Our theme for November is Change, and we’ll have several speakers addressing this topic from different perspectives.
Read moreOctober 2022 Newsletter
Our theme for October is Courage, and we’ll be exploring how each of us have found the courage needed at important times in our lives.
Read moreSeptember 2022 Newsletter .
Our theme for September is Belonging. Where do you feel like you belong? How can we create relationships that cultivate a sense of belonging? What does belonging feel like to you?
Read moreAugust 2022 Newsletter
August is our month for cultivating our imagination. What can we be? How can we help? What wants to happen? These are some of the questions we will ponder together as we snuggle up for our last month of wintry weather.
Read moreJuly 2022 Newsletter
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our theme for June is “Celebrating Blessings”, and we have planned several exciting Sunday gatherings and excursions to keep us inspired and engaged and feeling blessed!
Thanks to all for a fantastic AGM, and also thank you to all who voted (!00%!) for our new Principle Statement. And a special thanks to Melanie and Shelley for leading this important effort. Now we will begin exploring how best to integrate the statement throughout our community and our lives. More to follow.
Read moreJune 2022 Newsletter
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our theme for June is “Celebrating Blessings”, and we have planned several exciting Sunday gatherings and excursions to keep us inspired and engaged and feeling blessed!
Thanks to all for a fantastic AGM, and also thank you to all who voted (!00%!) for our new Principle Statement. And a special thanks to Melanie and Shelley for leading this important effort. Now we will begin exploring how best to integrate the statement throughout our community and our lives. More to follow.
Read moreIn Their Words: Cele Esau’s Social Activism Journey With the Cape Town Unitarians
Cele Esau is a lay leader for social justice and special services in the Cape Town Unitarian (CTU) community. With their youngest child, John, Cele recently participated in successful protests against Shell’s proposed oil and gas seismic exploration off the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape. If you want to get involved with CTU’s social justice work, contact Nolu at community@capetownunitarians.org.
If I think back two years ago, this kind of social justice activity was nowhere on my radar. Going to Faith Leader Environmental Activist Training (FLEAT) with the South African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI), connecting with others and realizing what social activism is really about, really launched me on this path of standing in the gap however I can.
And for John to come on board, it makes me feel both proud and inspired. In many of the interviews that he does, he will mention the fact that, number one, climate change is not “something that’s happening over there and doesn’t touch me” kind of thing. And number two, he’ll say things like, “You can’t really rely on the adults to do the right thing.”
So, you can’t wait and see what happens. You have to do something now. I think that messaging really goes for all of us and I try to put it in our CTU community as well.
May 2022 Newsletter
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our theme for May is nurturing beauty. How do we consciously seek to see/experience/cultivate beauty whenever possible?
Read moreApril 2022 Newsletter
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Autumn is upon us! The April theme is “Awakening”, and we’ll be exploring how we awaken to our inner truth and the outer experience of belonging in our beloved community. As part of this journey, we will be having New Members Sunday on 3 April. Being a member means you commit to participating how and when you can in CTU and supporting others to do the same. It also enables you to vote in our upcoming AGM on 29 May. Let me know if you like more information.
Read moreMarch 2022 Newsletter
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Where do we want to go, Individually and as a community?
We have come through an incredibly difficult two years, and now we have a precious opportunity to reflect, renew and reenergize our individual spiritual practice AND our community practice.
This month we will come together in many different ways, and I look forward to hearing from each of you how the Cape Town Unitarians can best support you on your spiritual path!
See below for the meaningful and fun ways to reconnect to yourself and our beloved community.
With love,
Nima
nimajanettaylor@gmail.com // WhatsApp number: 0760249120
Charter for Compassion is a Good Guide for Continuing Tutu's Legacy
Compassion helps us in tough times and encourages meaningful connection—and it’s something Cape Town needs more of, Nic Paton wrote in a recent opinion essay published by the Mail & Guardian. Nic, an advisory board member for the Cape Town Interfaith Initiative, has allowed us to excerpt his essay below.
