Once upon a time ...

Is it just fairy tales that can begin with "Once upon a time ..."?

No! Once upon a time a girl was born in the parsonage in Fröderyd in Smaland on October 3, 1832. She was named Carolina Vilhelmina after her dead brother, Carl Vilhelm. Not until Carolina was an adult did she start calling herself Lina. (When I talk about her here on my website, I just call her Lina, because it's under the name she's known.)

 

Her father, Jonas Sandell, who was a parish priest in Fröderyd, was a deeply believing priest. He took his preaching duties very seriously. To his great delight, he saw how the parishioners were transformed from a life of alcohol abuse into a Christian and sober people.

 

The church, which at its earliest date was from the 13th century, became too crowded during Sandell's time and a new church building was begun in 1854. Already on Sunday, September 7, 1856, the parishioners could consecrate their new and typical barrel-vault church.

In this picture, which shows the old church, I have placed a stylized church bell at the top of the church tower. It is the symbol of "Calling to the Kingdom of God". The task of the church bells is precisely to call together for worship and with their squeaky tones urge the people to come and listen to the message of the Kingdom of God.

 

The task of calling people to the kingdom of God, the priest has too. In Lina's mother's family, it was a strict tradition that the daughters should marry priests and the sons should be educated as priests. The daisies (in Swedish: priest collars) in the meadow in the motif may represent some of these priests as well as all priests, who over the years have preached and will preach in Fröderyd's church.