Archive of articles of the Johannesburg Congregation
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The opinions expressed on this page are those of the individual authors.
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December Articles
List of articles
- • 'Behold, He is Coming with the Clouds' by Rev. Reingard Knausenberger
- • With Gratitude
- • Welcome to Reverend Malcolm Allsop
- • Advent Fair and Advent Raffle
- • The Christmas Programme
- • Wake Room Lasuring Project
- • Celebrating Christmas in Camphill West Coast in 1974 by from a letter to friends by Rev. Julian Sleigh†
- • AbaHamba mini-Camino on MOORFIELD Mountain Farm by Anu Muirhead
With Gratitude
by Rev. Reingard Knausenberger
As we enter a new cycle of the Christian Festival Year, it is a good time to pause and express enormous gratitude to all who give of their time that we may celebrate in community what is the essential impulse of our striving.
With great love and care members have ironed, mended and sewn vestments, arranged flowers for the altar, baked bread and made the wine for the service, arrived faithfully to serve at the altar on Sundays and weekdays, and led us into the space of the sacrament with music. The trustees have gone more than the extra mile many a time this year to ensure that the daily running, office admin and Advent Fair happened. The Craft Group and Gospel Study, as well as the Parenting Group were carried from week to week with selfless engagement. The building of our new Wake Room would not have been possible without the quiet determination and skill of a few. The library is kept in order and made available every Sunday by a small group – the foundation laid has been maintained impeccably over a decade by Rosa, who has handed it over to other members this year. And what would the Sunday be without tea, coffee and cake – setting up and washing up?
Heartfelt thanks to all for your active contribution to the building of our lively community! Warmest gratitude to all who arrive and participate with heart and soul!
In anticipation of new beginnings and new creative impulses, we enter a rich time of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany.
As we enter a new cycle of the Christian Festival Year, it is a good time to pause and express enormous gratitude to all who give of their time that we may celebrate in community what is the essential impulse of our striving.
With great love and care members have ironed, mended and sewn vestments, arranged flowers for the altar, baked bread and made the wine for the service, arrived faithfully to serve at the altar on Sundays and weekdays, and led us into the space of the sacrament with music. The trustees have gone more than the extra mile many a time this year to ensure that the daily running, office admin and Advent Fair happened. The Craft Group and Gospel Study, as well as the Parenting Group were carried from week to week with selfless engagement. The building of our new Wake Room would not have been possible without the quiet determination and skill of a few. The library is kept in order and made available every Sunday by a small group – the foundation laid has been maintained impeccably over a decade by Rosa, who has handed it over to other members this year. And what would the Sunday be without tea, coffee and cake – setting up and washing up?
Heartfelt thanks to all for your active contribution to the building of our lively community! Warmest gratitude to all who arrive and participate with heart and soul!
In anticipation of new beginnings and new creative impulses, we enter a rich time of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany.
Welcome to Reverend Malcolm Allsop
by Rev. Reingard Knausenberger
It will be a joyous, long-awaited occasion when on the 1. Advent Sunday, 1st December, we will be able to experience the induction and celebration of Reverend Malcolm Allsop as priest in our Johannesburg community. After the service he will introduce himself and we will have a bring and share lunch together.
He and his wife Christine arrived, visa and all, on 13th November. This gave us the opportunity to already have time to get to know each other and plan the coming year together. In the course of December they will be settling into the West Manse.
It will be a joyous, long-awaited occasion when on the 1. Advent Sunday, 1st December, we will be able to experience the induction and celebration of Reverend Malcolm Allsop as priest in our Johannesburg community. After the service he will introduce himself and we will have a bring and share lunch together.
He and his wife Christine arrived, visa and all, on 13th November. This gave us the opportunity to already have time to get to know each other and plan the coming year together. In the course of December they will be settling into the West Manse.
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A Word of Introduction
by Rev. Malcolm Allsop
Christine and I arrived here, Wednesday, 13th November, via Heathrow, from a small airport on the south west coast of Ireland. We had been living near there for four years, I as the priest responsible for the Republic (with a colleague covering the North), Christine as eurythmist and eurythmy-therapist. Prior to that, and since my ordination in 2000, we had been living and working in a busy 'anthro', artistic mill town, Stroud, in southern England. For me that had been a return to the country where I grew up after an absence of over eighteen years, a moon-node spent in Germany. During that time, Christine and I had met and married (1987), and my work had been in residential care for young adults with special needs. In those early years Christine's daughter had been living with us. Back in England and already then with an interest in community forms and in ‘social work’, time spent with organisations in the homeless and rootless scene had led me on to Camphill, which as a twenty-one year old, was my introduction to Christianity and Anthroposophy. These were new departures from my fairly traditional upbringing and schooling of the preceding years. Growing up on the Atlantic coast in Wales was perhaps instrumental in my connection to nature's majesty on the one hand, my being repeatedly drawn towards town and city life, on the other. Or was it to do with the house in which I was born – a pair of cottages situated in the lap of a disused quarry, which in turn was in the middle of the town which had grown out of and around it? As to my biography going still further back, well that would interest me too! But back to the present and a very new and exciting chapter ahead, looking forward to meeting and getting to know the many people in the community here! |
For photos of the welcome of Rev. Malcolm Allsop and his wife Christine and the community lunch click here.
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Advent Fair
The annual Advent Fair held on Saturday, 9th November was a great community success. The photos below link you to the photo gallery posted on the photos page.
The financial results of the Advent Fair are on a par with the past few years (These figures are correct up to 25th November and are expected to increase with the sale of craft and deli goods post the Advent Fair, with further sales of raffle tickets and donations.):
This may also be viewed graphically:
For a comparison of this year's sales with previous years we see below. The highlighted amounts reflect improvements over the previous year:
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Advent Fair Raffle Prizes
The Advent Raffle was drawn on the 1st Sunday of Advent, i.e. 1st December. The winners of the prizes are:
First Prize2 Day Relaxing Retreat Weekend Package for 2 people
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Other Prizes1½m³ compost
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A Choice of Treatment:
donated by
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Some of the proceeds are going to assist children who wish to attend the Children’s Summer Camp.
Christmas Programme
The culmination of the Advent-tide begins at a time which is unique in the whole cycle of the Christian year. At midnight the first of the three Christmas Services begins. In the 'dead of night' the heavens open for mankind once again to experience the grace of the Christ-Child entering into our earthly, human realm. In this and in the following two services at dawn and mid-morning, the reality of this event becomes tangible and graspable.
The epistles which accompany the three Services are each time unique, as are the Gospel-readings, the latter capturing the full extent of the thirty-three years during which the Christ Jesus walked the earth.
As the sunrise and morning Services unfold, so the gift of Christmas is spelled out: The healing deed for mankind and our future path as we strive to become fully human. The sermons during the 12 days of Christmas will be exploring this deed and path.
The epistles which accompany the three Services are each time unique, as are the Gospel-readings, the latter capturing the full extent of the thirty-three years during which the Christ Jesus walked the earth.
As the sunrise and morning Services unfold, so the gift of Christmas is spelled out: The healing deed for mankind and our future path as we strive to become fully human. The sermons during the 12 days of Christmas will be exploring this deed and path.
Celebrating Christmas in Camphill West Coast in 1974
From a letter to friends, by Rev. Julian Sleigh†
…When one comes from Europe, one has to learn to experience the seasons completely anew, and that means, also creating the festivals in a new way.
During Advent-tide the sun grows in strength. In our region it has usually stopped raining from October on. Then, in Camphill village, much energy and time is invested in watering the many young trees, which are meant to bring shade and protection from the wind one day. Our endeavour here is, you know, to transform a piece of Land which was a semi-desert, into a village. Lots and lots of dedicated work, care and perseverance is necessary. Everyone participates actively in some way in this enlivening of the earth. One can feel it as a parable for what wants to begin at Christmas.
At the same time the harvesting of oats, barley and rye has been completed just around the first of Advent. And so this time of Advent also has a strong flavour of harvest thanksgiving.
We decorate our houses and the chapel not with the wintry Advent wreath, but rather with the harvest wreath of grains and flowers. – So much to the outer framework of this festive season.
In the heat of long summer days it takes a lot of effort to remain fully awake. And here lies our real task: how do we find the true sun despite the strong influence of the outer sun?
