Photo courtesy of Nima and the Silvermine Nature Reserve
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our theme for May is nurturing beauty. How do we consciously seek to see/experience/cultivate beauty whenever possible?
Our weekly services will be online every week and hybrid—online and in person—the first and third Sundays; this means we’ll be hybrid on 1 May and 15 May. We are in need of volunteers to help at our in-person services, so if you have time to support us, please fill out the form below to be a helper on one Sunday in May.
We have many activities planned for May, including our Game Day on 15 May and Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 29 May. See details below.
Lastly, it sometimes feel like the world is in a state of utter chaos. Do reach out to me if I can hold the space of love and light when things get tough going.
With love,
Nima
nimajanettaylor@gmail.com // WhatsApp number: 0760249120
Volunteer at In-Person Services
We need your help! Now that we are back in person on the first and third Sundays, we need greeters, tea assistants, flowers and welcomers. Please consider helping if you can, so we will have enough support at our in person gatherings. Thanks in advance for supporting our beloved community!
UPCOMING SUNDAY TOPICS
1 May - The Power of Nature to Heal Us: Research is showing us a truth we intuitively know: being in nature is healing. Even putting a plant in a school or office has been proven to reduce that levels of stress and anxiety. How do you remember and experience the power of nature?
8 May - Rev. Zwelidumile Tom on “How can we be role models of community engagement?”: Roux Malan will introduce his friend, Rev. Zwelidumile Tom, currently serving at the Anglican church in Cradock in the Eastern Cape. In his book, "Relevance of Clergy Leadership", Rev. Tom speaks to the importance of "engaging with your context" and the need to have spiritual leaders model how best to engage with our communities.
15 May - Celebrating Our Bodies: We all know that much of the world’s cultures create a narrow definition of a beautiful body. But what if that is simply one story to be told, and not one that we need to believe? We will celebrate our bodies through singing, dancing, hugging ourselves and other practices that give us tools to see how beautiful each body is, no matter its shape, age, colour or condition!
22 May - Healing Trauma: Ann Paton specialises in healing trauma. Her reflection will be an invitation to do the work of trauma, for ourselves, our families, our communities, our country and beyond. How can we support each other? How can our spiritual practices help us as we to the work to integrate and process our personal and collective stories and, as best we can, work to transmute our pain into insight and strength? This sacred task is not only for this generation but for all those that follow.
29 May - Why community relationships are so important for our health: This will be a shortened service due to our AGM this day.
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
In-Person Chalice Circle – Saturday, 7 May, 2:30 - 4:30 pm
Natalie will again lead an in-person Chalice Circle on the first Saturday of each month. March’s meeting will be at Natalie’s home. Contact her at nataliebillingsarch@gmail.com for more details.
Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash
Online/Hout Street Chalice Circle – Saturday, 21 May, 3:30 - 5 pm
Nima is leading a Chalice Circle that is always a hybrid event. Contact her at NimaJanetTaylor@gmail.com for more details.
Games Day, Sunday 15 May, 12 - 2 pm. Bring your favourite games and snacks for a delightful time enjoying the thrill of competition and the joy of spending time together in our building at 64 Hout Street.
Chalice Kids
We have a robust Chalice Kids education project every month. This month will be exploring the theme of Joy with some song and dance with drumming! If you would like for your child to participate, contact Nima, who will help you choose the right group for your kid(s). Email Nima at nimajanettaylor@gmail.com.
Young Adults Chalice Circle
We have a group of young adults who gather for various fun activities and deep discussions. Contact Johan Groenewald at +27-82-897-5000 for more information.
COMMUNITY UPDATES
Council Meeting – Sunday, 1 May, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Contact Community@CapeTownUnitarians.org if you would like to attend. All are welcome.
2022 Annual General Meeting - Sunday, 29 May, 11:30 am - ????
We will present an update on our strategic goals for the last year, distribute our audited financials and vote on new council members. We need your voice and your vote! Join meeting on Zoom . The meeting ID is 917 4524 2522 . Email Nolu at Community@CapeTownUnitarians.org for the password.
Cape Flats Gardens Project
Theo and Roux are hard at work on their Cape Flats Gardening Project. Stay tuned for some exciting news coming soon.
CELEBRATING BRIDGET STODDART
From left: Simon, Bridget’s son; Denise, Fred’s wife; Bridget and Fred. (Photo courtesy of Fred)
An Update About Our Beloved Member, Bridget Stoddart, From Fred Benning
Prior to the dreadful Covid 19, Bridget and I attended Sunday service whenever possible. Sadly now, that prospect is fading away and is the reason why I’ve attempted to bring ‘live streaming’ and audio to her room for her to at least listen to the service commentary via her landline telephone or through her cell phone.
We hope that anyone wishing to do so, might send a voice note to Nima at 0760249120 or send an email that Nima will read to her (NimaJanetTaylor@gmail.com), so that she can play or read the messages of support and gratitude for our dear member, Bridget, next time she will visit her.
Without a doubt, Bridget and her family, including her grandfather the Rev. Ramsden Balmforth, played a huge role in our Unitarian Church’s history of the liberal thinking theology of that era, when Rev. Balmforth was at the helm from 1897 to 1937.
Bridget, who has been my friend since we were teens living in Cape Town, was the driving force in establishing a viable and independent Unitarian Chapter in Johannesburg. At the time, when my wife Denise and I first lived in the West Rand and I worked out of Joburg, we attended a few of the Chapters Sunday services led by Bridget. So it was that our friendship endured albeit intermittently, as my work as an engineer took me away many times, from our base.
I’m unsure about the timing, however it appears that Bridget was hankering to return to Cape Town to be with her youngest daughter, who was renting in Fish Hoek and was in need of help. Bridget’s husband John, who was asthmatic, joined her for a while but returned to Joburg, the climate being more suited than windy Fish Hoek. This was the time that we renewed our friendship again and she dutifully recommenced became an active member and Councillor of the Free Protestant (Unitarian) Church, Cape Town from around 2010. She served in positions of Secretary, in the Women’s League, as Council Chair. She was the first Church Chair under whom I first joined as a Council member.
Sadly, it was around time that she was diagnosed with deteriorating macular degeneration in both eyes. Nevertheless, she bravely carried on life as best she could, and together with Gordon Oliver, created the Fish Hoek Chapter of our Beloved Unitarian Fellowship, as it was then called. We met once a month at Nerina Eldercare Centre in Fish Hoek, where we helped Gordon with his very thought-provoking reflections on a vast array of interesting topics. In addition, Bridget and I took it upon ourselves to administer the Church’s Annual ‘Pledge Appeal’ for a number of years.
With the death of John in Johannesburg, she decided it was time to sell her home and move to a retirement village. She is now comfortably established in a flat at Evergreen Retirement Village, Muizenberg.