We had a lovely coffe afternoon with new and old members last subday. We had first, second and third generations coming together decoration the Christmas tree in a true Norwegian style at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff.
News
WNS in the news
Media coverage of our petition campaign
On 4th November, there was an article in the South Wales Echo headlined “The desperation to save Cardiff’s Norwegian Church from being turned into a private business”.https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/norwegian-church-cardiff-private business-17187865
On 6th November, ITV Wales News interviewed WNS member Martin Price about our campaign. Thanks to Craig Williams (WNS Secretary), the interview has been made available on YouTube, and you can watch the interview here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKWtFuo6zWo
We also spoke to journalism students at Cardiff University, one of whom did a radio interview for their internal station and another who wrote an article for their student newspaper The Cardiffian.
We are hopeful the BBC will also go ahead with an interview with a Welsh-speaking WNS member shortly.
Please keep sharing our petition
Our petition continues to grow and has now passed 5,500 signatures. For those who haven’t signed it yet, you can access it here:www.change.org/p/cardiff-council-save-the-norwegian-church-in-cardiff-for-the-people-not-for-commercial-profit.
Please share the petition with anyone who might be interested. Don’t worry if you don’t use social media – the simplest way of sharing the petition is to email the direct link (above) to your friends and contacts.
Thanks to everyone for your continued support!
Dates for your diary
Sunday, 24th November:Christmas tree decorating and coffee afternoon, 2-4pm.
Sunday, 1st December:Festival of Light and Friendship; Christmas tree lighting ceremony. Tree lighting starts at 4.30pm. Children’s activities and entertainment from 2pm. Further details to follow shortly.
Sunday 15th December:Official celebration of 150th anniversary of the Norwegian Church,11.30am – 5pm. Further details to follow shortly.
WNS members to meet Michaela Chiappa and show some Norwegian cooking
Welsh Norwegian members were invited to participate and show Michela Chiappa some traditional Norwegians cooking. We are excited that the BBC Wales program will be broadcasted later this year.
In the program you will see how Rødsei or Oldsalted Pollock has been prepared and eaten for centuries, as well as how you can make Salted Cod from Bergen at home in Wales. We also have a taste of homemade Rømmegrøt (sour cream porridge) with cured meat and find out how this is seen a a dinner meal and not breakfast!
And, of course there is not a Norwegian party without the Norwegian cakes! We pride ourselves with the Verdens Beste (World’s Best Cakes and yes that is the name!) and we served Bløtkake (Norwegian style cream cake), and Tilslørte Bondepiker (who’s not got a good translated name), gomme and bruost (brown cheese).
Please stay tuned the program will be showed at BBC Wales later this year.
Successful AGM and Kor på Randen performance
Welsh Norwegian Society hosted a successful AGM earlier this month and we had a fantastic performance from the Norwegian Choir Kor på Randen who visited Wales and showed us their fantastic bunads
The new committee for 2019/20 is as follows:
Chair: Tyra Oseng-Rees
Secretary and social media officer: Craig Williams
Treasurer: Tony Parry
Members secretary: Johan Butenschøn Skre
Committee member: Justin Andresen
Committee member: Mari Ropstad
Latest news on the campaign to save the Norwegian church
The WNS would like to keep a current affairs of where we are on the future of the Norwegian church and is as follows.
Our letter to the editor of Wales Online;
Norwegian society wary of city council
Following up the article of May 22 regarding Cardiff council’s plans for commercial use of the Norwegian Church in Cardiff Bay, the Welsh Norwegian Society would like to explain why we are wary of Cardiff council’s fine words about preserving the integrity of the building.
Cardiff council became the sole trustee of the Norwegian Church Preservation Trust in 2006. Its management of the charity has been woeful since then, as the publicly available information on the Charity Commission’s website shows:
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Accounts to 2016, 2017, 2018 were submitted 504 days late, 167 days late and 95 days late respectively.
