“Pride marking on Wednesday 1 May at 5-7pm.
Here there will be an appeal, singing, games and a bonfire with sausage grilling. There will also be an opportunity to try kayaking!”
This is how Bjørn Solhaug in Meløy municipality in Nordland invited to the pride marking on 1 May.
But when the event started, it was a slightly different “marking” of pride than one might think.
Because in the middle of the beach, Solhaug lit a big bonfire with all the rainbow flags on it.
– The intention was to mark a point of view from my Christian point of view, that it goes beyond rock and stone in relation to God’s word, says Solhaug to NRK.
It was the local newspaper Kulingen that first mentioned the case.
Bjørn Solhaug is the man behind the pride marking on 1 May. He is open about the fact that he wanted to trick people into marking
Photo: Private
Wanted to lure people to “pride marking”
– But why burn the flag?
– It’s because the pride flag represents that it’s perfectly fine to live out the gay thing, Solhaug continues.
– Do you understand that flag burning can be experienced as a harsh act when you invite to a pride celebration?
– Yes, I understand that very well. But there should be no surprise, especially not for the leaders in the church, says Solhaug and gives the Norwegian Church the smooth sailing for having fully accepted same-sex marriages.
This is what the invitation to the pride marking in Meløy looked like.
Photo: Private
He is also honest that he did not play with completely open cards when he invited to pride marking.
– That was the intention. It said “pride marking” on the invitation. And that’s what it was going to be, says Solhaug and continues:
– If I had written “Anti-pride marking”… Yes, it would have served no purpose. So I thought people should see it (the flag burning) then and there.
– So you were going to surprise people?
– Yes, quite simply.
Fired up pride flags for several thousand kroner
Solhaug says that the hope was that people in the small village with just over 250 inhabitants could gather for a pleasant time.
– It was not to spread enmity. But I wanted to point out that this is what I mean about pride. Then people would rather be cursed at me. But I chose to burn up everything, because it wasn’t going back home.
Even the road down to the beach was magnificently decorated with rainbow flags.
Photo: Private
Because Solhaug himself had invested in all the pride effects that eventually went up in smoke.
– I bought it for NOK 4,500. They were expensive, the big pride flags.
But it was not the big turnout that Solhaug had hoped for.
– There were two of us. I had planned for us to be more. I had five kayaks, lots of sausages, three liters of coffee and oranges. We who were there had enough food.
– What would you have thought if someone did the same, like the bonfire, with the Bible?
– If they burn the Bible? I had given them a new Bible. Please, burn.
There was nothing to say about the weather on 1 May when they were invited to the pride marking at the public bathing beach in Meløy municipality.
Photo: Private
– You hadn’t been provoked yourself?
– No. I know where to find God. There are millions of Bibles, and you have God in your heart. So it means nothing to me.
– Incredibly poorly done
The flag burning has created interest in the village after the local newspaper Kulingen reported on the matter.
One of those who reacted was Kai Nymo.
Kai Nymo is 48 years old, and was open about his orientation as a 35-year-old. It has been nice to do in Meløy, he believes.
Photo: Private
He wrote a longer post on Facebook, which has been widely shared and commented on.
In front of NRK, he elaborates on what he thinks about the flag burning.
– I think it was incredibly poorly done. I don’t think anything of that burning, no matter what is burned.
He himself came out as gay in adulthood. He describes it as a nice experience.
Credit for that goes to the local community in Meløy municipality, which he describes as very open and inclusive.
– There is such acceptance in the municipality for being who you are. People are very concerned about taking care of each other. So I don’t recognize myself in this at all.
Nymo himself sits on the local parish council and last year organized a pride celebration at the small pub he runs.
– Last year we gathered over 400 guests during a week of good food, music and fun. And there will be a new round on the first weekend in June, he says and adds:
– It is possible to celebrate pride, also in the village.
Bishop: – Not helpful to anyone
– This bears the stamp of being quite extreme. We have freedom of speech in the country, but I don’t understand that this helps anyone, says Svein Valle.
He is in his first year as bishop (and thus the supreme leader) in Sør-Hålogaland diocese.
– Is the Bible as tough on homosexuality as Solhaug expresses?
– No, it certainly isn’t. We as a church, I as a bishop and my colleagues are not close to having such views.
– I guess there is something called loving your neighbor…
– And a couple more verses, so to speak!
Svein Valle, the bishop in Sør-Hålogaland, disagrees that the Bible is as strict as Solhaug believes.
But it cannot be understated that the Church of Norway has also undergone a development in the last 50 years.
Despite accusations that the church has been “lagging behind” the rest of society, Valle believes that it is the church that has been leading the way.
– We are not going to more than 50 years since homosexuality was illegal in Norway.
At the same time, despite internal disagreements, the church has discussed the issue several times over the years.
– I would like to claim that we have taken the lead in the development that has taken place. It has been an absolutely necessary and important development.
– Is queerness now fully accepted in the Church of Norway, or does one still have a way to go?
– The official view of the Church of Norway is indisputable: Same-sex marriages are equal to heterosexual marriages.
