Photo by United Nations Covid-19 Reponse on Unsplash
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our March theme is Commitment, and we have some exciting speakers planned for this month! I am deeply grateful for the commitment so many of you have made to the Cape Town Unitarians, and I feel an exciting energy bubbling up within our becoming beloved community.
In March, I’m starting a “Mid-week Meditation” via Zoom to support anyone who needs a little extra incentive (including myself!) to be more present in each moment. See below for details.
Also, please welcome Blanche Michael, our interim administrator. She will begin work today and serve in this role for three months, at which time we will advertise the position again. Blanche is a lifelong Capetonian with more than 15 years of administrative and teaching experience. You can reach her at community@capetownunitarians.org. Welcome, Blanche!
With light and love,
Rev. Nima
nimajanttaylor@gmail.com // WhatsApp number: 0760249120
UPCOMING SUNDAY TOPICS
7 March - Sister Pratiba of the Brahma Kumaris: Raja Yoga Meditation, as taught by the Brahma Kumaris, offers a framework for personal growth. By exploring and discovering the most fundamental question of all, “Who am I?”, we develop a sense of self-mastery that allows us to stay in charge of our lives.
14 March - Commitment to our spiritual path: Rev. Nima will share some teachings and practices from Buddhism that speak to how we can deepen our commitment to our evolving spiritual journey whatever your individual path might be.
21 March - The commitment of Wilhelm Verwoed: Hendrik Verwoed was known as the architect of the apartheid regime and created horrible suffering for many South Africans. His grandson, Wilhelm Verwoerd disavowed the views with which his family is widely associated and joined the ANC. Wilhelm will share his work leading research and dialogues on “white work", working mostly with younger white South Africans in the Dutch Reformed Church to transform white privilege in the service of greater social justice.
28 March - Celebrating the Autumn Equinox: Although we’ll be eight days late, let’s come together to celebrate the Autumn Equinox and nature religions’ commitment to our beloved and only planet! We will incorporate some pagan rituals to heighten our awareness of Mother Earth and our deep, interdependent and interconnected relationship with her.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Wednesdays, 1:00-1:30 pm – Mid-Week Meditation: Join any Wednesday in March at this time for a short guided meditation then time to just sit, just breathe and just be. Email NimaJanetTaylor@gmail.com for the Zoom link.
6 March, Saturday, 3:00 - 4:00 pm – Chalice Circle Mowbray: This month’s topic is Beloved Community. Email nataliebillingsarch@gmail.com for more information and materials.
7 March, Sunday, 12:00-3:00 pm – Lay Leaders Programme on Zoom: Rev. Nima will be teaching the second of three classes on “Leading Services”. All are welcome. Zoom meeting ID: 981 0533 9711. Email community@capetownunitarians.org for the passcode.
11 March, Thursday, All Day – GreenFaith’s Sacred People Sacred Earth Special Event: The Cape Town Unitarians are proud to be part of Green Faith World’s #SacredPeopleSacredEarth (www.sacredpeoplesacredearth.org) event, the biggest-ever faith-based global day of action, which calls for climate leadership guided by compassion, love, and justice. Thank you to Celeste for spearheading our home-based action event!
Turn your front doorstep/ balcony into a place of activism. Show your commitment and make a sign telling where you are, what your demand is, and the hashtag #Faiths4Climate #SacredPeopleSacredEarth, being sure to list one of the ten demands. Then, go outside with your sign to pray/meditate/sing/chant - even for just 2-3 minutes... have a photo/video taken of yourself and your sign, and post this to social media with the hashtag #Faiths4Climate #SacredPeopleSacredEarth. Try to wear something traditional/religious/faith based and make sure to take a photo/video, post it on social media with the hashtags, and send it to hello@greenfaith.org. If you have additional questions, contact Celeste via WhatsApp at at +27824338815.
