Sacred Connections at Princess Vlei

4b30e3b1-780c-4093-a6a6-5d35b7dc94f5Gathered under the beautiful open sky, on the banks of Princess Vlei, we came together for the second Sacred Connections on the 25th November. This was a particularly significant one, as CTII had been blessed with a gift of sacred water from the Indigeneous people of Canada, during the Parliament of the World’s Religions, and so we ceremoniously welcomed this gift into our own waters, led by African Traditional practitioner, Ayanda Nabe.

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Board member, Kirtanya Lutchminayaran, wrote the following reflection on the day:

“What started as a Board discussion in a tiny room has spiralled into a beautiful concept that we at CTII call Sacred Connections. A monthly service for people of all faith and none, to connect, share, learn and enjoy other faiths, traditions practices and beliefs. Celebrating unity in diversity and fostering tolerance, harmony and togetherness. The first was in October at Brahma Kumaris and celebrated African Tradition, Hinduism and Interspiritual Tradition. Today was the second event at Princess Vlei, a historically meaningful site. There were Taize chants, a talk on a Course in Miracles, and a Sacred Water Blessing by the Sangoma on our Board, who merged water gifted to Sarah at the Parliament of World Religions, from the Indigenous people of Turtle Island, Canada, with our Cape Town Vlei, a symbolic ritual of calling on ancestors and giving thanks and seeking blessings for our precious planet. There was a Spanish song on water, sung that originated from Guatemalan Shamans, and amidst us was a wonderful Sikh woman from Portugal who is visiting Cape Town. The fisherman along the river joined us too! A truly profound experience, we are blessed to be able to do this Interfaith work” – Kirtanya Lutchminarayan 

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Soup for the Body & Soul – Interfaith Mitzvah Day

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The 18th November is International Mitzvah Day, a day where Jewish communities around the world come together with other faith communities to commit to social action, and doing something to strengthen social relations in our communities.

Here in Cape Town, CTII were invited to join students at Moishe House for an Interfaith Soup-Making Challenge. We spent the day chopping, peeling and boiling, to make soup for two Charities, Ladles of Love and Faith, Hope, Love Communities in Elsies Rivier. It was a great way to connect with young people of different faith traditions and do something together for our communities. Thank you to Moishe House and International Mitzvah Day for this great initiative!

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INVITATION: Africa Summit – Cape Town, Honouring the Legacy of President Nelson Mandela

The Africa Summit takes place from Nov 22nd – 24th, 2018. If you are interested in attending the African Summit at the Cape Town International Convention Centre this week, there are still some places available for members of faith based communities. Please download the registration form (Click Here for Registration Form) and submit it to berrybehr@gmail.com.

You can also download the Press release Africa Summit CT 2018 for more information.

The Africa Summit is located in the context of the Nelson Mandela Centennial Celebration Year (1918-2018) and was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on International Mandela Day in Mvezo on the 18th July 2018.

The event is dedicated to Honouring the Legacy of President Nelson Mandela and is subtitled “Peace and Human Development in Africa: Interdependence, Mutual Prosperity and Universal Values”. The Africa Summit is sponsored by the Universal Peace Federation and the Royal House of Mandela. 

CTII Schools Programme Celebrates End of Year Final Function

The final function of the Marlene Silbert Youth Interfaith Intercultural Programme (MSYIIP) took place on Sunday the 28th October 2018. We were graciously welcomed by the Deputy Mayor, Alderman Ian Neilson who hosted this special event.

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The programme this year has been a great success, with nine schools participating in the Grade 10 and Grade 11 programmes. The monthly learning sessions have allowed learners to forge new relationships on the basis of humanity, equality, and social justice, and to create a greater understanding of self and others, building respect between people from different religions, faiths, cultures, and backgrounds and develop an appreciation of the value of diversity.

 

As part of the programme for the evening, each school shared a short presentation on what they had learnt throughout the year. Many learners reflected on the experience of becoming friends with fellow learners they would have never normally had the opportunity to interact with. As Programme Facilitator, Sarah Oliver shared,

IMG_0872I think what is so remarkable about a programme like this is the exposure that it gives the students to worlds and lives of fellow young people that they just never would have engaged with otherwise. The intention here is to start to unravel our built up prejudices of ‘the other’, whether ‘the other’ is of a different faith, race, gender, sexual orientation, or socio-economic class. 

Moving forward from this final year end event, the intention is that learners will leave this programme with a greater understanding of our countries different cultures and experiences, and be able to apply this in their lives as active citizens. One student highlighted this by saying,

From this programme I have learnt a lot of things that I can apply in my life. I grew as a person and have made new friends. I loved the experience. I have learnt that we shouldn’t judge and make assumptions about people we don’t know without knowing their stories and what made them who they are.  

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A big thank you to the Programme Founder, Mrs Marlene Silbert, who continues to guide and support the programme with incredible care and commitment. Thank you also to the Programme Coordinator Natalie Simons-Arendse, and lead Facilitator, Sarah Oliver, for their tireless efforts in making sure the programme runs smoothly and efficiently.

This year we have also had an amazing team of young facilitators from the GOAL Trust, who have played an important role in mentoring and guiding our young learners. Thank you Uzair Ben Ebrahim, Izzy, Salwah Salie, Adeeb Fakier, Sherry Tapfuma, Sima Gcora, Phelo Krakri and Xola Maswana. 

Thank you also to the programme donors who continue to see the important value of this programme as not only an investment in the lives of the learners, but an investment in building a more peaceful and inclusive society.

Finally a special thanks to all the teachers, parents, and learners for their commitment and willingness to engage in interfaith and intercultural work! Sparkles to you all!

Sparkles

 

Diwali – the celebration of the light of wisdom in our lives

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From the entire Cape Town Interfaith Initiative we send special greetings to the Hindu community at this time of celebrating Diwali. 

What is Diwali? 

Diwali is a Hindu festival symbolizing the victory of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. Diwali is celebrated this year on 6 November and known as the festival of lights. The symbolism is that once the light of knowledge dawns from within, then there is light everywhere in the world around us. To convey the unique importance of this spiritual knowledge in our life, Diwali is celebrated all around the world.

There is a strong relationship of the festival of Diwali with ancient Hindu epics and scriptures. Many events in these, the Mahabharata and the Puranas are related to the festival of Diwali. The most loved, is when Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya after completing 14 years of exile – everyone in the city celebrated His return by lighting clay lamps everywhere.

There are four major aspects of Diwali:

Lighting of lamps in one’s home – Symbolic of igniting the light within and spreading knowledge. Lighting lamps also symbolises dispelling the darkness, meaning the darkness of ignorance and negativity.

Gift exchange and distribution of sweets – Sweets dispel any bitterness and is symbolic of a renewed friendship

Feeling of abundance and gratitude -It is a day to feel grateful for all that we have

When true wisdom dawns, it gives rise to celebration. Celebration is the nature of the spirit. The ancient sages brought sacredness in every celebration, so that people do not lose the focus. Observing rituals and religious practices is simply a show of one’s gratitude to the Divine and brings depth to the colourful celebration.

 – written by Kirtanya Lutchminarayan, CTII Executive Board Member