart are full of thanksgiving and gratitude to the Lord for all He has done, as we continue to pray for the people of India. Thank you for praying and please continue to pray for the newly converted and the Christians in India. The fields are ready for harvest, and new leaders need to rise and serve in the ministry.

Daffy, Lindy and Jo

Farewell party for Frode

Last weekend was time to say goodbye to Frode (at the far right of the picture).
He is now leaving for Mali in West Africa. Frode is going to be a missionary among the Fulani people, which is 99.99% Muslim.

On Friday evening some of us gathered in Jack and Brenda's house, where the picture is taken.

Remember to keep Frode in your prayers. You can keep in touch with him on his own blog (see the link menu).

Norway's National Day

Bergen International Church participated in the parade this morning. The men's group had made a boat on wheels, and we had some of the little children sit in it. Thirty some people participated in the parade, many dressed in their national costumes, carrying Norwegian flags and flags from their home countries. Bishop Ole joined us after the parade .

All kinds of Pentecostals

As every year on the second day of Pentecost, there was an outdoor service in the ancient church ruins behind Haakon's Hall in Bergen. Here are some pictures taken by Harisoa Neriah Ranoroarisoa and Anne Bangui.

Many congretations were represented. Also our previous Bishop, Per Lønning, was there for the occation.

Grace Danhua Lin read from Genesis 11 in Chinese.

Quite a lot of people had gathered this year.

Mission Agreement

On Sunday 20 April Bergen International Church (BIC) and the Norwegian Missionary Society (NMS) signed a mission agreement. In the agreement we promise to help send out Frode Brügger Sætre as a missionary to Mali. We will do this by praying for him in our worship services and our cell groups and by giving 10 % of our offerings to NMS. As a sign of the agreement, Alvhild Vassel Eide handed over a framed picture.

På søndag 20. april underskreiv Bergen International Church (BIC) og Det Norske Misjonsselskap (NMS) ein misjonsavtale. I avtalen lovar me å vera med å senda ut Frode Brügger Sætre som misjonær til Mali. Det skal me gjera ved å be for han i gudstenester og cellegrupper, og ved å gi 10 % av gåveinntektene våre til NMS. Som eit teikn på avtalen overrakte områdeleiar Alvhild Vassel Eide eit innrama bilde.

United in the Holy Spirit

On Monday 12 May at 12.00 you have the chance to celebrate Pentecost together with most of the Christian denominations in Bergen in an outdoor service behind the famous Haakons hall in downtown Bergen (click for map)

Pentecost is the third of the great Christian festivals. We celebrate that the Holy Spirit fell on the first Christians in Jerusalem fifty days after Easter. In the Bible, in Acts 2 we read how the apostles went into the street and started preaching the gospel in many different languages. This was the start of a long process that spread the message of Jesus across the world.

The second day of Pentecost is a national holy day in Norway. In Bergen most of the churches use this opportunity to celebrate our unity – despite our differences – on this historic site. Actually, the field where we are gathered is the site of the first stone church in Bergen. This church was called Kristkirken – Christ Church. It was built by the king who founded the city, Olav Kyrre, towards the end of the eleventh century. Each year, for more than a decade, Christians in Bergen have come together on this historic site to worship our Lord.

This year the service will be led by the Roman Catholic priest Dom Alois, the preacher is the Methodist pastor Tom Johnsen, the orchestra of the Salvation Army leads the music, and the choir Maria Vocalis will sing. After the service we are invited to church coffee by the commander of Bergenhus fort, General Major Jan Blom.

You can see an article (in Norwegian but with a picture) about the service two years ago here.

Women's Prayer Day

The first Friday in March is the World Women's Day of Prayer. The ladies in the "From heart to heart" group participated in the local meeting at "Betlehem" in Bergen for the second year. Here is a picture as they sing to the gathered women.

(Picture: Anne Wangui)

Greetings from Hyderabad, India!

We, Mona, Dag Erik and our little daughter Selma Marie, are now in India on a visit. We came here 5th January, and will stay here until 26th March. It is 4 years since our last visit, and it was exciting bringing Selma here for the first time. We arrived at a pleasant time of the year; it is 'winter', which means 25-30 degrees during the day. Thanks to our friends' hospitality and consideration, it has been a smooth transition. We are grateful that Selma Marie seems to cope well with food and temperature change.

We stay in our friends' flat, and Selma have already become friends with the staff here, a driver and two girls who cook and clean. They speak the local language, Telugu, to her, so we hope she will pick up some words. We also try ourselves to learn some words in Telugu, as English is not always understood.

These two last days, 14th and 15th January, there is a festival celebrated throughout South India, here called "Sankranti" or "Pongal". It is a harvest festival, and it involves kite flying and Rangoli paintings (patterns made with coloured powder). From our roof top terrace, we can see kites flying from virtually every roof top. Women dress in their beautiful sarees and Punjabi dresses, and people greet each other with "Happy Pongal" or "Happy Sankranti".

In other words, Hyderabad is quite different from Bergen in terms of climate, culture and size. Hyderabad has a unique history, and we hope to learn more about it during our stay.

So, with some pictures from India, we wish you all the best, and we hope to see you in Norway after Easter.

Mona, Dag Erik and Selma Marie Joksch Berg