TEMPLER RECORD
for the year 1999
TR 610 - SEPTEMBER 1999
REFLECTIONS
Fast jeden Tag erfahren wir durch Zeitungen, Radio und Fernsehen, dass Gewalttaten und Verbrechen begangen worden sind. Da möchte man manchmal ganz mutlos werden und sich hilflos fühlen, irgend-etwas dagegen zu unternehmen. Und doch kann jeder einzelne dazu beitragen, dass mehr Güte und Freundlichkeit unter uns Menschen herrscht. Ich habe verschiedene Gedichte und Sprüche ausgewählt. Vielleicht werden Sie vom einen oder dem anderen besonders angesprochen. Leider sind mir nicht alle Autoren angegeben worden, als ich die einzelnen Beiträge zugeschickt bekam.
Güte
All that's needed
A Smile
A smile costs nothing, but gives much. It enriches those who receive, without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is so poor but that he can be made rich by it. A SMILE creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in business, and is the countersign of friendship. It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and it is nature's best antidote for trouble. Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a SMILE. Give them one of yours, as none needs a SMILE so much as he who has no more to give.
Let us all remember that a simple act of kindness may brighten someone's whole day! To all fathers a happy Fathers' Day!
Editor (H.W.)
AN EXPRESSION OF APPRECIATION AND TRUST
Respective notices in this year's May issue of the Templer Record and the June number of the Warte, reported on the joint decision of the Regional Councils of Australia and Germany that in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution I should continue in my position as President of the Temple Society for one year beyond the President's retiring age of 75 years.
Let me herewith formally record my appreciation of this expression of trust conveyed by both Regional Councils on behalf of our members. Let me also make it clear that I fully reciprocate in kind.
On the occasion of my 75th birthday I received numerous good wishes and messages of encouragement. For all of those I am grateful. Should I inadvertently have omitted to personally acknowledge one or the other communication, I ask those concerned to be forbearing and to accept these lines as my belated response.
The new phase I have entered brings with it shifts in perceptions. Clearer than before do I realise that successive stations in one's life can show up many a task in a changing light. One learns to view one's own contribution to the unfathomable wholeness of the evolving creation more modestly, albeit meaningfully.
Perhaps this is one of the many layered truths the experience of advancing years is meant to drive home.
Dietrich Ruff
WORKING TOGETHER
Every person involved with the Temple Society wishes the Society well, and looks forward to a vital and vibrant Society continuing into the future. But every person sees that future slightly different, and how to get there is viewed even more diversely. Nevertheless, we all have a common goal - to work towards the creation of God's Kingdom on Earth. In my mind that means making the world we live in a better place.
The annual reports from the various sub-organisations within the Temple Society Australia contained in this Templer Record, chronicle the masses of work done by so many in our communities. Each person, each committee, each group has had to make decisions, sometimes hard decisions, has had to introduce change to try to meet the common goal of the Temple Society. It is obvious by the healthy debate going on in our committees, and in our Templer Record, that we don't all agree with decisions made, that there are major differences in how we see the future. But all the work is done with the best intentions in mind. This we need to keep in mind during the debates that have occurred, will occur at the A.G.A. and will take place in the future in all different forums as we grapple to come to terms with the Temple Society of the future, whatever that may be.
Debate is healthy, it should never be stifled in our Society, but we also do need to come to decisions in the end. My personal preference is for consensus decision-making, where issues are discussed until a decision is reached through compromise. This process can take a long time. I can also see the necessity for decision making by casting votes for a majority decision. In our Society both methods are used, and both methods attract criticism from members - one because it takes too long, and compromise can lead to wishy-washy decisions, the other because all voices, opinions are not taken into account. Nevertheless, decisions need to be made, and however they are arrived at, the people making the decisions did so with the welfare of the Temple Society in mind.
What the Temple Society needs most at this point in time is all its members and well-wishers to be positive about the future, to work together for the future, whatever direction that may be in. The Temple Society needs people to help make the decisions that need to be made, and also to implement the decisions, whether they fully agree with them or not.
Renate Beilharz
TEXT FOR THE MONTH - LUKE 21:1-4
Jesus watches people putting donations in the Temple treasury. He comments that a poor widow's contribution, though tiny, is proportionately more than the large gifts from the rich, when you consider the amount left over in each case.
See also Mark 12:41-44. You are encouraged to reflect on these verses.
Editor (H.U.)
READER RESPONSE
`COMMUNAL REFUGE' IDEA
A suggestion how integrating Tabulam and the Templer Home for the Aged can be expanded into a new philosophy.
In the August 1998 TR we described the idea of looking for Templer-minded people amongst Templers and those in need in the wider community, and then help them establish and live within a type of communal settlement or `communal refuge'. When one of us recently spoke to our president, Dieter Ruff, about this idea, Dieter mentioned the possibility of its integration with the planned changes to Tabulam and the Templer Home.
We respect the plans already proposed for these changes (as described in the last TR - August 1999) and acknowledge the extensive voluntary time and effort spent in preparing them. However if our idea is to be integrated, additional possibilities becomes apparent:
Another benefit is that cost savings could be used for needed hostel upgrading and for the establishment of further settlements (see TR Aug. '98 & Oct. '98). For instance, Mr. & Mrs. Wilfried and Luise Imberger are moving to the Templer Home, and their extensive and beautiful block of land, adjoining the Boronia Hall property, will soon be on the market. It has a well laid-out vegetable garden, established vines, fig and other fruit trees and many additional trees and shrubs (partly native). Their house which is historic (being one of the first in the area and having housed many Templers, other than their children) has about 6 bedrooms and has recently been re-tiled.
