Keep Walking

My motto at the moment.

Illustration by June Keser.

Life is Beautiful

Well, I have just discovered that I have a brain tumour. Hence all the bad blogging due to absolute exhaustion! Go in for an op this upcoming Friday and feel strong, positive and so loved and supported.

Nothing like a big old brain tumour to get the philosophical juices flowing although to be honest I've always taken notes along the way and this is what I've learnt so far...


•Love with all your might. Love is freedom. Love is all that matters. Love yourself first.

•Believe in yourself. You can do anything and you create your own reality. You can change anything at any time.

•You hold so much power. Use it with integrity.

•Let challenges and competition inspire you to rise to your true potential and in so doing, inspire others.

•Simply do what you love.

•We are spiritual beings having a physical experience, and not the other way round.

•It's ok to just be.

•Impermanence is a beautiful thing. It's an open doorway.

•Take each day at a time.

•You have the right to choose.

•Listen to yourself and acknowledge your higher wisdom.

•The world is a miraculous place and a wonderful gift to guide us through.

•You're never given more than you can handle.

•Don't sweat the small stuff. (Even now, I still battle with this one but I know it's true!)

•Be grateful and conscious at, and of every moment.

•Find pleasures in the small things.

•Show others you care.

•Smile from the heart. A big smile can brighten someone's day.

•Be open to receiving love and guidance.

•In the end, a life half lived is a big journey wasted. Go for it! Life is beautiful!

...

I think it's from here.

An Act of Faith : Palm Tree Mosque

An Act of Faith : Palm Tree Mosque, 185 Long Street, Cape Town

Established in 1825, Palm Tree Mosque is Cape Town's second oldest mosque. When
Tuan Guru, the "father of the Islamic faith in South Africa", died in 1807, he left his imamship of the Auwal Mosque to Abdulalim, much to the dismay of two of his congregation members, Frans van Bengalen and Jan van Boughies, who resigned from the mosque and started a langgar (prayer room) in the upper storey of Jan's house in Long Street, receiving mosque status in 1825. "A century and a few decades later, the name of Jan van Boughies Mosque was changed to a more succinct one, alluding to the towering palm out front, which is said to have been planted by Jan himself."


Info from TimeOut.

An Act of Faith : The Anglican Church of St Paul

The Anglican Church of St Paul : Bree Street, Cape Town

"On Tuesday, March 12th, 1878, the Foundation Stone of St. Paul's Mission Church was laid by the Bishop of Cape Town, Archbishop William West Jones, on a site in Bree Street", however the Mission Congregation had already been active for over twenty years prior to this. The years following the construction of the church are commemorated with various consecrations & additions; the addition of  seven stained glass windows in 1885, the consecration of the completed tower in 1899, the building of a larger chancel by Parish Priest after Archdeacon Lightfoot, in memory of the first Rector, in 1912, in 1926 the consecration of the New Aisle, Lady Chapel and Vestries by His Grace, Archbishop Carter, and when St. John's Church, Strand Street, was pulled down, the Stations of the Cross by van Hove found a new home at St Paul's. Two parochial institutions, Saint Monica’s maternity Home and Saint Paul’s School, also influenced the community greatly.

"Saint Paul the apostle (Hebrew: שאול התרסי‎ Šaʾul HaTarsi, meaning "Saul of Tarsus", was, together with Saint Peter and James the Just, the most notable of early Christian missionaries. Unlike the Twelve Apostles, there is no indication that Paul, born in Tarsus, ever met Jesus before the latter's crucifixion. According to Acts, his conversion took place as he was traveling the road to Damascus, and experienced a vision of the resurrected Jesus. Paul asserts that he received the Gospel not from man, but by "the revelation of Jesus Christ".

An Act of Faith : Auwal Mosque

Auwal Mosque : Dorp Street, Cape Town

The Auwal Mosque dates back to 1794, when the Muslim Faith was brought to South Africa by slaves from the East. The property was owned by Salie Coridon of Ceylon, a freed slave whose daughter married Achmat of Bengal, who later inherited the property and subsequently made it available to the Muslim community to be used as a mosque.

