God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

03/11/2011 • 10:16 pm Comments Off on Bruxelles – Frankfurt – Johannesburg – Cape Town and in between

Bruxelles – Frankfurt – Johannesburg – Cape Town and in between

Multi-tasking is a word everybody knows from the computer systems and it seems, that in our days, not only computers but also human beings are forced to multi-task. Within 24 hours my body, soul and mind has to be in the different places – sitting in Bruxelles but sorting out things in Cape Town, while packing for the flight to Johannesburg via Frankfurt. One suitcase is going directly from Bruxelles to Johannesburg, while another is waiting in Frankfurt to join, deposited before leaving for Belgium as less baggage means faster moving at Bruxelles airport. While checking out of the hotel in Bruxelles I am on the phone with Cape Town, seeing an SMS coming in from Frankfurt.
It’s lent – and time of reflection means also to reflect on the demand, we are facing in our modern world, always to be available, via cell, w-lan, blackberry and there like. Doing one thing at a time seems almost out of fashion – or it seems, that we are only “in ” and “productive” when we can show running on several levels at the same time.

Maybe it is me coming into a certain age, but since a longer time I try to break out of these modern devils circles of proving your value – and I discover that especially when I am on travel, it works out that for a while I am able to shield myself from all those demands. It feels so good just to ignore emails and to concentrate on one task, one meeting, one encounter at a time. And it feels so good to keep time for oneself – and to enjoy those small  little islands of just “being” , just having a laugh, just being unproductive, just enjoying a “shit-chat” with a friend, a colleague or even a stranger somewhere on the way…

Lent maybe a time not only to reflect but to strengthen this development and I am sure, for the work, one is doing,  less multi-tasking and more “one task after the other”  will be beneficial for all on the short, middle and longterm run..

Filed under: General, Networking, Reflection, Society and living environment,

03/09/2011 • 1:53 pm 2

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday, in the Christian churches a day of reflection and fasting – begin of lent, the time in preparation of the highest feast of Christianity, the resurrection of Christ.  Being on travel I also reflect on my life. And my first question would be: which life? The life as it isfeatured in the public domain with all the articles in newspapers and magazines and other media? The life of  a public person – the “founder” of HOPE Cape Town? or is it the life of the priest, called to holiness on a daily base and representing a church which is battling with all the shortcomings in the moment on a daily base? Or is it the life of Stefan, the friend, the family member, the acquaintance? Or is it the conclusion of all three facets of different lives? Or is it the real me – the person, I only know best and still remains a mystery for myself at the same time – the person who would never fit in all the roles given to me or expectations raised towards me in daily life.

I sometimes wonder how people perceive me and how I perceive me being perceived in public. I see what kind of difference exists in people how they believe they are and how they come across for others; it makes me think twice about my own perceptions.

I guess what counts at the end is how much we live who we are, how much, as we Christians phrase it, we are able to be what we are called for. And how much we are honest with ourselves and strive to bring our being and our doing together. We have to write each of us our own little story with God, our own little bible added to the official one – and as important to God as the latter.

For me the last 10 years have been also years of HOPE in the true sense of the word. This organisation has become a part of my life and I have served HOPE Cape Town in different capacities, as chairperson of the HOPE Cape Town Association, as management member and these days as board member and as chairperson of the HOPE Cape Town Trust as well as management member of the HOPE Kapstadt Stiftung. In all these capacities I was blessed with wonderful moments, with truly interesting and humble visitors who all added to a colourful life.
In the last 25 years I also had the luck to serve as a priest, the longest time as the chaplain to the German-speaking Catholic Communities in Cape Town and in Durban. What a diversity added to my life – what for blessings and possibilities to grow – even in the hardest hours of being nicely disposed as the chaplain in a way which some described as “between diplomacy and dishonesty” – the usual way of getting rid of perceived problems in our days. The toughest hours shape the most and I see them as a challenge to grow.

Lent is the time to reflect – to count the blessings and to see what is still needed on our way through life and what habits have become a burden and could be discharged or left behind. This is a time to allow ourselves a clear and honest picture of ourselves and to experience the unconditional love of God towards us anew. A love which allows us to grow, to change, to resist pressure of fellow man to adjust only to mainstream or to be scared to speak our minds if need be. A love which enables us to love and to cherish our neighbour, our fellow men and women next to us.

I wish all readers a blessed time of lent and at the end not only the celebration of Easter but a celebration of the resurrection of each and everybody of us as a grown human being – able to live life to the fullest and being more identical and reconciled with “myself” .

Filed under: General, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Reflection, Uncategorized, , , , ,

03/06/2011 • 9:59 pm Comments Off on Sunday evening blues..

Sunday evening blues..

