Now the church is preparing for crisis and war

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Facts: War location

Being stationed at war with general duty means that a person is obliged to serve under high alert. The obligation to serve only comes into effect when the government decides on heightened preparedness and prescribes general duty. Then the person who is stationed at war may not leave the country, change jobs or resign.

No individual can have more than one military deployment, and the idea is that the person should be deployed in the activity where it is of greatest benefit to the overall defense.

Source: The Authority for Community Protection and Preparedness

Historically, people have often turned to the church in times of crisis.

— We are present throughout the country and are the largest social actor alongside public society. We also have extensive experience and trained and trained personnel for crisis situations, so it is natural that we have a role and that we need to be as prepared as we can also for high preparedness, says Lisa-Gun Bernerstedt, deputy head of the management department and coordinator of the work with civil defense.

Statutory requirements

The Church of Sweden also has statutory requirements for heightened preparedness. This applies, among other things, to funeral services, for which the Church of Sweden is the principal in all municipalities except Stockholm and Tranås. Lisa-Gun Bernerstedt cannot go into details, but a war usually means more dead to take care of.

— That’s how it is, and we must be prepared for that – also that it should happen in a dignified way. It is an ethical issue and one that is important to people. It is an experience we have recently in connection with the pandemic, how important it is to maintain dignity when people’s lives are being shaken.

The Church of Sweden also has the task of protecting and caring for the cultural monuments that are Sweden’s churches and their inventories.

— It is particularly important because the church rooms represent both our history and our future and we see how important they are in crisis situations, explains Lisa-Gun Bernerstedt.

– We have also seen from warring countries that it is often the cultural monuments that become targets for destruction, probably because they also represent our identity and history and future.

Intensified work

Work on contingency planning is not new, but has intensified since the outbreak of war in Ukraine. In the spring of 2022, the Church of Sweden produced guidance for the war deployment of personnel.

— If you think concretely what it is about, it is that in, for example, the parishes, those responsible for the activities need to be in place.

The role of the Church of Sweden does not change during heightened preparedness, emphasizes Lisa-Gun Bernerstedt.

— What we can see changing is that perhaps the focus needs to be to an even greater degree on conveying hope and courage.

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