|
By Clive Romney
Enoch Train Rests in Gothenburg
GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN -- Rarely has a day of rest been so welcome! At breakfast
I meet Pres. Ole Arne Gilhammer (remember to pronounce the 'g' as a 'y') of
one of the Stockholm stakes. He drove down last night to see "Saints On The
Seas" because he had to be here this morning to set apart a missionary from
his stake who is going to the Bristol, England Mission.
I sit beside Mark Smith, keyboard player for Alex Boye, the black English
soul singer appearing on the Rock The Dock concerts from here on.
Church services consist of a regional conference held in the Goteborg Opera
House, with wonderful talks by both English and Swedish-speaking members and
translated as necessary. The music, by a local choir and soloists, is
wonderful, and I learn why later.
The pianist, Pere Louis Herrey, is one of a trio of LDS brothers who were a
pop music phenomenon in Europe until missions split up the group. He takes
improvisational interludes between the 2nd and 3rd verses of the hymns and
improvises increasingly energetic accompaniments as the hymns progress
toward their conclusion. We talk later about possible future projects.
Toward evening, while waiting for the Opera House to open, I strike up a
conversation with Sven-Eric Lundqvist, Swedish concert pianist and concert
producer, and his Norwegian wife Maria. He likewise wants to get his music
to the LDS market, and we talk about collaboration.
The fireside is under the direction of Elder Tobler, the Northern Europe
Area General Authority, and the talks by a teenage Sister Galli from Salt
Lake City, an adult sister from Sweden, and several presiding authorities
are very good. But the standout talk is by Susan Easton Black, who retells
highlights and little-known facts about Scandinavians in the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In 1825 an entire shipload of Scandinavians immigrated to the United States
and settled in Maine and the offshore islands. Many of those immigrants
joined the church soon after its organization, moved westward with the
church, and then returned, at great cost, to their homeland to spread the
gospel to their friends and relatives who also flocked to Zion.
Susan ends her remarks with Erastus Snow's prophecy that "the Scandinavian
saints will yet do a great work for this church" and my heart thrills to
hear this.
Richard Mattson, of one of the Goteborg stakes, speaks of his yearning for a
"second harvest" of converts in Scandinavia. And we all pray that Sea Trek
will play a part in that happening.
Source:
Courtesy of Enoch Train
To learn more about Enoch Train and their participation on the historic SeaTrek 2001, go to http://www.enochtrain.com.
|
