Lögberg-Heimskringla - 20.08.1999, Blaðsíða 9

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 20. ágúst 1999 • 9
A Message To All Icelanders!
Harley Jonasson
Vice President, L-H
IN 1877 Lord Dufferin spoke these words to the
people of New Iceland:“I trust that for all time
you will cherish the heart stirring literature of
your nation—that from generation to generation
your little ones will continue to leam in your ancient
sagas that industry, energy, fortitude, perseverance
and stubborn endurance, have ever been the charac-
teristics of the noble Icelandic race.”
Lord Duíferin’s statement is so descriptive of the
Icelanders of New Iceland today that these words
may well have been spoken in 1999. This certainly is
also equally tme of the hundreds of Icelandic people
that I have met from other parts of Manitoba,
Canada, the United States, and Iceland, and undoubt-
edly of all those Icelanders who I have not yet had
the pleasure of meeting.
As we celebrate the fortieth birthday of the
amalgamated Logberg-Heimskringla, we also cele-
brate the launch of our Business Plan— a most excit-
ing and challenging initiative that will carry us
unwaveringly towards our Vision for the New
Millennium—“To become the primary North
American media for present and future generations
through the publishing of news and articles of inter-
est to all people of Icelandic ancestry.”
To succeed we need you. We need those
Icelandic qualities that Lord Dufferin so admirably
described, and we appeal to your sense of Icelandic
duty and loyalty to assist us in achieving the goals
we have set for your paper.
We are fortunate to have very dynamic and high-
ly qualified Board members and staff who are com-
mitted to achieving our objectives. However, the
Board members have careers, families and other
obligations, and the task we have set out cannot be
accomplished by them alone.
There is strength in numbers, and with an exten-
sive volunteer membership we can achieve our goals
a n d
objec-
Laurence «1.
RUSSIN AGENCIES LTD.
INSURANCE
CORRECTION
ln our Festival issue, we printed
incorrect hours for the Winnpeg
Beach office. They are actually
Tuesday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to
3:00 p.m.
t i v e s .
My
father-
in-law, Bobby Oddleifson, has a favourite saying “If
you take a little bit, and add a little bit, and add a lit-
tle bit more, before you know it you have a lot.”
That’s all we ask; if everyone gives a little we will
soon have a lot of material to fill our paper.
We need volunteers in every community in
North America and Iceland; volunteers to cover all
the areas listed later in thi.s article that we want to
include in our paper; volunteers to help with solicit-
ing subscriptions and advertising; volunteers to help
out in our office; and volunteers to recruit more vol-
unteers.
The L-H is a non-profit registered charitable
organization, managed by its volunteer board of
directors and a few part-time paid staff. The L-H
does not pay for articles and submissions although
we will pay expenses to those volunteers who we
select to cover events, conduct interviews, or
research stories where travel, admission costs, and
other certain expenses are required. It is the general
opinion of the Board and the Icelandic community in
general that the paper was founded and has survived
through volunteer elforts, and that we should contin-
ue in this true Icelandic tradition.
If you are reading this paper you probably have
an Icelandic background, and it is therefore incum-
bent upon you to com-
plete the application
form in this issue and
mail it to this office
today, or e-mail the
requested information
to logberg@escape.ca.
Please call your friends
and family and persuade
them to become part of
the L-H Team as well.
We look forward to
hearing from you!
Note: due to space
constraints, we were
unable to print the
Volunteer Form. It will
appear in the next issue.
Svavar Gestsson
Consul General of Iceland in
Canada and Special Envoy
for the Millennium:
“Allt erfertugum fœrt”
Forty years have elapsed since
Lögberg and Heimskringla were unit-
ed in one paper. Certainly this mar-
riage has been difficult for these old
enemies, but the necessity was obvi-
ous. To survive they had to unite under
one name and the experience since then has eliminated all doubts.
This was the right decision to live, to survive.
The fathers and mothers at the wedding of Lögberg and
Heimskringla evidently knew what they were doing; the marriage
has endured. They also set an example for other components of
the Icelandic Community in Canada to work together, be friends,
and support each other. This lesson is something the Icelandic
govemment has taken into consideration by creating a special
diplomatic link between the Icelandic community in Iceland and
in Canada. This link should secure a partnership similar to that
which Lögberg-Heimskringla has achieved over the past 40
years.
I think that the step taken in 1959 can become the decisive
factor in ensuring the life, not only of Lögberg- Heimskringla, but
also of other Icelandic Canadian institutions.
“Allt er fertugum fært” is an old Icelandic saying meaning;
when 40 years old, you are experienced enough to do anything. I
hope that applies to Lögberg-Heimskringla.
Happy anniversary to Lögberg-Heimskringla.
ICELAND 2000
Millennium of Christianity
The Christianization of Iceland was an unique event. The entire Icelandic nation
abandoned its ancient heathen belief and peacefiilly adopted the Christian faith.
This occurred at the opening of the ancient parliament, Althingi, in the year 1000.
The speaker of Althingi, Thorgeir of Ljosavatn - himself a heathen - called
parliament together and pronounced that all Icelanders should be baptized into
Christianity. This decision, made at the oldest national assembly in the world, is
considered the most important one ever taken at Althingi since its establishment
at Thingvellir in 930.
Iceland Houte
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Need Accommodation?
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For Reservations Contact:
Irene Flnnson at
Tel. (604) 294-1760
fax: (604) 294-0799
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Stefania Sveinbjamardóltir
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THEMAIN EVENT
HIGHLIGHTS
’ Millennium of Christianity Festival at Thingvellir,
July 1« and 2nd 2000.
• Millennium of Christianity opens in Reykjavik,
August 15th 1999.
> In March 2000 the premiere of an opera portraying
the adoption of Christianity in Iceland.
> Historical exhibition "One Thousand Years of
Christianity" opens in the old National Library
building on lceland’s National Day, June 17th
2000.
’ Ecumenical festival at the ancient episcopal see of
Skalholt, South Iceland, July 21st-23rcl 2000.
* Festival at Reykholc, West Iceland, July 28th-30th
2000. Consecration of Snorrastofa.
* Consecration of Thorgeirskirkja at Ljosavatn,
North Iceland, with an outdoor fesrival by Godafoss
Waterfall, August 6th 2000.
• First national congress of the Lutheran Church of
Iceland, September 21st-23rd 2000 in Reykjavik.
The entire program of events can be found
on the Millennium of Christianity's website.
Iceland 2000 • Millennium of Christianity - Adalstraeti 6, 101 Reykjavik
Tel.: +354 575 2000 • Fax: +354 575 2042
E-mail: kristni@kristni.is • http://www.kristni.is
nnn 14 rnim hmi dhh w wm N4'1 wi ww mn *n mn him wi k mi im
lítlfl helmur - þorrlftllnda