8 O' Clock news - October 2015

The Eight O’Clock

News Read this in COLOUR at www.cck.org.za

October 2015

8 am Service, Christ Church, Kenilworth

It Must be Spring Like me, most of you must be enjoying the first notes

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do the next thing. Stay in touch with Me through thankful, trusting prayers, resting in My sovereign control. Rejoice in Me—exult in the God of your salvation! As you trust in Me, I make your feet like the feet of a deer. I enable you to walk and make progress upon your high places of trouble, suffering, or responsibility [Job13:15; Psalm 18:33; Habakkuk 3:17-

of Spring as heralded by the dawn chorus, the wild flowers and the warmth in the air. Fickle, though, like the weather our thoughts at times optimistic, may sometimes slip back into the grip of winter as the icy 19]. wind blows back again.

Recently having returned from a holiday in Israel and It has been a hard few months for me, coping with having visited Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust changed circumstances after being bereaved and Memorial, I was moved to read the words of a sermon simultaneously being loaded with work stressors and to women prisoners by Livia Koralek: "God is not challenging tasks. Jokingly, I’ve remarked to my man’s sanctuary, but rather man is God’s sanctuary. friends, “This really is the Winter of my Discontent”, It is easy for man to retain his humanity in a beautiful stealing part of Shakespeare’s Richard III soliloquy. home, but let us prove our humanity here in the The laugh really is on me though as the real meaning of this phrase is that ‘the time of unhappiness is past’. overcrowded huts too”. Truly inspiring words I think— John Steinbeck’s last novel was entitled ‘The Winter of to carry with us when we may experience adversity, (not nearly as harsh as in the death camps) but when Our Discontent’ and in it he wrote, ‘we can shoot we feel alone, sad, angry and challenged—with God rockets into space but we can’t cure anger or in the sanctuary of our hearts and minds, surrendering discontent’. In my experience, that is true—only all to Him, Spring will break through and Joy will Jesus can. ‘To be alive at all is to have scars’, cynical return.

Steinbeck again, but perhaps a scar is actually a real sign of healing? Haven’t you, like me, often marvelled How wonderful to know that we can never be out of God’s presence. at the regeneration of tissue even beneath even the - Cheryl Anderson smallest cut?

In this winter, I’ve been cocooned in the Postberg safety of my home, surrounded by loved ones and put my head down to cope with - Sue Taylor the tasks. However, more marvellously, I have spent more time with Jesus, facing up to my vulnerability and surrendering to His will. I was given a wonderful book at this time: ‘Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence’, by Sarah Young and I have really been blessed by the daily readings. Here I quote a very meaningful one: ‘When things seem to be going wrong, stop and affirm your trust in Me. Calmly bring these matters to Me, and leave them in My capable hands. Then, simply October 2015 Eight O’Clock News

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Part of FTH Friday Team Peter Gillespie, Land Middelkoop, Lilla West, Siyabonga Mgolodela and Samuel McIntosh (grandson of John Rogers).

Early Education in Wynberg Our Parish of St John’s grew from Glebe Cottage, a very early

place of worship in Wynberg, as did the Wynberg Established School. This Boys’ School celebrates its 175th anniversary next year and it’s a good reason to stop and reflect on the connection between church and school.

English-speaking Wynberg families and those in later Kenilworth too, grew tired in the early 19th century of getting to Cape Town to attend church services in the Groote Kerk and they used Glebe Cottage in which to gather and worship God. The building was used as a school house from 1841 by John McNaughton as well as by Lady D’Urban’s School of Industry for a time. Both schools moved to the top end of Aliwal Road near its intersection with Tennant Road and, happily, both buildings are still standing today, virtually unchanged.

Wynberg School was for boys and girls for a while, until McNaughton started concentrating on the classics and science— subjects which then were held to be of little interest to the fairer sex—and the girls stopped attending! A number of headmasters and assistants held the fort in the building then known as ‘Brynderwyn,’ on the corner of Tennant and Aliwal Roads, until,

with the school bulging at the seams, ground was obtained lower down Aliwal Road, below Oxford Road in which to expand. A dynamic headmaster, Edward Littlewood, arrived in 1892 from Cambridge and put the Boys’ School, as it had now become, firmly on the map.

