From the visit in St. Mary's Church neighbor city Bergen. The church became Lutheran with the rest of the Norwegian churches in year 1537. The pulpit, or "sermon stool" we call it,stool, as in chair, dear John C, was central in Lutheran churches till the 1970ies.The pulpit of St. Mary's Church was made in 1676. It has so many interesting details and is so skillfully made, it's worth a visit to Norway in itself. The baroque joy of life and surplus in decoration and colors is no less than breath- taking. The smiling poster at the entrance door, "Yes, you may take pictures", made us stay in the church for a long, long time.
The stairway to heaven.
These are cherubs, not angels. They have genitalia and bellybuttons. They angels have neither, according to my theological guru, brother Ole.
People must have had other ways of thinking and judging than we have. I hardly can imagine a new church with a bare-breasted woman. None has ever been offended by this one.
The heaven over the pulpit. I haven't studied that closely, but the figures shall be the twelve of the Zodiac. The round brass globe is then the sun. 
A closeup of a sunflower on the pulpit.
Originated by MaryT, check hers for today.