We believe we have a unique opportunity here of purchasing land for retaining and improving the ecology around the Boronia Hall. The property would also provide a direct connection from the Boronia Hall to the extensive Blind Creek nature strip. Otherwise, the block would be sold for building about 8 flats, requiring the removal of all trees. Such `saturation development' would be a great loss to the Boronia Hall environment, the Boronia Templer Community and the Temple Society as a whole.
Purchase of the property would also allow an invaluable start with the re-establishment of the Boronia Templer Community and with helping more people in need (see TR Aug. 1998).
We would particularly like to point out, that the above suggestion not only helps people in need and promises a less disruptive, a more caring, more independent and less expensive solution to the problems facing Tabulam and the Templer Home, but it would help to rectify our decreasing membership.
So we believe, the proposal is worth investigation. There are lots of people today who miss striving for the communal good in the conventional work environment and, if given the opportunity to start again, they would be attracted to voluntary communal work amongst like-minded people. The new Executive Director of the `Brotherhood of St. Laurence', the Reverend Nic Frances, tells how he originally worked in the business sector. Although he was, outwardly, very `successful' he felt an inner emptiness and started to perceive a general lack of real communal concern in the company for which he worked.
He then became interested in religion, unsuccessfully searched for a better company and eventually resigned, living on the dole for a year, while voluntarily working for the poor. He was surprised to often find more basic life value amongst them, than amongst those financially well off. Also to his surprise, he found they were generally not the proverbial `dole bludgers' but rather, that the very nature of our society keeps them in a financially disadvantaged and a criticised state.
The Reverend recounts also, that there is for example only one paid job for every eight or nine people unemployed. Yet it is generally assumed that, if the poor really wanted to work, they could find such a job. He points out that, once people have become poor, it is very difficult for them and their children to make convincing job applications: Firstly this is, for them, expensive (e.g. the cost of transport) and secondly, a lack of education (resulting from poverty) is generally a large handicap: As yet, he says, our society is not willing to give the necessary grace, understanding and other support that is required to help these people escape the poverty cycle.
We feel discussions with organisations such as `The Brotherhood of St. Laurence' would be a positive step in implementing the Templer Kingdom of God. Here now is a facility and the opportunity together, an opportunity also for those retired from work to put new meaning in their lives, and even to some of our young members. Voluntary service has always been a hallmark of the Templers, we should cultivate that, but it needs a meaningful cause. Any amount of time and effort required in organising this project will be worth-while, for the very survival of our well-proven communal way of life depends on it.
Hennig Imberger, Marie-Anne Beilharz and Alfred & Ursula Klink.
FROM THE OFFICE
ANNUAL MEETINGS 12 September 1999 in Bayswater
Start times for our various annual meetings:
NOMINATIONS FOR ANNUAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Reference is made to notices published in the August Templer Record. The following persons were fully nominated and seconded for council and committee positions:
Temple Society Australia - Regional Council Heinz Vollmer, Peter Weller
Temple Society Central Fund (Aust.) Board of Directors: Ulrich Asenstorfer, Oskar Krockenberger
Templer Home for the Aged Inc. Committee of Management: Dieter Glenk, Walter Burkhardt, Traude Glenk
Tabulam Nursing Home Inc. Committee of Management: Wilhelm Imberger, Ernst Ruff, Winfried Weber
Mark Herrmann - Business Manager
REGIONAL COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORTS
1. Scope and Outlook
This report summarises the activities, affairs and administration of the Temple Society Australia during 1998/99. It highlights the more important aspects of the year's activities. All matters of significance concerning the Society and its members were consistently reported in the Templer Record throughout the year.
Members are asked to familiarise themselves with the report (and associated documents) so that it may be taken as read at the Annual General Assembly.
As we approach the last year of the century, in which the TSA will celebrate its 50th anniversary, we find ourselves in a time of change. We are starting to question whether the structures that have served the TSA in its first fifty years may need changing as we enter the next fifty years. This report notes that changes are occurring in the care for our older members, and also in the structures for our youth group. It is time to reflect on how the general society around us is changing, and what that means to the way in which the TSA has to organise itself and conduct its business.
2. Members and Friends
2.1 The following new members were welcomed to the TSA: Kathleen Bulach (Donaghey), Ingrid Crichton (Starick), Susan Graze (Cunningham), Christa Jürgensen, Maria Theresa Maeder, Johann und Gertrud Heinrich, Ralph Weller & Michelle (Cramond).
2.2 Three children were born to members of the TSA, seven further children were born to friends.
2.3 Seventeen members of the TSA - Erich Beilharz, Gertrud Blaich, Herta Cockram (wid. Hoefer, nee Minzenmay), Fritz Decker, Erna Edelmaier (Graze) Günter Eppinger, Helene Eppinger (Decker) Käthe Eppinger (Lauer), Charlotte Frank, Harald Graze, Walter Kuebler, Herbert Petrick, Ernst Sawatzky, Theodor Wagner, Fritz Weberruss, Ingeborg Weller (Heselschwerdt), Grete Wurster (Decker) - and a further 6 friends - Richard Beilharz, Walter Kimmel, Julia Kuebler, Kurt Lorenz, Erhard Sawatzky, Gerhard Schulz - died in Australia during the year.
2.4 The following resigned their membership during the year: Dietlind Zwicker(Imberger).
2.5 At 30/06/99 TSA membership was 616; including associate members the total number was 887.
3. Administration
3.1 The Regional Council consisted of the Regional Head, Rolf Beilharz; the two Deputy Heads, Mark Herrmann, who also is Business Manager, and Renate Beilharz (elected); the TS President, Dietrich Ruff; the Heads of the Community Councils, Ulrich Asenstorfer, Ilse Birkner, Judy Eppinger, Alfred Klink to August and Ralph Richter from August 1998; elected Council members Irene Bouzo to September, Hermann Uhlherr from September 1998, Harald Ruff, Helmut Ruff, Heinz Vollmer (sen.) and Peter Weller; Walter Burkhardt and Otto Löbert (ex-officio); Central Fund Directors (alternately) Theodor Doh and Herbert Hoffmann; and Youth Group President, Nigel Gohl. The Regional Council held 11 regular meetings.
