Spring Comes Swiftly

I'll admit, it's becoming increasingly difficult to think of creative yet applicable names for my entries here. The reality of the matter is that every two weeks I sit down at the computer and say 'has it really been two weeks already?' South Africa is full of count-downs, and count-ups. Here we are counting down the days to the world cup (297 days, today) and counting up the number of days that President Zuma has been in office (today marks day #100). Whether counting up or down, it has become apparent to me that when this year does come to an end, it will surely have been the quickest year of my life. They say years speed up as you go on in life, but really I think circumstances have also allowed for this year to move on very quickly.

Into August
With the beginning of August I once again started a more structured schedule. However, starting this month Thomas added a practical assignment to go along side with my weekly academic assignments. This was in an effort to address areas I could still stand to improve on, for example public speaking habits (mumbling, rushing, etc.) that I still have. Also included in the more practical realm of things is the opportunity to go visit an NGO and a different local soup kitchen (or something of the like). I had been hoping to have opportunities such as these for a while, but I had not yet got around to plotting it out, so it's nice to have an excuse in my schedule to get things done.

And of course this month I will be continuing with the usual array of visits and counseling sessions and general ministry things. One highlight for me was that yesterday I got to teach our church a song from back home, "God of the Bible" it is called. Here at Sea Point Evangelical Congregational we are in the midst of updating our hymn supplement books, so hopefully this song will contribute to that process. Often the songs a church sings say a lot about what they believe, so choosing songs can be a pretty important task. During our search for a new director for our choir Thomas pointed out that in the Old Testament the song leader or director of music was a very important person in public worship, not just to be given to whoever wanted the job. So preparing this song seemed to me a good opportunity to reflect on the role of music in worship.

Philharmonia Choir of Cape Town
It seems I mention the Cape Town Philharmonia Choir that I am a part of quite often on this blog. Well, this month we got some VERY exciting news. Renee Fleming, the American soprano is coming to South Africa and doing three shows, only one in Cape Town, and OUR CHOIR has been asked to sing with her! So for the past two weeks we have been having extra rehearsals on Saturdays in order to learn a few selections from some of Verdi's operas. The performance is one September 1st, so we only have another two weeks to get ready, but everyone is so into it, I'm sure it won't be a problem. Now, I have been very excited about this for the past month, but really unless you follow the opera world you probably have never heard of Renee Fleming. Well, rest assured, this is a big deal, not just for our choir but to have her come sing in Cape Town is a big treat for a city where it is sometimes difficult to attract big names. The show sold out in minutes, good news for art music in Africa.



Looking Ahead in August
I think the rest of August will be good couple of weeks. I will be looking forward to the Renee Fleming concert, but in terms of my work here I am looking forward to getting around to the NGO type places that I have in mind to visit. On Wednesday I head down to St. George's Cathedral to check out what ministries for the poor they are working on there. St George's is the church Desmond Tutu served at while he was Archbishop of Cape Town, so there's a lot of history at the church, I'm looking forward to have the opportunity to visit there and see what they are up to by now.

Then it Will be September
Once again that is a brief glimpse of the highlights of the past two weeks, before you or I know it, it will once again be two weeks later, and I wil tell you how the rest of August was, and what I am looking forward to in September. About a week ago I booked my flight home, December third it will be - it is already approaching more quickly than I am able to comprehend right now. Whatever the matter, I will talk to you again in two weeks.

Until next time,