God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

10/03/2017 • 8:58 am Comments Off on Prayers needed! Really?

Prayers needed! Really?

It seems that prayers are in high demand in our days:
In South Africa ANC representatives are making the round in churches and asking for prayers to get their house in order.
In the USA politicians are praying for the victims of Las Vegas and on Facebook and social media the call for prayers is all over, from Orlando to Paris and now back in the USA we are called to pray again. Prayers are needed indeed when one sees the state of affairs in many parts of the world, when one notices the despair of people and the craziness of terror and politics and sometimes it seems terror and politics are exchangeable in the sense that people are hurt, lives cut short and common sense buried.

Maybe it is time to mention that prayers without the appropriate action will fail to do anything good except comforting those trying to  escape responsibility. Contemplation and action, prayer and deeds are interlinked as human mankind is interlinked in the spirit of Ubuntu. Sending good thoughts only work when there is the reflection what I can do to change a situation.
We could pray for hours for the well-being of the ANC here in South Africa – as long as those in charge allow for corruption, state-capture and stealing in their own midst without acting against the perpetrators no prayer will heal this situation. We can pray for hours for the victims of the Las Vegas shooting but as long as those in charge in the USA refuse to take action against the gun lobby being able to do business as usual those prayers are empty and the expression of sympathies a blunt lie.

And it is not only those who are in office – those who have elected people into office are equally guilty if they only pray instead of making sure that those voted in power are doing their work correctly and making responsible decisions. No one, not even the ANC in South Africa has a privilege to be in power – and Jesus might come earlier than expected to Mr Zuma (my South African friends will know…)  – all those in higher offices are there for a time and with a responsibility. And in a democracy the power lies with the people.

Prayer can bolster this responsibility, prayer is making this responsibility more visible as it connects to the divine, to the source of humanity and to the foundation of why we have rules and regulations and a political and social system with certain values and ethics. It is not a fix for failures, the divine does not pop in to plaster over ignorance. But prayer can be the beginning of redemption and turning around a situation. It is certainly as a connection to all beginnings a means to reflect, if necessary repent and try to do better.
Let’s hope that is meant when politicians ask for prayers or pray themselves in the public space and in front of TV cameras. And that people asking for prayers on social media also turn into themselves to look where their responsibility lies besides sharing a call for prayers.

Filed under: General, Politics and Society, Reflection, Religion and Ethics, Society and living environment, South Africa, Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,

09/20/2017 • 7:57 am Comments Off on South Africa: Miracles still happen

South Africa: Miracles still happen

South Africa has in the moment a lot to worry about: from corrupt political leadership via rising political killings to the complete lack of moral leadership in major parts of society with all its consequences the portfolio of negativity is growing by the day. And not to forget the economical downturn and the threat of being a complete junk state on this note. Did I forget the danger to abuse pension funds to fill fiscal gaps or selling the table silver of Telkom to bail out – for the – I can’t count anymore – time to short-term fix the disaster of SAA created by a very close friend of the president, not wanting to leave till “ubaba” is gone. “Gupta” and “Statecapture” – thousands reasons to be negative adding to despair and hopelessness.

But in all this misery and after a peaceful transition in the early nineties from the inhuman Apartheid system to the dawn of democracy there is once again a shimmer of hope:
South Africa, with all its trouble and all its misery has the guts to expose big international companies on what they do best: floating best practice and just looking where the money is while throwing all ethical considerations over board:Bell-Pottinger, KMPG, SAP, McKinsey – and it seems the list will go on. It is amazing that a wounded country living through the agony of democratization and the fight to end racism and achieve equality for all its citizens is able to be a leader in forcing companies to come clean and stop hurting people, nations and basic ethical standards supposed to govern the global village. This is a ray of hope we can hold on and be proud of – especially being proud of those journalists, activists and politicians who are going for the truth as wounded healers.

And this ray of hope is the reason to I hope for another miracle: that the history of liberation movements turning into wanna-be political parties and failing their own people up to the point of destroying again what they fought for – because they can’t transform from the military battle ground to the party political debate acknowledging that the opposition parties are not the enemy anymore but part of the dynamics of democratic decision-making – that the ANC somehow finds a way to defeat this seemingly automated historical process of self-destruction and rise to the occasion of the new and democratic South Africa.

Let’s not only hope, but actively participate in all political and social processes to become what we have been in 1994 under the leadership of Madiba: a beacon of hope for the global village that human mankind can learn and evolve peacefully and meaningful for the benefit of all.

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

09/16/2017 • 1:19 pm Comments Off on A memory…

A memory…

Remembering the Ball of HOPE in Cape Town last May
– what a fantastic evening full of fun and laughter, but also reflection on the hard work, the organization HOPE Cape Town is doing as well as the dedication of the Southern African – German Chamber of Commerce & Industry to support trade and knowledge exchange between the respective countries.

If you have missed it – the next Ball of HOPE in Cape Town @ the Westin will be on the 12th of May 2018. Diarize it and make sure to be part of a great social event. But if you can’t wait and you want to support of HOPE Cape Town sooner – there are always lots of possibilities:

 

The HOPE Gala in Dresden on the 28th of October is happening soon and tickets are available via the HOPE Gala‘s web page.