3.2 Helmut Eppinger was TSA auditor for the financial year 1998/99.
3.3 The board of Directors of the Temple Society Central Fund (Aust.) comprised the Chairman, Herbert Hoffmann and elected members Ulrich Asenstorfer, Heinz Beilharz, Theodor Doh, Dieter Glenk, Dietmar Jürgensen, Oskar Krockenberger and Werner Struve. Mark Herrmann was Secretary of the Central Fund.
3.4 Auditor for the Central Fund was Mr. Keith Jopp of Keith Jopp & Co.
3.5 Dieter Ruff, the President of the Temple Society, celebrated his 75th birthday in April 1999. The Regional Councils of the TSA and the TGD unanimously extended his period as President for a further year. Dieter is withdrawing from his duties as elder and marriage celebrant within the TSA to allow him to concentrate on his main task, the maintenance of the common religion of the Temple Society in both the German and Australian regions. It is time for us and the TGD to start the search for a new President.
4. Assets and Financial Matters
4.1 The Templer Home for the Aged continued its high standard of care for frail and elderly Templers and non-Templer residents both in its hostel and in its independent-living units. Karin Baumert was the Director of Care until November 1998, when she returned to the Tabulam Nursing Home. Susan Taylor is the new Director of Care. Klaus Imberger was the Home's Manager until January 1999, when he left us for other activities. Since then the Home has been managed by the Home's Committee of Management with help from expert consultants. All these people have put much effort into running the Home and we are grateful for their hard work in a very difficult time in which we are coming to terms with new government prescriptions in the area of care for the elderly. Walter Burkhardt, the President of the Home's Committee of Management, deserves special thanks for the many hours of work he has put into the management of the Home. The business of the Templer Home will be discussed at the separate Annual General Meeting of the Templer Home for the Aged Incorporated. Please read Walter Burkhardt's report thoroughly so that this report can be taken as read for the discussions at the meeting.
4.2 Tabulam Nursing Home has continued its outstanding record of service to Templers and other German-speaking Australians needing nursing care. Dr. Martin Schreiber is Director and Sister Gabriele Glöckner, is Director of Nursing. During 1998/99 both parent societies of Tabulam had agreed to lend money to Tabulam to build an extension, to allow the nursing home's facilities to meet new government requirements more readily. As you will see in the next paragraph, this agreement led to the possibility of achieving even more benefit. Please read Otto Löbert's report on Tabulam so that this may also be taken as read at the meeting.
4.3 Planning for the future of Aged Care in the TSA.
Since March 1999, the Management Committee of the Templer Home for the Aged, members of the Management Committee of Tabulam and the two parent societies of Tabulam, the TSA and the Australian German Welfare Society (AGWS) have been considering the future of aged care for members of the TSA, and generally for German-speaking Australians. Much work was put into many special meetings, involving negotiations and meetings with expert consultants in the field of the changing government systems of support of aged care, as well as the Temple Society Central Fund. In July 1999, agreement was reached between the Committee of the AGWS and the Regional Council of the TSA, to lend more money to Tabulam. $600,000 from each parent society, to be repaid over 15 years, so that Tabulam can build a larger extension than originally planned. This extension will result in a home of 80 care beds and 4 emergency beds to be shared equally between the TSA and the AGWS. The facilities will be modern and will meet the accreditation requirements of the government. The total of 40 plus 2 beds available to the TSA will comfortably meet the foreseen need of Templers for hostel and higher care beds. The $600,000 being lent to Tabulam by the Central Fund to achieve this extension will earn commercial interest, and thus will continue to be part of the finances that the Central Fund invests on our behalf. A transfer fee for the bed licences of our present hostel will be paid by Tabulam to the Templer Home for the Aged, the interest of which will be used to help finance future care for older Templers living in units and staying in their homes. The six original independent units (numbers 1 to 6) will be removed to allow one extension of Tabulam to be built in the direction of our Home. This will allow the hostel part of Tabulam to function much like the present Templer Home. All the residents of our present hostel will transfer to the expanded Tabulam with all their present conditions remaining unchanged, except for the improvement in physical facilities. Walter Burkhardt, Otto Löbert, other committee members and particularly the members of our Templer Home Committee of Management have invested enormous amounts of time in this planning. They deserve our sincere thanks for the work they have done.
Our present hostel building will become available for other uses, of which we foresee many. The administrative offices of the TSA can go there, when they eventually move to Bayswater. Other possibilities are social facilities for senior Templers living in the self-managed units and in the wider vicinity, as well as facilities needed to provide aged care for Templers "ageing in place", i.e. staying in their homes or units rather than moving into hostel beds in the expanded Tabulam. Rooms for Templer visitors from Germany or interstate are among other obvious possibilities. The Templer Home Committee of Management will be able to concentrate on looking after the residents of our independent living units, and on providing care generally for Templers preferring to stay in their homes as they age. All these future possibilities are not strictly the subject of our consideration of the financial year 1998/99. Yet, much planning did take place from March to June 1999. We were not in a position to talk publicly about the planning until agreement had been reached, in July. It would have been unconscionable to worry residents of our homes needlessly by rumours about mere possibilities. In any case, it is our responsibility to inform you about what your Regional Council is planning for the coming years.
4.4 The Temple Society Central Fund (Aust.) again managed investments flexibly to optimise returns. Its business is being discussed in its separate Annual General Meeting.
