Well, what can I say? Life in the time of Covid-19 has continued and as with everyone else, it has effected and impacted the past 6 months for me! Fortunately, likely far less that many others, but emerging from “Lockdown” into a summer of changing restrictions, followed by a progression into this strange state of Autumn “Normal Life” which still hasn’t been “normal” has been an interesting and, in many ways, challenging time. And I can’t say that the whole political situation in the US and/or the awareness of racial unrest and everything else that has been happening on the Global News Scene hasn’t also been an emotional pressure and mental burden!
But there has been so much that has been good, and so much to be thankful for, and although we aren’t “out of the woods” yet as far as the European or Global picture goes, if nothing else I hope this last season has helped me realise that people are pretty amazing (when they want to be!) at adapting and moving forward in the midst of strange and uncomfortable circumstances!
(That being said, it has also REALLY highlighted to me just how privileged and blessed I have been to have been born where I was born, to have lived where I have lived, and to have grown up and been allowed to continue to live within the various socio-economic, political and religious dynamics I’ve been fortunate enough to have as my “reality”!)
That’s a fairly long “intro” to what might be a fairly short update, because although it’s been a while, activities and experiences have been somewhat limited...BUT, some of the lovely things that I am thankful for which have happened are:
1) another birth and another pregnancy! Mattis Jovin Rave joined us at the beginning of May, a little brother for Eliza and a VERY sweet addition to the Rave Family! And then in June we learned that Ralf, Katharina & Ava Neumann will also be welcoming a new little addition to their family, sometime next February!
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| Eliza and baby Mattis |
2) that with the beautiful summer weather we were able to “meet” in various forms and with various rules and in various gardens, to play and bbq and celebrate and share and pray... Five of the households within the Core Community have gardens (allotment style) either next to or across from each other, which has enabled us to host everything from birthdays and baby dedications to Herzstück and Kirche auf dem Datzeberg evenings, adapted of course for Covid regulated numbers and distance requirements!
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| Spring Kirche auf dem Datzeberg Evening (waiting for the grass to grow...) |
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| Herzstuck (we are following Katharina in a "body prayer", using physical actions to help us pray...) |
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| Catching up at Herzstuck in June, after Lockdown and before the holidays... |
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| The grass is growing! :) |
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| Eliza's Dedication in August |
3) a beautiful summer of gorgeous weather which allowed most of the Polylux families to “escape” on various holidays, and which allowed me to enjoy a full summer here, for a change! I even managed to keep ALL my plants alive and celebrated with a “crop” of carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and spinach, all grown in pots or baskets on my balcony!
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| Tomatoes, Basil, Parsley, Sage, Carrots(in the basket) and Rosemary (in the corner!) |
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| Potatoes! |
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| The "Harvest"! |
4) our second annual “Tauf Tag” or Baptism Day! At the beginning of September we had another lovely day to celebrate with two more women from the local neighbourhood who have been coming to our Kirche auf dem Datzeberg evenings for the last year or so and who both decided they wanted to take the step of being baptised this year. We held it down at the local Reitbahnsee, in cooperation with the nearby Lutheran Church, and the smiles on their faces as they came out of the water was beautiful to see and to be able to celebrate with!
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| Inka & Swetlana sharing why they want to be baptised |
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| Swetlana going in... |
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| Inka...coming out! :) |
5) At the beginning of September the various Covid regulations had also eased enough to allow us to go for one of our “Community Wochenende” to the nearby village of Prillwitz, for some VERY much needed and enjoyed reconnection time after Lockdown and the summer break. We purposely chose not to have a fully planned “program” or schedule, so it was simply lots of catching up, children playing, tea and beer drinking, early autumn sunshine enjoying, and “hanging out” with one another.
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| Village of Prillwitz |
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| Jakob & Basti "jamming" together after TOO long! |
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| The wonderful group of people who call themselves "polylux" |
With September, as in many other places, many things began to “restart” (although most of the guys here were back at work and in the office by August...) and my routines began to increase again.
I am happy to say that I am teaching English again, with two classes each Tuesday at the Volkshochschule (VHS Community College) and then another morning spent meeting with 3 more advanced students, for a more general “Conversation Club”. Aside from being fairly fun and hopefully helping people learn English, these classes also really help me by covering the cost of my Health Insurance here. As I mentioned in the spring, I wasn’t sure how those costs would be met over the period of Lockdown and summer, but through the incredible kindness of my church in England and a few other friends offering unexpected but “timely” donations, the costs were covered which provided a LOT of peace of mind during the Covid uncertainty!
Aside from teaching English, I am continuing to clean the office weekly, and have begun helping with an online “Internship Course” being run out of a very new, young 24-7 Prayer Community based at Waverley Abbey in England. It’s a course looking at “New Monasticism” and how many of the “ancient practices” of the various monastic movements can often help and provide frameworks for our own spiritual journeys to grow and develop. It is once again looking at various practices that 24-7 Prayer as a movement is also built upon, namely, Prayer & Creativity, Hospitality & Justice, Learning & Mission. We’ve only recently begun but I really enjoy (hopefully!) being able to help others go deeper in their personal journeys through looking at the various tools I first explored through my own Transit Course year back in 2007.
As we move further into the Fall and towards the winter, I will also be being involved with a discussion group styled conversation about Christianity and “Mission” within Europe, as part of an initiative by the Lausanne Movement. Ian Nicholson and Ralf Neumann were asked by the Lausanne Movement to create a discussion group of 24-7 Prayer “styled” communities and people, with whom we’ll be meeting online over the next several months to discuss our different contexts, experiences and perspectives throughout Europe, which will then feed (via Ian!) into a wider conversation within the Lausanne Movement as a whole. If I’m honest, I don’t fully understand what the Lausanne Movement is or does, but it’s been an interesting opportunity to stay in touch with various other communities and to share ideas and encouragements as we all adapt and work through the changes required by Covid-19!
At the end of this month, 24-7 Prayer will be hosting it’s first ever “Online Gathering”, in place of the usual International Gathering which we travel to each year. As with so many events which haven’t been able to take place this year, it will be a pity not to be physically present with one another, catching up with friends from other places and hearing people’s stories, but it should still be a fun and valuable “online experience” with “Zoom Seminars” and live streaming Keynote Speakers, etc! They’re even going to be holding our annual “Generosity Auction” with this year’s theme being...you guessed it “Face Masks”!!
I’m currently trying not to look too much further than Christmas and New Years, aside from hoping for a possible visit to the UK in January, depending on travel and quarantine requirements. These last several months have, in the midst of everything else, also been a time of assessment and weighing possibilities for how much longer I might be based in Germany and/or what and where any “Next Steps” might be, or lead to...At the beginning of this year I began to get a sense that I might be entering my “Final Stage” here in Germany, but without a clear idea of how long that might last or what might follow. As you can imagine, these questions come with a LOT of emotional aspects which also get stirred up, so I’m trying not to get “too far ahead” but rather, trying to remain present and invested here, in this amazing place and community, and simply trust that timelines and opportunities will organise themselves along the way!
Thank you, as always, for reading, and for the wonderful and varied ways you all support and encourage me!
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| Our wonderful friend Susanna, from Switzerland, also came for a short, unexpected visit at the beginning of October! |
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