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1 The Wind Call The Christian Community in and around Cape Town August – October 2024 39 Timour Hall Road, Plumstead 7800 Tel. +27 79 407 8448 e-mail: christiancocpt@gmail.com www.thechristiancommunity.org.za Leading Thought ‘The Golden Key’ “One winter when the snow was very deep, a poor boy had to go outside to gather wood on a sled. After he had finally collected enough wood and had piled it on his sled, he decided not to go home right away because he felt so frozen. He thought he would instead make a fire to warm himself up a bit. So, he began scraping the snow away and, as he cleared the ground, he discovered a small golden key. Where there’s a key, he knew, there must be a lock. So, he dug further into the ground and found a little iron casket. ‘If only the lock will fit!’, he thought. ‘There are bound to be precious things in the casket.' He searched but could not find a keyhole. Then, finally, he noticed one, but it was so small that he could barely see it. He tried the key, and fortunately it fit. So, he began turning it, and now, we must wait until he opens the casket completely and lifts the cover. That’s when we’ll learn what wonderful things he found.” This story, the shortest of all the Grimm’s fairy tales, is of profound significance for our time. Perhaps it could be freely rendered as follows: “In the coldest time of separation from the spirit the inner most core of the human being attempted to accumulate in the outer world what was hoped would provide warmth. When as much as Contents. Page. Leading thought ‘The Golden Key’ ............. 1 Announcements .............. 2 Whitsun Festival ............. 3 Confirmation ................... 4 Special Sacraments ......... 5 Update on Timour Hall Cottages and the church infrastructure .................. 5 Newly paved parking area ................................. 6 Thanks ............................ 8 Regional Synod ............... 9 Children’s Camp ............ 10 Fair ................................ 10
2 could be gathered had been collected the realization came that no warmth had been gained; the coldness and distance from home remained as before. So, the human being began to transform, in a fire process, the relationship to all that had been collected. This had the effect of ameliorating the coldness of separation that was felt and in the process an experience of an awakening to a new power buried deep within the human being’s soul began. A new sense of courage was felt, and an uncovering and removal from the human being’s innermost soul of all that kept it congested with earthly concerns. The more the human being worked to divest him- or herself of complete focus on earthbound worries and anxieties the quicker their sense of purpose, and enthusiasm in life grew. They discovered that within themselves was a point of access to unlimited resources of life and strength which existed beyond them and yet could only be found within the treasure chest of their own receptive souls. What could be discovered in this way – only time will tell.” The golden key which every human soul longs to find is a new faculty – a new possibility of soul which has been laid in the soul of every human being through the deed of Christ on earth - the deed of the overcoming of death and transforming of death forces into new life forces of a nature which are no longer subject to the tyranny of death. It is the Free Power – the Logos Power which is available to all who strive to avail themselves of it within their own consciousness. We need only to find sufficient peace within us to offer our soul as a worthy vessel in which logos forces can be born. This birthing of logos forces within us makes it possible for the spiritual world to ‘open up’ the treasure chest of new, creative and abundant possibilities for the transformation of all human and earthly existence. The future depends on us making this Free Power available to the guiding spirits of our time by offering it to them. In this way our souls become the place through which the second creative impulse of the Christ being can take effect in the world. Richard Goodall Announcements Africa Seminary Friday-Sunday 09th–11 August Module Theme “The Festivals as path to healing and development” in the hall. R550 per person for the weekend; includes tea/coffee, soup on Friday evening; lunch on Saturday. Contact Andreas van Breda at andreasvanbreda@gmail.com Celebration of the Dead Saturday 23 November
3 Whitsun Festival On the 18th of May, children young and old gathered in the courtyard for the Whitsun Festival. They were guided in making beautiful tissue-paper-windows wherein appeared a star. We heard a story in the festival room beneath a tree, adorned with leaves of gold and silver, to which each child could add their own star. We enjoyed a small treat together afterwards with a warm spicy juice. Andreas van Breda
4 Confirmation In all the world, in different cultures, over very long spans of time, people have recognized that something very significant is happening in the life of an adolescent. This 'moment' is still acknowledged and celebrated in many streams; the Bar mitzvah/Bat mitzvah in the Jewish faith, the initiation ceremonies of several African cultures and of course Confirmation in the Christian Faiths. But what is this 'moment', what really are we confirming? There are many answers to this, I'll offer just a few. To begin with, it is the time in our development where we leave the golden years of childhood behind. The experience of a divine home and feeling united with it begins to fade. We feel ourselves ever more separate from the world, from our siblings and parents; and at the same time feel something beyond our biological stream working in us; and we have the first glimpse of our own individuality. This is both lonely and at the same time thrilling. For yes, I am separate, different from everyone, and/but yes, I am also ‘Me’ and there's no one like ‘Me’! It is a time where I become aware of my ‘feeling-life’ in the extremes – in sympathy and antipathy and everything in between. My personality begins to emerge as I discover who I am and begin to have a sense of who I could become. And I become aware of an inner life and inner voice, which has the potential of becoming something of a life guide; but this depends on the quality of my listening and the substance with which I fill it. All of this requires acknowledgement and celebration and Confirmation. To mark this 'moment' in an adolescent's life, which is not really a fixed moment in time, but rather an unfolding, is very significant, grounding and healing.
