NEXT MEETING --- SAVE the DATE!!! JULEFEST Koffee Klatch Gathering with St
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1 FJELL-LJOM.. (MOUNTAIN ECHOES).. BLÅFJELL LODGE 3-646 December 2019 President: Sharon Rohrback 540-774-0006 Vice President: Joann Barfield 540-380-2926 Secretary: Kathy Clark 540-977-2349 Treasurer: Cheri Johnson 540-989-6330 Editor: vacant (Sharon Rohrback, acting) =========================================================================== Blåfjell's website: sonsofnorwayblafjell.org Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/SonsOfNorwayBlaFjell ======================================================================================================= Mission Statement: The mission of the Sons of Norway is to preserve and cherish a lasting appreciation of the heritage and culture of Norway and the other Nordic countries. ======================================================================================================= Regularly scheduled meetings: Fourth Saturday of each month, 1:00 PM, College Lutheran Church, 210 South College Avenue, Salem (Except for special events) ======================================================================================================= NEXT MEETING --- SAVE THE DATE!!! JULEFEST Koffee Klatch gathering with St. Lucia December 14, 2019 1-3 pm (note earlier date) College Lutheran Church Refreshments: by all: Bring dessert, fingertip sandwiches, open face Danish sandwiches to share Volunteers needed: to assist Event Chair Joann Barfield with organization of details for Julefest. Plz respond to Joann at [email protected] or call 380-2926. Many thanks! =========================================================================== INDEX: Local Lodge Section Page 1: Newsletter title, Officer contact info, Mission Statement, Next Meeting date, Index Page 2: Mark Your Calendars, Member News, Lodge President Message. Lodge VP message Page 3 : Minutes of Previous meeting, Cultural Director Message. Page 4-5: Pictures from Nov. 11 Adopt-a-School Viking Day Page 5-9: Pictures from November meeting: speaker and display of cherished treasures. Page 10: Cultural pictures from Kathy Clark (Alstahaug church) and Cheri Johnson (sheep) SON Third District and International Section Page 11-12: SON District 3 Presidents Message, Links to Third District/Zone7/International News 2 MARK YOUR CALENDARS a. Upcoming BLA Fjell MEETINGS AND EVENTS Dec. 14 (earlier date) JULEFEST KOFFEE KLATCH: 1-3 pm, at College Lutheran Church. Bring dessert, fingertip sandwiches or open face Danish sandwiches. Event Chair: Joann Barfield. January date tbd: Bla Fjell Board planning mtg to set events for 2020. Anyone interested is invited to attend. You are welcome to submit ideas for programs. b. Third District and/or Zone 7 other-lodge events. Dec. 6-7, 2019: Washington D.C. lodge Christmas Festival, Fairfax, VA. June 5-8, 2020: D-3 Convention in Jacksonville, Florida. BlaFjell Lodge will have to determine if we will be sending a convention delegate. =========================================================================== MEMBER NEWS Gratuler Med Dagen - December birthdays: Cheri Johnson 12/8 Robert Rohrback 12/13 Helene DeVries 12/23 Jennifer Nelson 12/27 Prayer needs: Prayers of healing for Marilyn Barrier, who had two hand procedure surgeries on November 15. Prayers of healing for Joanne, daughter of Karen and Scott Rice taken to emergency room Nov. 16. Prayers of healing for Inga Solberg, who had shoulder surgery November 18. =========================================================================== LODGE PRESIDENT MESSAGE We are blessed to have members and friends who volunteer on a consistent basis, and I thank you all. But special Mange Tusen Takk to these board members who help me immensely behind the scenes. All four have served for many, many years in various capacities. But I have been most aware during my previous six-year stint as lodge president and now. You see me more frequently because I lead the meetings and am the newsletter editor, BUT these folks also do so much to manage the lodge. Joann Barfield is Vice-President/Membership Secretary and has had many roles since Bla FJell was instituted. Kathy Clark, a charter member, is Secretary responsible for the minutes/year end reports to SON, coordinator of our sewing projects, and has had many roles over the years. Cheri Johnson is Cultural Director/Treasurer and has been responsible for many years for meeting programs and for ensuring we educate children by special events such as Local Colors, St. Lucia concert, and our adopted school programs. Helene DeVries is our Historian, responsible for taking pictures and filing them. I also wish to thank Robin Lambert who was our newsletter editor through 2018 and now posts photos on BlaFjell lodge Facebook page. Submitted by Sharon Rohrback =========================================================================== Vice President/Membership Director Message As reported in the November meeting, the Sons of Norway 2019 Membership Campaign has, as of October 31, 2019, already surpassed its goal by 17%, with the addition of 4,587 new members. Considering the diminishing membership of most organizations around us (church, fraternal benefit, and civic, for example), I think it is quite remarkable that Sons of Norway has had such great success! Proof positive of the benefits of Sons of Norway membership in fulfilling our mission of preserving our heritage and culture, while enjoying wonderful fellowship and friendships! CONGRATULATIONS to the four new members who have contributed to our success in this Campaign: Gail Ofte-Atha, Ellen Hinlicky, Karen Rice, and Janice Quick! The November meeting was another most enjoyable occasion, as members shared their treasures, and we got to know each other a little better. The upcoming Julefest will be another event full of fun and 3 holiday surprises, as we are entertained by our traditional St. Lucia procession, a Lutefisk Skit prepared by Kathy, and a surprise visit by "guess who"! This would be a good time to invite family/friends/neighbors to come and see what we're all about! As Chair of the event, I would welcome any who would like to help with some details. Happy Holidays to all! Submitted by Joann Barfield =========================================================================== MINUTES OF NOVEMBER MEETING The November 16, 2019 meeting was at College Lutheran Church, Salem, Va. Sharon opened the meeting with the singing of the Norwegian, Canadian and American national anthems. Fourteen members, three guests, and one visitor of SON Washington lodge were present. The guests were Anna Clem, Janice Quick and Gracelynn Clark. Janice Quick joined SON at this meeting. The guest was Mr. Haakon T. Lerwick, member of Washington Lodge meeting in Fairfax, VA. Business session: Cheri gave the treasurer's report. Joann reported that Sons of Norway International, including Bla Fjell lodge, met their new-member goal. Cheri as Cultural Director and event chair, reported on Bla Fjell's participation with our Adopt-a-School's Icelandic Viking Day event at Faith Christian School, Roanoke, VA. Four members displayed and explained cultural information (Storytelling, Viking History/Longhouse Culture, Norway traditions/culture, Viking ships and travel, and Snorri -the first Viking child born in North America. Cheri showed a DVD about the discovery of Viking ruins in L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland; the only authenticated Norse site in North America. Parents provided an authentic Viking meal. New Business: We voted on recipient of our cumulate Worthy Cause Fund. During the year, Bla fjell lodge collects spare change and gives the total for a worthy cause. We voted to give this collection to the family of a young boy bitten by a dog; the boy has had several facial surgeries and will need more. Program: a) Speaker Haaken T. Lerwick, SON member of Washington Lodge, was the recipient of the SON Lund scholarship. Haaken attends Virginia Tech. He spoke about the two weeks he spent with other engineering students in Australia and New Zealan b) members then showed treasures they would never part with and enjoyed an exchange of cookies provided by the members. Announcements: St. Lucia Concert, December 13, at St. Andrews Catholic Church in Roanoke. Bla Fjell Lodge has been asked to provide the children for the St. Lucia procession as we have done for several years. Julefest, December 14, will be a Koffee Klatch at College Lutheran Church with member- provided open-face sandwiches and desserts. All members are urged to participate. There will be a St. Lucia procession, a humorous lutefisk skit by the members, and Santa will also be arriving. Submitted by Kathy Clark ========================================================================= CULTURAL DIRECTOR MESSAGE St. Lucia Day December 13, 2019 St. Lucia Day is celebrated on December 13th in memory of a kind girl called " Lucia " who brought food to persecuted Christians in Sicily. She was sentenced to death. Today St. Lucia is represented by a girl wearing a white dress with a red sash and a crown of candles on her head. She leads a procession in church or in the community. In a home, the eldest girl is the " Lucia." She lights the candles on her crown and carries a tray of coffee and buns to her parents still in bed. Other children may follow wearing white and carrying a candle. The candles symbolize the fire that refused to take the life of St. Lucia in Italy as she was sentenced to be burned. This light from the fire and the candles overcomes darkness and evil. You have 2 opportunities to visit and see Lucia 1. St. Andrews Catholic Church: Dec. 13th,