You can donate towards the good cause securely via this web-page link: HOPE Cape Town South Africa (Donation is tax-deductible)

And did you know that we have also sister organisations:

in Germany HOPE Kapstadt Stiftung Germany and the USA HOPE Cape Town USA which all issue tax-deductible receipts.

Filed under: Africa, HIV and AIDS, HOPE Cape Town Association, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Trust, HOPE Cape Town USA, HOPE Gala Dresden, SA-German Chamber of Commerce & Industry, South Africa, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

09/10/2017 • 8:55 am Comments Off on Understandable language

Understandable language

Communication can only work out when people use words and phrases in a way understandable to each other. This simple rule applies to all situation in life, be in the sphere of religion or health.
Our HOPE community health worker and doctors of HOPE Cape Town are challenged every day to break down medical conditions , adherence and compliance rules into words which can be understood by those on the receiving end. It is essential to know what has been talked about during consultation or a brief of patients by all present.
The same should go for the religious sphere but since the former pope Benedict XVI insisted of changing the translation of the liturgy in the Roman-Catholic church this rule seemed to be out of favor. In a bid to “latinize” the English we priests now had and have to battle with prayers one even can’t get the head around after reading twice, let alone that the faithful would understand what they supported with the “amen” at the end. In South Africa, the South African Catholic Bishops Conference was keen to adhere to the wishes of Rome quickly and the new translation was put into practice even before the necessary time.
I always felt despair when – as a Chaplain @sea – had to say Holy Mass for the hundreds of Filipinos working on the cruise liner, who were simply not able to digest or even answer orderly when confronted with the new English translation. While the German Bishops gently delayed any implementation of any new “latinized” translation of the order of the mass successfully the English-speaking world struggled and still struggles with words and phrases nobody would use in real life.
The decision of Pope Francis to move the responsibility for a good translation back to the local churches is therefore a step in the right direction and hopefully gives rise to a new translation (or going back to the old one) which allows the faithful to worship with knowing the meaning of prayers and petitions.
I certainly do acknowledge that the intention of this effort was to bring back the language closer to the roots of Christianity but as societies evolve and develop so does language as a mirror of society. We can only take to heart what we do understand – even if those thinking more in the backwards direction in our church believe that the Eucharist is a mystery which should remain also mysterious by means of language.
Celebrations should uplift the hearts and minds of people – not make them wish having a dictionary or a “repeat” or “rewind” button to play it again for understanding purposes. A language which is understood from all participating in an atmosphere which allows for the purpose of gathering to unfold in a dignified and good way – this is all what is asked for in any situation of life including church services.
For us Catholics the change in Canon Law by publishing the decree  “Magnum Principium” is also an indication that the stalling of Vatican II has finally stopped and the documents of this important council will continue to be authoritative and permanent. For the liturgy of the church it is now clear: there is no “reform of the reform” and this is good news for all of us.

Source:
Magnum Principium

Filed under: Catholic Church, chaplain, chaplain to sea, Uncategorized, , , , , , ,

08/30/2017 • 3:07 pm Comments Off on State-capture and NGO work

State-capture and NGO work

Following the news about all Zuma and Gupta and state-capture, about Gigaba, Muthambi, Dlamini, Zwane and all the others so often for the wrong reason in the news the debate often ends with the bleak outlook on economics – the downgrades and the failure to attract investment and to stimulate growth.

What remains unreported and not even considered is the impact, the failure and outright criminal action of those in power have on the NGO sector of South Africa. The country is meanwhile so in the bad books of the global village, that even the non-profit and charity sector starts to feel the consequences as more and more funder and donor refuse to support a corrupt South Africa.  Justified or not, it has to be noted that those organizations, which fill so often the gap and bridge the incapacity and incompetence of governmental institution are harmed in the same way like their honest for -profit economical siblings.

The groundwork for this disastrous development was laid the day, South Africa joined BRICS and decided not to be a “developing” country anymore – naturally it cut essential funding from overseas to the point that even the European Union re-considered their contribution towards the development of the country in their newest budget. With all the state-capture, the obvious incompetence and dishonesty of some ministers and the inability of self-correction the situation is worsening as we speak – South Africa, the beacon of hope and Madiba’s dream of a rainbow nation as an example of reconciliation turned into a black sheep, a symbol of outright corruption and failed politics.

Obviously one can argue that assuming the way of South Africa would be trouble-free was an illusion from the beginning – and the argument is certainly valid. But the way it turns out now, the depth of state-capture with all its consequences and the unwillingness or impotence of the ruling party to correct this path of (self-) destruction destroys the  very fabric South Africa needs to develop peacefully and with equality for all its citizens. In this situation NGO’s are the very glue which can hold such a social  fabric even if government fails its people once in a while, but for being able to do so, they need resources and the goodwill of people from all walks of life – especially those who can financially and materially contribute to the essential work of those Non-profits.

Filed under: Africa, Networking, Politics and Society, Reflection, Society and living environment, South Africa, , , , , , , , , , , ,

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