5 On the 28th of April 2024, four Young people were celebrated, and received the sacrament of Confirmation which was held by Kine Voigts, and warmly supported by the congregation: Noah von Maltitz, Damien Coetzee, Peyton Rogatschnig and Fynn Oliver. Thank you to the Choir for their singing and music, to Paula Megaw for her piano playing and all those present who witnessed this momentous event in the life of these Children who are to become Youth. Andreas van Breda Update on Timour Hall Cottages and the church infrastructure The year opened with a big change as Hanna Hack moved out of her cottage after more than four years of being part of the Timour Hall Cottage (THC) community. Her generous hospitality and good coffee had regular takers and provided space for many informal gatherings. Thank you, Hanna! Having the unit empty for a month provided a gap where we could do some messy internal plastering repairs and general replenishment with new carpets and complete repaint after more than 10 years of occupation since Jacqui Frylinck first moved in. Special Sacraments The funeral Service for Adrienne Joseph Pulè was held on the 13th of July 2024 at the Church in Plumstead.
6 We were very pleased to welcome Judy Tobler into the community as the new tenant. Judy has been connected to Waldorf Education for many years, initially through friends in Britain, and subsequently through her own children and grandchildren attending Michael Oak. Her daughter and grandchildren are regular attenders of the church. For us, it immediately felt like Judy had been here for ages. On the maintenance side we have had some special challenges with the double story phase 3 building still settling very slightly on an unstable geological base. The fractional shifts are a special challenge with a face brick finish, but we are winning, and the movement has steadily decreased. The city needed to do excavation work interrupting Boundary Road traffic which resulted in them tarring Walsall Road for diverted traffic. This is a significant improvement for us because in the summer the dust from the gravel road was sometimes a real problem. The waiting list remains at twelve for the cottages, despite a fluctuation of some new names and some dropping off The brick paving for the church parking has made a huge difference to the grounds and we are very grateful for the continued gift of our monthly garden service. Our thanks to the region for the support on the paving and to our beloved Carole Penfold for the garden service. Richard Cox Newly paved parking area Is it not a wonderful feeling to arrive at the church premises and know that there is a beautiful smooth surface, where one need no longer be concerned about tripping or stumbling into a hole! We are very grateful and proud to have been given the opportunity to have the worn-out tar surface replaced with
7 paving. It is thanks to a donation that was to be used for capital expenditure only that we have been given this beautiful gift. The contractor did a splendid job and even did some repairs on the paving towards the courtyard free of charge. See below some photos showing the different stages of the work. Rosemarie Enthoven
8 Thanks Ulrich and Gabriele Feiter for supplying us with grape juice for many years. Your quiet work in the background and generous gift is appreciated. Carole Penfold for funding the monthly gardening service. Your care for the grounds, supporting from afar since your move out of Cape Town, shows a continuous commitment and ongoing relationship to the community and we are grateful. Rhoda Rutherford for your help with the cutting and stitching of the altar cloths. Nimble hands create beautiful work. Thank you for your time and expertise. Paving company, Alpha Pave, who did additional work free of charge Ivan Hunter for creating a wooden stand to hold the chasuble. Mascha Rutherford for sewing a lovely cloth for the table on which coffins are placed in the chapel wake room.
