​On Sunday, 15 March, Rev. Bridgette Siepker spoke about the Passiontide Epistle. What can we learn from the letter from the world of spirit about our relationship to the spiritual world and the spiritual world to us?

Before Christ came to the earth, human beings felt themselves to be separated from the spiritual world. The desire to connect with the spiritual world led people to attempt to purify themselves as a way of reconnecting. Through a long process of purification, an initiate could raise himself out of life into the spiritual world for a short period of time. The writings of the Hebrews share that they had to remove sins before they were worthy to enter the Temple.

When John the Baptist was able to proclaim, “There goes the Lamb of God”, it signified that Jesus had become the scapegoat for human sin. The divine united with human sin. The divine entered into the realm of sin and took this realm upon himself.

Through this deed, we can now live with sin and with God at the same time. The need for purity to approach the divine is past. The One bearing our sins lives in us!

Although we have this new knowledge, we have continued to live from the old mysteries. We no longer have to ascend to God; God has come down to humanity. In the Movement for Religious Renewal, we are working from this new Mystery.

In 2 Corinthians 4,

​we hear that God Himself spoke the word, “Out of the darkness let the light shine forth!” He has lit the light in our hearts. This tells us that although we may live in the place of death, death will not overcome us: the life of Christ is in us. Our heart may feel empty, yet Christ is the seed within our core.

We experience earthly life as if we are asleep because the spirit of awakening is difficult to access. It is in our blood that we experience the place of our life where longing arises. We share the air we breathe with every other living being. It is here that we may experience hope arising. Our consciousness experiences the separation from the divine, and we may become aware of a mournful lamenting within our consciousness that is seeking to reunite with the divine. We recognise the sting of evil within us and ask only for it to be overlooked. We can overcome the tempting power of weakness within ourselves. We, who should be upright in this world experience ourselves as being flat on the ground. The spirit that lives in us and brings us to Christ Consciousness can raise us. The “I” is accessible to us through the spirit.

We are never alone in earthly life; our work is met with grace. Hope is the doorway for grace.

​The Gospel of Matthew has opened up a particular theme for me that I hope to follow as we continue. Matthew was Levi, the tax collector. He was well educated in the religious understanding of the Hebrews, and he uses his Gospel to show the Hebrews how the man, Jesus of Nazareth, is the fulfilment of the promised “Anointed One” (Messiah) spoken of in the Holy Scriptures. He therefore regularly refers back to the Old Testament, demonstrating how these teachings are fulfilled in Jesus.

Matthew begins his Gospel with the lineage of Jesus from Abraham, the father of the Hebrew people, to Jesus. This is a kingly lineage and tells the Hebrew people that this human being is the rightful king of the Hebrew people, from King David. This is emphasised in the wise men from the east who arrive in Jerusalem seeking the king newly born.

Now Matthew draws the attention of the Hebrew people to an important parallel. Herod orders the slaughter of the children two years old and younger. Pharaoh ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill all Hebrew boys born. Moses was saved by being placed in a basket and set adrift on the Nile, where he was rescued by the daughter of the Pharaoh. Jesus is rescued by being taken by his parents into the land of the Pharaoh. This parallel draws the attention of the Hebrews to an important event in the life of Moses: the meeting of the “I am” in the bush that was green but appeared to be burning. Through this parallel, Matthew introduces the “I am” incarnate in the man Jesus.

Then Matthew introduced John the Baptist and his message that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Jesus repeats the message when he first begins preaching. John makes it clear that the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees has come to an end.

Then Jesus comes to John, and John is the witness to the Spirit of God descending and remaining on Jesus, and he hears the voice from heaven confirming that the Kingdom of Heaven has descended to the world of human beings.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus immediately goes into the wilderness to be tempted. The period of forty days is a clear message that this is an initiation for the man Jesus. The initiation is completed with the physical body experiencing hunger. Even though the Gospel says that Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted, the tempter arrives only when Jesus experienced hunger.

The temptation is very interesting. The tempter does not force any of the situations in the way that a human temptation might be played on someone. The tempter leaves the way open for Jesus to respond to each temptation. In each case Jesus responds with a quote from scripture, whereby Matthew strengthens his case for this being the Anointed One.

