It was a packed Seamens Church at Thappraya Road between Pattaya and Jomtien, that officially welcomed Lars Haugan in his new function as a Seamens Priest for the area. The congregation was local Norwegian regulars who showed up to greet the new priest more than it was people showing up for the occasion only.
A pleasant atmosphere it was indeed and if you did not know it you probably would not notice that the Priest has only been in the Kingdom for a couple of weeks. Looking very formal in his gown but also very relaxed and barefoot as he was, Lars Haugan seems like he has already found his balance.
The Norwegian Embassy was well represented. Both the Norwegian Ambassador Mrs. Merete Brattested and attache Mr. Trygve Guntvedt from the Norwegian Embassy joined this special ceremony. As being Chairman of the Council to the Church Trygve Guntvedt together with Mr. Espen Feilberg-Jacobsen from the Seamens Churchs Head-office in Bergen and Swedish priest in Bangkok Mr. Lennart Hamark laid hand on the new Priest and swore him in.
In his talk Lars Haugan said that the thought of becoming a Priest in Thailand never came to him earlier on but that life indeed is very unpredictable. It might also be the reason why Lars Haugan later on told Scandasia that he did not dare to guess for how long he would be working as a priest in Thailand. What he could say was that all the people he has met until now have been very kind to him and his wife Marie Kemi, who contributed singing a beautiful song.
Changing from gown to civil clothes Lars Haugen could after the ceremony sit down with his helpful staff and enjoy the big buffet. Tables were occupied both outside and inside the small church. It was only one year ago since the Seamens Church moved to Pattaya but it seems that there is a strong foundation to build on already and as Lars Haugan mentions the church already seems a little too small sometimes. Seems there will be plenty of work to do for the new Seamens Priest in Pattaya.