Two prominent men, Ds Philip Eduard Faure of the Dutch Reformed Church in Wynberg and Sir Henry de Villiers, Chief Justice of the Cape Colony, ensured that the local boys’ school not only prospered but thrived! It was remarkable that the former, a person very busy with Dutch Church affairs, should have given so much of his time to help the struggling English language school and for so long—nearly 40 years! Ds Faure was a forbear of Christine Milligan of our church who let me photograph a portrait of the great churchman. De Villiers too, sold a good deal of his own property at a very good price for use by the school and oversaw its activities for a number of years.

The headmaster, Littlewood, was a member of St John’s and, active in the life of the church, he encouraged his pupils to attend services there. It is remarkable that a school as old as Wynberg Boys—175 next year—should have the buildings of its first three ‘homes,’ still standing and in use today—Glebe Cottage (±1800), ‘Brynderwyn’ (1854) and today’s Junior School Hall (1892). There is a very strong case for Wynberg Boys’ School being considered the oldest traditional boys’ school in the country. I love being associated with Wynberg school and its long and settled history. May its proud traditions flourish!

- Neil Veitch Curator of the Oude Wijnberg Museum which incorporates the school's Eric Tasker Museum.

Helen & Neil

Parking garage at the Royal Festival Hall, London?

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Moving Forward Together Clive and I joined a small group which met at CHS [Church of the Holy Spirit] and were led by Brendan Fox. As we met in the morning most of us were 'older' and now living in retirement complexes or gated communities so are protected from casual people knocking on our front doors asking for food.

So our conversations were around what we did when still living in our suburban homes and how we interacted with vulnerable people there.

Most of the group were already involved with soup kitchens, reading to children and other forms of outreach to the poor and vulnerable so being more generous with time and resources we found was a little difficult.

Two things which really struck home for me during these sessions were: Firstly: The person whose testimony reduced me to utter shame was Lillian, mother of Ronald, whom Gordon Crowther had told us about during his sermon the first Sunday of MFT. Ronald, once a drug addict is now totally committed to bringing people to the Lord and a leading light at CHS. Lillian said she had always been poor, still is and was widowed two weeks before MFT began. Her parents would never allow their children to go and beg for food from neighbours—they would provide for their children even if it was only a piece of bread at a meal. Lillian said today is so different when she constantly has children coming to ask for 'a tea bag or a little sugar’—which she always gives to them if she has some in her cupboard.

But the most amazing part of her story was that if someone comes to her door at lunch or supper time asking for food she does not just give them a sandwich and send them on their way. She invites them into her kitchen, sits them down and shares whatever she has prepared for herself with them!

That blew my mind—such generosity…

chores but also helps with her financial and tax affairs. I am there as a support for Marina and her family.

- Alison Kempton Jones

Thank You, Alison Alison (standing) recently stepped down after six years of faithul oversight of the Prayer Shield. She has handed over the baton to Liz Michael (seated).

Secondly: When discussing the poor, widows and the vulnerable Brendan reminded us 'not to only look outside' and 'over there' for those people—we should look around us on a Sunday morning during church to see who was sitting perhaps only two seats away from us who was in need of a special touch from the Lord through us. Or maybe even members of our family or friends. Food for thought.

On the home front: My best friend Marina, friends since we were seven, was widowed in August last year and Clive, who loves gardening and now has only pot plants on our balcony to look after, goes to help with her garden—pruning roses, vines, hydrangeas and chopping down a lemon tree that just died on her!

Keith, her late husband, was a very 'handy' man and as Clive isn't—he sticks to the gardening October 2015 Eight O’Clock News

Helen’s Wonderful Hat Helen Myburgh won a prize at Anchusa for Decorative hats. Eleanor Watson (10 am service) was on hand to snap the photograph to send to the 8 O’ Clock News.

Tigger is clearly recognizable. Thanks, Eleanor.

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Paraphrasing the Psalms

The Incredible Detail of Creation is Evidence of God Jesus, I love You with all my mind,

Melinda and I were members of Christ Church from 1982 to

about 1986. We were married by David Cook in 1983, sang in the evening choir under Chris Dare and were in a house group with Barry and Marianne Jessop. When we moved from our flat in Kenilworth to a home in Marina da Gama, we chose to join congregations closer to our homes. As our four children have almost all left home to start their own careers and independent lives, we have rejoined Christ Church and attend the various services.