The story goes; Iman Abdullah Kadi Salaam, an Indonesian prince was banished to Robben Island for conspiring with the English against the Dutch. "During his incarceration he was said to have written out several copies of the Koran from memory, and upon his release in 1793, he established a madrasa (Islamic school) in Dorp Street. Five years later one of his students, Achmat van Bengalen, gave one of his properties to him", which became the Auwal Mosque in 1798. Only two of the original walls remain after it collapsed in the 1930's.


It is the oldest mosque in the country.



Info from TimeOut & Cape>gateway.

An Act of Faith : St Mary's Cathedral

St Mary's Cathedral : Roeland Street, Cape Town

Also know as Cathedral Church of Our Lady of the Flight into Egypt. In 1805, three Dutch Catholic priests landed in the Cape "under the auspices of Propaganda Fide, the department at the Vatican which (renamed) still guides and aids the Church in South Africa" with the aim of seeking to evangelise the indigenous population. The three were deported once the British re-took the Cape from the Dutch in 1806 and plans for replacement clergy were blocked. A Catholic Bishop, Edward Slater OSB, transiting at Cape Town in 1820, installed Irish priest Patrick Scully "who soon initiated Sunday Mass at a storehouse on Buitenkant Street". In 1821, Fr Scully had obtained a large plot (corner of Caledon & Harrington Streets - now a car-park) on which to build a church, priest's house and school. Building began the year after, and if this church was still standing, it'd be the third oldest church in Cape Town. In 1836, the church underwent restoration and the roof was removed, but before it could be replaced a rainstorm collapsed the walls. The site was then divided into lots and sold.
In 1839 Bishop Griffiths purchased the Wachtenburg Garden from Baron Von Ludwig, together with a piece of ground in front known as Tanner's Square (Looyers Plein). Wachtenburg Garden had formerly been a masonic lodge and then a museum and was part of the larger Concordia Gardens. "It is interesting to note that the open space on the west side of St Mary's, which links Plein Street and St John's Street, is still known as Concordia Place. St Mary's Dominican Convent and grounds stand today on the site of the Wachtenburg Garden". On Sunday October 6th, 1841, the foundation stone of St Mary's Cathedral was laid and in 1851 the Church was completed. This bishop writes this of the dedication which took place in 1851, "On Monday April 28th (the Feast of St Mary of the Flight into Egypt being transferred to it from the day before ... the 4th Sunday of April) the new Church was opened at 10am when the Bishop of Bourbon (Reunion) Dr Des Pres, and Vicar Apostolic of Mission in China, Dr Verolies, with two Vicars General of the former and five other French clergymen of their suites, assisted at the dedication, performed by the Vicar Apostolic, with all the clergy of this Vicariate, Fathers A. McCarthy, J. Griffith, B. McMahon, J. Watkins. The officers and many of the crew of the French war steamer “Cassini” in which the bishops, etc. were proceeding to their respective destinations, were present and an overwhelming crowd of the people of the town. The ceremony commenced with a sermon and terminated with a Te Deum sung by the French clergy and officers, with four nuns and some French ladies, joined by our choir."
From 1865 to 1947, the Altar, bell, windows and sanctuary were renovated, remodelled, acquired or enlarged and in April 1951, one hundred years after the dedication, the Cathedral was consecrated by Archbishop Owen McCann, who later, on the 22nd of February 1965, became the first Cardinal in South Africa. In 1999 & 2000 more restorations to the Cathedral were made by Mgr Andrew Borello, which "brought about liturgical changes enhanced by well-executed structural changes. With the steady influx of foreign nationals from other African countries, the cathedral community took on yet another dimension. The introduction of the African Day Mass has seen the community enriched and celebrated in a distinctively African cosmopolitan spirit." Nigerian Mass is held on the first Sunday and Zimbabwean Mass on the third Sunday.

An Act of Faith : Gardens Presbyterian Church

Gardens Presbyterian Church : corner Orange, Upper Orange and Hatfield Streets, Cape Town.