The first temptation can be seen as a temptation of the power of the will, feeding himself and averting the whole course of his ministry. The second temptation can be seen as a temptation of the life of feeling. Jesus even responds by using the word, the ‘capricious’ nature of the human being. The last temptation relates to thinking, the human capacity to see and know the world. In each case, Christ in Jesus brings the human quality under control, suggesting to the Hebrew people that a new condition is now at work in a human being that can shepherd the will, the feeling and the thinking. This condition arises from the “I am” that Moses encountered in the burning bush, which Matthew indicates is now present in this ‘new Moses’.

Matthew makes the case that the “I am” that Moses engaged with is now present in the man Jesus as a result of the baptism and the event that John the Baptist witnessed.

After making himself known throughout Galilee, Jesus gives his first teaching to the disciples he has gathered, known as the ‘Sermon on the Mount’. Rudolf Steiner suggests that the beatitudes are pictures of the condition of the human being as the “I am” works into the human constitution, beginning with the physical body, the etheric body, the astral body, the sentient soul, the intellectual soul, the consciousness soul, transforms the astral nature into Spirit Self, the etheric nature into Life Spirit and the Physical nature in Spirit Human. The beatitudes represent the evolution of human consciousness as a result of Christ, the “I am”, working in the human being. Christ demonstrates this as He penetrates the human being Jesus through the next three years. The completion is the Resurrection Body that appears to the apostles in the Upper Room and by the lake shore. This is the future evolution of the human being made manifest.

The message of Matthew appears to be to the Hebrews that the “I am” of the burning bush is now among them, the incarnate Spirit of God in the Anointed One, the Messiah. This means that the Kingdom of God is now in a human Being. We know from the events that unfold that at Pentecost this Spirit alights on each Apostle and enters into them. From that time on, the Kingdom of Heaven is in the human Being as Christ preached, fulfilling the promise of John the Baptist and Jesus in his early preaching that the Kingdom of God is at hand.

​by John-Peter Gernaat

We experience the Holy Nights at the time of the birth of Jesus as being connected with the month of the year. We can experience the events of Holy Week connected with human destiny.

In the southern hemisphere, we are in Autumn and the days are getting darker. Nature does not mirror the renewal of life that is celebrated at Easter. In the northern hemisphere, it is the opposite, and the mirror between nature and the renewal of life in the Resurrection is visible. Is it possible for us to hold both of these images within us simultaneously in balance?

Nature in the southern hemisphere can teach us something of the path towards death, the turning of the leaves, the ripening of fruit and the surrendering of seeds into the dark of earth. Holy Week is the path to death; it leads to the Deed of Golgotha. This was part of Christ’s time on earth. The possibility of Christ being on earth had been there from the beginning, yet the Deed was not accomplished until it was accomplished. What might have been the state of the spiritual world at this time?

Before this Deed of Christ there was a way of being for humanity; after the Deed of Christ there was another way. There was no going back. The Deed of Christ was done for all humanity.

In Holy Week, Christ walked the way to death. How do we walk this way? Resurrection is possible only after the process of death. We can experience resurrection more clearly in our lives if we can walk this way of death.

Each day of Holy Week has a particular signature of how to walk this way of death. Becoming conscious of this signature leads us to approach this way of death in a conscious manner.

Beginning on Palm Sunday, there is a deliberate act of entering Jerusalem. Christ is saying ‘yes’ to what lies ahead. The great welcome that he receives does not deter him from the road ahead.

In the picture of the palm tree, we have a plant that has no branches, only a trunk. At the top of the tree is the heart of three from which new fronds arise. It is a picture of a tree that raises its heart to the light of the sun.

From Palm Sunday, we see a frenzy of chaos and in the midst, Christ, undeterred, travels the road into this week. In this week we hear that Christ is in the Father. How may we receive the will of the Father in our lives? It is through the higher self that we access the will of the Father.

On Holy Monday, the day of the Moon, we are confronted with the story of the cursed fig tree. This is not so much a physical tree and the representation of a spiritual way that has ended and is no longer valid. The new way is clearly declared by Christ; it is faith. We can contemplate what this looks like.

There is a second activity connected with Holy Monday, the deliberate activity of clearing the Temple. Interest and active participation bring about change.

Holy Tuesday is a very active day with every section of society questioning Christ in order to find fault with him. It is the day of Mars and decisive activity. Christ answers the challenges in a way that points to the incorrect thinking of the questioner. He responds with parables. Some of the greatest teaching given by Christ is done on this day. We can experience hope in the change of thinking needed.