4.5 Unit Development at Bayswater. All building blocks fronting Elizabeth Street have been sold. It is planned to complete the unit development through the construction of five dwellings on the remaining vacant lots - sufficient member interest exists.
5. Communication and Correspondence
5.1 Correspondence with the TGD continued much as in past years ensuring a mutual exchange of information on a wide range of matters including items of general, historical, cultural and religious interest, members' well-being, community activities, elders' work and aspects of administration. In both regions personal visits by members and friends from the other country contributed to mutual understanding at the personal level.
Dieter Ruff (President of the Temple Society) visited Germany in August/September 1998. During this visit, he worked with TGD elders to develop a joint statement about Templer religion and beliefs. This joint statement has been the subject of intensive work by the elders in both regions since then. Otto Hammer (TGD elder) and Helene Heynold visited Australia privately in February/March 1999.
5.2 Correspondence from members and friends and enquiries and requests for information from outside bodies and individuals in Australia were dealt with as promptly as practical.
5.3 For the second edition of the book, The Australian People, with chief editor James Jupp, the article on Templers, written for the first edition by Dr. Richard Hoffmann, was revised by Dieter Ruff, Rolf Beilharz and Mark Herrmann with the help of other elders and Regional Council members.
5.4 Archive.
Renate Beilharz has largely finished establishing the archive of the TSA in a room added to the TSA office in Bentleigh. The method of servicing this archive, so that it can be put to wider use is still to be finalised. Sorting of material in the TSA office, for permanent storage in the archive, continues to be done by older Templers.
5.5 Helmut Ruff was a committee member of, and our representative for, the Association of German Speaking Communities. Contact with other language organisations continued through the German Language Schools in Bayswater and Bentleigh.
6. Activities
6.1 At two Presentation Services, one at Bayswater and one at Bentleigh, six and three children were presented before the respective congregations. At one presentation in Sydney, one child was presented.
6.2 Regular Sunday School was held for the children of the Bayswater-Boronia and Bentleigh/Moorabbin Communities.
6.3 During the year our marriage celebrants conducted or contributed to a number of marriage services. In Sydney Hartmut Beck, in Melbourne Rolf Beilharz, Herta Uhlherr and Theo Richter are our authorised celebrants. Dieter Ruff, though still a celebrant, is withdrawing, from conducting marriage services to concentrate on his main task, liaison between the German and Australian Templer regions.
6.4 Our elders conducted 20 funerals, all in Melbourne.
6.5 Divine services, both in English and in German, were regularly held by our elders at the various community centres and in the Templer Home for the Aged. The services included some special services for families with small children.
Templers from "Country Victoria - Central North" continued to meet for services three times at various locations. One meeting of the Kids' Club on a farm in Leongatha doubled as the first service for a possible "Country Victoria - Gippsland" group. A further meeting for the Gippsland group is planned for November 1999.
Mark Herrmann has taken over from Dieter Ruff as our representative on the Glen Eira South Ministers' Association. Templers have continued to support ecomenical activities organised by this association, including a series of "Conversations" about the religious practices of a number of denominations, including the TSA.
6.6 The Sydney Community continued its active life, holding monthly divine services. Heinz Vollmer in July and Rolf Beilharz in October/November contributed to the work of the Sydney elders: Hartmut Beck, Ilse Birkner, Werner Ehmann, Klaus Peter Hoffmann and Otto Wurst. The Community continues its association with the St. Hedwig's Homes for the Aged.
6.7 The Templer Group in South Australia has continued to hold regular religious services and other activities. Oskar Krockenberger from Melbourne contributed a service. Other services were held by Uli Asenstorfer.
6.8 At four scheduled and two special (joint statement) elders' meetings, elders discussed many practical and theological aspects of our faith. Helga Anderson, the community care worker, reports to the elders. She continues to be supported by a small group of elders and young Templers professionally qualified in social work, which meets regularly. The Regional Council encourages all members who have a problem of any kind to consult our care worker or any of the elders for appropriate help to overcome the problem.
6.9 The Kids' Club very actively provides for Templer families with young children. The playgroup also provides activities for pre-school children and their mothers (or fathers). A teenage group coordinates activities for youngsters to get to know each other before confirmation, courses for which take place every second year.
6.10 The youth group, which is available for young people after confirmation, has been rethinking the way it conducts its activities. In July 1999, at its annual meeting it decided to close its traditional formal committee structure in favour of a more loosely structured series of meetings. Regional Council is working with our young people to provide activities for confirmands and those under 18. We are looking for young Templers wishing to guide and help arrange appropriate activities. Older "independent" youngsters will meet for occasions arranged by themselves. A telephone list and contact persons provide the necessary cohesion. This new arrangement is in the process of being put in place. We are concerned that contact of young Templers be maintained with the rest of the Temple Society.
The changes in how the youth group operates are also a sign of changes occurring in the society around us. Not only among young people, but also generally in many professions, people seem to have less time to meet mainly for the sake of meeting socially. Work interests seem to demand more time. As well, young Templers now grow up in many different parts of Australia, not mainly in relatively concentrated groups in particular suburbs where established communities exist. It is more difficult for young Templers to come together readily, just for Templer activities. We must recognise the trends going on around us and change what we do in such a way that valuable Templer activities continue to be made available to Templers of all ages. We welcome your thoughts and suggestions.
6.11 The Templer Choir has contributed to all relevant functions of the Temple Society in Australia, and remains one of the two choirs taking part in alternate years at the memorial service held at the German War Cemetery in Tatura in November.
