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Leif Magne Helgesen delivers an All Saints Day message during a torchlight vigil in Longyearbyen Cemetery as part of a Svalbard-based television series about the church and climate change airing on NRK in November and December. Helgesen will be among those leading a bell-ringing ceremony Saturday as part of a three-day ”Rop Fra Arktis” gathering Friday through Sunday.

Global leaders say they're abandoning hope of a treaty at next month's climate summit, but scientists still urging immediate action will get a boost locally this weekend from those literally in the business of miracles.

A bell-ringing ceremony starting at Svalbard Church at 4 p.m. Saturday and resonating at churches throughout Norway will serve as the emblematic moment for "Rop Fra Arktis" ("Cry From the Arctic"), a three-day gathering of scientific, educational and religious leaders seeking to focus attention on the effects of climate change in the north. Songs, prayers and a petition seeking action at United Nations climate summit beginning Dec. 7 will be offered, although top world leaders stated earlier this week they are giving up on a binding agreement among the 192 participating nations.

Those declarations aren't discouraging Svalbard Church Priest Leif Magne Helgesen, who is leading many of the local events that begin Friday.

"I think our small action is even more important to give the politicians the effort to go for an agreement," he said.

The statements from global leaders may simply be an attempt to play down expectations, Helgesen added. Even if nothing substantive results in Copenhagen, "there is something to be said for progress going into next year."

A historical rift between science and church has emerged among some factions on climate change, but those participating in the "Rop Fra Arktis" weekend share a common ground whether achieved through an empirical or ethical foundation.

"I think it will be more or less the first time church bells are used this way," Helgesen said. "It's not just being used for prayer, but for the politics."

Coming to Svalbard to start the bell ceremony – which will be broadcast nationally on NRK as part of a five-part series focusing on climate change and the church in the Arctic – recognizes northernmost areas are where warming is most pronounced.

"We are a church where the ice is melting," Helgesen said. "We have a moral and ethical responsibility to draw attention to it."

Beyond that is the church's responsibility to care for the poor. "The people most in danger from attack from this are the poor people and the indigenous people," he said.

It's not new for the church to be involved in issues about nature, Helgesen said, but efforts are often overshadowed as more attention is paid to issues like homosexuality.

Many attending the Copenhagen summit have studied and hard arguments about global warming from all sides for years, and Helgesen said the Svalbard gathering is more "to collect normal people" not as immersed. But the odds are long against convincing some harsher skeptics denouncing "junk research" and the church's involvement.

Among the commenters in an NRK article about the event is one declaring "a church should unite people in our Christian faith and not do as the priest in Svalbard, behaving like a useful idiot for the political forces," while another asks "if it is so bad with this global warming, might it be an idea to halt Svalbard tourism? Unnecessary flights are not exactly the best way to reduce emissions."

Helgesen said he saw the comments and discovered the "useful idiot" comment came from a frequent poster on numerous topics.The existence of such opinions can be part of discussion about the issue among a broad audience, he said, even if trying to sway the commenter is futile.

The "Rop Fra Arktis" events begin with an introductory discussion at 7 p.m. Friday between Helgesen, Norwegian Polar Institute Director Kim Holmén and Bishop Per Oskar Kjølås, focusing more on the backgrounds of the visitors than the climate issues to be debated during the weekend.

A series of seminars are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The University Centre In Svalbard. Among the topics are how warming is affecting the Arctic, a panel discussion about the Copenhagen summit, and students and teachers discussing "Is The Light At The End Of The Tunnel?"

A torchlight procession from the university to the church bell at Skjæringa is scheduled at 3:30 p.m., with the bell ringing at 4 p.m. A liturgy focusing on climate issues is scheduled at 11 a.m. Sunday with bishops Kjølaas, Bishop Tor Bergen Jørgensen and Hans Stiglund.

"We are praying for life, from the microorganism to the polar bear," Helgesen said.

Highlights of the weekend will be broadcast on NRK during the second Sunday of Advent as part of the "Open Skies." An All Saints Day service filmed in Longyearbyen aired in November, with other segments showing during the remaining Sundays of Advent. Helgesen will also be among church officials who spend a day at the Copenhagen summit, working on climate-related issues during the ferry journey there.

"It is quite a lot of time, but it also gives a lot of strength," he said.

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