Letter from Stroud - February 2018After we left Johannesburg in 2008 we had something of a year’s sabbatical in England where Aaron worked firstly at Tablehurst Biodynamic farm in Forest Row and then in the congregation there and also at a local Community for special needs adults called Nutley Hall. (Aaron then received a sending to the congregation in Stroud in the west of England, near the southern border with Wales – Ed.itor) We have a wonderful house and home ‘High Spinney’ in the Cotswold hills above Stroud. It is still something of an ongoing project – especially the garden terraces and stonewalls that endlessly need repair and love and care – and of course our beloved compost heaps. We are also surrounded by so many wonderful people in this Stroud area and we count our blessings every day for all the comfort and joy of our lives here, but we equally miss all our dear friends and family (you all!) who we seldom see but think of regularly. We have a beautiful large guest room and gladly receive guests from all corners of the Earth – including Johannesburg. It’s a beautiful area with loads of interesting social and cultural initiatives. So please feel heartily welcome to come and stay anytime.  The Cotswold hills  'High Spinney' in Stroud where Aaron continues with his priestly work and Judy does all sorts of related things with music, serving, puppet theatre, parent-and-child group and much more. For both of us the congregation here is a source of great joy, friendship, culture and spiritual substance. The community continues to grow in all respects, outwardly and inwardly, and all the more do we await with eager anticipation the building of our new church due to begin in May 2018. The involvement of many of the members and friends in social, educational, environmental and cultural initiatives and projects in the area is very enriching for us. An additional growth area has been the children’s and youth work with our largest children’s camp in 2017 with 86 children and two youth conferences this in the spring of 2017. In 2018 we are taking a group of some 25 youth to Southern Spain to enjoy Seville and live and work 10 days at Los Portales ecovillage north of Seville. That is the village that Aaron lived and worked at for some weeks in 2016 as part of a sabbatical time. Another fruit of that sabbatical visit were the 9 children who came to our children’s camp in 2017 from Spain! Sabbaticals are so worth it. For Aaron it was 2½ months in Spain 2016 and especially refreshing and renewing on many levels – not to mention the chance to finally improve his Spanish and build a lot of compost heaps and work with the biodynamic preparations!  Judy and Aaron Click here to read more about the Stroud community.
Click here to read more about the children's camps run by the Stroud community.
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Letter from Vienna - November 2017A rollercoaster month on four suitcases, (one without wheels), since our farewell from Dover Street. From old haunts to pastures new and some still barely known (particularly for Christine who was only briefly here in Vienna before returning to Germany - she should be back for her birthday!). A few highlights along the way: In the first days – Michaelmas - we experienced an unforgettable, jam-packed, club appearance of a ninety plus, concentration camp survivor who, having read excerpts from her autobiography, was joined by her son on electric bass and a rap singer who together struck up a programme of social-political-critical songs for a better world. A unique and very moving meeting of worlds. Two weeks in Norway were altogether a highlight - unknown territory with perhaps few parallels; a strong, carved, beautiful landscape, rich but not opulent, mirrored in the people and their culture. Little excess, little flimsiness and between the two a special "inner warmth" seemed thus very real.   The pictures are from the mountain train journey between Oslo and Bergen, a breathtaking journey. First the long haul up into the mountains at 1,200 metres then down through the west coast fjord landscape and the beautiful city of Bergen. Six very special hours on our journey from Jo'burg to Vienna. A first touchdown in Vienna followed - 104 steps up to our future flat could be described as a highlight? (fourth floor and light-filled rooms where the old parquet flooring is being restored and the walls repainted as I write). Certainly worth a mention is a globe museum, tucked away behind the bigger tourist attractions. Exhibits from over five hundred years, as the globe was re-discovered. All shapes and sizes - shapes included inflatable and umbrella constructions, sizes ranged from 2cm to almost 2m. Moon and terrestrial globes and the fascinating history from pre-Christian times, as Mankind's awareness for its surroundings expanded. Fascinating - a must when you come and visit! We whirlwinded back to Germany, partly for the wedding of my god daughter - there was certainly a parental feeling of letting go after twenty eight years accompanying her path. The highlight throughout proved to be a remarkable Autumn, even by European standards, where the gradual changing of the colours can continue often for a month or more, before the November weather accelerates its decline. This year, said many locals, was extraordinary in its radiance and duration. Meanwhile snow creeps closer - in Norway we saw it at 1,200m on the train from Oslo to Bergen. In the last days its moved closer and down to 500m.... ....and the gift of this transition period draws to a close. (e.g. the monthly Vorstand's meeting this evening - equivalent of the Trustees). The initial welcome from the Congregation has been very warm, my official induction will be on the 1st Advent. Optimistic into a new chapter!  Christine and Malcolm - taken at the farewell event given in their honour Before Malcolm and Christine left South Africa, Malcolm wrote an article for Perspectives that dealt mainly with Christianity and the role of The Christian Community in South Africa. In the articles titled Three Weeks, Three Years, Thirty Years (Perspectives September-November 2017) two of the paragraphs are biographical and relate to Malcolm's time in South Africa. They are published here below. Three weeks refers to a visit here in February 1982, to visit a friend living in a Camphill community between Johannesburg and Pretoria. A flat, sandy and dusty, characterless rural area with a scattering of homesteads, and a nearby little drive-through town, fittingly called Halfway House, which boasted a snake park. Not far away was Jan Smut’s house (and car) and the Swiss Club, an evening destination for the young co-workers. In the city centre the Market Theatre already had quite a reputation for mixed actors, mixed audiences and controversial productions. For tourists there was a bus tour of the brighter sides of Soweto (“South West Township”).
Here again much later, in 2013, I could this time gather three years of impressions. Halfway House is now Halfway Urban Sprawl, just about marking the end of the steadily encroaching northern suburbs of Johannesburg and the southern expansion of Pretoria from the north, and the snake park has gone. So too the Camphill community. My observations have this time been somewhat limited to the lens of The Christian Community. Of course the extended stay has allowed visits further afield (to Cape Town, Durban, the mountains and the reserves) as well as return visits to Soweto, the Market Theatre (and Jan Smut’s House!). The only visit to Soweto wasn’t in a bus full of tourists but to a theatre production there. It could equally have been to Sophia Town (the Trevor Huddleston community centre) or to more upmarket Rosebank. Culture thrives in the city and is increasingly enjoyed by a cross section of the population. |