In 1882 members of Cape Town's oldest Presbyterian Church, St. Andrew's, decided to establish a Sunday school that would serve the growing congregation of the "still sparsely-populated residential areas" of Gardens, Oranjezicht and Tamboerskloof. It was not long before the need for worship services in the rapidly growing area, and on 27 May 1890, HE Sir Henry Loch, then Governor of the Cape Colony, laid the first foundation stone that was to be the new church and school on the corners of Orange, Hatfield and Annandale Streets. The first service of worship was held on 10 October of that same year.  "Within four years, the new congregation, originally established as an adjunct of St. Andrew's, had become an independent church" with Rev. John James McClure of the Irish Presbyterian Church as its minister - a ministry which lasted 29 years. In 1889, the still growing congregation acquired land beside the existing church and began raising funds for the construction of a new church. On 29 August 1901, the then Governor and High Commissioner, HE Lord Milner, laid the foundation of the present Gardens Presbyterian Church. The building was completed two years later and dedicated on 11 October 1903. The original structure remains in use today as the "Founders' Hall" and a larger hall was added in the 1970's.

The Shofar Christian Church also holds services in this church on Sunday mornings and evenings.

An Act of Faith : Cape Town Gardens Shul

Cape Town Gardens Shul : Hatfield St, Cape Town

In 1652, when Jan van Riebeek was sent to the Cape by the Dutch East India Company to set up a refreshment station, two Jews, Samuel Jacobsen and David Heijlbron, were among those building the Castle. Baptised, according to Dutch East India Company laws, as no other form of worship other than that of the Calvinist Dutch Reformed Church was permitted. Eventually between 1804 & 1806 under British rule, freedom of worship, Freedom of the Press & the Abolition of Slavery were instituted. In 1820, emigration to the Cape was encouraged and a number of practicing Jews were among the settlers. "On the eve of the Day of Atonement, on 26 September 1841, 17 males of the Jewish faith met and conducted a service in accordance with Orthodox worship at the home of Benjamin Norden in Hof Street, Helmsley Place, which today forms part of the Mount Nelson".  One week later, the Cape Town Hebrew Congregation known as Tikvat Yisrael or the Hope of Israel was established and land was purchased in Woodstock for burial purposes. In 1849, a building known as Belvedere House in St John's Street was purchased & refurbished to form the first synagogue in South Africa with Reverend Isaac Pulver as its first spiritual leader. By 1863 the  congregation had outgrown the synagogue and a vegetable garden & stables besides Government Avenue was purchased and a new synagogue was built which today houses the entrance to the South African Jewish Museum complex. Further growth of the congregation led to the building of today's Gardens Shul or The Mother Synagogue in 1895, designed by Parker & Forsyth and consecrated in 1905 when Cape Town boasted its first Jewish mayor, Hyman Liberman.

An Act of Faith : Jameah Mosque

Jameah Mosque : cnr Chiappini St & Castle St, Bo Kaap, Cape Town

Established in 1850, the Jameah Mosque was the first mosque in South Africa specially granted land for a Mosque site and is thus also known as Queen Victoria Mosque, in honour of its original patronage, the British Crown. Situated on the corner of Chiappini Street & Castle Street in the Bokaap, it is also sits adjacent to the disused stone quarry where the first Jumuah (Friday Congregational Prayers) were read in 1790. Jameah Mosque is the biggest Mosque in the Bokaap and the fifth oldest Mosque in South Africa & is acknowledged as the first Mosque in South Africa in which the Jumuah was read. This Mosque also serves as a reminder of the two battles fought in order to initially acquire the land for the construction of the Jameah Mosque, the Battle of Blaauwberg & the Battle of the Axe. Imam Abdul Moutie Saban is still the Imam after 31 years.

An Act of Faith : Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische St. Martini Kirche

Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische St. Martini Kirche : Long Street, Cape Town

Founded 150 years ago by German immigrants, The German Evangelical Lutheran St. Martini Church of Cape Town is situated at one end of one of Cape Town's oldest streets and still has mostly German services.

There were a number of German Lutherans among the first settlers in the Cape, however they were limited in their freedom of worship according to the Peace of Augsberg of 1555 which stated that "the ruler of a specific area determined the religious orientation of his subjects". Requests made by the Lutherans for a preacher of their own were denied. However in 1774 Martin Melck sponsored a warehouse in Strand Street and thus being able to prove that the Lutherans had the necessary funds to build a church and finance a preacher, the Lutherans were granted permission to worship freely in 1780. The warehouse was converted into a church and after a split in its congregation occurred in 1853 - the Long Street church of St. Martini was formed. Shortly afterwards in 1861, the church was officially inaugurated as the Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische St. Martini Kirche.

See the church's website for more info & for more info on the Lutheran faith visit this website.