How can we permeate this elemental force with the consciousness of the coming Christ?
Everyone must shield himself from the outer sun by seeking out, even bringing about, quiet and darkness. The sharp wind, which blows across the land in these months and rasps so hard on our nerves, must be penetrated with the power of peace and love. – That is not just a piece of good advice, but a matter of survival if one wants to get through this time in a humane and worthy way.
Christmas is the height of the difficulties. In this year the days leading up to the festival were particularly strenuous. We were exhausted and the elemental world seemed especially against us. Yet again it was as in the many years before: Christmas Eve had raw heavy winds, but when we prepared to go to the Midnight service, the winds had calmed and a fresh coolness descended under the peaceful clear starry night. At Easter I have had similar experiences that the weather seems to fit to the specific days. This lets me sometimes wonder, if the elementals know about the festivals and blessings stream in from the heavens, although our land is not yet penetrated by Christianity.
We experience the summer Christmas-tide as the festival of the cosmic Christ…which gives our Christmas an apocalyptic mood and makes it inwardly a very strong festival.
…When one comes from Europe, one has to learn to experience the seasons completely anew, and that means, also creating the festivals in a new way.
During Advent-tide the sun grows in strength. In our region it has usually stopped raining from October on. Then, in Camphill village, much energy and time is invested in watering the many young trees, which are meant to bring shade and protection from the wind one day. Our endeavour here is, you know, to transform a piece of Land which was a semi-desert, into a village. Lots and lots of dedicated work, care and perseverance is necessary. Everyone participates actively in some way in this enlivening of the earth. One can feel it as a parable for what wants to begin at Christmas.
At the same time the harvesting of oats, barley and rye has been completed just around the first of Advent. And so this time of Advent also has a strong flavour of harvest thanksgiving.
We decorate our houses and the chapel not with the wintry Advent wreath, but rather with the harvest wreath of grains and flowers. – So much to the outer framework of this festive season.
In the heat of long summer days it takes a lot of effort to remain fully awake. And here lies our real task: how do we find the true sun despite the strong influence of the outer sun?
How can we permeate this elemental force with the consciousness of the coming Christ?
Everyone must shield himself from the outer sun by seeking out, even bringing about, quiet and darkness. The sharp wind, which blows across the land in these months and rasps so hard on our nerves, must be penetrated with the power of peace and love. – That is not just a piece of good advice, but a matter of survival if one wants to get through this time in a humane and worthy way.
Christmas is the height of the difficulties. In this year the days leading up to the festival were particularly strenuous. We were exhausted and the elemental world seemed especially against us. Yet again it was as in the many years before: Christmas Eve had raw heavy winds, but when we prepared to go to the Midnight service, the winds had calmed and a fresh coolness descended under the peaceful clear starry night. At Easter I have had similar experiences that the weather seems to fit to the specific days. This lets me sometimes wonder, if the elementals know about the festivals and blessings stream in from the heavens, although our land is not yet penetrated by Christianity.
We experience the summer Christmas-tide as the festival of the cosmic Christ…which gives our Christmas an apocalyptic mood and makes it inwardly a very strong festival.
November Articles
List of articles
Excerpts from the Eulogy held at his funeral in Camphill Village West Coast on 5th October by Rev. Peter van Breda –
“We are gathered here today to bid farewell to our very dear friend Julian Sleigh, husband to Renate, father to five children, grandfather to eleven grandchildren, companion to scores of villagers, close co-worker of hundreds of dedicated Camphillers all over the world, a loved colleague to the circle of priests in The Christian Community, a Lenker with a genuine empathy, a loving pastor and priest to members of our church, a fellow member of the Anthroposophical Society and last but not least, a brother to all that he met on his destiny path. ...
“Each part and phase of Julian’s biography from his birth and baptism in the great baptistery in Florence, his early childhood in the city which meant so much to him and then, if we follow on with his life in England, the war years, the evacuation from London, his teenage years with his special connection to the scouting movement, his loyal membership of the Roman Catholic Church, his university study years and then on to the discovery of the Camphill movement and his growing identification with Camphill that was to be his home are all tales in themselves. But it doesn’t stop there. The destiny meeting with Camphill provided Julian not only with his central life’s task, but it was also the place where he met the love of his life, Renate König. …
“Turning our gaze towards Julian as a human being and placing before our mind’s eye this physically dapper, not so tall man, who constantly radiated an aura of warmth, we can only be filled with gratitude. Julian exuded nearly always a mood of positivity. Wherever he was present in the social life, it became a better place for his being there. He strove to work out of the sphere and realm of hisheart. In my experience Julian was seldom judgmental of his fellow man. Some even complained that this was an inherent weakness in him and that he failed to be critical. This trait or talent to genuinely enter into the joys and sorrows of others often left him with much personal pain. This special capacity to empathize with others was unique in him – it was a mixture of English reserve, irradiated with the warmth of the African Sun and the Italian love of life. Over many years he helped people to feel good about themselves; whatever woes or errors they possessed, there was always a new sun-filled tomorrow awaiting them.
“At an early age, Julian embarked upon a life-long journey of learning and culturing in himself the art of love. This motif of love stretched from the lofty love of the Divine to the intricacies and darts of Cupid. In all of this there lived in Julian an ideal picture of Man. I’m fairly sure he would concur with the inspired words of Hamlet when he speaks: ‘What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form and in moving, how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension, how like God!’
“In a real sense we are not only like God, but carry His image and through Christ, His godly being within our souls. The ultimate expression of love is in the rare vision of the Divine that resides within our fellowman.
“There can be no doubt that Julian strove throughout his life to serve the spirit in this way. …Julian loved the sacraments, and he loved being a disciple and bearer of the word of Christ. His books attest to this statement. …”
“We are gathered here today to bid farewell to our very dear friend Julian Sleigh, husband to Renate, father to five children, grandfather to eleven grandchildren, companion to scores of villagers, close co-worker of hundreds of dedicated Camphillers all over the world, a loved colleague to the circle of priests in The Christian Community, a Lenker with a genuine empathy, a loving pastor and priest to members of our church, a fellow member of the Anthroposophical Society and last but not least, a brother to all that he met on his destiny path. ...
“Each part and phase of Julian’s biography from his birth and baptism in the great baptistery in Florence, his early childhood in the city which meant so much to him and then, if we follow on with his life in England, the war years, the evacuation from London, his teenage years with his special connection to the scouting movement, his loyal membership of the Roman Catholic Church, his university study years and then on to the discovery of the Camphill movement and his growing identification with Camphill that was to be his home are all tales in themselves. But it doesn’t stop there. The destiny meeting with Camphill provided Julian not only with his central life’s task, but it was also the place where he met the love of his life, Renate König. …
“Turning our gaze towards Julian as a human being and placing before our mind’s eye this physically dapper, not so tall man, who constantly radiated an aura of warmth, we can only be filled with gratitude. Julian exuded nearly always a mood of positivity. Wherever he was present in the social life, it became a better place for his being there. He strove to work out of the sphere and realm of hisheart. In my experience Julian was seldom judgmental of his fellow man. Some even complained that this was an inherent weakness in him and that he failed to be critical. This trait or talent to genuinely enter into the joys and sorrows of others often left him with much personal pain. This special capacity to empathize with others was unique in him – it was a mixture of English reserve, irradiated with the warmth of the African Sun and the Italian love of life. Over many years he helped people to feel good about themselves; whatever woes or errors they possessed, there was always a new sun-filled tomorrow awaiting them.
“At an early age, Julian embarked upon a life-long journey of learning and culturing in himself the art of love. This motif of love stretched from the lofty love of the Divine to the intricacies and darts of Cupid. In all of this there lived in Julian an ideal picture of Man. I’m fairly sure he would concur with the inspired words of Hamlet when he speaks: ‘What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form and in moving, how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension, how like God!’
“In a real sense we are not only like God, but carry His image and through Christ, His godly being within our souls. The ultimate expression of love is in the rare vision of the Divine that resides within our fellowman.
“There can be no doubt that Julian strove throughout his life to serve the spirit in this way. …Julian loved the sacraments, and he loved being a disciple and bearer of the word of Christ. His books attest to this statement. …”
See also the articles in the Wind Call and words of remembrance in the Camphill Village newsletter.