6.12 The Australian-German Templer Exchange scheme between TGD and TSA continues. During the year Irene Bouzo handed over coordination of the programme to Traude Glenk. Recent exchange candidates Brendon Glenk from Australia and Claudia Mutschlechner from Germany contributed very successfully to the activities of their host region.
6.13 The new hymn book for the TSA is making steady progress through the valiant efforts of proof readers and other helpers coordinated by Sonja Glenk, Renate Beilharz, Veronica Rutowicz and Herta Uhlherr.
7. Sub-orginations
Our many community activities were strongly supported by the efforts and initiatives of many dedicated members of our sub-organisations. Reports of most groups and committees accompany this report. Please read all of these reports so that they may also be taken as read at the Annual General Assembly.
8. Committees and Working Groups
8.1 Templer Home for the Aged Inc.: Walter Burkhardt, Kurt Beilharz, Susi Blackwell, Dieter Blaich, Brigitte Decker, Dieter Edelmaier, Traude Glenk, Mark Herrmann, Theo Richter.
8.2 Tabulam Nursing Home Inc: Otto Löbert, Theo Doh, Klaus Imberger, Wilhelm Imberger, Enno Schmidt, Winfried Weber.
8.3 Admittance Committee for Tabulam: Gabriele Glöckner, Dr. Martin Schreiber, Mark Herrmann (TSA), Dr. Irene Wagner (Kemper), Eva Roten (AGWS).
8.4 Playgroup: Leader Monika Herrmann
8.5 Kids' Club: Renate Beilharz, Winfried Beilharz, Susi Blackwell, Pam Edelmaier, Marianne Herrmann, Heinz Wagner, Karin Williamson (liaison).
8.6 Sunday Schools
Bayswater: Christine Ruff (to September), Monique Steller (from September 1998).
Bentleigh: Renate Beilharz with assistance from Suzy Ware.
8.7 Youth Group: Nigel Gohl, Stephen Blaich, Krista Imberger, Karyn Kinder, Alysha Murray, Monique Steller.
8.8 Working Group on the Future of the TSA. Renate Beilharz, Rolf Beilharz, Winfried Beilharz, Brendon Glenk, Traude Glenk, Mark Herrmann, Otto Löbert, Trudi Murray, Christine & Harald Ruff, Resi Schwarzbauer, Hermann & Herta Uhlherr.
8.9 Facility and Property Task Force: Oskar Krockenberger, Rolf Beilharz, Winfried Beilharz, Dieter Glenk, Dietmar Jürgensen, Gretel Krockenberger, Diana Richter, Ernst Ruff, Harald Ruff, Heinz Vollmer. Dieter Ruff (by invitation).
8.10 German Schools:
Bayswater Irene Bouzo (Coordinator)
Bentleigh: Ursula Fisher (Coordinator)
8.11 Planning Committee TSA 50th Anniversary:
Gary & Moni Imberger, Silvia Anderson, Winfried Beilharz, Cath Bennett, Judy Eppinger, Christine Ruff, Winfried Weber.
9. Literature
9.1 The Templer Record continued to be published regularly in 11 issues over the year. The bilingual character of the publication and its diversity of content, ranging from serious religious and philosophical topics to humour, were maintained. Contributions from many members continue to ensure a stimulating and successful community effort. We value Herta Uhlherr's work as editor, supported by relieving editors and proof readers, as also Alfred Klink's contribution with computer layout and presentation. We also thank those who help with collating and stapling the magazine.
The Templer Record, after editing out personal telephone numbers and addresses, and items so requested by their authors, is put on the TSA's home page on the Internet. This home page is one method of opening up the TSA to potentially interested persons who might otherwise never come in contact with us. This home page also contains other information about the TSA, including the English translation of Christoph Hoffmann's important first part of the book "Occident and Orient", as well as the text of divine services whose authors have agreed to their being put on the home page.
9.2 Die Warte des Tempels (the Templer Sentinel) is published monthly by the TGD in German. It provides information about the religious thinking and the activities of Templers in Germany. It is read by numerous members in Australia. The Warte is also available on the Internet on the TGD's home page. It can be reached by a link from the TSA's home page.
9.3 The TSA's new hymnbook is in preparation. See 6.13.
Rolf Beilharz - Regional Head
ACTIVITY REPORTS - 1998/1999
SYDNEY
This report summarises the activities of our community during the period from July 1998 to June 1999.
We held 11 services, including the Christmas service on the fourth Sunday in December, which was mainly presented by Emmy Simmer, involving some young children, followed by my short service and some Christmas carols. In giving our Sunday services we were supported by 2 Melbourne Elders: Heinz Vollmer on 26.7.98 and Dr. Rolf Beilharz on 1.11.98. Dieter Ruff performed the wedding ceremony at Meadowbank on 20.3.99 of Beate Hoffmann to Michael Kuerschner. Hartmut Beck presented 1 child: Nicolas Karl Christian JENSEN (parents - non-members Chris. Jensen and Anita Jank/Steller, daughter of Anny Beck nee Steller), following the Founder's Day service on 6.12.98 conducted by Klaus Peter Hoffmann.
Our Annual Members' Meeting on 30.8.98 was attended by 14 members only and proceeded according to the agenda, without any changes in the community council.
The Christmas Bazaar in November is still popular and successful and mainly run by the Ladies Group: however, some men and younger people do help and so it involves many of the community.
The Good-Friday/Easter service on 2.4.99 was very well attended by young and old, since the kids just love the egg-hunt and games that always follow the service.
The annual bus-excursion on 1.5. to the South Coast - Silos Winery and Restaurant, near Berry - north of Nowra - was also enjoyed by all participants.
The Ladies Group (Frauenverein) meets every second Wednesday of the month (except January) and is truly the "core" of our community.