9 Regional Council The Annual Regional Meeting was held in Cape Town from 26th to 28th July. The theme that framed this weekend was “From human hearts, Michael gathers up the Free Power”. I had the honour of attending this meeting as a trustee member of the Cape Town community. I will take the liberty to share some personal experiences. Throughout the weekend, the theme revolved around the fact that the “pioneering phase” of the Christian Community has transitioned into a time when communities no longer function as little islands but rather through each participant’s and community's Free Power, collaborate and create more embracing consciousness of the world-wide Christian Community. Many conversations revolved around what this means in practical terms. It was so interesting that most of these conversations ultimately revolved around the thought of free power consisting of both individual expression, creativity, and courage to become receptive, open and willing to offer service and nurture while at the same time fostering the vision and task of the Christian Community. Many questions were raised about how each individual creates human substance for the spiritual world to transform and nurture our age. How can we make ourselves receptive and open to this task? Our Lenker, Rev. Oliver Steinrück gave an inspiring picture of how we, in South Africa, have grown into maturity through developing the form and consciousness of a Regional consciousness, especially where the vastness of our country means that priests work “geographically” far apart. This collaboration has also provided a supportive environment for our priests across our country, and has given form and function for this unifying task. The tremendous impulse and dedication of Rev. Reingard Knausenberger who really inaugurated this Regional consciousness was acknowledged. The combined substances created by the communities, by the priests, have carried this substance and created spaces for the angel of the communities and the community impulses to meet, weave and work. Rev. Kine Voigt beautifully addressed this theme in her Sunday sermon. She painted a vivid picture of spring, where flowers awaken and transform a desolate landscape into a palette of miraculous colours. She likened this outer sun to the inner sun of the soul within each human being, bringing light and warmth for spiritual renewal. She concluded with a powerful image of how celebrating the Act of Consecration of Man across the Southern Region—from KwaZulu-Natal to Cape Town to Johannesburg to Windhoek—creates that inner sun substance nationwide for the spiritual world to transform for the entire world. The Act of Consecration of Man was a powerful and celebratory moment, with all our priests, Rev. Richard Goodall, Rev. Andreas van Breda, Rev. Michaël Merle, Rev. Kine Voigts, and Rev. Oliver Steinrück celebrating together. The choir and congregation's singing added to the joyous atmosphere.
10 After the Act of Consecration of Man, there was a community gathering. Thoughts and gratitude were shared. The meeting concluded with a heartfelt acknowledgement of the Regional Council office bearers, who are deeply embedded in the Christian Community's values locally, regionally, and internationally. The Cape Town community was thanked for our hospitality and excellent culinary offerings. Anette Bestwick Fair Dear Friends, Our annual Christian Community Family Fair will be happening on Saturday, 07 September, from 10am to 3pm. Please come and celebrate the day with your friends and family and enjoy delicious snacks, lunch, tea, coffee and cake to the background sounds of live music, in an atmosphere of communal warmth and social engagement. We will have our usual tent with children’s activities, crafts, nearly new items, second-hand books, plants, deli and bakery goods, quiche & salad, boerewors rolls, tea & coffee, cake, popcorn, music, a secret raffle, and more ... Our Fair is run on the goodwill of community members and individual offerings. Please consider contributing in any way you can, either by way of children's activities, providing plants, second-hand books, quiche & salad, cakes, deli/bakery items etc. Please remember to jot down the main ingredients on a little piece of paper and place it on top of the quiche before dropping it off. This makes it easier when serving customers who have special dietary requirements. Thank you. Contact May Munroe on the church cell phone number 079 407 8448 for more information. Children’s Camp Our annual Children’s Camp will happen from 12th – 19th December. Applications will be open during September and October. Further details will follow in the flyer shortly. Contact Delphine Oliver at delphine.oliver@gmail.com
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