Wake Room Lasuring Project
In the course of November we hope that our new Wake Room will be painted inside with the special lasur technique. For this Mrs. Andrea Roessler from Germany will be visiting us during the whole month, guiding volunteers from the community in this activity. If you are interested in learning and participating, please contact Reingard. We will be developing the necessary procedures and the colour scheme together on site.
This will mean that by Advent our Wake Room Project is completed from the point of view of the building itself. With more donations we could also have it completed from a financial aspect. Would that not be a most wonderful result, if we could complete this journey together by the end of November!?
Mrs. Roessler will be staying on the property in the East Manse study and can be contacted via the office or Reingard.
This will mean that by Advent our Wake Room Project is completed from the point of view of the building itself. With more donations we could also have it completed from a financial aspect. Would that not be a most wonderful result, if we could complete this journey together by the end of November!?
Mrs. Roessler will be staying on the property in the East Manse study and can be contacted via the office or Reingard.
Understanding Depression in the Age of Michael
by John-Peter Gernaat
Eva Knausenberger gave an opening lecture on Sunday, 20th October as an introduction to three workshops in the following week. This is a summation of the Sunday lecture.
The Age of Michael is the age in which the Consciousness Soul of Mankind comes into its own. It is the age where we begin to feel the Human Being within; where we become conscious of the Divine within, the “I” of our being. With this growth in consciousness the attack on our consciousness is intensified.
Becoming aware of the manifestation of this attack leads to a growth in our consciousness that can avert depression. What we give our attention to, what we feed with attention will grow. When we see the faults in other people, especially those who are close to us – i.e. when we express ourselves in terms of: “you always ....”; “I hate it when ....”, etc. – we feed that which we dislike. The opposite is also true that when we praise that which we admire we feed our ability to see and become conscious of the good, of the “I”, of the Divine in others.
The attack on our being from the Adversary has grown from a two-fold attack of Lucifer and Ahriman to a three-fold attack with the Azura, Lords of Chaos, now able to divert the evolution of Mankind. In the age of the Consciousness Soul whenever we loose consciousness the Azura are able to steal parts of our being in order to build their image of man. These stolen parts of our being are irretrievable.
The Azuras proliferate through our physical passions, through rampant sensuality and sexuality as well as through a drive for wellbeing. Everything that feeds our senses feeds the Adversary and not our true development towards becoming fully Human. This includes the drive to feel well, to feel at ease, to feel rich, etc. – all are instinctual drives.
When we look at our relationships, are we reacting to the other person from the realm of our feelings or are we striving in the develop of our consciousness to grasp their “I”. It is this striving towards consciousness that is the task of the Age of Michael, even when we experience discomfort in the realm of our feelings. Reacting to the feelings dulls our consciousness and gives victory to the spiritual beings who want to draw us away from consciousness. When we argue with one another the fight is not against each other but against the Adversary.
Therefore the Armour of God, as described by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, is an armour to ward off the attack of the Adversary and bring us into greater consciousness. In our three-fold nature of willing, feeling and thinking this armour can be translated as:
Awakening our conscience, our morality, our sense of what is right in this situation for the other, for me and for the world is the armour to ward off the attack on our will.
Developing our sense of awe, a true interest in everything and everyone and a deep respect for all wards off the attack on our feeling.
Developing discernment, determining our chosen outcome (e.g. decide that a journey through the traffic will be pleasant and that you will arrive relaxed irrespective of the encounters along the way), setting personal boundaries and discovering and using the gifts with which we have been graced in this incarnation will ward off the attack on our thinking.
The full assault on our being can lead to depression where we loose complete sight of ourselves:
Depression has become the primary source of suicide, violence (especially in relationships), abuse (of others, self and substances) and dependencies. We see depression in the financial and political realms as well. All these are symptoms of the attacks of the Adversary on our humanity.
Depression is the call to “Man know thyself”; it is a call to conduct inner housekeeping; it is “I” who should be thinking in me and not some other being, not depression thinking in me.
Eva Knausenberger gave an opening lecture on Sunday, 20th October as an introduction to three workshops in the following week. This is a summation of the Sunday lecture.
The Age of Michael is the age in which the Consciousness Soul of Mankind comes into its own. It is the age where we begin to feel the Human Being within; where we become conscious of the Divine within, the “I” of our being. With this growth in consciousness the attack on our consciousness is intensified.
Becoming aware of the manifestation of this attack leads to a growth in our consciousness that can avert depression. What we give our attention to, what we feed with attention will grow. When we see the faults in other people, especially those who are close to us – i.e. when we express ourselves in terms of: “you always ....”; “I hate it when ....”, etc. – we feed that which we dislike. The opposite is also true that when we praise that which we admire we feed our ability to see and become conscious of the good, of the “I”, of the Divine in others.
The attack on our being from the Adversary has grown from a two-fold attack of Lucifer and Ahriman to a three-fold attack with the Azura, Lords of Chaos, now able to divert the evolution of Mankind. In the age of the Consciousness Soul whenever we loose consciousness the Azura are able to steal parts of our being in order to build their image of man. These stolen parts of our being are irretrievable.
The Azuras proliferate through our physical passions, through rampant sensuality and sexuality as well as through a drive for wellbeing. Everything that feeds our senses feeds the Adversary and not our true development towards becoming fully Human. This includes the drive to feel well, to feel at ease, to feel rich, etc. – all are instinctual drives.
When we look at our relationships, are we reacting to the other person from the realm of our feelings or are we striving in the develop of our consciousness to grasp their “I”. It is this striving towards consciousness that is the task of the Age of Michael, even when we experience discomfort in the realm of our feelings. Reacting to the feelings dulls our consciousness and gives victory to the spiritual beings who want to draw us away from consciousness. When we argue with one another the fight is not against each other but against the Adversary.
Therefore the Armour of God, as described by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, is an armour to ward off the attack of the Adversary and bring us into greater consciousness. In our three-fold nature of willing, feeling and thinking this armour can be translated as:
Awakening our conscience, our morality, our sense of what is right in this situation for the other, for me and for the world is the armour to ward off the attack on our will.
Developing our sense of awe, a true interest in everything and everyone and a deep respect for all wards off the attack on our feeling.
Developing discernment, determining our chosen outcome (e.g. decide that a journey through the traffic will be pleasant and that you will arrive relaxed irrespective of the encounters along the way), setting personal boundaries and discovering and using the gifts with which we have been graced in this incarnation will ward off the attack on our thinking.
The full assault on our being can lead to depression where we loose complete sight of ourselves:
- of our capabilities – to work, to get up
- our capacities – to care
- our abilities – to walk, talk
- even our senses – even the light becomes too much for the eyes.
Depression has become the primary source of suicide, violence (especially in relationships), abuse (of others, self and substances) and dependencies. We see depression in the financial and political realms as well. All these are symptoms of the attacks of the Adversary on our humanity.
Depression is the call to “Man know thyself”; it is a call to conduct inner housekeeping; it is “I” who should be thinking in me and not some other being, not depression thinking in me.
October Articles
List of articles
- • The Clarion Call by Rev. Reingard Knausenberger
- • A Good Idea
- • Concert on Sunday 15th September, of the Johannesburg Bach Choir and friends by Sonnya Holtz
- • Excursions with Rev. Frank Storm and his wife Irene
- - The Constitutional Court by Shirley Higgins
- - The Nizamiye Complex in Midrand by John-Peter Gernaat
- • Attending the 40 Years of Christian Community Camp Reunion, and Camp in the United States by Sonnya Holtz
Concert on Sunday 15th September, of the Johannesburg Bach Choir and friends
by Sonnya Holtz
We had the privilege of attending a lovely, intimate concert at the Steiner Centre at Michael Mount Waldorf School recently in aid of the Johannesburg Bach Choir’s 50th Anniversary concerts coming up soon.
The program was a mixed offering of choir pieces, readings and anecdotes as well as solo oboe and singing. Mr Schoeman Smit of Michael Mount sang three pieces, conductor Tim Roberts carried the concert in a reverent but humorous way, threading together the various offerings with anecdotes , readings, and solo pieces on the oboe. Soloists and choir were ably accompanied by Owen Franklin on a keyboard.
The beautiful clear tones lifted my husband and I, especially as the concert opened with J. Clarke’s “Prince of Denmark March” – our wedding music. I thoroughly enjoyed the oboe in a piece by Purcell, and the choir‘s closing piece. The audience even participated in singing the chorus of a humorous song about a hippopotamus.