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The 2017 accounts have an Independent Examiner’s report which qualifies the accounts – in other words indicates that there are particular areas of concern – to quote:
* The Annual Report and Financial Return related to financial period 2016/17 has not been completed in accordance with the Charity Commission legal statutory and public accountability requirements.
* Governance procedures were not transparent and there appeared to be evidence of a lack of good governance, risk management and internal control as specified by the Charity Commission.
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The latest set of accounts for 2018, which were submitted 95 days late on 7th May 2019 include a comment from the Independent Examiner – to quote:
* Formal Trustee had not been held during the year as specified by the Charity Commission.
* Inventory Records detailing Norwegian Church assets are not maintained.
The last point is particularly worrying as there are a number of important historical artefacts held in the church.
Based on this information, and its public statements, we are concerned that Cardiff council does not understand its responsibilities under charity law and may be mismanaging the charity. The church is not a building owned by Cardiff council. It is held in charity on behalf of the public with Cardiff council as a trustee tasked with ensuring its protection for future generations. It is not just a commercial opportunity.
Tyra Oseng-Rees
Chair Welsh Norwegian Society
Source: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/western-mail-letters-thursday-23-16317347
Church not part of council’s portfolio
Your article of May 22 “Concerns over future of church” misses an important moral and legal point about the Norwegian Church.
Significant charitable donations and grants have been given from Norway and Wales over the years to rebuild, and later refurbish, the Norwegian Church. In the 1980s a huge donation of 1 million kroner (about £90,000) raised in Norway helped to lever further donations from many Welsh organisations and the public of Wales.
The Norwegian Church is still owned by the Norwegian Church Preservation Trust, which is a charity; it is not just another part of the council’s property portfolio. Cardiff council may be the only trustee of the charity, but the council cannot simply convert this public asset to a purely commercial venture.
The Welsh Norwegian Society, of which I have been a member for over 20 years, is also calling for public consultation so the public can have their say about the future of this iconic visitor attraction, which is such a powerful symbol of Cardiff’s maritime heritage and the multicultural history of Cardiff. I am half-Norwegian, and having visited the Norwegian Church regularly over the years, I know it is much loved by locals and visitors alike.
The coffee shop, art exhibitions, and events in the church are open to everyone. It is a focal point of Cardiff Bay, and has been developed as a public space dedicated to the communities of Cardiff and beyond.
If members of the public share our concerns, they can contact the Welsh Norwegian Society on contact@welshnorwegian.org
Christine Glossop
Penarth
Source: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/western-mail-letters-friday-24-16323564
BELOW IS PRINTED IN AFTENPOSTEN, NORWAYS HIGHEST PROFILE NEWSPAPER – This is how important the church is, not just to Wales or Norwegians in Wales, but Norway itself, still to this day.
Frykter ny leietager i norsk kirke i Wales
Nordmenn i Wales er bekymret for frem- tiden til en av de eldste norske kirkene i utlandet. Lokale myndigheter ønsker å utnytte det «kommersielle potensialet».
Det verste scenarioet er at det vil komme en McDonald’s eller Starbucks-kafé i kirken, sier Tyra Oseng-Rees, styreleder i foreningen Welsh Norwegian Society – en av de flittigste brukerne av kirken.
Utspillet er satt på spissen, men bakgrunnen for usikkerheten om kirkens fremtid er et vedtak byrådet i Cardiff gjorde i november i fjor. Da besluttet politikerne i regionen at kirkebygget skulle leies ut.
– Men over et halvt år etter vet vi fortsatt ingenting om hvilke planer kommunen har, forteller Oseng-Rees.
Kirken til Roald Dahls foreldre
Det er ikke første gang fremtiden til den historiske trekirken fra 1869 har vært uviss. På 1970 og -80-tallet sto den til forfall, og kirken måtte rives for å gi plass til et nytt veiprosjekt over dokkene i Cardiff.
