From a Norwegian Christian who volunteers with the OW team!
For a long time, the people in Norway have experienced that the economy runs smoothly and that life has been safe in all ways. This pandemic caused more people to ask existential questions. The bishop was for instance asked on national television about what to say to a person that is afraid to die. More than ninety churches took part in a fundraising campaign “Together as the church in the whole world”. The money was handed over to The Norwegian Mission Society (NMS) to support other churches around the world. The mission organization praised their passion and creativity to support their brothers and sisters in faith. Others tried to take advantage of the situation. A Christian TV channel was criticized after they asked for a donation of 2020 NOK to protect the donator’s children from the virus.
Some churches have experienced that there are people that they normally don’t reach that they have come in touch with as they have been forced to find new approaches to reach out during the pandemic. For instance, in one church no 6-year-olds came to the church when their parents were invited to receive a book to support the children’s spiritual growth last year. But when they offered to send the book by post this year, 42 families responded.
The number of infected has generally been low, with 13,005 cases in total so far (Sept 2020). There was an increase in August and September. Pray that people follow the safety regulations from the government. Currently, the churches can only gather up to 50 people on site due to safety restrictions. The positive impact has been that many churches have started to broadcast online services.