At the interval there was lots of conversation and mingling as musicians and choir members joined the public in doing our best to make a dent in the wonderful cakes and savouries provided with tea. We hardly managed to reduce the amounts, it seemed, before we settled down to the second part of the concert.
It was a very enjoyable afternoon, and it was good to see members of our community in their other endeavours as there are 6 or 7 Christian Community members who are a part of the Johannesburg Bach Choir.
We had the privilege of attending a lovely, intimate concert at the Steiner Centre at Michael Mount Waldorf School recently in aid of the Johannesburg Bach Choir’s 50th Anniversary concerts coming up soon.
The program was a mixed offering of choir pieces, readings and anecdotes as well as solo oboe and singing. Mr Schoeman Smit of Michael Mount sang three pieces, conductor Tim Roberts carried the concert in a reverent but humorous way, threading together the various offerings with anecdotes , readings, and solo pieces on the oboe. Soloists and choir were ably accompanied by Owen Franklin on a keyboard.
The beautiful clear tones lifted my husband and I, especially as the concert opened with J. Clarke’s “Prince of Denmark March” – our wedding music. I thoroughly enjoyed the oboe in a piece by Purcell, and the choir‘s closing piece. The audience even participated in singing the chorus of a humorous song about a hippopotamus.
At the interval there was lots of conversation and mingling as musicians and choir members joined the public in doing our best to make a dent in the wonderful cakes and savouries provided with tea. We hardly managed to reduce the amounts, it seemed, before we settled down to the second part of the concert.
It was a very enjoyable afternoon, and it was good to see members of our community in their other endeavours as there are 6 or 7 Christian Community members who are a part of the Johannesburg Bach Choir.
Excursions with Rev. Frank Storm and his wife Irene
The Constitutional Court
by Shirley Higgins
On Tuesday the 10th September, I spent a thoroughly enjoyable day with the Rev. Frank Storm and his wife Irene, visiting the Constitutional Court. (The Constitutional Court complex being as badly sign-posted as most things in Johannesburg, I was able to show them several parts of Braamfontein and Hillbrow, too, whilst driving around trying to locate the entrance.) Since my last visit to the Concourt some years ago, a new visitors’ centre has been opened, where we were met by an experienced and well-informed guide, by the name of Thabiso. He took us on an extensive tour of the old jail and holding cells and Ghandi museum. We then went into the Concourt building, where we could view the proceedings of the day on a television screen.
As always, there were some interesting art exhibitions and it was good to see again some of the permanent exhibits, including three Chagalls.
We finished with a leisurely lunch at Moyo’s, Zoo Lake, where we all consented to having our faces painted (yes, Frank Storm, too…).
On Tuesday the 10th September, I spent a thoroughly enjoyable day with the Rev. Frank Storm and his wife Irene, visiting the Constitutional Court. (The Constitutional Court complex being as badly sign-posted as most things in Johannesburg, I was able to show them several parts of Braamfontein and Hillbrow, too, whilst driving around trying to locate the entrance.) Since my last visit to the Concourt some years ago, a new visitors’ centre has been opened, where we were met by an experienced and well-informed guide, by the name of Thabiso. He took us on an extensive tour of the old jail and holding cells and Ghandi museum. We then went into the Concourt building, where we could view the proceedings of the day on a television screen.
As always, there were some interesting art exhibitions and it was good to see again some of the permanent exhibits, including three Chagalls.
We finished with a leisurely lunch at Moyo’s, Zoo Lake, where we all consented to having our faces painted (yes, Frank Storm, too…).
The Nizamiye Complex in Midrand
by John-Peter Gernaat
The Nizamiye Mosque and the schools were opened last year October. The complex also has a restaurant and few shops and will, in due course, house a clinic and a university. So what is the Nizamiye Complex? Travel northward from the Buccleuch interchange towards Midrand and look at about 2 o’clock. The four tall minarets of the mosque are clearly visible and at night glow and change colour.
Wikipedia informs that: “The Turkish businessman Ali Katırcıoğlu planned to build Ottoman-styled architecture in places where it was absent. Failing to acquire a suitable location in the USA, the project was moved to South Africa as advised by Fethullah Gülen.
“Work began on the project on 1st October 2009 and was inaugurated officially by the South African President, Jacob Zuma, on 4th October 2012. The name of the mosque was inspired by the 11th-century Nizamiye Madrasahs, a higher education institution system in Baghdad and other parts of Islamic world.”
This seemed like the perfect destination to take a priest of The Christian Community. Frank and Irene, who have visited Turkey and many of the mosques, were delighted at the prospect of the visit. At the Mosque we were welcomed by a young man, Muktaar Sonvadi by name, who offered to guide us around and explain to us as much as he could of the history, background and religion. The Mosque is based on the plans of the 16th-century Ottoman Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, Turkey. It is a Sunni mosque with Sufi influences from Fethullah Gülen. Muktaar told us that they preach and practice tolerance and inclusion. One is certainly made to feel welcome and visitors may observe the various prayers during the day. There is a museum of three rooms with images and history of Ottoman mosques and the Islamic religion. We were a little pressed for time and did not stay to experience the coffee or the Turkish Delight; these remain to be explored on a future visit.
The Nizamiye Mosque and the schools were opened last year October. The complex also has a restaurant and few shops and will, in due course, house a clinic and a university. So what is the Nizamiye Complex? Travel northward from the Buccleuch interchange towards Midrand and look at about 2 o’clock. The four tall minarets of the mosque are clearly visible and at night glow and change colour.
Wikipedia informs that: “The Turkish businessman Ali Katırcıoğlu planned to build Ottoman-styled architecture in places where it was absent. Failing to acquire a suitable location in the USA, the project was moved to South Africa as advised by Fethullah Gülen.
“Work began on the project on 1st October 2009 and was inaugurated officially by the South African President, Jacob Zuma, on 4th October 2012. The name of the mosque was inspired by the 11th-century Nizamiye Madrasahs, a higher education institution system in Baghdad and other parts of Islamic world.”
This seemed like the perfect destination to take a priest of The Christian Community. Frank and Irene, who have visited Turkey and many of the mosques, were delighted at the prospect of the visit. At the Mosque we were welcomed by a young man, Muktaar Sonvadi by name, who offered to guide us around and explain to us as much as he could of the history, background and religion. The Mosque is based on the plans of the 16th-century Ottoman Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, Turkey. It is a Sunni mosque with Sufi influences from Fethullah Gülen. Muktaar told us that they preach and practice tolerance and inclusion. One is certainly made to feel welcome and visitors may observe the various prayers during the day. There is a museum of three rooms with images and history of Ottoman mosques and the Islamic religion. We were a little pressed for time and did not stay to experience the coffee or the Turkish Delight; these remain to be explored on a future visit.
Our thanks
by Rev. Frank and Irene Storm
Safely home in Holland again! We want to thank you all for the very warm-hearted meetings we had with you.
We discovered many new parts of Joburg as so many of you took us to all those places of interest. Except for seeing a lot, we heard many new and interesting things as well.
We feel very happy and fulfilled after the great time you prepared for us. We lodged at a very nice place with Lizzy. Thanks Lizzy!
After Joburg we went to stay with Michelle Abawat in Knysna. We had a great time there discovering the beautiful nature of the southern Cape. Thank Michelle for having us!
We hope to see you, here or there, once more!
Safely home in Holland again! We want to thank you all for the very warm-hearted meetings we had with you.
We discovered many new parts of Joburg as so many of you took us to all those places of interest. Except for seeing a lot, we heard many new and interesting things as well.
We feel very happy and fulfilled after the great time you prepared for us. We lodged at a very nice place with Lizzy. Thanks Lizzy!
After Joburg we went to stay with Michelle Abawat in Knysna. We had a great time there discovering the beautiful nature of the southern Cape. Thank Michelle for having us!
We hope to see you, here or there, once more!
Attending the 40 Years of Christian Community Camp Reunion, and Camp in the United States
by Sonnya Holtz
On a cold, wintry July evening in Johannesburg, my three children ages 13, 11, and 9 and I boarded a plane that touched down on a hot summer’s evening in Philadelphia, USA. The rolling, forested hills and green late summer fields of Amish Country in Pennsylvania were a stark contrast to the dry, dusty, rocky, thorny winter we had just left behind in South Africa.