Men takket være betydelige innsamlede midler – blant annet fra Norge – ble kirken bygget opp igjen på en tomt ikke langt unna. Den gjenoppbygde og nyrestaurerte kirken ble åpnet av prinsesse Märtha Louise i 1992. Siden den gang har den fungert som et norsk-walisisk kultursenter.
Kirken er kanskje mest kjent for å være Roald Dahls kirke. Dahls norske far arbeidet i Cardiff, og den senere verdenskjente forfatteren ble døpt i kirken i 1916. Han tilbrakte sine barneår i byen, før han ble sendt på kostskole i England.
Dahl var på slutten av 1980-tallet aktiv i arbeidet med å få gjenreist kirken. Han døde imidlertid to år før den «nye» kirken sto ferdig.
I 2002 ble plassen utenfor kirken gitt navnet Roald Dahls Plass. For å understreke hans norske herkomst, ble ordet plass valgt – ikke place eller square.
Det kommersielle potensialet
Siden kirken ble gjenreist, har det skjedd en enorm utvikling i områdene som omkranser Cardiff-bukten. Nye hoteller, kontorbygg og butikker er bygd.
Det er ikke kjent om noen eiendomsaktør har vist interesse for tomten der kirken ligger.
Bakgrunnen for at denne saken er kommet opp, er at kommunen må kutte ca. 2,6 milliarder kroner de neste ti årene. Kommunen ser derfor på mulighetene for redusere utgiftene til en rekke bygg, inkludert den norske kirken.
– Kirkens integritet skal tas vare på. Når det er sagt, ønsker vi å realisere det kommersielle potensialet som utvilsomt ligger der. Det er behov for en betydelig oppgradering av kirkebygget, men vi trenger nye samarbeidspartnere for å få det til, opplyser en talsperson for kommunen til Aftenposten.
Hvilke mulige leietagere myndighetene i Cardiff kan tenke seg i kirkebygget, ønsker ikke kommunen å kommentere.
– Men ingen beslutning om kirkens fremtid er foreløpig tatt, understrekes det.
Mat for jurister
Det er ikke gitt at Cardiff kommune kan gjøre som de vil med kirkebygget. Kirken eies av en såkalt «trust» – The Norwegian Church Preservation Trust.
I denne veldedige «trusten» – en organisasjonsform som har likhetstrekk med en stiftelse – utgjør Cardiff kommune i dag den eneste «trustee’en» – eller styremedlemmet. De er forpliktet til å følge «trustens» formål: Permanent bevaring og vedlikehold av kirken som et museum og kultursenter.
– Kommunen kan ikke bare konvertere denne offentlige formuen til en ren kommersiell virksomhet, skriver Christine Glossop, medlem i Welsh Norwegian Society, i et leserinnlegg i avisen Western Mail.
Drar til Cardiff
Synspunktet til den norsk-walisiske foreningen får støtte fra rådgiver Terje Inderhaug i Hordaland fylkeskommune.
Inderhaug spilte en nøkkelrolle da kommuner og fylkeskommuner på Vestlandet ga én million kroner til gjenreising av kirken i 1992.
Han arbeider nå med forberedelsene til kirkens 150-års jubileum i desember, men er også blitt involvert i denne saken. Han tror ikke politikere på Vestlandet vil sitte stille og se på at Cardiff gjør store endringer med kirken. I slutten av juli drar han til Wales for å diskutere saken med representanter for kommunen.
– Kirken betyr også veldig mye for Cardiff. Derfor håper jeg at denne saken løser seg. Når det blir sagt at man frykter at McDonald’s skal flytte inn, så er nok det satt litt på spissen, sier han.
Den norske kirke i Cardiff ble reist for 150 år siden. Fremtiden er imidlertid uviss, etter at Cardiff kommune har antydet at den ønsker at kirken skal få en sterkere kommersiell profil. Foto: Carlos Neto, Shutterstock, NTB scanpix
Arnfinn Mauren
Frykter ny leietager i norsk kirke i Wales
Translation of above;
Fears new tenant in the Norwegian church in Wales
Norwegians in Wales are concerned about the future of one of the oldest Norwegian churches abroad. Local authorities want to exploit the “commercial potential”.