We have just returned from a trip to Russia. One of the highlights of the trip was to watch the FINA swimming championships in Kazan and witness Chad le Clos win the 100m butterfly race. We both participated in the FINA Masters’ Swimming Championship which started after the elite competition.

Melinda has recently started competing in the Masters Swimming galas and did relatively well. I set a goal a couple of years ago to compete in the 60-64 year category. Of the five individual races in which I competed, I won Gold, Silver and Bronze medals plus setting two SA records. The relay team in which I participated won two Gold medals and one silver medal and set a FINA relay record. On the whole the Cape Town Masters Swimming team did very well coming in the top three for 60 races.

After the competition we took a brief tour from Kazan to Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The astounding aspect of the tour was how poor our understanding is of Russia. The country is far more developed than one gets the impression from the press. The people are extremely friendly and well educated. They are however, extremely nationalistic and proud. Although the country was secular under communism there is increasing interest shown in Islam in the East and to some extent the Russian Orthodox Church in the West.

[The photograph shows us on a boat cruise between Moscow and Saint Petersburg visiting the wooden Transfiguration Cathedral on Kizhi Island.]

- Mike Winfield

Mike has an interest in writing prayers based on scripture. These prayers could be used in personal devotions or in a study group.

The Psalm opposite was inspired by the discovery of HomoNaledi and written on 18 September 2015.

(R) Rose Clack relaxing on the farm in Tulbagh with Lizzie Clack on her lap !

October 2015 Eight O’Clock News

soul and strength, I give myself to follow and serve You. You demonstrated the forgiving love of God. You were with God when He formed the cosmos, It is Your hand behind the evolutionary process that created life.

The splendour of nature is a reflection of the mystery heaven.

God’s presence is seen in the interconnectedness of the elements.

The incredible detail of creation is evidence of Your ingenuity.

The wisdom behind each ecosystem is astounding.

We continue to discover Your imaginative details of the universe.

It is Your Spirit who breathes life into every being.

For their sustenance, You generously supply food from the earth, When our brief season is complete, to dust we return.

You delight in the marvel of Your workmanship, In humanity’s rebellion, we are failing as custodians of creation.

My life’s purpose is to celebrate Your redeeming victory.

May all that I think, do and say be pleasing to You, my God. Jesus, I give myself to follow and serve You. - Crossway ESV Psalm 104

Holy Land Encounters At the end of August, I travelled to Israel with my best friend, Ingrid, who is Jewish, to attend the wedding of her cousin’s daughter. Although the bride and her family live in Sydney, the wedding was held in Israel as the groom’s large family live there. It was a wonderful wedding and I felt immensely privileged to be one of the few shiksas (non-Jewish) people there. I went to the synagogue with the wedding party on the Friday before the wedding and feasted with them at Shabbat.

On the Sunday, the wedding took place in the evening under a

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beautiful chuppah outside and the bride and groom’s arrivals were serenaded by the blowing of the shofar. The bride’s family are Ashkenazi Jews while the groom is of Sephardic descent which added a Morrocan flavour at the reception with the wedding party donning Moroccan clothing and attaching henna parcels to their hands. A little different for Ivan, the bride’s dad, but he went along with it in good humour, exchanging his yarmulke for a fez!

We went to all the holy sites in Jerusalem and beyond but for something different, here are some pictures of the different people we encountered.

- Cheryl Anderson

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1) Cheryl, Ingrid and Ivan in his fez. He did look dashing in his suit and yarmulke a little earlier.

2) Banya, the lady from Texas, made us laugh so much on the bus to Tsfat (Safed), one of Israel’s four holy cities, centre of Kabbalah mysticism. She now lives in Israel, having made Aliyah, immigration to Israel.

3) Another bride, A Muslim, seen when walking through the Arab town of Akko 4) An Arab man and his donkey. After giving him some shekels, he kissed me on my forehead. Did Jesus ride on a donkey like this, I wondered?

5) The friendly German covered in Dead Sea mud 6) Basem, our taxi driver, who correctly identified me as Protestant and Ingrid as Jewish. I said to him, “So you must be Muslim?” and he said, “Yes—and look how we are so happy together!”

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Engaging With Feeding The Hungry During my last two years of senior school I got involved in

service activities with the Cape Times Fresh Air Camp for children so joining the Feeding the Hungry (FTH) squad seemed like a natural progression, albeit many decades later!

After some tentative and half-hearted attempts, I took the plunge and made contact with the powers that be. I was given directions and times and also told that my tenure on this particular team would depend on whether I “fitted in or not”. I was a bit apprehensive but decided to give it a go.

Keen to start on the right footing, I arrived early—05h55—only to discover Christ Church House in total darkness and no sign of life. As I did not have the access code for the gate, I was stranded outside. At 06h15 I played with some intercom buttons.

Eventually a sleepy voice grunted something indecipherable and the gate was opened. I was in! My doubts about being at the right place disappeared when the first wave of the troops arrived.

The first three were the senior head honchos, collectively with about 80 years’ service between them. I introduced myself and met the other members as they arrived. I was subjected to the customary question and answer session but this was cut short by the arrival of the last member of the group.

With time, I came to realise that she is usually the last one which she ascribes to the long distance she has to travel and the red traffic lights that wait in ambush for her and the Mums and Dads rushing their children to school at some unearthly hour in the morning! She was unusually late last week. A concerned friend in the group phoned her cell only to discover that she was at the gate but had forgotten the access code and had been trying her bank card pin number to no avail! This was a source of much merriment by all busy in the kitchen. A loud “cooee” and “Hello, darling” announces the physical arrival of the latecomer and the team is now complete. The noise level increases considerably, accompanied by hugs and greetings. The “coffee moffie” takes orders and makes coffee which she supplies for the group. There is plenty of entertainment to make the work session pass quickly and pleasantly. Stories are told, jokes shared and every now and again a ditty is sung by two or three. Some of the ladies are ardent rugby supporters with an excellent knowledge of the game and the players. A number of the group are ex-pats from the UK and are very good friends. Their involvement in FTH is based on their close friendship.

The kitchen routine starts at 6h20 and runs with a military-like precision, each member performing their allotted tasks. The first arrivals get the rooibos tea and sugar concentrate on the boil— later more boiling water will be added and the two large portable urns will be filled for serving. On that first day, a bread knife was thrust into my hand and I was instructed to cut 14 slices per loaf— woe betide any 13-sliced loaf or doorstop wedges! After 3 weeks I was moved to the marge and peanut butter spread section (I suspect my production of non-uniform slices!). A large number of black plastic containers are filled with the sandwiches and by 8h05 the team has loaded the cars and is ready to roll.

The FTH team splits into two—one group services the Wetton Road bridge area and the other goes on to the Wetton Road Circle. I was allocated to the bridge squad. This station is under the control of an ex-primary school teacher. She tolerates no nonsense. Latecomers are firmly and quickly directed to the back October 2015 Eight O’Clock News

of the queue. The panic and unhappiness displayed on their faces at the prospect of losing out is evident. However, it soon changes to a smile as extra packets of ‘tucked away’ slices are produced and passed on to them. Assisting this team is Jacob, a reliable monitor, drawn from the queue ranks some years ago.

He, together with the ‘General’, also help any men requiring documentation from Home Affairs.

Recently, I was seconded to the Wetton Road Circle team. This station has recently lost the services of two of its most senior and long-serving stalwarts due to illness. This situation was further exacerbated by other members being overseas on holiday. The Circle is the bigger operation of the two. It handles larger numbers of needy recipients and is far more exposed to fast moving traffic, pedestrians etc. The constant coming and going of people, some jostling for a more favourable place in the queue, causes an increase in tension levels. This sometimes results is scuffles or minor altercations before order is restored.

Tattoos on arms testify to the presence of gang or ex-gang members.

I recently encountered Skollie, the subject of Mike Keeling’s poem published a few issues back. He is slight in stature, with a twinkle in his eye. He is quick witted, glib of mouth and mercurial as he darts along the feeding line. I am sure that had he had the opportunity he could have run a very successful ‘ponzi’ scheme!

The actual feeding process takes about 40 minutes. The teams then return to HQ (Christ Church House), where the equipment used is cleaned and made ready for use the following day.

The Church’s involvement in a project of this magnitude over so many years is impressive and serves as a wonderful witness.

Motorists have stopped and donated money, others have brought additional bread loaves and sometimes leftover cakes from a function have arrived (understandably these treats have been very well received by the men). Some people have approached team members enquiring about who they are and then thanked the Church for the work being done.

For the FTH teams, working at the pit face is very humbling and yet rewarding. What is being done appears to be small, but it is consistent and, over time, this greatly amplifies its value.

I have not encountered any ‘angels’ yet, but the queues do reflect a wide diversity of life—from down-and-out bergies, drug addicts, alcoholics to able-bodied young men desperately seeking employment and some puzzling one-off visitors who look as if they don’t belong.

A highlight for me was being present on the morning that the Christmas hampers were given out. The secrecy around the distribution date took all by surprise and kept the queue numbers at their normal levels. The team responsible for this task was very slick and professional. Numbers were given out and then returned for hampers. The procedure was completed in minutes. It was heartwarming to see the joy on the faces of those in the queue.

I have enjoyed my FTH stint so far. You are continuously busy.

The early morning session goes quickly and the work is made enjoyable by the positive interaction of the team members. The thanks of many of the individuals make one feel it is worthwhile.

As to whether I have ‘fitted in’ and been found satisfactory, the jury is still out, but I have a suspicion that my probationary period is over as I have on occasion been invited to breakfast or coffee with some of my sandwich companions!

- Roy Wibberley

A Quiet, Steady Faith June Maartens, one of the

Pinewood Village trio at CCK, has been a member for the past 18 years. She regards it as her spiritual home, and loves everything about the church, its ministry and its people. However, her association with CCK goes back far longer than that, to 1957, when she was married to Robert Frewen by the Revd Peter Akehurst. The couple lived in Cape Town, in Kenilworth, and the first three of their four children, Angela, Debbie and Robert, were baptized in Christ Church. June may be seen Sunday by Sunday, at the 8 am service, and—in true Anglican style— sitting with the same people, in the same pew, fourth row from the front on the left hand side.

But, June grew up a long way from Cape Town—in the wide open spaces and freedom of the Natal Midlands, near Nottingham Road, where her father, an Englishman educated at Eton and Cambridge, farmed Merino sheep and then later, moved and grew sugar at Umhlali. Though educated at a Methodist boarding school for girls, Epworth in Pietermaritzburg, June grew up in the Anglican Church and was confirmed by the Bishop of Natal. When she was 20, the family moved to England and she spent an exciting year enjoying the social whirl in London with debutante cousins who were being presented at court and staying with relatives at their country home in Norfolk. A lovely memory from this time is of one Christmas Eve crunching through the snow with a party of young people and singing carols at the country houses round about where she was staying. This idyllic year ended when she returned to South Africa with her mother. At that time England was still in the grips of wartime rationing which June’s mother found very difficult to cope with and which prompted her decision to return though her husband stayed on in England for a number of years. On June’s return, she moved to Cape Town where she worked as a secretary until she married.

The Frewens lived a fairly nomadic life. They moved around a lot, living variously in Cape Town, what-is-now Harare in Zimbabwe, Windhoek, Port Elizabeth, Benoni, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Durban and then back to Cape Town. They had a fourth child, Richard, a laat lammetjie, when they were back in Cape Town. Unfortunately, the marriage didn’t work out, and eventually they parted and were divorced in 1972. The fifteen years of June’s marriage had proved to be a very difficult time for her, but it was also a time when her faith in God grew firm and strong, and enabled her to cope with the instability of her married life. She experienced God as “an ever-present help in trouble”, always present with answers to her prayers, and on this firm foundation June lived on her own, bringing up her children.

She worked as Personal Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief of the Cape Argus. This was an exciting and stimulating job and full of interest, especially as her office was next to the newsroom October 2015 Eight O’Clock News

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where everything was happening. Even today, June receives a complimentary copy of the Cape Argus in recognition of her service to the newspaper. After retiring from The Argus, she became Personal Assistant to Dr Sheila van den Horst from the London School of Economics, who was then Associate Professor of Economics at UCT, whom she assisted in the writing of her memoirs. She lived in Dr van den Horst’s home in Oranjezicht for five years. Then things changed. She met and married Johnny Maartens and moved to live very happily with him in Pinewood Village until he died in September 2004. Now, all June’s children are grown up, and the three eldest have families of their own: Angela and her Greek husband live in Greece while their two children, Gregory and Kea, live in Henley-on-Thames and work in London. Debbie, who is in Somerset West, a floral artist, also has a son, Anthony, studying at Stellenbosch, and a daughter, Alison, living in KwaZulu-Natal. Richard is unmarried, while Robert and his wife with their son and daughter, Anthony, a Chartered Accountant, and Caitlin, are also in Somerset West.

