Photo courtesy of Melanie Ferreira.
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our theme for June is “Play”. We have some exciting services and activities planned, including fun volunteer opportunities, a workshop and another game day! Look for the details under “Upcoming Events”.
Please welcome our new council members: Celeste Esau, Charlene Bantantou, Elspeth Muirhead, Lionel Willis and Sarah-Joy Taylor. We are deeply grateful for their willingness to service our community.
Thanks to all who answered our survey last month. People responded that they liked outside speakers and services about specific spiritual practices, like the Pagan rituals and Buddhism. If you have any speakers in mind that you’d like to invite, please let me know!
I’m sending each of you light and love,
Nima
nimajanettaylor@gmail.com // WhatsApp number: 0760249120
UPCOMING SUNDAY TOPICS
6 June - The building blocks of well-being: In 2011, Martin Seligman hypothesized that PERMA (Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment) might be key elements for well-being. Since then, many scientists have proven a positive correlation between these actions and physical health, vitality, job satisfaction and life satisfaction (Kern, Waters, Alder, & White, 2014). As Unitarians, how can we better understand these building blocks and how might we integrate them into our lives? Join Nima for a lively discussion of this topic.
13 June - Becoming a Bodhisattva: In Mahayana Buddhism, the teachings encourage us to be a Bodhisattva, translated as an aspiration to help all beings become enlightened, including oneself. How can we do this? What gives us fertile ground to till and nurture? Nima will explore some Buddhist practices that help us uncover the Bodhisattva within each of us.
20 June - Winter Solstice/Fire Communion: Celeste Esau and others invite you to join us for a service of words, music and the ritual of the burning bowl. Please have a candle; pen and paper; and a small bowl nearby.
27 June - Discovering Unitarianism with Rev. Theo: Rev. Theo will share some thoughts on his exploration of Unitarianism, and how it fits in our South African culture.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Thursdays, 1 - 1:30 pm - Mid-Week Meditation: Join any Thursday in May for a short guided meditation then time to just sit, just breathe and just be. Email NimaJanetTaylor@gmail.com for the Zoom link.
5 June, 3 - 5 pm – Chalice Circle Mowbray: This month’s topic is Story. Email nataliebillingsarch@gmail.com for more information and materials.
12 June, Saturday, 2 - 4 pm - Workshop to explore our identity, values and principles: We invite you to participate in a series of workshops that explores how the community is best served by what we have in common. We view this experience as an ongoing conversation and would like to include as many voices as possible so that we are reflecting the inclusive nature of our core principles, at the same time ensuring that our African location is always reflected. Ask Melanie.Ferreira3@gmail.com for the zoom link.
19 June, Saturday, 2 - 4 pm - Bonteheuwel Gardens clean-up (as seen above): Soraya Salie has asked us to join her group to clean up the gardens there. If you’d like to ride with someone or meet at the venue, please email us on: community@capetownunitarians.org.
20 June, Sunday, 12 - 2 pm - Game Day: We will all join together at the church after the zoom service for a game day! Bring your favourite games and some food and drink and enjoy some time together. Let Nima know if you will be able to attend and want to ride together.
UPDATES
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.
Breakfast is served!
In our efforts to reach out to those in need outside of our community, the Cape Town Unitarians dispatched a team of volunteers to Observatory on Saturday, 29 May. To show our support for the homeless in Observatory, we cooked and served breakfast to them from the Armchair Theatre in Observatory. We would like to continue to support this cause.
2021 Youth Religious Education
We have a robust Chalice Kids education project underway. If you would like for your child to participate, contact Nima at nimajanettaylor@gmail.com.
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.