Although it was my first time at this particular camp we nonetheless stepped into an immediately familiar dining hall, with the same kinds of bowls and cups we knew from past camps, and an assembly hall already hung with wall hangings from previous camp years.
We bedded down in Scout tents on wooden platforms scattered throughout a lush forest, complete with obligatory spiders hanging around. Cicadas sang us to sleep after a full day ending with a Close of Day service.
The camp bell rang for breakfast, and then a day full of familiar camp activities, such as morning and evening assemblies, punctuated with a circle of chairs at which we gathered to share as much as we could. There were some familiar faces from the years I attended camp in the 1980s and 90s, and lots of new faces.
It was great to hear from others and connect with people who feel the importance of The Christian Community Camp experiences as a strong thread in their lives.
Gisela Wielki shared a little about the very beginnings of The Christian Community Camp in Germany, and what a profound impact this had on her life – life saving, she even called it, and how it led her to light that flame for North America.
Sarah Hearn stated simply during one round that camp is nothing less than a form of “general therapy” for its participants, and this struck me as profoundly true. Only a week later, during the actual children’s camp, I watched as over the course of a couple of days a ‘picky eater’ overcame that difficulty and began to eat everything that was offered, and a child new to camp who was determined not to fall under the spell of the songs, mouth the words in evening assembly.
We were treated to six TED style talks, which each offered a fascinating insight into some of the varied directions and passions that our separate lives have taken and been filled with. Speakers shared their visions and inspirations for society and the future through personal experiences that touched everyone present.
We had a wonderful afternoon on the Susquehanna River nearby, paddling in canoes and kayaks, building a sand castle, and splashing in the muddy water, catching up and socialising.
It was a delight to me to experience the fullness of circles within my life through a return to the camp after 20 years of a completely different, new life in South Africa. There was a feeling of gratitude and delight in seeing familiar faces again; and yet to have been carried to this place by the steps I have taken in my life.
For me this was a mini family reunion as well as a Camp Reunion and a return to ‘my’ camp with my children. The moment I sat in the children’s service on Sunday morning in the chapel, created in a transformed Girl Scout building, with my brother and sister, our children attending the children’s service exactly as we used to do so many years ago before our lives scattered us across the globe, was very special to me.
And the singing that has always been part of camp, and particularly now so beautifully led by Carol Kelly, lifted my soul. I have been humming melodies out loud and in my head ever since my return from the Camp Reunion, and the Camp. It is as if I was allowed to be inside a magic bubble for a few weeks. Last night I sang an evening camp song to my 9 year old son at bedtime, and tears started running down his face. “That song makes me feel so sad. I miss camp,” he said. And I know the magic has truly been passed on to another generation…
On a cold, wintry July evening in Johannesburg, my three children ages 13, 11, and 9 and I boarded a plane that touched down on a hot summer’s evening in Philadelphia, USA. The rolling, forested hills and green late summer fields of Amish Country in Pennsylvania were a stark contrast to the dry, dusty, rocky, thorny winter we had just left behind in South Africa.
Although it was my first time at this particular camp we nonetheless stepped into an immediately familiar dining hall, with the same kinds of bowls and cups we knew from past camps, and an assembly hall already hung with wall hangings from previous camp years.
We bedded down in Scout tents on wooden platforms scattered throughout a lush forest, complete with obligatory spiders hanging around. Cicadas sang us to sleep after a full day ending with a Close of Day service.
The camp bell rang for breakfast, and then a day full of familiar camp activities, such as morning and evening assemblies, punctuated with a circle of chairs at which we gathered to share as much as we could. There were some familiar faces from the years I attended camp in the 1980s and 90s, and lots of new faces.
It was great to hear from others and connect with people who feel the importance of The Christian Community Camp experiences as a strong thread in their lives.
Gisela Wielki shared a little about the very beginnings of The Christian Community Camp in Germany, and what a profound impact this had on her life – life saving, she even called it, and how it led her to light that flame for North America.
Sarah Hearn stated simply during one round that camp is nothing less than a form of “general therapy” for its participants, and this struck me as profoundly true. Only a week later, during the actual children’s camp, I watched as over the course of a couple of days a ‘picky eater’ overcame that difficulty and began to eat everything that was offered, and a child new to camp who was determined not to fall under the spell of the songs, mouth the words in evening assembly.
We were treated to six TED style talks, which each offered a fascinating insight into some of the varied directions and passions that our separate lives have taken and been filled with. Speakers shared their visions and inspirations for society and the future through personal experiences that touched everyone present.
We had a wonderful afternoon on the Susquehanna River nearby, paddling in canoes and kayaks, building a sand castle, and splashing in the muddy water, catching up and socialising.
It was a delight to me to experience the fullness of circles within my life through a return to the camp after 20 years of a completely different, new life in South Africa. There was a feeling of gratitude and delight in seeing familiar faces again; and yet to have been carried to this place by the steps I have taken in my life.
For me this was a mini family reunion as well as a Camp Reunion and a return to ‘my’ camp with my children. The moment I sat in the children’s service on Sunday morning in the chapel, created in a transformed Girl Scout building, with my brother and sister, our children attending the children’s service exactly as we used to do so many years ago before our lives scattered us across the globe, was very special to me.
And the singing that has always been part of camp, and particularly now so beautifully led by Carol Kelly, lifted my soul. I have been humming melodies out loud and in my head ever since my return from the Camp Reunion, and the Camp. It is as if I was allowed to be inside a magic bubble for a few weeks. Last night I sang an evening camp song to my 9 year old son at bedtime, and tears started running down his face. “That song makes me feel so sad. I miss camp,” he said. And I know the magic has truly been passed on to another generation…
September Articles
List of articles
Walking the Temperaments
by John-Peter Gernaat
I did not know that I was born Phlegmatic, but I learned this through the workshop given by Sophie Soerensen after the service on Sunday, 19th August. I have often seen young adults bounce on the ball of their feet while walking and thought: “can’t you walk normally?” – my personal prejudice. Now I understand that they are of Sanguine temperament.
The workshop led by Sophie, who is an accomplished actress, taught us a few basic acting skills and in particular how to adopt a character with a different temperament. First we were taught to give and receive. We learnt this through a game of throwing a tennis ball across the circle of participants making a sound to alert everyone that the ball – the communication – was travelling. I’m not certain whether poor catching of the ball is indicative of our poor listening ability, but there was a lot of scrabbling after missed balls. One ball became two and then three. This meant keeping an eye on three tennis balls as they passed around the circle.
I did not know that I was born Phlegmatic, but I learned this through the workshop given by Sophie Soerensen after the service on Sunday, 19th August. I have often seen young adults bounce on the ball of their feet while walking and thought: “can’t you walk normally?” – my personal prejudice. Now I understand that they are of Sanguine temperament.
The workshop led by Sophie, who is an accomplished actress, taught us a few basic acting skills and in particular how to adopt a character with a different temperament. First we were taught to give and receive. We learnt this through a game of throwing a tennis ball across the circle of participants making a sound to alert everyone that the ball – the communication – was travelling. I’m not certain whether poor catching of the ball is indicative of our poor listening ability, but there was a lot of scrabbling after missed balls. One ball became two and then three. This meant keeping an eye on three tennis balls as they passed around the circle.
We were then taught that each temperament has a characteristic gait and we were asked to experience one of these:
Sanguine bounces on the ball of the foot.
Choleric plants the heal firmly. Phlegmatic walks on the inner soft side of the foot. Melancholic walks on the outer hard edge of the sole – life is hard. |
After experiencing the gait we added the other physical characteristics of the temperaments. Then we returned to the circle and one person walked across the circle in their chosen temperament to greet someone at random whose turn it was to then to do the same. So we all got to see and experience how each temperament walks, behaves and greets.
Finally, we each had to take a bow before the rest of the group and accept applause as our chosen temperament. I’ll be studying people’s gait in future ...
Finally, we each had to take a bow before the rest of the group and accept applause as our chosen temperament. I’ll be studying people’s gait in future ...