“The worst scenario is that there will be a McDonald’s or Starbucks café in the church”, says Tyra Oseng-Rees, chairman of the Welsh Norwegian Society – one of the most diligent users of the church.
This is an exaggerated statement to make a point , but the background for the uncertainty about the future of the church is a decision the city council in Cardiff made last November when politicians in the region decided that the church building would be rented.
“But over half a year after, we still know nothing about what plans the municipality has”, says Oseng-Rees.
The church of Roald Dahl’s parents
It is not the first time the future of the historic wooden church from 1869 has been uncertain. In the 1970s and 80s the church was in ruins, and it had to be demolished to make room for a new road project to the docks in Cardiff.
However, thanks to substantial fundraising, including from Norway, the church was rebuilt on an plot not far away. The rebuilt and newly restored church was opened by Princess Märtha Louise in 1992. Since then it has functioned as a Norwegian-Welsh cultural centre.
The church is perhaps best known for being Roald Dahl’s church. Dahl’s Norwegian father worked in Cardiff, and the world-renowned author was baptized in the church in 1916. He spent his childhood years in the city, before he was sent to boarding school in England.
Dahl, at the end of the 1980s, was active in the effort to rebuild the church. However, he died two years before the “new” church was completed.
In 2002, the space outside the church was named Roald Dahls Plass. To emphasize his Norwegian ancestry, the word ‘plass’ was chosen – not place or square.
The commercial potential
Since the church was rebuilt, there has been a tremendous development in the areas surrounding Cardiff Bay. New hotels, office buildings and shops are built.
It is not known whether any property operator has shown interest in the plot where the church is located.
The reason the church is now on the agenda is that the council must cut approximately 2.6 billion kroner over the next ten years. The city council is therefore looking at the possibilities for reducing the expenditure of a number of buildings, including the Norwegian church.
“The integrity of the church will be taken care of. That said, we want to realise the commercial potential that is undoubtedly located there. There is a need for a substantial upgrade of the church building, but we need new partners to achieve it,” a Cardiff Council spokesperson told Aftenposten.
The council did not want to comment on what possible tenants they can imagine in the church building.
“But no decision on the future of the church has currently been made,” highlighted the spokesperson.
A case for the experts
It is not a given that Cardiff Council can do what they want with the church building. The church is owned by a so-called ‘trust’ – The Norwegian Church Preservation Trust.
In this charitable trust – an organisational form that has similarities to a foundation – Cardiff Council is currently the only ‘trustee’ or board member. They are obliged to follow the trust’s purpose: Permanent preservation and maintenance of the Church as a museum and cultural centre.
“The council cannot just convert this public fortune into a purely commercial business,” writes Christine Glossop, a member of the Welsh Norwegian Society, in a letter in the Western Mail newspaper.
Going to Cardiff
The viewpoint of the Welsh Norwegian Society is supported by adviser Terje Inderhaug in Hordaland County Council.
Inderhaug played a key role when municipalities and county councils in western Norway gave one million kroner to rebuild the church in 1992.
He is now working on preparations for the Church’s 150 anniversary in December, but has also become involved in this issue. He does not believe politicians in western Norway will sit and watch Cardiff make major changes to the church. In late July he travels to Wales to discuss the case with representatives of Cardiff Council.
“The church also means a lot to Cardiff. That’s why I hope this case resolves itself. When it is said that one fears that McDonald’s is going to move in, it’s probably taken to the extreme,” he said.
Written by Arnfinn Mauren, Aftenposten.
Translated from Norwegian by WNS member Mari Ropstad
Prints of the Norwegian Church for sale at Cardiff Food Festival in Landsea Square
Fri 5th-Sun 7th July, Cardiff Bay by the Cardiff Food Festival in Landsea Square next to the Weatherpersons.
