5 Franklin place, New York

Oh wow! I want to live there!

(I think i'm in the wrong career for that address, but it's good to have dreams! The almost-architect inside me is screaming at the beauty and fluidity of the building. Oh the curves, the lines, the continuity inside and out. Well done UNStudio)

inter-faith-ful

This week has been rather inter-faith-ful for me:

Catholicism: Firstly, i lead devotions yesterday at CPE. Trying to be different and creative, i delved into some of my past devotional practices and lead a 'Jesus Rosary' session. The Jesus Rosary just is the same as the Catholic rosary, just substituting the Jesus prayer in place of the Hail Mary's. My 4 fellow CPE classmates (all catholic religious) were very surprised to have a Presby/Quaker leading them in the rosary.

Judaism: Last night i joined the labyrinth crowd for a rather irreligious Passover meal at Kevin's house. There was wine, good food and even some espressos and/or single malt afterwards. I've been to a few Christianised Passover meals before, so it was really interesting to experience this tradition with an eclectic bunch of people with no background in either Judaism or Christianity.

The reflection and discussion before the meal focused on Jewish spirituality, specifically the notion of chosenness and what it does in light of suffering. We got talking about the problems in Jerusalem and how some Jews believe that the Messiah will only come when the temple has been rebuilt. The 'minor' problem here is that there is a temple on the temple mount already: the Dome on the Rock mosque. Kevin's 'solution' was so simple, yet profound: "Why don't they just share the building?" he said. Now there's an inter-faith, communal answer for world peace.

Islam: Today i got off CPE early and joined a Muslim friend of mine at Friday Prayers (Jumu'ah) at his local Mosque. Nazeer took me to a Nikaah a while back, but i've wanted the full mosque experience, to get more of a feel of the Muslim faith. The experience was not as worship-ful as i would have thought, though very liturgical (but not in a restrictive, conforming way). I'd liken it more to a Catholic Mass (though not as sacramental), rather than a charismatic worship service. The sermon was on a few of the attitudes of the Prophet Mohammed, which i found pleasantly surprising. I can't remember them all - it was hard to keep track with all the Arabic words and quotations from the Qur'an in the sermon - but one that stood out is the the Prophet (and Allah) hold forgiveness higher than justice. Watching a few thousand men kneel, bow and pray all in unison was something, and the call to prayer and recitation of the Qur'an was beautiful. All in all, it was not as 'moving' or 'holy' as i would have thought, but it was still a privilege to partake (or rather observe) this sacred time.

self esteem 101

Didactics at CPE this week was on Self esteem. Self esteem is a need, and a healthy self esteem is needed for growth in the spiritual life. It was very revealing for me to see how i have allowed others control over my self esteem, where in fact it is my personal responsibility (hence self esteem). According to the presenter, the main ingredient for a live-giving life is love of oneself, which is self esteem, Further, in her mind, the most important role of a leader is to create a space where self esteem can grow. I ventured that it seemed to me that healthy 'self esteems' would naturally undermine the need for hierarchy in a community.

Apparently the equation for self esteem (which is self-love) is:

self-knowledge + self-acceptance = self esteem

You can't love or accept yourself in a vacuum, so you need to know yourself first. 3 quotes on self-knowledge that stuck out for me were:

• "Self-knowledge is a prerequisite for holiness" - St Catherine of Sienna

• "Trials and unrest come because you do not know yourself" - St Theresa of Avila

and my favourite:

• "Know yourself, but always doubt your motives" - a Rabbi

There we go... a few of the CPE gleanings this week.
(BTW - should self esteem be written with a hyphen?)

Being a Christ follower in SA

http://kleipotgemeente.typepad.com/soulgardeners/2008/04/being-a-christ.html

A thought-provoking and timely post by Thomas at Soulgardeners to be read by SA gospel people (if he isn't on your blogroll already). His questions at the end of the post are very pertinent. I have a semi-confession on issue no. 2 to make sometime soon, so watch this space.