Lately, on 15.7.99, Klaus Osarek passed away unexpectedly while on holidays in Cairns and surrounds; he was the husband of TSA member Inge Osarek nee Steller. The family lives at Tumut, NSW, and the funeral service was held there by a local celebrant.
Ilse Birkner
BERICHT DER SÜD-AUSTRALISCHEN GRUPPE
Im vergangenen Jahr trafen wir uns sechsmal zu einem Saal in Tanunda. Wie üblich sangen wir nach einem Vorspiel einen Choral und dann las uns Uli Asenstorfer einen Vortrag vor, den wir freundlicherweise von Ältesten in Melbourne zugeschickt bekamen. Nach weiteren Versen aus dem angefangenen Lied und dem Vaterunser ging es dann zum gemütlichen Teil über.
Richard Hornung spielte uns ein paarmal auf seiner Viola vor, was unseren Treffen dann einen feierlichen Rahmen verlieh.
Oskar Krockenberger hielt den Februar Saal für uns. Wir freuten uns über seinen und Gretels Besuch, sowie über den Besuch von Bruno und Doerte Krockenberger. Im Februar durften wir auch Irene Severins 80. Geburtstag feiern. Da unsere Gruppe mehr und mehr zusammen-schmilzt, freuen wir uns immer über einen Besuch!
Hilda Weinmann und Thea Frank senden regelmäßig Grüße und wir wünschen, dass sie sich bald wieder besser fühlen und bei uns sein können. Berthold Tannenbaum hatte einen Herzanfall und ist noch nicht soweit hergestellt, dass er kommen kann. Unsere Gedanken sind bei unseren kranken Mitgliedern und wir wünschen ihnen alles Gute.
Die Frauengruppe traf sich zehnmal im letzten Jahr zum Handarbeiten, und natürlich auch um sich aneinander zu freuen. Wir konnten Handarbeiten im Wert von $162.00 nach Melbourne schicken. Zu Weihnachten sandten wir dem Altersheim und Tabulam mit den Weihnachtsgrüßen jeweils $50.00.
Rose Asenstorfer
COUNTRY VICTORIA GROUP
It is now four years since our initial meeting in the backyard of Karin and Will Williamson. It is pleasing that many of the people at that first meeting still regularly come to our meetings. The format of our meetings have not changed in that time. A service at 11 a.m. seems to suit most. What has crept into our services is the opportunity for group discussion at the end of the service, to further probe thoughts and ideas that were raised.
An outcome of these meetings, which was initially not foreseen, is that our community provides a great venue for people to have a go at giving a service. During this year Christa Lingham shared a service with Mark Herrmann. For Christa this was an opportunity to spread her wings. For the members of the Temple Society, groups such as ours provide a venue for them to spread their wings, and hold a service in a smaller more intimate setting in which they may feel more comfortable.
During 1998/1999 we met three times:
October 1998 at Ilse and Helmut Beilharz's in Broadford
March 1999 at Peter and Dot Ware's at Creswick
June 1999 at Ilse and Helmut Beilharz's in Broadford.
As always it's great to have so many people from Melbourne join us as an alternative to the services held in Melbourne. Keep us in mind when you have guests from overseas. We're always happy to share our days with everyone.
Our thanks must go to those Elders who conducted services for us during the year. We appreciate your efforts and the time you take to spend with us.
Dot Ware
TSA PROPERTY TASK FORCE
In the past year, the TSA Property Task Force has mainly focused on the early design stages of the proposed Templer Centre Saal building.
After the overwhelming support given to the Templer Centre proposal at last year's AGA, a meeting to which all TSA members were invited was held in November 1998, to give interested persons an opportunity to ask questions of the Architect, Dieter Blaich. Many relevant suggestions and comments were received from the attendees, and those who sent letters of support. Most of these will be incorporated into the detailed planning stage.
A number of the committee members were able to visit the St. Francis Assisi church in Mill Park, which is of similar design to that proposed for our Saal, and which was also designed by the same architectural firm. Although this building is significantly larger than what is proposed for the TSA, it is strikingly effective and an attractive building, as well as being fully functional.
Following RC approval, the design was submitted to the City of Knox for planning approval, which is now pending.
The Task Force has met with the TSA Central Fund to brief them on the project, as well as to discuss the means of funding. An initial budget cost estimate has been prepared - the worship building, together with services, car park and landscaping was estimated at approximately $650,000.
When council planning approval is given, the Task Force will have progressed as far as was approved at the last AGA, and we look forward to the continued support of the entire TSA membership as we prepare to embark on the next stage of this significant milestone for the Temple Society Australia.
Dietmar Jürgensen
TS 2000
The working group has continued to meet every couple of months in a relaxed and informal forum to discuss a wide range of topics and themes of relevance to the Temple Society and its future.
A couple of new faces during the year brought with them many new discussion ideas and points of view. This aids the group in its thinking and helps it remain better focussed and not become stale. More new faces are always welcome. I am sure that there are many more members and friends who have something to contribute.
Discussion topics have included membership and its many facets -promotion and attracting from within and from outside, activities of our young people, contact with those living further afield, simplification of the application process - and an application for a Centenary of Federation grant.
As an ideas' forum the TS2000 group can be productive and a rewarding experience - get involved!
Mark Herrmann
ARCHIVE
The Temple Society has a colourful and varied history, full of interesting people, places and happenings. The Temple Society Australia Archive was established by a decision of the Regional Council in 1998, and its main task is to preserve this history. To this end, the Archive Committee was formed and Renate Beilharz was employed for 6 months to start the process of setting up a working Archive in 1998.
Since then a lot of work has been undertaken by many people, completing the many tasks required to set up our Archive facility.