Please pop by and have a look at the excellent work by artist KATHERINE JONES. Prints [and the original] of the Norwegian Church will be on display and for sale at various sizes and prizes.
Our long standing member and author of the letter “Church not part of council’s portfolio” published in Wales Online will be at the stand selling the prints by the the artist and to have a chat about the future future concern of the Norwegian Church Preservation Trust.
WNS attends the Cardiff/Hordaland exchange student farewell party.
The WNS was proud to be invited to attend the Hordaland – Cardiff student exchange farewell party on Saturday the 7th of June, in attendance was the Rt. Honourable Mayor Daniel De’Ath who was able to wish them all the best going forward, after enjoying their time here in #Cardiff.
Now they return to #Norway. The students are always welcome here in Wales, Cardiff and our special piece of Norway the Norwegian Church Arts Centre. It’s why this place now exists as it does, not just an arts centre, cafe and museum but a hub for these wonderful events, long may this continue.
Here is to welcoming next years students and hope they to can find a second home in Wales with the wonderful host families.
Norwegian Ambassador visit to the church, hosted by the WNS
Yesterday, the Welsh-Norwegian Society welcomed the Norwegian Ambassador for the UK, his excellency Wegger Christian Strømmen, Reverend Cecilie Jorgensen Strømmen and Councillor of Domestic Affairs Stein Paul Rosenberg.
We enjoyed a short film on Cardiff bays amazing transformation throughout it’s history, including the regeneration of Cardiff Bay. It was in the late 80s, the Norwegian Church Preservation Trust was formed to find money to save the derelict Norwegian Church from demolition when the new link road was to be built. The Norwegian Church Arts Centre, would never have been possible without the funding and help from the Norwegian County Councils Hordaland and Sogn and Fjordane and of course, the passionate supporter of the Norwegian Church Roald Dahl. He was even the very first president of the Norwegian Church Preservation Trust
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With the traditional coffee and cake we were able to chat about Wales, Norway and Cardiffs twinning links to Hordaland County Council (now joined with Sogn and Fjordane to be called Vestland Fylkeskommune). We talked about the exchange program with Atlantic College and the Ambassador had a pleasure to talk to three Hordaland College exchange students about their experience living in Wales and the need for a continued strong friendship and co-operation between us all. They were even able to take in the delights of The Gallery Gift Shop at The Norwegian Church which has a wonderful showcase of hand made items by various local artists and designers.
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We look forward to welcoming them back at Norwegian Church Arts Centre 150th Anniversary in December this year and hope they enjoyed their visit to not only Wales, but Cardiff Bay and the wonderful piece of Norway we have for all to enjoy, the Norwegian Church.🇳🇴🏴
Photos by PhotoMan Johan
Norwegian Embassy in London
Hordaland fylkeskommune
Sogn og Fjordane fylkeskommune
Cardiff Council / Cyngor Caerdydd
#Norway #Norwegian #Cardiff #CardiffBay #Church #Wales #Welcome#VestlandFylkeskommune #CardiffCouncil #TwinningLink#NorwegianEmbassy
The History of the Norwegian Church Cardiff
Dear members of Welsh Norwegian Society and friends.
This newsletter is a reminder of the informative and fun evening coming up in 10 days. We hope as many of you as possible can join us!
The History of the Norwegian Church
An illustrated talk presented by Wenche Davies & Torill Heavens
Wednesday 24th April 2019, 7pm
at the Norwegian Church Arts Centre
Come and learn more about the fascinating story of this little bit of Norway in Wales.
Followed by a fun quiz. Free entry.
Coffee Shop & Bar open from 6.30pm
www.welshnorwegian.org
Future plans for the Norwegian Church
Important Update for WNS members & friends:
Notes on Cardiff Council’s decision (Nov 2018) and where the Welsh Norwegian Society fits in:
We hope this short report will keep all members informed about the latest news concerning the Norwegian Church. We will circulate more information closer to the date of the Extraordinary General Meeting (24th February).
