So, you’re in the North of Iceland and you get that old feeling …

… this is sacred space!

Well, it’s time to go to church. Here.

Here:

Here:

But, wait. It’s not that simple. Look at those drifts! You’ll throw a hoof. And then what? Drifts for you all March long, or forever. Brrr.

Best be careful. Scout things out.

OK, even the fences are drifts. Makes sense, right? They’re driftwood. Those Russians, eh! Well even the road is a drift.

But it looks easier than the ditch!

Take the road.

You have time for the welcoming committee, right?

The pregnant welcoming committee.

You do feel welcome, right?

Very welcome?

Good. Don’t forget to say hi to your fellow worshippers. We don’t just worship in space here, but also in time.

Really, they’re the same thing.

Plus drifts.

And old turf house ruins.

You do, um, feel welcome, right?

Ah, the basement and community hall are drifted in. Best go upstairs.

Don’t worry, you can get in through the graveyard. This is Iceland. The dead aren’t dead, and you’ll join them soon enough. Might as well get on a first name basis now.

They have flowers, so that’s nice.

Hey, it was cold, so I wasn’t feeling all that vertical myself! Well, it sure looks nice in there. Let’s go in!

Watch your step! Ah, here we go.

And we are in! Lovely altar.

The plastic is to keep off intruders from the dark place. The horses send them as a joke.

Ha ha ha.

Pulpit’s very nice, too.

Also Mary Queen of Heaven and her Son.

Not your typical Lutheran pair? Well, this is Iceland.

The house rules you already know, right?

And the reason the mountains sent you here? Even a bit of foundation shifting to get the nice new basement underneath for the whole community to gather hasn’t shaken him off the wall.

A bit of nationalism to sit on, ha ha ha.

Or a bit of glory from the continent. Art. Painted on a bit of driftwood by the looks of it.

Old friends.

Feasts.

It’s all about the feasting.

Well, and prayer.

 

And hope. This is Iceland. Be practical, and have a backup plan.

God is always listening.

And there is always music from Heaven.

Up we go to the choir loft!

Here.

Things have a different perspective from these dizzy heights.

Somehow, you are less alone.

More intimate. More reverent.

More beautiful.

More at home.

 

I mean

Yeah.

Back you go!

To the world.

Remember to come back next time you’re in the North.

It lifts a soul up.

It does.

So remember…

…life isn’t a full stop. And it isn’t the road to Akureyri.

It’s who you meet.

And where you’re going.

Together.