The archive is well on the way to getting to a stage where it can be made available to our members. There are still many tasks to be undertaken. Talk to any member of the Archive Committee if you would be interested in helping with any of the following:
Donations to the Archive
Many of you have mentioned that you have documents, photos, items at home that would be suitable for the Archive. Please don't throw them away, but hang on to them a little while longer. There is a procedure for donating these items to the Archive, but there is some other work still to be completed before new items can be accepted.
Please, if considering donating photographs, ensure that details such as dates, places and names are recorded on the back.
Anyone interested in any aspect of the Archive work, or needs to access the archives for research purposes must contact the Archive Manager - Renate Beilharz.
Renate Beilharz for the Archive Committee: Helmut Ruff, Dieter Ruff, Oskar Krockenberger, Hermann Uhlherr, Renate Beilharz.
CHOIR
Again we look back upon a good year. I would like to welcome all those new members that joined us over the past 12 months. This makes it possible for the choir to function in its present form for a few more years. One can only admire our conductor, Annette Wagner-Hesse leading us cheerfully through our weekly practice sessions after a full day's work at school.
I would also like to thank Kurt Eppinger who very ably conducted at the Bayswater Christmas Service. In October we will participate again in a conductors' training seminar which is sponsored by the VDA and held at the German Club Tivoli. Several potential choir conductors, members of the TSA, will participate.
Currently we practice for our concert on the 19th September and for the Tatura memorial service.
Ulrich Hapke
Choir President
PLAYGROUP
Once again, our Playgroup families have shared a successful year together. Our enrolments have been steady and all are from Templer families; earlier in the year we only had 10 children enrolled making the first 6 months of '99 a little more quiet than usual. However we now have 13 children enrolled, even though our weekly attendance numbers have been lower and fluctuate for various reasons with family commitments and the winter ills.
As is our usual practice, we organise 1-2 special activities or excursions each term including the always popular farm and firebrigade visits. Early in the year we shared a special morning with the children in the indoor paddle pool at Knox Leisureworks. This year, Knox Arboretum was the venue for our regular and ever-popular Teddybears' Picnic. The extensive and creative climbing equipment at the arboretum was all absorbing for children and teddies alike.
The young and young-at-heart were seen baking cookies with the playdough and producing paintings and handprints for loving Omas and Opas at our yearly Grandparents' Day which was combined with the state-wide fundraising - Australia's Biggest Morning Tea. We served delicious cakes and warming cuppas to raise $80 for Cancer Research with a `gold coin donation'. Sincere thanks to you all.
As we did not organise a Shopping Tour in the past year, our funds are well down and we will be looking at other fundraising activities. Also, our photo day was cancelled last year due to insufficient numbers. I hope that many people like lamingtons. The fund raising drive will be happening early September (see extra note in Sept. TR). At present, chocolate bars are being sold by each Playgroup family and we look forward to your support.
I would like to mention also, that the photocopier bought last year by the Bayswater-Boronia community has been of great assistance and filled a long standing need for various groups, including Playgroup - many thanks.
Each year is made special by the families involved with Playgroup and I thank them all for again contributing to a very worthwhile and satisfying experience for both children and parents.
Enrolments for 2000
If your child is aged between 2-4 years and you would like to join us on a Thursday morning between 10-12 noon at the Bayswater Hall, we would welcome you at Playgroup. Please ring me as soon as possible.
Moni Herrmann for the Playgroup
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Sunday School is one of those groups in our Society, which provides an important service to our community, the education of our children, teaching them Christian and Templer values. Sunday School teachers over the years have put a lot of thought and effort into planning the classes, trying to provide interesting lessons, hoping to engage the interest of children ranging in ages from about 5 to 12, not an easy task as you can imagine.
Monique Steller and myself had this pleasure over the last year, and it is usually a pleasure. Teaching and interacting with children always bring their own reward.
In Bayswater/Boronia, Monique has been taking the children through Jesus' childhood and early ministry, leading on to a closer look at his parables and teachings. Classes are always held in conjunction with services, which sometimes causes a bit of a noise problem in the Boronia Hall, but we hope to address this situation soon.
In Bentleigh, we have finished the Old Testament stories of Joseph and are now tackling his descendant, Moses. The Ten Commandments will soon provide us with a lot of food for thought. As in Bayswater/Boronia, classes are held in conjunction with services. This year I have had the able assistance of Suzy Ware, making it easier to run various levels of activities aimed at the different ages in the class.
A big thank you should go to those children who come to Sunday School and who actively and positively take part in the Sunday School program.
Renate Beilharz
KIDS' CLUB
Kids' Club has again enjoyed a very successful twelve months!
This success has been measured by the amount of enjoyment that families have got out of participating in the events and functions and the interaction and friendship between the children and the adults; even though, at times, only two or three families have attended.
As always Kids' Club activities have, wherever possible, been linked to Services and Sunday School and to other Templer functions, to encourage families to attend these as well. We are not bound to one particular Community; our activities can be enjoyed by ALL Templer families AND their friends, no matter where they live or what Community they belong to. In fact we make it a point to rotate the venue for our events between all three Templer Community Halls and also take into account the Country Victoria families.
These are some of the activities enjoyed by Kids' Club families in the last twelve months:
A great deal of thanks must go to the K.C.' Committee who, (since the beginning of Kids' Club already!), have given much of their time to organising activities. Thankyou too, to all the families who have given much of their time to organising activities. Thankyou too, to all the families who have come along to Kids' Club events; your enjoyment has made our efforts worthwhile!
So remember: if you have enjoyed a K.C.' activity - SPREAD THE WORD!!
Year 1999-2000 Committee:
Susi Blackwell, Nanne Herrmann, Pam Edelmaier, Winnie Beilharz, Heinz Wagner, Renate Beilharz.
