Gathered 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.
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