Growing Together
by Raimer von Haase, Windhoek-Namibia
Three years ago the Regional Council met in Windhoek. This was my first time at such a meeting after having taken on the responsibility of treasurer for the Windhoek congregation. At the time I had questioned the time, expense and relevance of this meeting for us: the proportion of 'input and outcome'. But then I was new; I didn't know any of the South Africans who arrived and to be honest, I wasn't such a regular attendee in my home congregation either. I am a farmer in Namibia. Do you know what that means ...? And my home language is German.
Leaving Johannesburg now after my third Council meeting, I have a very different take on why we are doing this. Surprising!? I am experiencing how important it is to meet as a community, to feel connected and embedded in a greater whole. Nothing can replace seeing, hearing and speaking face to face. Also, how different it is when we all have the same spiritual reference points and goals and try to apply them to what we are doing. Now, I would say regional meetings definitely contribute towards achieving greater togetherness and unity. We are all so different from each other yet I was amazed to recognise when I arrived in Johannesburg that here too, is home. Of interest for me this time was the work we did around the Act of Consecration and the usage of words. This was proof how important regular exchange and continuity in conversation is, right up to the last gathering in a circle with the Joburgers on Sunday, pondering a central theme like 'consecration'. Very interesting. I enjoyed meeting and speaking with the other congregants here. And my question about the relevance of this small group of people: The Christian Community? Let's be clear, we don't make a big dent anywhere it seems, but coming out of our sessions and through opportunity to continue in individual conversations, there is no question in my mind anymore how important it is to keep the small flame burning, and maybe, I am even starting to understand the scope of what it takes to keep it burning.
Three years ago the Regional Council met in Windhoek. This was my first time at such a meeting after having taken on the responsibility of treasurer for the Windhoek congregation. At the time I had questioned the time, expense and relevance of this meeting for us: the proportion of 'input and outcome'. But then I was new; I didn't know any of the South Africans who arrived and to be honest, I wasn't such a regular attendee in my home congregation either. I am a farmer in Namibia. Do you know what that means ...? And my home language is German.
Leaving Johannesburg now after my third Council meeting, I have a very different take on why we are doing this. Surprising!? I am experiencing how important it is to meet as a community, to feel connected and embedded in a greater whole. Nothing can replace seeing, hearing and speaking face to face. Also, how different it is when we all have the same spiritual reference points and goals and try to apply them to what we are doing. Now, I would say regional meetings definitely contribute towards achieving greater togetherness and unity. We are all so different from each other yet I was amazed to recognise when I arrived in Johannesburg that here too, is home. Of interest for me this time was the work we did around the Act of Consecration and the usage of words. This was proof how important regular exchange and continuity in conversation is, right up to the last gathering in a circle with the Joburgers on Sunday, pondering a central theme like 'consecration'. Very interesting. I enjoyed meeting and speaking with the other congregants here. And my question about the relevance of this small group of people: The Christian Community? Let's be clear, we don't make a big dent anywhere it seems, but coming out of our sessions and through opportunity to continue in individual conversations, there is no question in my mind anymore how important it is to keep the small flame burning, and maybe, I am even starting to understand the scope of what it takes to keep it burning.
Experiencing the Regional Council meeting
by John-Peter Gernaat
Dr Rudolf Steiner gave a picture of the body, soul and spirit of Man. The overlap of the soul with the body is the sentient soul where a person reacts to their feeling needs. The main part of the soul is the mind-soul where so much of our thinking occurs. The overlap between the soul and spirit is the consciousness soul where we receive messages of the ‘true’ from our higher self.
I took the time to participate in the annual meeting of The Christian Community Regional Council, Southern African Region from Friday evening, 23th to lunch on Sunday, 25th August. The meeting consisted of feedback from the various communities, which was quite factual and provided a picture of the life of each community and the situation in which they find themselves. Saturday, after a contemplation of the Act of Consecration of Man, commenced with the first official AGM of this body that is due to apply for registration before this newsletter comes to print. This was followed by discussions on a range of points and the evening was devoted to looking at the burning issues in each congregation.
What struck me during the discussions is how so much of the meeting, maybe not surprisingly, emanated from the mind-soul of the members: one member would provide a rational argument and this would be augmented or countered by another rational argument. None of the arguments could, necessarily, be faulted but overall did not move the meeting forward. Each discussion moved in many directions and sometimes members spoke forth out of their sentient soul reacting to feelings that were evoked by the discussion. During the Saturday there were three gems that were presented from the consciousness soul of the participant and while these were given, a different kind of silence descended on the gathering and after the gift had been given there was no discussion and the meeting could move forward. This is the nature of a truth.
Dr Rudolf Steiner gave a picture of the body, soul and spirit of Man. The overlap of the soul with the body is the sentient soul where a person reacts to their feeling needs. The main part of the soul is the mind-soul where so much of our thinking occurs. The overlap between the soul and spirit is the consciousness soul where we receive messages of the ‘true’ from our higher self.
I took the time to participate in the annual meeting of The Christian Community Regional Council, Southern African Region from Friday evening, 23th to lunch on Sunday, 25th August. The meeting consisted of feedback from the various communities, which was quite factual and provided a picture of the life of each community and the situation in which they find themselves. Saturday, after a contemplation of the Act of Consecration of Man, commenced with the first official AGM of this body that is due to apply for registration before this newsletter comes to print. This was followed by discussions on a range of points and the evening was devoted to looking at the burning issues in each congregation.
What struck me during the discussions is how so much of the meeting, maybe not surprisingly, emanated from the mind-soul of the members: one member would provide a rational argument and this would be augmented or countered by another rational argument. None of the arguments could, necessarily, be faulted but overall did not move the meeting forward. Each discussion moved in many directions and sometimes members spoke forth out of their sentient soul reacting to feelings that were evoked by the discussion. During the Saturday there were three gems that were presented from the consciousness soul of the participant and while these were given, a different kind of silence descended on the gathering and after the gift had been given there was no discussion and the meeting could move forward. This is the nature of a truth.
The first gift came from Richard Goodall when he said in response to placing a financial value on our sacraments that in his experience when working out of generosity and in fulfilment of the spiritual gifts entrusted to us, resources flow towards the source of the gift, if not from the recipient then from other directions.
The second gift came from Reingard when she spoke of two elderly ladies from her previous congregation in Ulm: one who had taken upon herself the task of dedicating half of her day to praying the Lord’s Prayer for every name she encountered in a national newspaper; and the second who was too blind and deaf to participate in the Act of Consecration, sat and in her mind filled every empty seat in the church with someone she felt needed the sacrament. The last gift was again bestowed by Richard in saying that all the inner work that we undertake in this lifetime creates real substance for the future; he said this in response to the general complaint that everyone’s lives are so filled with busy-ness. |
These three gifts provide real substance and work for the next year if taken up by those present and those who read this. These three gifts made the weekend valuable.
The Sunday session was taken up by a deep contemplation of the meaning of ‘consecration’ and how this is a real force in the world that lifts physicality out of the influence of the physical world, but also how the reconnection the act of consecration brings between the fallen substance of earth and the spiritual ideal requires continuous reconnection and cannot be neglected and thought of as absolute and final.
The Sunday session was taken up by a deep contemplation of the meaning of ‘consecration’ and how this is a real force in the world that lifts physicality out of the influence of the physical world, but also how the reconnection the act of consecration brings between the fallen substance of earth and the spiritual ideal requires continuous reconnection and cannot be neglected and thought of as absolute and final.
August Articles
List of articles
A gift of Nature to help the Wake Room
by Sophia Turner
As you all know, this year has been the year of the wake room, with much time and energy devoted to the execution of the plans born out of the community’s three year preparation. Ever since the actual building rose before our eyes in the early months, we have been looking for ways to raise additional funds. The wonderful structure that we have now needs equally fine finishes, such as lazuring the inside walls, decorating the two utility areas, and creating and installing the second stained glass window. There have also been requests for a handrail along the approach and possibly a barrier to stop cars driving onto the paving. To do such things properly costs money.
It is amazing to observe how Nature often cooperates with us when we have a right impulse. Before the building process could even begin, some trees on the site had to be trimmed to enlarge the space. Several branches of the camphor trees were removed and lay quietly in the East Manse garden, awaiting their fate. Despite losing some of their natural symmetry, the big trees survived and embraced the emerging wake room in their midst.Then, while our wake room was already taking shape, one night a strong gust of wind felled a liquid amber tree by the West Manse boundary wall. We all thought that it would take many months of drying before this wood could be used for heating. But to our surprise, Nature cooperated again and already by May the wood was dry enough to burn.
