Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
I’m excited this month to share from my favourite meditation book, written by Andrew Holecek, entitled “Reverse Meditation: How to Use Your Pain and Most Difficult Emotions as the Doorway to Inner Freedom.” I found this book to be the BEST in explaining in simple terms why so many people find it difficult to meditate regularly and how we can learn to meditate in the midst of our challenging lives. See the topics we will explore below.
Don’t miss Leigh Meinert’s service on 18 October about the religious views on the right to die.
Note that Carl Lindemann has moved his workshop to learn spiritual storytelling on Sunday 18th October 12-2 pm at the church and online. All the details are below.
Lastly, as many of you know, I am stepping down as Minister of CTU on 31 December 2026. I have thoroughly enjoyed these last seven plus years, and now it is time for someone fresh to take on this role. See the detailed advert for the position below. If you know of anyone you think might be a good candidate, have them email us at Community@CapeTownUnitarians.org. All applications need to have been submitted no later than 16 October 2026.
With love and light,
WhatsApp 076 024 9120
In this issue of the newsletter
Check out our events page to view our church calendar. This includes events posted in the building and outside of the building. If you would like your event added, please contact us via email at: community@capetownunitarians.org
Sunday Services
Upcoming Activities
Council Update
Sunday Services
All services will start at 10:30 am SA time
Contact Community@CapeTownUnitarians.org for the link
4 October, ONLINE ONLY, What If We Turn Toward What We Usually Avoid? We usually try to escape discomfort, but what might happen if we became curious about the very experiences we resist? Drawing on Andrew Holecek’s Reverse Meditation, we’ll explore how turning toward fear, grief, irritation, and uncertainty can reveal unexpected possibilities for freedom and insight.
11 October ONLINE ONLY, Staying Present When Everything in Us Wants to Leave. Turning toward difficulty is one thing; staying present with it is another. We’ll explore how curiosity and awareness can help us remain with uncomfortable experiences without immediately trying to fix, suppress, or escape them
18 October, ONLINE ONLY, Religious views on the right to die. Leigh Meinert will speak on this topic, sharing what she has learned in her role as Operations Manager for Dignity SA.
25 October, ONLINE ONLY. Nothing to Fix What if we don’t always need to overcome or transform our difficult experiences? In the final service, we’ll explore how changing our relationship to discomfort—rather than eliminating it—can open a deeper sense of freedom and presence.
THE CAPE TOWN UNITARIANS, A SPIRITUAL & LIBERAL COMMUNITY, IS LOOKING FOR A NEW MINISTER
We are а small but growing, free-thinking independent spiritual community that is diverse and inclusive in our beliefs. We are bound by our Unitarian principles and values and are looking for a minister to join us from January 2027.
Your role would include:
Ministering in response to the spiritual needs of our congregation and set an example of Unitarian values
Avail leadership with regard to our worship programme and spiritual direction
Provide pastoral care and congregational development
Engaging in professional development
Requirements:
Minimum qualification: undergraduate level of education in theology, religious studies or human sciences (Essential)
Willingness to engage in professional development and mentorship (Essential)
Proven ability to inspire and lead, ideally a successful ministry (Preferred)
At least three years active involvement in a Unitarian congregation (Preferable)
Experience in congregational leadership and management in any religious tradition (Advantageous)
Ability and willingness to spend time in the UK/US to study Unitarianism (if required)
Applicant should be resident in Cape Town, or willing to relocate at your own expense
Should you be moved to join us, please contact us at community@CapeTownUnitarians.org for further information about our community and detailed submission requirements. Applications to be submitted by 16 October 2026.
Please note that this is a part time position for 20% of full-time hours. Duration of contract negotiable.
For information about our church and Unitarian principles and values please visit CapeTownUnitarians.org.
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
SPIRITUAL STORYTELLING
with Carl Lindemann
Sunday 18th October 12-2 pm at the church and online
WhatsApp Carl at +27 79 021 5079 to sign up
“Beware of the stories you read or tell; subtly, at night, beneath the waters of consciousness, they are altering your world.” - Ben Okri, poet and novelist
Thanks to all for participating in the two Sundays in August where we piloted the storytelling service. What we need now to advance the project are more stories! For that, we need a method to cultivate them from our community.
What I discovered personally, and from learning of Gordon’s experience of gathering his memoir, is that developing your personal myth/spiritual autobiography is an extraordinary process. In fact, the experience of those sharing their journey with the congregation is secondary to it.
As such, the very heart of this proposed new direction for CTU is to create a structure for all to participate in this personal reflection. This is really nothing more than developing a shared process to accomplish our core commitments that are stated each week in our opening words:
We endeavor to grow in awareness, understanding and insight;
We commit to nurture each other on our unique spiritual path…
How to go about that? Create a course for those that want to gather together and engage in this work. Fortunately, I have developed something like this for adult education that can easily be adapted. The aim would be to have a six-session course made up of a two-hour class each week. The reading material include examples of spiritual autobiography taken from Unitarian and kindred liberal religious writers. We will be talking about love, work, interests – all the things that define our lives. Readings, movies and songs from various sources serve as prompts to get us telling our own stories.
For newcomers to CTU, this serves as an introduction to our history and tradition. For all participants new and old, this helps define who and what we are.
This is not just about uncovering the stories that shape our lives. By bringing them to conscious awareness, we can reshape these to put them at our service. I have seen this be a life-changing process for those who engage in this deeply.
We can conduct this both online and/or in person. The initial outreach for this yielded just a handful of responses. Hopefully these recent services will inspire others to participate. We will gather on Sunday 4th October 12-2 pm at the church and online for our first workshop.
Please contact me via WhatsApp at +27 79 021 5079 if you are interested in attending or have a question.
Somerset West Fellowship
SATURDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2026 @ 10h00
Venue Rotary Club of Somerset West, cnr Lourensford & Cloetenberg Rds
Speaker: Rev. Roux Malan
THE STORY OF UNITARIANS IN AFRICA
Roux will share about the Pan-African Unitarian Leadership institute (PAULI) that met in Kenya from 23-28 September 2026. Six students started a two year Certificate in Contextual Unitarian Lay Leadership. Two students from Kenya, Burundi and Botswana.
He will also briefly share about other Unitarian Communities in other parts of the world.
Speaker: Rev. Roux Malan
📞 **Contact:** Rev. Roux Malan – 084 679 5466
🌐 **Website:** https://swunitarians.carrd.co
This is a free event—all are welcome!
Website link: https://capetownswing.co.za/
Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/capetownswing
WhatsApp Group Link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/D18f5nNmtSRHI4dI3lXNLV
Council Updates
The next Council meeting will be on 15 November 12-2pm.
The Council met on Sunday 20 September 12-2 pm. The key items discussed were the following: Rev. Roux Malan gave a recap of what is going to happen at the Kenya conference/training for Pan African Unitarian leaders, which happened 22-28 September. Nima went through the CTU financials up through July 2026. Lastly, a discussion was had about the possibilities for finding our next minister to replace Nima when she steps down as minister on 31 December.
Have questions or comments for Council? Please email us at community@capetownunitarians.org.