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This word cloud above came from one of our CTU community choir rehearsals. Camille, the choir leader, took a poll asking why everyone comes to choir. These words were the answers.
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our theme for September is ‘Change’. With the changing of the seasons, we are reminded of the shifts in our lives. How do we handle something new or unexpected that arises? Our Principle Statement encourages us to transform how we show up in life every day. Change can often feel too difficult, and we might resist a change that would take us on a new path.
Read moreGreetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our theme of August is Community. There will be many opportunities to reflect upon what it means to be in a community as well as all the benefits and challenges that arise.
Read moreGreetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our July theme is equity, the first monthly theme chosen from our new Principle Statement. What does the value of equity mean, and how do we as a community practice it, cultivate it and bring it forward into a living principle?.
Read moreGreetings, CTU Members and Friends –
June’s theme is delight! We’ll explore the different ways we can experience delight as well as have two special speakers. I’ll be on retreat 22-25 June, but Cele will lead that Sunday gathering and speak to the Winter Solstice that is almost upon us.
Read moreGreetings, CTU Members and Friends –
This month the theme is being with the community. We will explore how we care for each other in times of joys and sadness, and we will also welcome new members.
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Cele recycling bottles at Pick ‘n Pay in Kenilworth Center (KC) that she gathered from a local business. “I was at KC to donate plasma and asked if they had any empty bottles because our church—Cape Town Unitarians—is participating in a recycling program and I volunteered to help collect and deliver recycling on behalf of CTU,” Cele says. “I was amazed at the generosity of the staff for allowing me to take away so many bottles. Keeping plastic out of landfills and oceans is such an important part of looking after the environment.”
Bring us your talents, your treasures, your time—and now even your (recyclable) trash!
Thanks to Cele and Hans, we are launching an initiative to recycle items at Imagined Earth reverse vending machines in exchange for cash, airtime and vouchers via the Imagined Earth app. Each item is worth a different amount according to its size and composition. Our goal is to help the environment while raising funds for our community.
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Photo by Arthur Hickinbotham on Unsplash
How can we as the Cape Town Unitarians community actively participate and honour our principles, namely our “respect for the interdependent web of all existence, of which we are a part”?
We can create circular economies and to grow greener communities and cities, a response that aligns our efforts with Earth Day 2023 (which was yesterday) and this year’s theme of “Investing in Our Planet”.
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Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
April is a month of celebrations for the Abrahamic religions: Passover, Easter, Ramadan! We will be exploring the meaning of these various traditions and discover new ways of understanding, practicing and celebrating these three religious traditions.
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Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our March theme is vulnerability, and we’ll have many opportunities to explore how to cultivate more vulnerability into our lives, and why doing so helps create a profound shift in our life.
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Image by Alex Krivec @Unsplashed
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our February theme is “Love”. We’ll explore going beyond romantic love to self-love and even Divine Love! We are delighted to have our member from Oxford, Jacky Woodman, sharing a reflection on Love from two female mystics’ perspective. Then, we have Christine Terry who will be sharing “Centering Prayer” with us, with some practice opportunities.
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Image by Colton Sturgeon @Unsplashed
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Welcome to 2023! What a delight to travel this spiritual journey with you all. This month, the theme is “finding your centre”, and it seems so appropriate for these uncertain times we are living through. How do we ground ourselves despite the waves and winds that want to blow us around?
Read moreOur theme for December is wonder! How can we cultivate more wonder in our world? December we’ll explore this question and together celebrate the festive season.
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image courtesy of Hakon Grimstad
Our theme for November is Change, and we’ll have several speakers addressing this topic from different perspectives.
Read moreOur 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 moreOur 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 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 moreGreetings, 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 moreGreetings, 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.
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Cele addressing the crowd at an anti-Shell protest in Newlands. Photo courtesy of Cele Esau.
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.
Young Climate Voices featured John, Cele’s son, on their Instagram page late last year.
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.
Greetings, CTU Members and Friends –
Our theme for May is nurturing beauty. How do we consciously seek to see/experience/cultivate beauty whenever possible?
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