It was decided to sell the firewood from both sources to raise more funds for the wake room. Sonnya Holtz provided the labourers who chopped the wood and, together with Kiki Sanne, obtained big sturdy bags for packing it. Daniel, our gardener, prepared the bags for sale at R50 each.
The wood was sold not only within the community but also to some of our friends further afield. Martin Kuhlmann has added another one to the multiple ways in which he supports the community by becoming a wood delivery man in his bakkie! With his help we sold 24 bags of wood to a restaurant whose patrons now enjoy the warm glow of an open fireplace. Altogether, we have boosted our wake room funds by R2700 to date.
There may be a couple of bags of wood still available for sale. Please enquire from Sophia or Daniel.
As you all know, this year has been the year of the wake room, with much time and energy devoted to the execution of the plans born out of the community’s three year preparation. Ever since the actual building rose before our eyes in the early months, we have been looking for ways to raise additional funds. The wonderful structure that we have now needs equally fine finishes, such as lazuring the inside walls, decorating the two utility areas, and creating and installing the second stained glass window. There have also been requests for a handrail along the approach and possibly a barrier to stop cars driving onto the paving. To do such things properly costs money.
It is amazing to observe how Nature often cooperates with us when we have a right impulse. Before the building process could even begin, some trees on the site had to be trimmed to enlarge the space. Several branches of the camphor trees were removed and lay quietly in the East Manse garden, awaiting their fate. Despite losing some of their natural symmetry, the big trees survived and embraced the emerging wake room in their midst.Then, while our wake room was already taking shape, one night a strong gust of wind felled a liquid amber tree by the West Manse boundary wall. We all thought that it would take many months of drying before this wood could be used for heating. But to our surprise, Nature cooperated again and already by May the wood was dry enough to burn.
It was decided to sell the firewood from both sources to raise more funds for the wake room. Sonnya Holtz provided the labourers who chopped the wood and, together with Kiki Sanne, obtained big sturdy bags for packing it. Daniel, our gardener, prepared the bags for sale at R50 each.
The wood was sold not only within the community but also to some of our friends further afield. Martin Kuhlmann has added another one to the multiple ways in which he supports the community by becoming a wood delivery man in his bakkie! With his help we sold 24 bags of wood to a restaurant whose patrons now enjoy the warm glow of an open fireplace. Altogether, we have boosted our wake room funds by R2700 to date.
There may be a couple of bags of wood still available for sale. Please enquire from Sophia or Daniel.
July Articles
List of articles
The history continues
Rev. Neville Adams has sent the next installment of the early history of the congregation in Johannesburg (and his priestly work further afield). You can read it on the history page.
News from London
from Lisa Yiadom (20th April 2013)
It is time for some long overdue spring greetings from London! I say 'spring' but to be honest the weather up here is so typically miserable that it feels more like winter ... if only the English elementals would cheer up and take after those in South Africa!
I wanted to write a message of thanks to you all. As some of you know I had to leave back in February after falling ill, and as it all happened very quickly, I regrettably didn't have much of a chance to give personal good-byes to many of you. I am now incredibly grateful to share that I am better and enjoying embracing that thing we can all so easily take for granted – good health.
It is time for some long overdue spring greetings from London! I say 'spring' but to be honest the weather up here is so typically miserable that it feels more like winter ... if only the English elementals would cheer up and take after those in South Africa!
I wanted to write a message of thanks to you all. As some of you know I had to leave back in February after falling ill, and as it all happened very quickly, I regrettably didn't have much of a chance to give personal good-byes to many of you. I am now incredibly grateful to share that I am better and enjoying embracing that thing we can all so easily take for granted – good health.
I was made to feel so welcome by you all over the 18 months of my stay, and I now firmly feel Joburg, and the community itself, to be a second home. A dear community member would often tease me in the office saying that despite me being of African descent I'm still a Pomme through-and-through! And yes, George, I would probably have to agree, but despite this it has been somewhat strange living back in the land where I was born and bred. London is a terrific place, but Africa certainly did what it does best and stole my heart with her hope and beauty. I sincerely hope to make it back to seeing you all again in the City of Gold in the future. Friendly wishes, from Lisa
Then and Now
compiled by John-Peter Gernaat
This was the theme of Ascension and Whitsun. The theme was woven into two talks: on the 11th May Wiebke Holtz gave a description of her visit to Israel and the West Bank where she visited many of the sites of importance in the life of Jesus and described how they are now; and on 19th May Paul Myburgh took us on a journey through Man’s evolution based on his experience and interpretation of the lives and mythology of the Bushmen.
Israel
The trip that Wiebke made in the company of Rev. Ilse Wellershoff-Schur, a priest of The Christian Community with ties to Israel throught youth work and the Peace Movement, was one that had its origins 20 years ago and would have been undertaken with Rev. Michael Heidenreich, had war in the region not intervened.
The trip took them from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea, Galilee and back to Jerusalem, spending three days at each location. It was a journey not only in horizontal distance but also in altitude as they travelled 400m below sea level to the Dead Sea and up 2,000m to Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights.
Buildings in Israel are built of cut limestone, no use is made of bricks and these cut stones hold in them the history of Israel as conquerors destroyed and rebuilt cities and towns.
The Walled City of Jerusalem looks across the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives, now a mass of white Jewish and Muslim graves who all hope to see Jerusalem on the Day of Resurrection. Within the Walled City Jews and Muslims rub shoulders in the narrow, cobbled alleys lined on both sides with traders.
Day 1 was a visit to all the Christian sites in Jerusalem. At each site they encountered a mass of different Christian groups, including many Black churches, and everywhere groups of worshippers were singing. Day 2 was a short journey to Bethlehem. In Bethlehem there is a real sense of connection to the earthly life of Christ. The Holy sites have altars built by the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, the Armenian Church, Coptic Church, etc. and each church holds its own ceremonies at dedicated times. Day 3 was a visit to the Dome of the Rock. Noted were the many groups of Muslim women and children being taught and the beauty of gardens and the views. From the Dome the tour took in the Kidron Valley re-entering the Walled City through the Lion Gate, a visit to the museum in the Tower of David where the entire history of Jerusalem is presented, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Here each of the Christian churches has its own rock and the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches occupy the ground floor, the Armenian Church the second floor and the Coptic Church the upper floor where the priests live in very poor conditions. Jerusalem has 19 Waldorf Schools and Waldorf Seminary and Christ is replaced by Love in the school teachings.
The journey to the Dead Sea passed the site related in the parable of the good Samaritan where a church of beautiful mosaics stands. The area is very barren and Kibbutzes are oases of green. There is a real sense of heaviness at this altitude below sea level. A visit to the Essene centre of Qumran and the caves of the Qumran scrolls included a museum that depicted Essene life. Beyond the Qumran caves are mountains where all the springs arise that feed the Dead Sea and that flow all year. Here is also a nature reserve with antelope. Swimming in the blue-green murky waters of the springs was very refreshing. However, “swimming” in the Dead Sea is quite a different experience. Firstly the harshness of the water demands that none may make contact with any mucous membrane or enter any orifice. The salty water feels oily and after floating in the Dead Sea it is necessary to thoroughly wash off the Dead Sea water.
From the deepest part of the earth the trip led to the source of the Jordan River, passing the place of the Baptism. The Sea of Galilee is still 200m below sea level but was green with spring flowers. Visiting a Kibbutz between Haifa and Nazareth, it felt just like Forrest Row in England. Everyone living there is Anthroposophist and there is a school and facilities for the handicapped.
In Nazareth the group had the good fortune of visiting the Grave of the Just. This grave is situated in caves below a house owned by the Sisters of Nazareth for the past 150 years and is not open for public viewing. There are many caves and chapels below the house and the remains of Templars and other civilisations are to be found.
The spring of the Jordan River is situated just below Syria with a risk of being fired at by snipers.
A visit to the city of Hebron in the West Bank, where the mausoleum of the family of Abraham is situated that is holy to both Jews and Muslims, was achieved by cloak and dagger antics as it is closed to tourists. The Jewish part of the city is heavily persecuted and no one ventures outdoors.
The overriding feeling the remains after visiting the places where major events in the life of Jesus occurred is one of coming home. Visiting Israel gave the impression that that it is the place of the struggle for the future.
