No lightning cross on church without license, says Norwegian town council
Photo DELK
Northern Europe
The controversial cross on a church tower in the Norwegian city of Skien does not have the required license to be illuminating day and night. However, it is not the light that makes neighbours complain. It is the shape.
"I find the huge luminous cross on the new church building of the Evangelical Lutheran church community at Skauen very annoying", it is said in a letter to the building unit in Skien municipality as was reported by CNE.news last week.
"The cross is a strong symbol. For some it evokes good feelings, for others, it is quite the opposite", said the neighbour to Norwegian daily Telemarksavisa. "The congregation may have a cross on the outside of the building, but it may not be necessary to have a light in it or to place it so high up on the tower."
To the newspaper, the neighbour emphasised that the light itself is not troublesome but the symbolism that radiates from the cross.
Pastor Fred Arve Fahre states that the church tower is about ten meters high. The cross itself is about two meters high. Fahre says that the church will listen to both positive and negative feedback. "We are proud of our cross. It is part of our culture; we see it when the Norwegian flag is waving. And for us, it is the symbol of our hope and our faith. That is why we want to highlight it, he says. This is reported by the Norwegian newspaper Norge Idag.
As a result of the complaint, the municipality will assess whether the cross conflicts with the municipality's regulations. When the symbol is illuminated, and above a certain size, it can be characterised as a sign and is subject to a license, the case manager told Norwegian daily Vårt Land.
Religion and death
Åse Gro Bakke, who is the leader of the local department of the Socialist Left Party in Skien, says that she understands the complaint.
I associate the cross with religion and death, she writes to Vårt Land. "If a church is allowed to use a luminous cross, several others will probably also consider such a symbol."
The consideration for insects should also be taken into account in assessing whether the cross should be lit, Bakke believes. "Light attracts, for example, insects."
Arne Olav Hageberg, who is the leader of the local department of the Christian Democratic Party KrF, disagrees with Bakke. "The neighbour's admission that it is the cross that is the main problem, and not the light, makes this a very interesting case. The inquiry tastes a bit of "de-platforming",” he writes.
Hageberg points out that there are many other lights people can get annoyed with. "Many people, for example, are already in the process of hanging up Advent stars, long before Advent. This can be troublesome for many Christians because an Advent star is a Christian symbol connected to the church year and belongs in the Advent season". Hageberg notes that it cannot occur to him to limit people's ability to hang Advent stars when they want.
Brightness
In a letter to Skauen Church, Skien municipality has asked them to "assess whether the brightness can be reduced" before the construction case department "possibly processes the case further".
To Telemarksavisa, the pastor of Skauen church, Fred Arve Fahre, says that the church has on a couple of occasions previously turned down the brightness so that today it is at 25 per cent of maximum intensity. "If anyone complains about the light, we will look at it again", the pastor says.
Top of the church
In 2018, a similar situation happened in Stockholm. A Methodist Church in the neighbourhood of Bjølsen erected a large cross on top of the church. After complaints from the neighbours, the municipality demanded an application from the church. Whether the application was successful is unclear. However, the cross still stands on top of the church.
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