She attends church on the internet

By Anne Korsholm, Kristeligt Dagblad
(Christian Daily News, April 18. 2001)
Translated by Bernard Miller

Helle Kongevang has found bossom buddies, fellow-sufferers and a close relationship to our Lord on the internet.

On those rare occasions that Helle Kongevang goes into a church, it’s always to attend Holy Communion. That means that she kneels at the altar, loosens her protective mask just a bit and puts the wafer in her mouth. She can’t drink wine. Instead she dips one finger in her husband Mikael’s glass and paints a cross in the air in front of her. Helle Kongevang is 44 years old and suffers from MCS Multiple Chemical Sensitivity , a rare, multiform hypersensitivity to chemicals. Today, as a result of her illness, she receives a disability pension, but she used to be a company secretary for a firm that repaired photocopiers and computers. In her workplace, clouds of poisonous chemicals often hung in the rooms and that created a lethal situation for Helle Kongevang who was born with both MCS and a defective immune response. She had to give up working in 1992 and two years ago her doctors managed to diagnose MCS, even though Helle cannot tolerate the usual tests for hypersensitivity. Chemicals abound everywhere in our modern world, so nowadays Helle is forced to stay indoors for most of the day and to wear a mask when she does leave her home, for a maximum of three hours at a time.

On line community: She is a warm and open human being, full of the joy of life, so guests are most welcome at her and Mikael‚s home on Amager (one of Copenhagen’s islands), but she always has to make sure that her guest’s clothes are washed in fragrance-free detergent, that nobody has recently smoked a cigarette or used scented shampoo, hairspray, after-shave, or make up. The list of dangerous chemicals is vast and the number of guests correspondingly small. That’s why the internet has been Helle Kongevang’s most important contact with the outside world and, not least, her link to a community of Christians. "I have always been a believer. I was confirmed as a child and married in church, so I had a relationship to our Lord, even though I rarely went to church. But after meeting Christians on the internet my faith grew," says Helle Kongevang. She meets up with other MCS sufferers who believe in God in an internet news group. That’s where she sends out her concerns, wishes for consolation or advice, and immediately e-mails stream back from others. "For many of us the internet is the only place we can talk openly. I feel that I am just as close to the others as if we were physically together," she says. Above Helle’s computer desk hangs a map of the USA decorated with photos of her friends spread across the many states. Some of them also email her outside the groups and they phone when things get really pressing. The newsgroup has linked up with a pastor who each day sends a prayer and a bible text to everyone, and if anyone needs his guidance, they can e-mail him.

"It’s just delightful to be able to say ‘I believe in our Lord‚, without anyone thinking that it’s strange. And it’s wonderful that we get to know each other and pray for each other. If I go into my parish church, then the priest will wish me a fond farewell and he is the only human being I have been close to. On the internet we touch each other’s hearts". Everyday on Amager is imbued with internet friendships.

Our Lord is with me: From the loudspeakers American gospel songs pour into the flat. It’s music that kept Helle Kongevang’s spirits up when days got too heavy to bear. On her blouse sits a little guardian angel, a gift from a girlfriend in the USA. Helle Kongevang’s family bible, dating back to 1842 lies in a soft binder sewn by another of her American girlfriends, and the shelves are lined with books in English. My life today is more English than Danish, states Helle Kongevang. She describes her daily life as isolated but not lonely. She has her beloved husband, the friends from the news group, and little by little, as a result of her many years of experience of hypersensitivity, other illness groups draw on her knowledge. She speaks with representatives of both people with Gulf War Syndrome and fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. And she also has a few friends back in Denmark. "I am going to somebody’s wedding in their home and they are arranging everything so that I can tolerate it," she says with tears in her eyes. The wedding involves a smoking ban, no fragrance, palm oil candles on the tables (instead of the usual stearin) and everything else that Helle’s condition requires. "I feel more valued than I can describe." Right now she feels that life is as good as she can dream of. "I have Our Lord with me. He’s part of my daily life. I can talk to him and he’s right here. Helle Kongevang lays her hand on the table. "I can only hope that life carries on this way. It won’t get any better but it could get worse. A chemical reaction might kill me and I must not get so sick that I have to go into hospital. I can’t tolerate being in hospital," she says.

This evening Helle Kongevang can be seen on the DR documentary "Chemical Children" which tells the story of the 100,000 chemical substances we surround ourselves with each day, and the dangers they bring.

Helle Kongevang has her own web site at: