God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

05/01/2010 • 6:25 pm Comments Off on 01.05.3020 Ball of HOPE 22.05.2010

01.05.3020 Ball of HOPE 22.05.2010

I remember it very clearly: on the 15.05.1998 I organised the first ball in Cape Town and the reason at that time was a simply one: Coming to Cape Town as the new chaplain to the German-speaking Catholic Community at that time, I did not want to engage into bazar and similar events as organised by every parish around the world. I thought that having something extra-ordinary would maybe attract people and to make the first ball attractive, I contacted Archbishop em. Desmond Tutu who, to my surprise, agreed to be the guest of honour for this eve. The event at the ballroom of the gracious Mount Nelson Hotel at that time was mend to create funds for the social work of my small little flock.

In 2001 the theme changed and the “Ball of HOPE” was from now on the official label for this event. On board the Southern African – German Chamber of Commerce and Industry with Anja Tambusso Ferraz nee Spandern as head of the Cape Town office as cooperation partner.  With the opening of the Arabella Sheraton, now the Westin Grand Hotel, the Ball of HOPE moved to this top class hotel as it also supported HOPE Cape Town in other areas.

We are now celebrating the 13th event of this kind and meanwhile, the Ball of HOPE is a known event in the social calendar of Cape Town. It is nice to see how a spontaneous idea developed into a major event and I am proud to say, that this year – again – we are sold out. Thanks to all who supported and support on a continuous base this prestigious event. I am also grateful that the German-speaking Catholic Community decided to keep their bond with the Ball of HOPE.

Filed under: HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Networking, Reflection, , , , , ,

02/20/2010 • 10:17 pm Comments Off on 20.02.2010 Time is flying

20.02.2010 Time is flying

Saturday again – time is indeed flying and who says, that time is passing quicker when one gets older: that is correct. The time, I have felt in the earlier time for days, are now easy covering a months.
Yesterday I had my first meeting with the new Archbishop of Cape Town and we discussed some matters, amongst others the initiative of pastoral work for HIV positive priests and religious in our church. I hope to see in the next three weeks the chairperson of the Southern African Bishops Conference on this issue to move forward and to be able to report back in May, when I am in Rome.
HOPE Cape Town needed this week also some attention, sometimes there are times of multiple decision-making processes at the same time which binds all energies and needs lots of focus. At the same time I had to finalize the first planing of my next travels, which will bring me to Gauteng end of the month for two weeks, then in May to Italy and Germany and in July to Austria and Germany. In between a short break in SE Asia.

And when I thought that I don’t have to work during Holy week and on Easter – since Thursday I know that I will be busy and helping out on all those holy days. That will be the first time to celebrate all these mysteries in English; well as long as I don’t have to sing in English, I will survive. 🙂

It was a busy week and today I digged me into reading the white paper of renewal energy of the Western Cape to get a grip also on this topic. All the acronyms are a bit strange to me, but the material itself is not that difficult as I thought. Tomorrow then 2 church services which I will now prepare.

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

02/15/2010 • 10:55 pm Comments Off on 15.02.2010 And another murder…

15.02.2010 And another murder…

I know it does not fit into all the hype about the soccer world cup, but with Joseph Dominic Giddy the third student has been murdered in Cape Town within 6 months.  Stabbed during a robbery while on his way home with friends, he is once again someone who was at the wrong place the wrong time. It is sometimes difficult to paint a fair picture of the situation in South Africa while one is thorn between the plight to encourage people to come to South Africa for the world cup and the knowledge, that things are also not in order here at the bottom of the continent.
But what is a fair picture? Telling only the official statistics which would be a disaster… Or just saying that most of the times only locals are killed? Are they less worth than tourists? I find it increasing difficult because now before the big event, there seems to be two camps: one painting a rosy picture and one painting a dark black one. Both are obviously wrong, but on the other hand: How can one do a balanced picture when press is only reporting in broadbrushed terms because that’s what the speed of news requires: quick and just touching it, no in dept information any more. It is a pity. The way modern press and news agency have developed makes it almost impossible to have the time for a journalist, to feel the pulse of the country for a while before giving a diagnose, the first heart peep, so to speak, is already the whole story.

I am living now for almost 13 years in the country and I think it is one of the greatest countries one can live in, no question about it, but at the same time I acknowledge that life is cheap here and that there is a long way to go for society to get a grip on this fact and change it.  And coming today from an extensive outing again into the lives of those less fortune I am convinced that it needs so much more efforts from politics and civil society to bring back this respect for life.

I still hope that the soccer world cup 2010, which was the nail for this country not to take a deeper dip in many regards, will also serve as a push to drive in that direction. And for that we need great games, a feeling, that we are good here in South Africa, that we are on the right track as the people of a wounded nation. A great future is ahead of us, when we don’t derail but move forward with reconciliation and respect and dignity.

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

01/18/2010 • 7:24 pm Comments Off on 18.01.2010 Back to work…

18.01.2010 Back to work…

Who does not know the feeling at the end of a holiday to be thorn between liking to stay a bit longer but also the curiosity to get home and back to the daily routine of working, eating, sleeping and dreaming of the next holidays.
And I think I have enough to be excited about when coming home: HOPE Cape Town will get new offices under the wings of pharmacology and I will have my office there, much better than working from home. “Going to work” has its merit – coming home as well – combining both one sometimes does not know when one is at work or at leisure.

Travel to the 2nd ecumenical church days in Munich, Rome, several invitations to talks, working meetings with Joachim Franz and his team (www.wae.de), the Ball of HOPE, the HOPE Gala Dresden, the “Berliner AIDS Gala”, Blankenese and the Walzertal, the World AIDS Conference and not to forget the Soccer World Cup in South Africa are waiting – for latter I applied to be a volunteer and will have an interview coming week. Exciting times – and of course some holidays in between.
The 10th anniversary of the Southern African – German Chamber of Commerce in February is not forgotten on this list – as well as all the promised visits to each and every township clinic to visit all our HOPE Community Health Workers at their working place. Developing new projects and continuing the already running work of HOPE Cape Town has also its merits on the scale of excitement.

So yes, it is time to come home and to get going again and to see, how I can live in my new role as “present of faith”.
A new bishop in Cape Town, the work with POZ, the working group dealing with HIV positive clergy – also on this side is a lot to come. And I already agreed to supply in quite some parishes which means to get more insight and learn more about life in the different societies of Greater Cape Town.

Well, what can I say: Cape Town, I am coming..:-))

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

01/12/2010 • 2:54 pm Comments Off on 12.01.2010 Installation of a new bishop

12.01.2010 Installation of a new bishop

Today, the invitation arrived via email to attend the installation of the new Archbishop of Cape Town, Stephen Brislin.  As always in the life of the church, a new bishop awaits a huge amount of different expectations and hopes. And these expectations and hopes are most times so far away from each other, that it seems to be a mission impossible to be a bishop in our days.  On the other hand: Within the church, a bishop has power and according to the CIC he is the head of the community of the faithful with many far-reaching rights. Especially when it comes to the lives of the priests – so much of their well-being hangs in balance with a good bishop’s rule. Humility and the knowledge, that we are all remain humans, even in the service of the church, are essential for such a service. And this is indeed the core of his vocation: To be a servant for the people of in this case Cape Town, to assist in the well-being of the people of God, to encourage and go with and lead those seeking to come closer to God.

And obviously, he does it not alone, but in communion with the other bishops and the bishop of Rome. In our days, it seems that this communion is rather centralized – word coming from Rome and filtering down to the different dioceses’.  From outside it looks and from inside it feels often as a one-way-road. It would be great if the communion and the collegium of the bishops will play a bigger role in the life of the universal church, so that also we from Cape Town, we from Africa can contribute more to the development of this universal church. It would also support the message of the African Synod which puts lots of responsibility on the church of Africa.

Filed under: Reflection, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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