A Peace Journey
We are planning to sail the same route as King Sigurd Jorsalfare and his 60 ships with 6000 men in 1108-1110. Their journey is referred to in history as “The Norwegian crusade.” The crusades were not kind to anyone, wether it was towards muslims, minorities or anyone else who stood in the way of their goals for conquest – especially not the Jews.
So this journey is a reconciliation tour and it symbolises atonement for the brutal actions of the past, and a desire to demonstrate the true, life-giving message of the gospel.
This time we are coming with peace, reconciliation and good deeds in our wake!
To atone for the negative outcomes of the Crusades, of which Sigurd Jorsalsfare was a part.
A Jubilee Tour
We will be facilitating services, street ministry and acts of Goodness in each European city along the way. This will be in collaboration with YWAM contacts in each location, along with other local ministries.
In 2024, Norway is celebrating the 1000 year jubilee of the establishment of the first Christian laws of Norway. We will bring our thanks for the heritage we received from the Jewish people. For the faith, and the values on which our constitution is built.
The introduction of these laws at Moster in 1024 began Norway’s change from a society of power to a society of law. It marked the beginning of a new time, and has been both a fundation for developing the Norwegian Church, and contributed to the shaping of our democracy. That is why we are starting our journey at the national jubilee on the island of Moster, bringing a letter of thanksgiving back to Israel.
We have benefited from this heritage for a thousand years, it is time to return with a blessing.
To thank the Jews for the heritage that we have received – 1000 years of Christian Law.
A Voyage of Life
This trip is all about turning the story around and creating a new beginning. We are looking to the past in order to create a better future. At each of the stops between Norway and Israel, we want to take some of our shameful moments and turn these into a springboard for what is good. There will be facilitated street ministry and acts of goodness in the cities we visit, all in collaboration with local churches and ministries.
As we come together with other believers in these places, we want to worship together as one family, and pray for our society. We want to celebrate life with thanksgiving, with music and dancing.
This is a blessing tour, a celebration and a joyful return to the Holy City of Jorsal.
To bring blessing to the cities we visit in word and deed.
Setting a Course for the Future
With antisemitism again on the rise in Europe, we believe we now have a unique and precious opportunity before us: To reconcile the past and stand up against injustice.
The theme of the national jubilee is to look at history is order to shape the future. This is a reconciliation tour. The process of reconciliation is to deal with the shameful acts of the past by asking for forgiveness, and following up by practicing the opposite.
We will distance ourself from all examples of antisemitism is our history, from the Norwegian Crusade, to the Jewish Paragraph in our Law of 1814, all the way to the horror of Holocaust. A ship left Oslo in 1942, committing what has been the described as our greatest crime: The deportation of the Jewish people to Auschwitz on the ship Donau on 26th November 1942.
A new ship will leave Oslo in May 2024, this time with a promise that such a thing will never happen again. In the future, Norway will be a safe haven for the Jewish people, and all other nationalities.
This tour is a stand for human rights against racism and lawlessness.
To renounce all forms of anti-Semitism in our history.