Holy Wednesday is the middle of this Holy Week. Nothing is said of the day. It is as if something ends, and in the evening something new can open up. In the evening we confront the deed of devotion of Mary in anointing the feet of Christ. Devotion for Christ arises out of love for Christ. We encounter two people who have been with Christ for an equal period of time, yet they have very different approaches to the developing way to death. Mary has developed devotion, while Judas has developed another way and walks out. Both of these ways live in each of us, and we can become aware of them. We can also contemplate the sacrifice of Mary, which angered Judas, because it is only through sacrifice that human destiny moves forward.

The full report may appear again in the next newsletter.

There are three festivals connected with Christmas and the manifestation of Christ in Jesus: Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. Then there is a period before we have four festivals of the Death and Resurrection of Christ: Passiontide, Easter, Ascension and Whitsun.

One way of reviewing these festivals is through the pericopes that have been selected. During Epiphany, the pericopes this year (because the last pericope is less rigid than the first three) the journey taken was:

• The story of the Magi and the killing of the little boy-children. This story in Matthew’s Gospel tells of the escape of the baby Jesus to Egypt, a story that mirrors the events when Moses was born. Moses’ life was threatened by a decree from the Pharaoh, and his mother placed him in a basket on the Nile. Moses was found and raised by Pharaoh’s daughter. Jesus’ life is threatened by a decree from Herod, and his parents take him into the bosom of Egypt. This similarity between the two children would have been significant to the Hebrews.
• The child Jesus, who is taken to the Temple at the age of 12, undergoes a transformation from an open, dreamy child to an alert child who can converse with religious teachers.
• The first sign of Jesus when he transformed water into wine at the marriage feast in Cana.
• The healing of the child of the Roman Centurion.

​These stories speak to the becoming, the epiphany, of Christ in Jesus. They ask of us to become conscious of our awareness of our own destiny.
Then, there is the period of Trinity between the festival seasons. There are five prescribed pericopes for this period:

• The parable of the vine grower who invited labourers to work in his vineyard and pays them all one denarius at the end of the day. The significance of ‘one’ is that it is complete. They received their due for the work completed. This is a picture of the Kingdom of God: everyone receives their full reward.
• The sower who sows seeds and some fall on rock, some in shallow soil, some among thorns and some in fertile ground.
• The story of the rich young man who has upheld the law and is commanded to sell all he has and give the proceeds to the poor in order to follow the Christ. What we are able to acquire in a lifetime has no value unless we put it to the service of those who have acquired less than we have. This does not speak of material wealth, but of spiritual understanding.
• The Temptation of Jesus in the desert after the Baptism. This is the imagination of the Christ, the “I am” taking hold of the soul constitution of the human being in order to begin the transformation of the earthly human constitution into the Resurrected human constitution.
• The Transfiguration, which pictures the transformed human being in whom the Law and all Prophecy are fully manifest.

A commentary written by Rev. Hans Werner Schoeder helps to connect these five pericopes. We have received one gift – the gift of the “I” – and every human being has it equally, the last and the first. The transformed water strengthens the “I”. The sower sows grain that is to be planted in our hearts. This is a parable of bread; Christ, the Word, becomes the bread of life. The Word is the nourishment for human souls. We have the two substances of the Eucharist in the wine and the bread.

We are called to go into Passiontide each year with something new that arises from our striving.

​I was pleasantly surprised when a number of people approached me during and after the Advent Fair, commenting that the music at the Fair made a huge difference to the atmosphere of the day.

I would like to thank Trevor Ou Tim and his brother Brendan for making the effort of joining us at the Fair to perform some well-known Christmas carols as well as some South American and other tunes. In the photo below they teamed up with members of the Orthodox choir (Gina Noel-Barham and Alex Dellas) to carry out some memorable ad lib. In addition, Beauty, a helper at the food stall, sang some lively indigenous South African songs.

​It is worthwhile noting that Gina from the Orthodox choir, in addition to contributing to the music with her singing, also brought some delicious dolmades, spanakopita (cheese and feta pies) and kebabs, which were completely sold out at the fair. She is a gourmet cook and runs a Greek Street Food Stall at the Rosebank Rooftop market on Sundays. So, if you are ever hungry on a Sunday, this is the place to visit for quality food.

