While in Jutland, Denmark, a peninsula surrounded on the west by the north Atlantic and on the east by the Baltic, we have been in the presence of many ships. The Danes are world-renowned ship-builders, with a thriving ocean-going shipping industry today. We arrived a week ago on July 29th, for our three-month Sabbatical pilgrimage, staying our first three nights in Skagen, Denmark, a bustling commercial harbor town. Our apartment overlooked this harbor, as can be seen in two of the photos below, including the sunset harbor, and the full-moon (blue moon on August 31st) harbor). We biked among commercial ships, old and new, in the busy Skagen harbor, viewed ships in various marinas along Limfjord, the saltwater fiord along the Aalborg waterfront. We saw ship weathervanes, ship sculptures, ship paintings by Holgar Drachman, one of Denmark’s great maritime painters. During our brief days in Jutland, the City of Aalborg where our Danish family lives celebrated “Tall Ships Races” an event which takes place every 5 years of so, bringing over 70 “tall ships” from around the world to Aalborg. This festival welcomes the world to Denmark with music, food, festivities, and fireworks. In the photo gallery below, you’ll see several Kirkeskib (Church ships), model ships hanging in Danish churches. One of the great pictures of the Church in the Bible is a ship or ark within which we are saved by God’s grace with Christ as our Pilot or Skipper. The Danish Church celebrates this biblical metaphor by hanging beautiful large wooden model ships within the sanctuary, to remind worshipers of Christ’s saving grace. Another picture of our salvation is the Anchor, as seen in one of the photos below at the history museum of Skagen. As the writer of the Book of Hebrews reminds us, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.” (Hebrews 6:19-20)
