The Norwegian Church Abroad, Sjømannskirken, in Alanya is an important meeting point for Norwegians and Scandinavians living in or visiting Turkey. The church has two full time employees. Mr. Jon Ådnøy is the seaman's priest and chairman of the church and his wife Ms. Marte Haugland is the hostess of the church. In addition, Ms. Ruth Rønningen works at the church part-time. She has lived in Alanya several years and she responsible for playing music during the church service and serving the church`s delicious waffles.
The embassy visited the The Norwegian Church Abroad earlier this month and took the opportunity to make a short interview with Jon Ådnøy for our readers.
What are the opening hours of The Norwegian Church Abroad, Sjømannskirken, in Alanya and what can you do there?
The church is open between 11 am and 14 am from Wednesday to Saturday. We are also open on Sundays after the church service since there is a tradition for having a cup of coffee after the service, which starts at 11 am.
The Norwegian Church Abroad, Sjømannskirken, sells coffee and waffles and offers free usage of computers with access to internet as well as an IP telephone where people get the possibility to call friends and relatives in Norway. The church also has a small library, which needs contributions! T
We want to form different activity groups and set up courses within the fields of handwork, singing, Turkish language classes, cultural understanding evenings as well as social gatherings during the evenings. The church will also arrange activities during Christmas depending on demand and the capacity of the church. The church also blesses civil marriages. There has already been three couples who seeked the blessing of the Christian church this autumn. There will also be some others during the coming weeks.
I also visit Norwegians in the area, be it in hospitals, health and recreation centers or elsewhere.
How can the church help Norwegians that are exposed to different kinds of accidents?
If something happens in South-East Europe the church is at people’s disposal in cooperation with the Emergency Response Department of the The Norwegian Church Abroad, the Norwegian government, Norwegian Embassies and others. The importance of emergency response is underlined since thousands of Norwegians visit Alanya and South-Eastern part of Turkey every year.
Who visits the The Norwegian Church Abroad?
Tourists and Norwegians who have settled here permanently visit the church. We try to offer an interesting programme for those who actually stay here more than two weeks.
What is the most important value of your work?
We offer a spiritual, cultural and social meeting point for Norwegians and other Scandinavian citizens. Everybody is welcome, and we want people to feel comfortable here irrespective of their background. At the same time, the church aims to give people courage to belief, hope and commitment.
You can read more about the The Norwegian Church Abroad, Sjømannskirken, in Alanya here (in Norwegian)