Last but not least, I would like to thank the camp helpers under the direction of William Bester and Alex Higgins for the lovely songs accompanied by William’s guitar.

​Perhaps this is the time to remind everyone that the Fair 2026 is less than 10 months away. Anyone who knows someone who plays a musical instrument or can sing, please give me their details so I can contact them. This is the platform for young and old aspiring musicians or singers to perform. No need to be professional musicians like Trevor and Brendan. Perhaps Celeste and Jan can team up as a cello duet on the day? (No pressure, just thinking aloud.)

During Advent, on Wednesday 10 December 2025, Reingard presented the first of a two-part series on the Life Map Journey based on the work of Jeff and Merle Levin. Reingard emphasised the importance of carrying out this work during this time of year, from Advent through to Epiphany, going through the 12 Holy Nights (the 12 days of Christmas) to consider reflecting on one’s life and priorities, to set the tone for the rest of the new year. Reingard noted that the transition on the 7th Holy Night (31 December), the octave to the midnight of 24 December, and going into the New Year (1 January) is critical because we are more spiritually open at this time, more than at any other, to connect with the cosmos and hence the Divine.*

The introduction reminded us that the human being is actually a spiritual being in a physical body, i.e. it is a nucleus of energy vortices. “When a human being is born, a spirit dies. When a human being dies a spirit is born.” (Novalis) During November, traditionally, Christians remember those who have crossed the threshold, and we connect with the core being that will not die in them, and we realise we are also co-creators of our own life journey and destiny. Then there is a shift as we go into December and January, i.e. through the Holy Nights and into Epiphany. What happens at night when we go to sleep? We actually experience a mini death, and we should be thankful that our soul returns to our physical body. An initiate like Rudolf Steiner can ‘wake up’ where we go to sleep. I would liken this to a small extent, maybe, to enhanced Lucid Dreaming.

During the Holy Nights, we can take our intentions with us into sleep purposefully, knowing that each day relates to a month of the coming year. For example, during the 1st Holy Night, on Christmas day, (the festival of the birth of Christ) we hold our intention for January, on the 2nd Holy Night (26 December) we take our intention for February, and so on until the 12th Holy Night on 5 January when we take our intention for the next December. This precious time gets rounded off in Epiphany with the Revelation of Christ festival and the stepping into the New Year. This period helps us to orientate ourselves in a bigger context.

In the Levin’s Life Map Journey, everything starts with the heart and not the head, as can be seen in the pictorial below. Maybe this is where the term “thinking with the heart” originates: life begins with the forming of the heart.

We realised the heart never stops during a lifetime, flowing blood creates the heart in the womb, it shapes the heart, it is always active. In the Life Map we always begin from the heart centre and write down the core issue and set an intention regarding that topic. I can then decide how long it should take for completion: one hour/day/week/month/year… The Map is then used to guide us in steps to process an issue which needs attention or resolving. One can work with one theme or aspect of life through all stages or go deeper and make an area as detailed as necessary. One can journal, paint or use any art form to help with processing. We can also use “Life Alignment” to balance the energy centres in the body with the help of a Life Alignment practitioner (which some participants accessed during this time).

There are 12 steps in the map starting in the centre of the chart representing the (#1) Heart Space. We take one topic at a time and in manageable bite-sized pieces. Then I write down (#2) where am I Getting Stuck? i.e. where is my energy being channelled? Noting the relevant points without overanalysing but accepting and allowing the ideas to flow and solutions to arise.

In the next step we list the people involved in the particular topic, for example Family (#3) members or work associates, keeping an open mind.

In the same way we continue to list all the points, following each segment of the map: (#4) Health/Healing issues, (#5) Home, (#6) Family Patterns, (#7) Projects, (#8) Challenges and (#9) Work issues. The latter includes work to be done in inner and outer work, e.g. finishing paperwork for tax or expenses or facing fears, anything that would need to generate energy and discipline so it can manifest. The (#10) Protection step refers to protection from someone or something. It is about eliminating negativity, suggesting that protection is from our own negativity and from the negativity of others. In the last numbered field, (#11) Ancestors, we can list the ancestors connected to the story, i.e. those who came before us who can help shift the situation. The quality here is “as above so below” linking different levels of energy, going into past history, aiming for the rising to the highest good of all.

