Photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our theme for November is belonging. How do we deepen our sense of belonging to CTU and to other communities of which we are a part?
Our fundraising team is doing excellent work, looking for many ways to financially support our community. We welcome your legacy gifts, and pledges in memoriam, so thank you for considering including the Unitarian Church, Cape Town in your will. Please let us know how we can best serve you in your plans.
Also, in November we are starting our annual Pledge Campaign. We ask everyone to consider if they might increase their monthly pledge or, if not yet pledging, making a monthly contribution. Any amount makes a big difference! Contact Nolu to find out more.
Note we are changing our online Chalice Circle to Tuesday evenings, 19:00 - 20:30 (NOTE NEW TIME) which will be on 21st November.
Last, SAVE THE DATE! Justice Edwin Cameron will be speaking at our Sunday gathering on 3rd December. His topic is “Prisons, Social Justice and the Law.”
See below for all the great activities happening in our community this August.
With love and light,
Nima
nimajanettaylor@gmail.com // WhatsApp 076 024 9120
In This Issue of the Newsletter (check out our new Google Calendar of events/activities in the building: Event/Activities at 64 Hout Street and CTU events/activities outside the building or online: Events/Activities NOT at 64 Hout Street)
Sunday Services
Somerset West Fellowship
Asatru Ceremony
Nima: open house / braai
Wardrobe Rejuvenation Sessions
Chalice Circle - Online Only
CTU Community Choir - HYBRID
Thanksgiving Dinner
Chalice Kids - IN PERSON
Edwin Cameron, on “Prisons, Social Justice and the Law”
UPCOMING SUNDAY TOPICS
Please note: All services are hybrid and start at 10:30 am
5 November – Learning more about our founder, David Faure: Note now in the building, NOT at the cemetery. Nima, with the help of Melanie and Gordon, will be exploring David Faure's life and what caused him to create a radically different church in 1867.
12 November – Recap of Prague International Unitarian Conference, Roux Malan: Roux will share the exciting news from his recent attendance at the International Unitarian Conference in October.
19 November – New Members: Join us in celebrating several new members! Nima will welcome them into our community and we’ll explore how cultivating a sense of belonging is a powerful spiritual practice. If you would like to become an official member of CTU, contact Nima.
26 November - Santa Soaked reading: Cele will lead an exploration of our very own Carl Lindemann’s children’s book about the climate crisis.
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
Somerset West Fellowship - IN PERSON
4 November, Saturday, 10:00 am
Vonke House, Chapel Room at 121 Lourensford Road
Topic: "Poetry as a Spiritual Journey".
The guest speaker will be Joseph Koetsier, Joseph is a committee member of The Egyptian Society of South Africa (TESSA). He is interested in Divine Wisdom across cultures. In his pre-pension years he worked at universities in South Africa (UWC) and the Netherlands (University of Groningen) in areas of Lifelong Learning and Cross Cultural Educational Studies. He has worked with refugee groups in South Asia and the Netherlands. He was also liased with educational development projects in India, Sri Lanka and Mozambique.
Joseph says "My life as a poet started in March 1989. One of my dearest cousins who worked with Doctors Without Borders at Shongwe Hospital was killed in a car crash due to the negligence of others. His death shocked me deeply. I looked for a way to process the pain and honour his legacy. I thought about some detailed obituary, but poems emerged. Thus, I entered a long route of spiritual experiences which I expressed in poetry, ranging from a deep intimacy with insects and birds to exploring the inner realms of being human."
There is no charge for attending the meeting.
COST: Free, as well as free light refreshments.
RSVP: Contact Dave Mayes at 021 850 0863, or davidjeanmayes@gmail.com
Asatru Ceremony
9th November, Thursday,7pm- 10pm
64 Hout Street
Jay Dreamweaver will be hosting an Asatru ceremony. Beautiful family of light!
Here we honour our pagan ancestry with a beautiful ritual, a Blot. We honour our ancestry from the north, we sing songs, we pray, and We honour the elements of fire, water, earth and air, and spirit. share in the sacrament of honey mead (our own brew!) And we throw our runes for the month ahead. Looking forward to singing & praying with you!
Recommended donation R100.
Love and blessings! Jay
Nima Open House/ Braai
12th November, Sunday 12:30 - 17:30pm
Join Nima and Erica at their home for an afternoon of fun conversation and food! Feel free to come and go as you would like. Erica will have some delightful sparkling wine available, or feel free to bring some other beverage you prefer. Also, if you are able, bring some food to braai and/or share. Contact Nima for more information.
Please contact Nima
nimajanettaylor@gmail.com // WhatsApp 076 024 9120 for more details.
Wardrobe Rejuvenation Sessions
14 and 28 November, Tuesday,5:30pm- 6:30pm
64 Hout Street
Wardrobe rejuvenation sessions led by Annie Akinyi Kamya consist of knowing the basics of sewing. Machine stitch can be taught if you provide your domestic machine. The main skills will be hand-stitching (basic, blanket, secret, cross); crochet; knitting; embroidery; pattern reading and making; and basic tailoring (hemming, etc.).