11 March, Thursday, 10:30 am – SAFCEI’s Day of Climate Action Event: SAFCEI will be holding a Zoom event during which people will sound the alarm for climate by making noise: blowing the shofar, banging drums, whatever fits your faith tradition. Register here by 5 March: https://docs.google.com/forms/u/3/d/1Vswk1kZBlDGbdhn_pxHD5MIWw0rtiw7b2Iv3NDwCr10/edit
21 March., Sunday, 1:00-2:00 pm Healing and Restoration
Our new member, Mphala Mogudi, is inviting the entire CTU community to the Oxford Unitarian service on this topic. She hopes to encourage people to share their thoughts on what it takes to heal, what are the barriers to healing and vision of what we need to be restored to. Contact NimaJanetTaylor@gmail.com for more information.
UPDATES
Thank You for Donating to our 2021 Pledge Campaign
We are grateful for everyone who has signed up to donate monthly. We now have 20 people pledging R 13,150 each month. Our 2021 budget remains in the red at R 200,000. If anyone else would like to pledge, please contact Gordon Oliver at gordonoliver39@gmail.com . Photo by Daniel Andrade on Unsplash
Jean-Claude is Back in Burundi
On 5 February, Jean-Claude arrived safely back in Bujumbura to isolate for seven days before heading home by bus. He says he is thankful to the Cape Town Unitarians for taking care of him while he was here, and grateful to now be home with his wife and children.
Our Church is Free of Wood Beetles
Thanks to the diligent efforts of William, Fred, Alexios and all our volunteers, our beloved building is now free of wood beetles and has a beautiful shiny new varnish on the floors. We hope to have all the boxes unpacked by the end of the month, in hopes that we will soon be able to meet in a socially distanced way.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Young Adults Chalice Circle is forming: Individuals between the ages of 18 and 40 are welcome to join a new group for members to collectively and actively assist one another to enrich their Body, Mind and Soul through group activities. The group activities build a purpose-filled sense of unity by engaging with a diverse group of like-minded individuals. Young Adults meet on a regular basis as per identified activity. For more information contact Johan Groenewald on 082 897 5000.
Donate to CTU Relief Fund for Food Vouchers
In this difficult time, we know some CTU members are having difficulty putting food on the table. We have started a relief fund specifically to buy and distribute food vouchers for our friends in need. Please consider donating by emailing community@capetownunitarians.org for more information.
2021 Youth Religious Education
On the first Saturday of each month, Youth classes will be held from at 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm. The first hour is for the younger kids (under age age 9) and the second hour for the older kids (over age 9). Contact Nima at nimajanettaylor@gmail.com to RSVP.
Donate to Cape Town Unitarians
Even though we are not holding in-person services yet, our running costs are the same. We would be grateful if you can EFT a little extra this month to compensate for the in-person collections that we can’t take. Here is our bank information:
Unitarian Church
Standard Bank, Branch 051001, A/C # 070440719
Swift Code: SBZAZAJJ
If you are struggling financially or emotionally in this time please let Rev. Nima know so that our Pastoral Care Team can provide you with as much support as we can. Thank you.
JANUARY COUNCIL MEETING NOTES
Work to be done in our community to identify our unconscious biases and how to create a social justice program to support dismantling the prejudices in our systems and in ourselves.
Grants: Unitariarn Universalist Funding program money is being spent on our Lay Leaders programme and other project. We hope to receive another $20,000 USD in 2021, but won’t know result until June. Hibbert/Gregson Trust grant application has encouraging support from the Trustees and is in process of possible amount being distributed. Exact amount not yet known.
Nima’s performance review given in December was shared.
2021 Strategic Priorities shared, which include keeping our budget deficit to R 200,000 fo the year, and continuation of the Lay Leader programme. Chalice Kids education program is also a strategic priority.
Lay Leaders will take on increasing roles in our community as the first group graduates in April. Let’s celebrate their accomplishment! A report on changing roles in our community will be sent out separately.
Monthly finances were reviewed and are on budget.
Next meeting set for 14 March 12 pm.
CTU COUNCIL MEMBERS
Melanie Ferreira, Secretary: 081-790-8030
Eduan Hauman, Treasurer: 083-580-2038
Martha Holmes, Member: 072-521-4504
Leigh Meinert, Chairperson: 082-408-4525
Laura Pohl, Member: 060-488-0372
Nima Taylor, Minister: 076-024-9120