The last two areas are unnumbered and refer to (#12) Support and What Works, the former relates to what support we have to call upon, in order to relieve negativity, and the latter refers to what is already working that can be utilised for action, either in an outer or inner form, like thoughts and feelings that initiate a positive focus. (We were given an actual visual ‘map’ to work from).

The second and final conversation took place on Wednesday, 7 January 2026. This was mainly a sharing of the experience from the last 4 weeks, i.e. from Advent through the Holy Nights into Epiphany. This highlighted the individuality of each one of us, how each made this path their own in imaginative ways. It also highlighted the commonality and interconnectedness of our striving. Most of the participants from the first session in December were present in the second session, but the exercise was also extended to all who could not make it in person and, quoting Reingard, “created a container of companionship from the USA, UK and the south coast of RSA”, with 30 active participants in total.

My personal journey continues after a Life Alignment and conversation session with Reingard. This has brought about many insights and highlighted specific areas to work on, aligning my physical, etheric and astral/subtle bodies. I’m very grateful to Reingard for offering this work of Jeff Levin, which addresses all aspects of life comprehensively. It seemed to remind me somewhat of applied kinesiology to find out where the pain or physical imbalance is located. Then it frees up energy that is locked up. Ultimately, the transformation is very personal, yet group and global. As per the Levin’s, it works with the collective unconscious that manifests in individuals.

​I am a fan of a road trip. I love driving, and I enjoy the sensation of time becoming distance. We live in a country that is naturally diverse with each natural ecosystem having a majesty and beauty to share. Along the way, there is the opportunity to meet up with members of our congregation.

The road trip this year was inspired by the conference of the First Class of the School of Spiritual Science of the Anthroposophical Society, held in Cape Town. Jan Lampen and I decided to attend this and together make a road trip of it. There was a small delegation of participants from Johannesburg at this conference, but at least half of the twenty-nine participants had, at some time, called Johannesburg home.

We stayed in Lakeside overlooking Sandvlei in an apartment of someone connected to Waldorf Education.

​After the conclusion of the conference, the migration along the southern Cape coast commenced. The first stop was Pringle Bay for breakfast with a friend, and then driving to Knysna. A quick “hello” to Mags and Felix Meyburgh resulted in an invitation of an evening braai and a bed for the night.

​Mags and Felix live in a cottage high above the Knysna Lagoon with a magnificent view across to the Knysna Heads.

​Before breakfast, we stopped off at the framing shop Simone Abawat has in Town near the Knysna Waterfront.

​Joseph and Stephen arrived, and we had coffee at the shop next door. Only a few years ago I visited Knysna and discovered that my favourite restaurant had suffered a catastrophic fire. I struggled to find good coffee. Now there seems to be a good coffee shop on every street. We were asked what our plans were and Simone invited us to stay the night.

We walked in the same Knysna forest where Dalene Matthee found inspiration to write her famous novel Kringe in die Bos and visited the Millwood Goldfields and the Jubilee Creek with its relics of gold panning and gold mining.

​Following our adventures in the forest, we visited Michelle Abawat. She was delighted to have the company of open-minded visitors with whom she could speak about spiritual matters.

​After some errands, we made it to Simone’s home, where we were treated to a platter of cheese and snacks with pizza on the side.

​Before supper, we had driven to Plettenberg Bay to have coffee with Pam Stevens at Old Nick Village, a conglomeration of craft workshops and arty outlets.

​Plettenburg Bay has become a hive of Anthroposophic activity. Carole Penfold holds a gathering in her home once a month, in lieu of the Act of Consecration of Man, Igor Sturmheit runs a study group and is the Class Reader for a meeting of the First Class. Avice Hindmarch offers biodynamic training and workshops from her property outside of Plettenberg Bay.

By 10 am the next morning, we were in front of the cottage of Thea Kreft in Gqeberha. There is a magnificent nursery very near to Thea’s home that incorporates a restaurant and shops, and it was to this restaurant that we headed for coffee and an early lunch.

Thea delights in visits from our congregation, anyone with whom she can speak about matters of the spirit.

Our final stop was in Nieu Bethesda to visit the Owl House of Helen Martins and see the “Stonefolk” art installation. Along the way, we greeted Beverley in her farm dam. Beverley is a mannequin someone dressed and placed in the farm dam. She was an oddity until she suddenly went missing. This made the national news, and now that she is back in her dam, one should stop and greet her when passing that way. There are many photos of Nieu Bethesda posted on Instagram.