Sunday eve in Fallersleben – and a long travel week draws to a close while another is just beginning. The last three days were intense: the last meeting of the team trying to move the world, not only alone and in 100 days but with many more supporters and with a move, which will be felt for years to come. At the same time, while I am sitting here close to Wolfsburg and trying to get my mind around safety tips for the trip, fundraising concepts and much more, at home in Cape Town we are busy to shortlist the applications for the directors post. The ability to bi-locate, to be at two different places at the same time remains wishful thinking, but would be necessary on such days. Not to forget that the administration of the “Bundesgartenschau” in Koblenz wishes urgently to have the plan for October, when we will have “our day” of AIDS awareness and prevention within the framework of the show. A whole day, the podium is ours and together with the AIDS-Hilfe Koblenz we have to fill the space months in advance.Even being at two places at the same time seems not enough.. 🙂

But moving the world requires multi-tasking – but also requires the support and the network of each and everybody. In the times of the internet this may mean to visit websites:

www.waae.de
www.hopecapetown.com
www. hopegala.de

are three of those close to my heart on this Sunday eve. Where ever you are, reading this, you can be part of a big movement, you can contribute whatever you can – in ideas, in time, in donation, in the one Euro, which we need from 5 000 000 people to make our move becomes a reality. It does not matter where you live – in Germany, in South Africa or somewhere else along the way of our expedition or far away: you have a constant invitation to join in and to spread the message of hope and future and even to be a piece of this hope for others.

Filed under: HIV and AIDS, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Networking, Reflection, Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,

02/20/2011 • 6:26 pm 2

First get rid of the relics

Some 144 German Catholic theologians, along with a handful of colleagues from Austria and Switzerland, recently issued a public declaration calling for reforms on matters such as celibacy, women priests and homosexuality. The list of signatories represents roughly one-third of Germany’s professors of Catholic theology. The letter also touches upon lay participation, styles of leadership, the liturgy, and the legal culture of the church. While most bishops and remarkably the secretary of the German Bishops Conference welcomed in principle a debate about burning issues of the church, the chair of the German Bishops Conference, Archbishop Zollitsch set a different tone today writing an article for “Die Welt”.

He questioned the public declaration by saying, that even having benevolence for the authors of the declaration, nobody would think seriously that the list of reforms would lead to a new flourishing church and faith in our days.  For him, the question rather is how to keep alive in our society the question for God and a convincing Christian answer.

I understood the declaration differently and I never assumed that anybody will think that with the requested reforms the church will directly be beamed into a new spring with people flocking to become active Catholics again. But something else would happen: Getting rid of the relics which borders us since ages could free our thinking and acting to follow the question of God and faith in our world. All these topics we discuss in our church since the last century – and it was widely reported that even Benedict XVI in his earlier time signed a declaration lamenting the situation of the church and calling for a rethink of celibacy.

HIV & AIDS are practical examples. We hardly have time to think of new strategies how to approach people in this regard and to change the habits of people because every discussion with the secular world ends that we have to defend the stance on condoms and sexuality. Additional for all those who want to have a career in the church, there is the constant anxiety to keep the official line. This stance has given away lots of credibility – we are simply not relevant anymore in these questions. Reconciling us with modern sciences in these fields and getting rid of the relics would free us to be able to think constructive and to deal honesty with the people concerned. It would enable us to give the answers of the questions of today and space for new considerations and a development of theology and spirituality.

So to answer the question of the article:  how to keep alive in our society the question for God and a convincing Christian answer is to free ourselves from stances which are not essential for the church and to allow then a real debate to answer from a Christian point of view the questions really asked by modern society and its people.

Filed under: HIV and AIDS, HIV Prevention, Reflection, , , , , , , ,

02/18/2011 • 8:28 am Comments Off on The day of the U2 concert

The day of the U2 concert

The day of the U2 concert has arrived and in the days before the newspapers were full of allegations against Bono, the lead singer, accusing him of supporting Julius Malemas “kill the farmer” song. Even when Bono retracted from his statement yesterday during an interview – there is another question open:
Is this singer turned activist a blessing or a curse for Africa? The same question applies to Bob Geldorf, who seems to have found a new role amidst politicians on high-profile meeting of the G7 leadership. Looking into their claims how to help Africa, there is in my eyes only one answer: they are a curse. Asking again and again for more money is a spin, we have had for the last 50 years and indeed, never has Africa received more money than ever. And the result is also clear as the world bank defines it: The people of Africa are not getting more rich or reaching the standards of a decent living: Africa has grown poorer in all these years.
In pushing for more money as Bono and Geldorf do, they just prolong the suffering of Africa as more money does not mean more development, more education, more clean water, more decent lives to live. It is not the solution but makes a solution more difficult in the development sector.
So I guess they should stay with their music and we can discuss whether we like the music or not. But they should keep out of politics like so many music stars, who seems to get into politics when their musical career is declining or even coming to an end. We don’t need Madonnas adopting babies from Africa, Geldorfs and Bonos pushing for more dollars and euros,  we also by the way don’t need the usual “one to one” partnerships between countries which gives the giving hand so much influence (like Minister Niebler unfortunately pushes in the case of the Global AIDS Fund) – we need to see and experience the life of ordinary people out here in Africa, we need to listen and then to act in a way bringing Africa forward instead our own interests.

Filed under: General, Networking, Reflection, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , ,

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