In the meantime, please get in touch if you have any questions or can offer help with this issue.
WNS Committee contact@welshnorwegian.org
1. Cardiff Council: Future plans for the Norwegian Church
What we know:
In mid November 2018, the Cabinet of Cardiff Council agreed a proposal to seek a commercial tenant for the Norwegian Church, “subject to any issues relating to its current Trust status being appropriately resolved”.
It is part of a wider plan to find commercial solutions for heritage buildings in Cardiff including Cardiff Castle and the Norwegian Church. A BBC article stated there was ‘significant commercial interest’ in the Norwegian Church: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-46125578
In December, a manager of the Tourism, Culture and Events section of the council (which includes the Norwegian Church) referred to the plans for a commercial tenant as ‘press speculation’.
Nonetheless, the Cabinet’s decision is definite – it is in the public domain and is online here: http://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/documents/g3541/Decisions%2015th-Nov-2018%2014.00%20Cabinet.pdf?T=2 [page 13 & 14 of the document]
What we don’t know:
· We don’t know any details of what the council mean by a commercial tenant for the Norwegian Church. An officer in the council’s Property division has confirmed it will be for the whole building (so it doesn’t sound like just a new cafe franchise).
· We also don’t know what they mean by “subject to issues relating to its current Trust status being appropriately resolved”. Could it mean that the council hope to change the charitable objectives or wind up the trust, thus leaving them free to take a more commercial approach to the running of the Norwegian Church?
· If the Norwegian Church were to have a commercial tenant, what does this mean for the current public uses of the building as a visitor attraction, etc, and also for the Welsh Norwegian Society?
2. The Charity Issues:
As many WNS members know, Cardiff Council became the sole corporate trustee of The Norwegian Church Preservation Trust in 2006. Although it is under the wing of Cardiff Council, it is still a charitable trust, and is subject to all the usual charity regulations and also the particular charitable objectives stated in the original deeds (essentially to preserve the building and maintain it as a leisure and amenity facility for the public).
When the Trustees were considering the handover to the Council in 2006, the Charity Commission wrote to remind them that “the property is impressed with charitable trusts and cannot simply be absorbed into the corporate property of the Council”. There was also a reminder about particular clauses of the original declaration of the trust, 1987, should the Trustees seek to wind up the Trust. (These documents are in the late Ewart Parkinson’s papers at Glamorgan Archives. Ewart was Chairman and later President of the Trust until the handover in 2006). (See Background Note 1)
3. Questions for the Welsh Norwegian Society:
Given WNS’s long history of connections to the Norwegian Church and our special status*, does WNS wish to act as a guardian of the Norwegian Church as we know it, and aim to protect it from the possible implications of a commercial tenancy? Do we also wish to protect our longstanding free use of the building for our WNS meetings?
We will formally ask members for their views at the Extraordinary General Meeting on Sunday 24th February.
WNS is in the unique position of having greater awareness and understanding of the issues than the majority of the public who use and support the Norwegian Church. It is likely that most people are unaware of the Cabinet’s decision. The Trust status and the associated charity issues are probably not widely understood.
First Steps
The WNS committee has decided to join Cardiff Third Sector Council as a member organisation. We have already asked C3SC for advice about the issues surrounding the Norwegian Church Preservation Trust.
We will also write to Cardiff Council and diplomatically ask for more detailed information about the council’s plans for the Norwegian Church. We will ask to be consulted on the future plans, and ask again for the Norwegian Church Advisory Committee to be reinstated, with WNS as a member.
