1. Where were you born and how did you first meet the Swedish Church. Tell us about your family and early education.
I come from Orust in the Swedish west coast archipelago. I lived there until 1996 when I went to the U.S. after a few months in Oslo, Norway. I grew up in the church. My mother was a deaconess before she became a district nurse.
2. How did you end up in US and how did you meet you husband Ananth?
I came to Boston as an au pair, and wanted to stay, so I applied for college, and came back as a student. I met Ananth while I was a student. One of my classmates was his neighbor and Ananth and I met at her birthday party on September 30th, 2000. We got married in November 2003. We wanted to get married in a Lutheran church in MA, but they said no because Ananth was born Hindu. Instead we got married in front of a justice of the peace.
3. Tell us about your amazing journey with Catherine and the Scandinavian School in SF
I wanted Catherine to go to the Scandinavian School and learn Swedish since she also is a dual citizen. I started to take her to a playgroup there, applied, got accepted. She still loves her school, and that makes taking her to school easier.
4. How did you discover and get involved in Swedish Church, SF?
I accidentally walked passed it when I visited San Francisco a few years before moving to the Bay Area. That’s how I found out that they existed. We moved to San Jose in the end of 2012. I took my parents there when they came to visit. After my daughter was born we weren’t thinking about christening her, but then I changed my mind. I contacted the church and spoke with Louise Linder who was the pastor in SF at the time. I was pleasantly surprised by how open, warm and welcoming she was. She was not like any of the pastors I had met in the past. She understood that we wanted our daughter to learn about not just the Lutheran religion, but other religions as well. After all she’s half Christian and half Hindu. I started taking Catherine to a playgroup at the church in SF, and started going to service. I was asked if I was willing to be on the board. I wish more people knew about the Swedish church in SF. I also think it would be a good idea to offer service in English every now and then.
5. What other Swedish / Scandinavian organizations are you involved in and how can we work together?
I’m a member of SWEA, Young Scandincavian Club (YSC), Swedish Society and Sons of Norway, and former member of Vasa, and SACC. I would love to see some collaborations between the church and Swedish/Scandinavian organizations! For example hikes, walks, book club, choir, etc.
6. How can we better reach out to young and old at this time of the pandemic?
It might be easier to reach out to young people since they are in general more technically apt. Offer hangouts for playgroup, students/au pairs. Keep calling our older members.