Cost: R100 per lesson
RSVP: Email missaakamya@gmail.com
Please bring your own machine if you have and the item(s) you would like to repair or knitting needles, Crochet hooks, etc. to practise.
Chalice Circle - Online only
21 November, 19:00 - 20:30pm
Third Tuesdays of each month
Join us for some community time and conversation as we explore our November theme of Belonging. One of our ministry team members will facilitate a pondering of our theme packet, as we listen deeply to each other and bond as a community. Hans Moolman will facilitate. For more information and the link, contact Nima.
CTU Community Choir-Hybrid
Every Wednesday, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
64 Hout Street and Online
Camille Hatton invites everyone to join our hybrid Community Choir rehearsals. All are welcome irrespective of experience or ability. Each week we will explore some UU hymns, other congregational style hymns, and work on a repertoire for upcoming services. We aim to sing in service once or twice a month when feasible. See this Google doc for more information about choir practice. If you have questions, contact Camille at camillemhatton@gmail.com or on WhatsApp at +1 831 345 6128.
Thanksgiving Dinner -IN Person
26 November, Sunday, 12:30pm - 17:00pm
64 Hout Street
Gratefulness, or “great fullness” as Brother David Steindl-Rast calls it, “is the full response of the human heart to the gratuitousness of all that is.” Pema Chöndrön elaborates further, “Beginning to tune into even the minutest feelings of … gratitude … softens us. If we begin to acknowledge these moments and cherish them … then no matter how fleeting or tiny this good heart may seem, it will gradually, at its speed, expand.” Your taste buds are invited to fully respond, and your waistlines to expand … at our hybrid American-South African ‘Thanksgiving’ Bring and Share event. Can the candied yams share space with the classic trifle, or the showstopper turkey and stuffing, keep up a conversation with the firm festive favourite, gammon?
Come find out for yourself, as we merge our culinary consciousness and remember our rightful home.
Please contact Hans via WhatsApp at +27721276497 to confirm dish creations. (Mandatory sampling of dishes required by Hans 😜before entry can be approved.)
Chalice Kids - IN PERSON
We have a robust Chalice Kids education project every month. If you would like your child to participate, email Nima at nimajanettaylor@gmail.com. She will help you choose the right group for your kid(s) and share the homes where we are meeting.
Edwin Cameron, on “Prisons, Social Justice and the Law”
Join us for this very special Sunday with Edwin Cameron, as he speaks on “Prisons, Social Justice and the Law”. We encourage you to invite your network of any friends and family who might be interested in this important topic.
Edwin Cameron is a former Justice of the Constitutional Court, SA's highest court, who in 2019 retired after 25 years' service as a judge. In his long tenure, Justice Cameron oversaw and ruled on several landmark cases and was considered an important member of the Court’s progressive wing. He has authored or contributed to numerous publications, including his own moving personal account, Edwin Cameron: Witness to AIDS (2005), which detailed his life and work as a person living with HIV in South Africa. In 2019, he was then elected Chancellor of Stellenbosch University. He was also appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to serve as the Inspecting Judge of Correctional Services.
COMMUNITY CORNER
Laura has started her online studies to become a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) in the United States. She writes: "I've always loved learning about personal finances, so finally studying to become a CFP is a dream come true. In a way, it's also my career coming full circle: before working as a photographer, I was a financial reporter writing about stock, bond, foreign exchange and derivatives markets. My ultimate goal is to become a CFP in both the United States and South Africa so I can serve clients in both countries."
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The "Grant Mining Crew" led by Altaira had a wildly successful pizza and grant search party on Wednesday. We found a total of 37 potential grant opportunities, with Cynthia winning first place, and Nolu coming up second. Next we will review and begin applying!
COMMUNITY UPDATES
Laura has stepped down from Council, vacating the secretary position, to pursue her studies in financial planning. We're grateful for her service these past three years and will name a new secretary at our next Council meeting.
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Council meeting will be Sunday 5 November 13:00 - 15:00. Contact Nolu if you’d like to attend, so you can receive the documents.
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Power Up Cape Town for climate solutions
Friday, November 3, 2023 at 9:00 AM
Location: RSA Parliament, Cape Town, Western Cape
Green Connection, 350.org and their partners and supporters will meet at 9am and picket in front of parliament with banners and signs echoing our message that Total must stop fossil fuel exploration and exploitation, and that the government must make Total and other fossil fuel companies pay for the climate damage they have done.
Sign up at https://act.350.org/event/global-power-up/25992?source=350-map
Volunteer Opportunities - Please Share Your Time and Talents with CTU!
Our communications committee is always looking for people who can write, edit, photographand create graphics. Contact Laura on WhatsApp at +27-60-488-0372.
Join the Social Justice committee by contacting Cele on 082 433 8815.
Help with events by contacting Hans on 072 127 6497.
Have questions or comments for Council? Please email us at community@capetownunitarians.org.