Living in community with the Bushmen
Paul Myburgh presented a history from the Lemurian Period to the Ancient Race of which the Bushmen are the descendants. He described the development of living forms that arose as being extricated from the blue print so that the human form could arise. Each arising life form is a “failed” form on the path towards the arising of Man. He describes his own experience of looking into the eyes of the orangutan and seeing there the unconscious longing of sadness for the pure archetype of Man.
The Bushmen describe the Ancient Race as still having a constant relationship and discourse with the animals. The dreamy I AM in the first Man is still impelled from Above but slowly, for the first time in evolution, feels compelled from within. The separation from the Divine occurs so that we may become a full part of the Divine. At first Man still had direct conversations with the Gods before this began to fade. The stories and legends of the Bushmen contain the residue of these conversations.
Paul spoke of the separation from the Divine: in the Lemurian Period the impulse for uprightness, in the Atlantean Period the impulse for speech. In the space between what is behind us and what beckons from the future is the space for the incarnating Man where freedom can become. In this space lives the Ascended Christ. The potential for reconnecting with the Divine arose through Christ, but Mankind is only just beginning to comprehend unconditional freedom. The whole of life is an inadvertent witnessing of the space between Man and Man. By considering that which is gentle and conciliates and allows for the arising of the Christ into the space between us, lives the future human community.
All the cultures of the first people begin the day with a greeting that gives utmost consideration to the space between one human and another. The Bushmen greeting is: “Are your eyes nicely open?” Because it is their daily greeting it is what they want to become, in other words developing the consciousness of everything that has evolved in Man up to now. The Bushmen still hold consciously the astral-etheric form pictures that they see collectively.
Paul then shared some of the Bushmen stories that show how Man emerged out of the animal nature to separate from the animal. In the Bushmen we see the pure form of Man wanting to know himself. What the Bushmen carry is a residue to remind us of what can become future potential. They represent the last living example of the unconscious activity that we can begin to do consciously. They brought what they brought through sacrifice and we can only redeem it through consciousness.
Paul’s book ‘The Bushman Winter Has Come’ provides greater insight into the consciousness of the Bushmen.
This was the theme of Ascension and Whitsun. The theme was woven into two talks: on the 11th May Wiebke Holtz gave a description of her visit to Israel and the West Bank where she visited many of the sites of importance in the life of Jesus and described how they are now; and on 19th May Paul Myburgh took us on a journey through Man’s evolution based on his experience and interpretation of the lives and mythology of the Bushmen.
Israel
The trip that Wiebke made in the company of Rev. Ilse Wellershoff-Schur, a priest of The Christian Community with ties to Israel throught youth work and the Peace Movement, was one that had its origins 20 years ago and would have been undertaken with Rev. Michael Heidenreich, had war in the region not intervened.
The trip took them from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea, Galilee and back to Jerusalem, spending three days at each location. It was a journey not only in horizontal distance but also in altitude as they travelled 400m below sea level to the Dead Sea and up 2,000m to Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights.
Buildings in Israel are built of cut limestone, no use is made of bricks and these cut stones hold in them the history of Israel as conquerors destroyed and rebuilt cities and towns.
The Walled City of Jerusalem looks across the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives, now a mass of white Jewish and Muslim graves who all hope to see Jerusalem on the Day of Resurrection. Within the Walled City Jews and Muslims rub shoulders in the narrow, cobbled alleys lined on both sides with traders.
Day 1 was a visit to all the Christian sites in Jerusalem. At each site they encountered a mass of different Christian groups, including many Black churches, and everywhere groups of worshippers were singing. Day 2 was a short journey to Bethlehem. In Bethlehem there is a real sense of connection to the earthly life of Christ. The Holy sites have altars built by the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, the Armenian Church, Coptic Church, etc. and each church holds its own ceremonies at dedicated times. Day 3 was a visit to the Dome of the Rock. Noted were the many groups of Muslim women and children being taught and the beauty of gardens and the views. From the Dome the tour took in the Kidron Valley re-entering the Walled City through the Lion Gate, a visit to the museum in the Tower of David where the entire history of Jerusalem is presented, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Here each of the Christian churches has its own rock and the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches occupy the ground floor, the Armenian Church the second floor and the Coptic Church the upper floor where the priests live in very poor conditions. Jerusalem has 19 Waldorf Schools and Waldorf Seminary and Christ is replaced by Love in the school teachings.
The journey to the Dead Sea passed the site related in the parable of the good Samaritan where a church of beautiful mosaics stands. The area is very barren and Kibbutzes are oases of green. There is a real sense of heaviness at this altitude below sea level. A visit to the Essene centre of Qumran and the caves of the Qumran scrolls included a museum that depicted Essene life. Beyond the Qumran caves are mountains where all the springs arise that feed the Dead Sea and that flow all year. Here is also a nature reserve with antelope. Swimming in the blue-green murky waters of the springs was very refreshing. However, “swimming” in the Dead Sea is quite a different experience. Firstly the harshness of the water demands that none may make contact with any mucous membrane or enter any orifice. The salty water feels oily and after floating in the Dead Sea it is necessary to thoroughly wash off the Dead Sea water.
From the deepest part of the earth the trip led to the source of the Jordan River, passing the place of the Baptism. The Sea of Galilee is still 200m below sea level but was green with spring flowers. Visiting a Kibbutz between Haifa and Nazareth, it felt just like Forrest Row in England. Everyone living there is Anthroposophist and there is a school and facilities for the handicapped.
In Nazareth the group had the good fortune of visiting the Grave of the Just. This grave is situated in caves below a house owned by the Sisters of Nazareth for the past 150 years and is not open for public viewing. There are many caves and chapels below the house and the remains of Templars and other civilisations are to be found.
The spring of the Jordan River is situated just below Syria with a risk of being fired at by snipers.
A visit to the city of Hebron in the West Bank, where the mausoleum of the family of Abraham is situated that is holy to both Jews and Muslims, was achieved by cloak and dagger antics as it is closed to tourists. The Jewish part of the city is heavily persecuted and no one ventures outdoors.
The overriding feeling the remains after visiting the places where major events in the life of Jesus occurred is one of coming home. Visiting Israel gave the impression that that it is the place of the struggle for the future.
Living in community with the Bushmen
Paul Myburgh presented a history from the Lemurian Period to the Ancient Race of which the Bushmen are the descendants. He described the development of living forms that arose as being extricated from the blue print so that the human form could arise. Each arising life form is a “failed” form on the path towards the arising of Man. He describes his own experience of looking into the eyes of the orangutan and seeing there the unconscious longing of sadness for the pure archetype of Man.
The Bushmen describe the Ancient Race as still having a constant relationship and discourse with the animals. The dreamy I AM in the first Man is still impelled from Above but slowly, for the first time in evolution, feels compelled from within. The separation from the Divine occurs so that we may become a full part of the Divine. At first Man still had direct conversations with the Gods before this began to fade. The stories and legends of the Bushmen contain the residue of these conversations.
Paul spoke of the separation from the Divine: in the Lemurian Period the impulse for uprightness, in the Atlantean Period the impulse for speech. In the space between what is behind us and what beckons from the future is the space for the incarnating Man where freedom can become. In this space lives the Ascended Christ. The potential for reconnecting with the Divine arose through Christ, but Mankind is only just beginning to comprehend unconditional freedom. The whole of life is an inadvertent witnessing of the space between Man and Man. By considering that which is gentle and conciliates and allows for the arising of the Christ into the space between us, lives the future human community.
All the cultures of the first people begin the day with a greeting that gives utmost consideration to the space between one human and another. The Bushmen greeting is: “Are your eyes nicely open?” Because it is their daily greeting it is what they want to become, in other words developing the consciousness of everything that has evolved in Man up to now. The Bushmen still hold consciously the astral-etheric form pictures that they see collectively.
Paul then shared some of the Bushmen stories that show how Man emerged out of the animal nature to separate from the animal. In the Bushmen we see the pure form of Man wanting to know himself. What the Bushmen carry is a residue to remind us of what can become future potential. They represent the last living example of the unconscious activity that we can begin to do consciously. They brought what they brought through sacrifice and we can only redeem it through consciousness.
Paul’s book ‘The Bushman Winter Has Come’ provides greater insight into the consciousness of the Bushmen.
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