It is just more than a month since South Africa bade farewell and lala uxolo to our beloved Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, a champion of peace and common-sense humanity and spirituality. In his wake, we are coming to terms with the fact that the champion of the deep values of unity, justice and compassion — in a word, ubuntu — has passed the baton to us, the people.
Among Tutu’s many legacies, one that stands out as being of utmost relevance is his contributions to what became the Charter For Compassion. Tutu’s interfaith work with the 14th Dalai Lama was instrumental in the creation of this document, launched globally and in Cape Town in 2010. The charter urges all people and religions to embrace compassion, focusing on the Golden Rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you”. This simple awareness forms a solid basis for morality, and the potential for genuine unity between faiths.
Be sure to read Nic’s full piece on the Mail & Guardian website.
January 2022 Newsletter
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
We were all deeply saddened by the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He had a very special place in our community. Please read CTU’s touching tribute to the Archbishop, with memories and stories from our own Roux Malan, Gordon Oliver and Shelley Adams and her daughter Willow.
Our theme for January is living with intention. How can we live more intentionally, even amidst the uncertainties that life throws at us every day? Join us each Sunday to ponder this theme.
Read moreThank You, Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Today we remember Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who exemplified living a courageous and faithful life. Throughout South Africa and the world, he spoke fearlessly against injustices, whether it was apartheid, racism, sexism or homophobia. “I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven,” he famously said in 2013. “No, I would say, ‘Sorry, I would much rather go to the other place.’” Tutu was a friend, a spiritual guide and a moral compass for so many South Africans. We are grateful for his leadership, grace and humour. We miss him dearly.
Here are some Cape Town Unitarians (CTU) members’ memories of the Archbishop.
Read moreCTU Cancels and Curbs In-Person Events Due to Rising COVID-19 Cases
Cape Town Unitarians has cancelled its upcoming in-person events due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country. Council is sad to share this decision with you, as we were excited to see everyone for these activities. We appreciate your understanding.
Read moreDecember 2021 Newsletter
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our theme for December is Joy! It is my joy to announce that our new administrator is Nolubabalo Bulana. Nolu has extensive accounting, admin and NGO work, and is excited to work with the CTU community! She begins 1 December. More information will follow.
This month, with hopes for no lockdown, we will gather on Saturday, 11 December at 1 pm to decorate our beloved building, and on 12 December at 6 pm for our festive service. Alexios will bring the organ back to life for the first time in over a year!
Read moreNovember 2021 Newsletter
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our theme for November is “Holding History”, so it seems appropriate that we take this month to reflect on how we hold history for ourselves and for others.
Our Social Activities Lay Leader, Hans Moolman, has developed some lekker events for us to share. See below all the delightful details!
Read moreOctober 2021 Newsletter
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
First, I want to convey my deep gratitude to each of you, for your commitment to this community! Sharing your time, talents and treasures help our beloved community thrive. Thank you for co-creating more love in this world.
Our theme for October is Cultivating Relationships, and above we see the beautiful Bonteheuwel Walking Ladies Group being served by Charlene, Laura and Johan. Food, music, sharing, conversations—these are the many ways of deepening relationships that can create more happiness. How do you nurture your relationships?
Read moreSeptember 2021 Newsletter
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our theme for September is “opening to possibilities,” something highly important for these trying times. I’m grateful being part of this community that helps me stay open to possibilities!
With the grants from the UUA and Hibbert Trust, we have begun our second Lay Leaders 12-month course, with 18 students from five countries plus the UK and South Africa!
Read moreAugust 2021 Newsletter
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our theme for August is “Perseverance”, something I’m sure we have all been cultivating in this last 1.5 years. How do we find the strength within us to keep going when the going gets tough, when we are struggling to carry on, when the way forward is uncertain?
Read moreJuly 2021 Newsletter
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our theme for July is “Identity”. What identity do we want for CTU? What does it mean to be a Unitarian? These are the types of questions we will be asking ourselves in the services as well as at the upcoming workshop led by Melanie and Shelley, coming up at 12:30 pm on Sunday, 4 July. (See below for more details.)
Read more