On moving into The Village, June accepted an invitation to attend a weekday Bible Study, which she still attends and finds very stimulating and challenging, at St James Church in Kenilworth.

She also met Anne MacMillan, who worships at Christ Church, and at her invitation, started attending the 8 am service and so reconnected with CCK once again. She felt as though she had come home! After 18 years, June still loves the 8 O’Clock service—though, in the wintertime, she finds the dark, wet, early mornings a challenge! Unfortunately, because of her somewhat precarious health, she isn’t able to be more involved in the weekday activities of the church.

June has a very strong personal faith. She is aware of God in the ordinary and experiences His love and compassion and His answers to her prayers. She describes herself as a ‘traditionalist’, loving the Prayer Book Communion Service, the hymns we sing, and the Lord’s Prayer in the original English version!

- Elizabeth van Lingen

Puns - One Liners * I tried to catch some fog. I mist. * I stayed up all night to see where the sun went. Then it dawned on me. * I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I can't put it down. * I did a theatrical performance about puns. It was a play on words . * They told me I had type A blood, but it was a type-O. - Origin unknown, sent in by Belle Divaris

STOP PRESS !

Naomi Grace Robinson (granddaughter of Sheila Scheppening) was born on 30 September in the UK. Weighing in at 3.9 kg, she has a mop of hair and parents Lynne and Wallace are delighted at the birth of a sister to Alexander. Congratulations, Granny S !

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Muses During a Sermon...

Knots Prayer Dear God,

A few Sundays ago the word

Theology was mentioned in the sermon, which immediately made me think of my field of Tribology and a cartoon that I sometimes use when introducing this unheard of study. The word Tribology was chosen for the science of friction and wear because it contains the Greek word tribos, which means to rub.

Here is my take on some more —ologies: Archaeology: things archaic, which passed before our lifetime Biology: life, as in bioscope, where the picture comes to life Cosmology: cosmos, all that is, seen and unseen Geology: Earth, our planet, which is mapped out in geography Metrology: measuring, hence the basic length of one metre, and we measure eg. speed with a speedometer Meteorology: not the cosmos, but our flimsy atmosphere, into which meteors crash and burn up And finally Zoology: where most of us belong But what about Theology? Well, that’s obvious, it’s The-ology: as in The Only Worthwhile study—or Thee-ology: the study of You, Lord.

Take your pick.

- Patrick Swan

Please untie the knots That are in my mind, My heart and my life.

Remove the Have-nots, The Can-nots and the Do-nots that I have in my mind.

Erase the Will-nots, May-nots, Might-nots that may find A home in my heart.

Release me from the Could-nots Would-nots and Should-nots that obstruct my life.

And most of all, Dear God, I ask that you remove from my mind, My heart and my life all of the ' Am-nots' That I have allowed to hold me back, Especially the thought That I am-not good enough.

- Origin unknown, sent in by Belle Divaris

Enjoy God’s Presence Open your heart, mind and spirit!

Proud Grandparents, Sally & Rod Palmer, welcome Fynn Cooper, (son of daughter, Kerry & Mike Cooper) into the Palmer family

October 2015 Eight O’Clock News

At His command all that is seen and unseen was called into existence.

Sense His close companionship and intimate friendship.

God is calling you into His presence.

In the past He spoke through His prophets and priests, But now we have access to His throne room through Christ Jesus.

His Holy Spirit reveals to our souls that we are His daughters and sons.

Enjoy His presence and follow His rule of love.

- Mike Winfield; based on NIV Psalm 99 25th August 2015.

Editorial Team Tel.

e-mail

Ev Els

021 696 0336 emichael@iafrica.com

Cheryl Anderson

083 272 1530 canderson@beckman.com