In Memoriam 1992-1997/Elna Lødrup

In Memoriam 1992-1997 Elna Lødrup

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ELNA LØDRUP

Ina belonged to a respectable, noble family from Bergen, the second largest city in Norway. She lived a good part of her life in Oslo, although her childhood was spent mostly in Bergen, and in Trondheim where she completed her education. Some members of her family had immigrated earlier to the United States. As a youth she visited them in California and heard about the Faith from one of her relatives there, but she did not pay much attention to it then.

Early in 1963, during one of her travels in Sweden, she met Knight of Bahá’u’lláh Mildred Clark on a train. Mrs. Clark was then a pioneer in Norway, and she spoke of the Faith with a personality and a

See "In Memoriam," The Bahá’í World, vol. XIV, pp. 303-4.

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Elna Lødrup

wisdom that impressed Elna deeply. When Elna returned to Oslo, she maintained a correspondence with Mrs. Clark, who was then residing in Trondheim.

She attended a public meeting organized by the Local Spiritual Assembly of Oslo in 1963 and embraced the Faith on the twenty-fifth of November of that year. Afterward she became an active member of the Local Assembly. Her home, which was centrally located in Oslo, was often used as a venue for meetings of the National Assembly, and she held regular firesides there for some time. Elna was later elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Norway and served it as secretary for several years. In 1968 she participated as a delegate to the International Convention in Haifa.

In the meantime she held an important position with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), a directorate under the Norwegian Ministry for Foreign Aid. She retired from NORAD in 1988 to become a consultant. During her later years Elna chose to work in the field updating NORAD's archives in places such as Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. In this way she came closer to the third world and a sense of global responsibility. This was far removed from the star-spangled world of Hollywood where she had once worked. Elna was invited to be interviewed about the Faith on the Norwegian Television Network—the first time the Faith was introduced by this medium.

In her later years Elna served the Bahá’í Publishing Trust of Norway and in spite of poor health continued her work with devotion and consecration.

Because of an accident suffered in Africa, her lung capacity had been weakened, and in mid-June 1996 she became ill. Elna did not recover and passed on to the Abhá Kingdom on the twenty-third. In her will she left all her possessions to the Bahá’í community of Norway. The Universal House of Justice sent its condolences on June 17:

DEEPLY SADDENED TO LEARN OF RECENT PASSING TO ABHÁ KINGDOM BELOVED HANDMAIDEN BAHÁ’U’LLÁH ELNA LØDRUP, WHOSE MERITORIOUS SERVICES FOR CAUSE SPANNED MORE THAN THREE DECADES INCLUDING LONG YEARS MEMBERSHIP ON NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY. MAY HER CONTRIBUTIONS TO DEVELOPMENT OF DIVINE INSTITUTIONS OF BAHÁ’U’LLAH’S WORLD ORDER IN NORWAY DRAW BLESSINGS UPON YOUR PRESENT ENDEAVOURS.

SUPPLICATING IN HOLY SHRINES FOR EXALTATION HER RADIANT SOUL IN ALL THE WORLDS OF GOD.

From articles by Hooshang Rafat and Jon Sandsmark