Seeing the other as brother (an example)

I went to the funeral of Rev Rob Robertson yesterday. Yes, I managed to get excused from CPE for the afternoon! Thomas was there too. Rob was a Presby minister who started the first multi-racial Presbyterian congregation in SA and was very involved in the anti-apartheid struggle. He died on Saturday at 82 on his daily run. When I came to Cape Town I was told by three different people in independent circumstances (Greg Andrews, Rob Steiner and Keith Vermeulen) that I would do well to meet Rob, as he had done some of the things I was expressing and desiring in the church. My to-do list in my wallet still has the words "Rob Robertson - Milnerton" on it.

Hearing of his death, and more of his story, made me regret not contacting him. I thought i better go along to the service, to get one last chance to 'meet' him and hear how people spoke of him. After the service (and after greeting far too many Presby Colleagues and friends) I went up to his wife to introduce myself. I felt I needed to tell her that, as a Presbyterian student of the ministry, I hope to continue Rob's multi-racial congregation legacy in our country. She thanked me, adding that it desperately needed to be done.

Another moving moment was the story Rob Steiner used to open the service. I want to post and paraphrase it here for others to hear. From what I heard, Rob Robertson really did see the other as brother:

A Hasidic Rabbi once asked his students "How do you know when the night has ended and it is day?" (for they measure days from sunset and sunrise)
One student ventured: "Is it when you can look into the field and there is enough light to tell the difference between a sheep and a dog?" "No" was the reply.
Another tried, "Is it when it is light enough to look at your hand and make out your finger prints?" And another said, "Is it when you can tell the difference between a fig tree and a pear tree in the distance?" Still the answer was "No."
"So what is it then?" insisted the students.

"It is when you can look into the face of another person, any woman or man, and see that they are in fact your your sister and your brother. Until that time, we are still living in the dark" the Rabbi replied.

Here's to carrying on the legacy of this man I almost met.

(See Barry's latest post for another realisation of the other as brother)

Hunger. Strikes. Riots. The food crisis bites!

Crap! This little planet is in for some rough times ahead. Here's a well written and researched article on the looming food crisis (seems to be all over the press here). The crisis has already sparked violent protests and riots in 10 countries. In SA we've felt an increase in the price of basic foodstuffs and the chances are it's going to get worse. Last year's price fixing scandal with the 3 main bread companies didn't help either.

The Crisis' two main culprits? Bio-fuels and Climate change. The supporting acts? The oil price, weakening markets, the palm oil crisis and China's burgeoning new middle class.
The victim? As always, the poor & Africa.

More breaking news: the World Bank president estimated yesterday that increasing food prices will push 100 million people deeper into poverty. Crap!

and...

Nationals:-
...we lost in the semi-final to my old Joburg team. Drat.
...we were unbeaten in the 6 pool matches though, and i was very happy with how i played. Had a great hammer throw to score against Khaya, and a full length layout score against Disc-functional.
Read the report in the local press here, as well as a podcast with my captain (Brent) and others on the state of Ultimate in SA.
Next up is Worlds in Vancouver in August. We are sending two teams and if i can find the cash i'll be playing for the open team at Worlds. That would be awesome!


CPE:-
If it took more than a week for me to blog about ultimate, then i must be really busy with CPE! I am. It's manic, hard and uncomfortable, but still very good. We had our Mid-term Evaluations last week, and it's amazing to see how far we have all come in 6 weeks.
This weekend i didn't get to rest either, as i was doing a Coma-Care course - how to care for and communicate with patients in comas. Pretty intense! For the rest of CPE one of my wards will now be the neurosurgery ward and the neurosurgery ICU. Wish me luck as i 'chaplain' comatose patients!
It's a pity i don't have time to write up some of my experiences here, as they really are stretching and messy and alive. Maybe i'll take a 2 week holiday when i'm done and let you in on the adventure that is CPE at Groote Schuur.

For now though, it's back to work. I've got a verbatim to write for tomorrow, as well as the daily CPE reflections. Expect a bit of silence on this blog for the next few weeks.