*See Background Notes 2 & 3 at the end of this report
4. Purchase of the land – Britannia Park:
The Cabinet meeting in November also agreed that Cardiff Council will purchase Britannia Park from Associated British Ports (ABP). Cardiff Council will then become the ground landlord for the Norwegian Church, as well as the corporate trustee of the Norwegian Church Preservation Trust. This would seem to be a good thing, at least from the point of view that it removes the worry that the Norwegian Church’s ground lease from ABP was due to expire in a few years.
Cardiff Council does want to develop the land surrounding the Norwegian Church but, it seems, on a less extreme scale than the Dolffin Quay proposals put forward by ABP in 2017. The Council will of course be fully aware of the level of public opposition to the Dolffin Quay scheme.
Restaurant and leisure quarter plan for Bay area: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/new-leisure-quarter-restaurant-horizon-15394395
People involved in the Dolffin Quay campaign are naturally keeping their ears to the ground for news of future developments on Britannia Park, surrounding the Norwegian Church. Hopefully it will be development of a more appropriate, human scale, while maintaining the parks as recreation spaces. We’ve heard talk that some development will be proposed along the waterfront strip running north from the Norwegian Church towards the Senedd (the grass area with trees). The WNS Committee will ask to be involved in pre-planning consultations about this development.
Background Notes for newer members & friends
Background Note 1:
Short history of the Norwegian Church Preservation Trust:
The Norwegian Church Preservation Trust was formed in 1987 to preserve the then derelict Norwegian Seamen’s Church. Charitable donations were raised from Hordaland Fylkeskommune (£90,000) and Cardiff Bay Development Corporation (£50,000), and numerous other organisations. The Trust eventually secured a prime waterfront location for the reconstruction of the Norwegian Church at the heart of the Cardiff Bay development (the Norwegian Church was officially reopened in 1992). It was an independent charitable trust from 1987 to 2006.
In 2005, the Trustees approached Cardiff Council to ask if they were interested in becoming sole corporate trustee of the charity. The long-serving Trustees had various reasons for wanting to step down, including family and personal circumstances. They initially tried to find individual new trustees but did not find enough interested people. The transfer was agreed and took place in May 2006. Cardiff Council has been the sole trustee of the Trust since then.
Background Note 2:
Welsh Norwegian Society: Longstanding connections to the Norwegian Church:
After the reconstructed Norwegian Church had reopened in 1992 (as a visitor attraction and arts centre), the Welsh Norwegian Society was formed to maintain the community of people with connections to the old Norwegian Church and its congregation, and also to encourage cultural links with Norway, etc.
Several key people with connections to the old Norwegian Church were founder members of WNS and have been long-serving pillars of the Welsh Norwegian Society, and also the former Norwegian Community coffee afternoons.
Also, there was always a strong representation of WNS members who served on the Management Committee of the Norwegian Church itself – the management committee was appointed by the Trustees to oversee the day to day running of the building. Over the years, WNS members have given countless hours of (unpaid) time towards cultural activities and the general running of the Norwegian Church.
Background Note 3:
Welsh Norwegian Society’s special status in relation to the Norwegian Church:
Importantly, WNS is the only group to have always been granted free use of the Norwegian Church Arts Centre, due to its special status as a continuation of the old congregation and a promoter of ongoing cultural links with Norway*.
When the original Trustees of the Norwegian Church Preservation Trust handed over to the Council in 2006, they asked for this recognition of WNS to be continued. It was agreed that an Advisory Committee would be formed by Cardiff Council to guide the management of the Norwegian Church, with representation from WNS, Hordaland, ABP (landowner), etc.
This was formally recorded in Cardiff Council’s Executive meeting of April 2006.
In reality, the Advisory Committee sadly petered out.
WNS and Hordaland have raised this with the Council many times, asking for the Advisory Committee to be reinstated, but the council have effectively batted away the questions.
*The former Norwegian Community coffee afternoons were also given free use of the Norwegian Church, but sadly this group ceased to exist around 2012 when their use of the building became more restricted. Thankfully, the WNS coffee afternoons are a happy revival of this tradition.
Welsh Norwegian Society 