GERMAN SCHOOL
The Bayswater-Boronia school has maintained last year's enrolments at 22 students, with a few less children from Templer families. Last year there were 15, now we have 13 Templer offspring which is still very high. The two junior and intermediate classes are held on Friday evenings.
The Bentleigh-Moorabbin school has a total enrolment of 16 students of whom 9 are from Templer families. Junior and Beginner classes operate on Wednesdays but unfortunately the intermediate/senior group has discontinued due to insufficient numbers at that level. The school had several mid-semester enrolments which were pleasing additions but did unbalance the classes initially. Classes were successfully rearranged during the mid-year to provide more effective programs and improve the class dynamics.
In both schools there appears to be a trend of increased enrolments at the beginner level, and parents are keen to enrol students as young as 5 years. For the year 2000 the Bentleigh-Moorabbin school may need to consider running two Beginner level classes in order to cater successfully to the very disparate ages and abilities in which case the funding of a third class may be an issue. However the increased numbers are a positive sign for the future and hopefully the trend will continue.
The Bayswater-Boronia school has purchased a photocopier and increased their small library of picture story books. German conversation classes for adults are being offered this year at Bayswater. Both schools have representatives who attend the quarterly meetings of the Network of German Saturday Schools in the Melbourne metropolitan area. The new joint German School Homepage is now on the Internet. It can be found through the TSA website. The classroom resource book "Nahrung und Gesundheit", is still available for purchase at the cost of $20, or $25 for a copy with folder. It is advertised via the Homepage.
Both schools have been fortunate to receive a small grant from the Victorian Multicultural Commission for a joint excursion with a bus, for the students and their families to go to Anakie Park. This will support a series of lessons on German fairy tales. The schools are also accredited with the Victorian Department of Education and receive annual funding subsidies per student. The finances of the Bayswater-Boronia school are looking quite healthy this year. The Bentleigh-Moorabbin school may have some difficulty funding their proposed third class next year.
Ursula Fisher and Irene Bouzo
for the Bentleigh-Moorabbin and Bayswater-Boronia German School Management Committees.
YOUTH GROUPS
Providing young people with positive, enjoyable and constructive activities tailored to their needs and wants is important for the continuing growth of any group in society. The Temple Society is no different. We have children, teenagers and young adults who are interested in participating in activities provided by the Temple Society.
Playgroup and Kids' Club provide for the younger age groups and their parents. The teenage group has been reactivated, providing activities for the pre-confirmation group. The J.G. used to cater to the post-confirmation age group to age 30 or so, but was finding it more difficult to meet the needs of such a broad age group. The restrictive committee structure of the traditional J.G. no longer suited the needs of today's youth, therefore the official abandonment of the J.G. as we knew it.
This is the perfect opportunity for us to look at how we provide for our young people, how we give them the opportunity to become involved in the Temple Society to experience its benefits for themselves.
A new and exciting Youth Group structure is being developed, designed to meet the needs of different age groups and interest levels. A Youth Group Coordinator, appointed by the Regional Council, will oversee the running of small groups based on age, abilities and interests. He/she will also provide support to youth leaders or group leaders who facilitate the activities of the groups. This structure will be explained fully at the Temple Society Annual General Assembly.
To make it work, all members of the community are asked to consider playing a role in our youth work, by offering to be the Youth Co-ordinator or youth leaders. Training and any other support, including funding, will be made available through the Regional Council.
Harald Ruff, Winnie Beilharz & Renate Beilharz
TEMPLER HOME FOR THE AGED
A momentous year has passed culminating in a recommendation by the majority of the Templer Home for the Aged Committee to the Regional Council of Australia, to amalgamate the operation of THA with the Tabulam Nursing Home. (It means selling the THA bed licences to Tabulam.) This recommendation has since been ratified and passed by the Regional Council as outlined by the regional head, Dr. R. Beilharz in his report.
For the THA Committee it was a most difficult task to undertake. The mission statement was our guide: "to care for older and frail Templers with compassion and dignity". It meant weighing up the positives against the negatives in the light of Templer needs regarding age care in the next decade or so, as well as taking into consideration projected changes in government direction and policies.
The outcome of these deliberations, I believe, are the best guarantee for Templers to have access to very excellent age care packages, both Hostel and Nursing Home, virtually as the need arises and still maintaining a large amount of input and control.
In the meantime the Home had to function and continue to prepare for accreditation. The home cares for 30 residents at the moment, this fluctuates with respite residents. The occupancy rate is still a major concern. The proportion of non Templer residents now exceeds 50%. Last year we admitted 12 new residents and 11 departed. This is a very high turnover rate for us if compared to only a few years ago, but it also highlights the changing profile of our residents. In general they are older and frailer when entering the Home. More residents are memory impaired, this makes it more difficult for them to settle, and the demand for qualified staff increases. During the reporting period we accommodated up to nine high care residents under the "aging in place" regulation, further adding to the demands on staff and equipment regarding physical care as well as documentation. Accordingly, we made it possible for staff to attend seminar and training sessions.
K. Baumert returned to Tabulam late October 1998. We were very sorry to lose her. Susan Taylor joined the Home at that time as the new Director of Care. Major difficulties with the accreditation implementation led to a complete management restructure early in 1999. Refurbishing programs of residents and staff facilities occurred at the same time. We recognised the need for a receptionist to improve access particularly by phone; this has been done and is working very well. Our very sophisticated phone system still provides us with glitches, but every effort is made to get on top of it, further staff training might also be needed.
The kitchen was out-sourced, the contract commenced in January this year. This action occurred to facilitate accreditation and compliance with new government rules regarding commercial kitchens.
We conducted our traditional fundraising functions such as the Bazaar, the Residents' Christmas Party, Sommerfest, the Garden Party, (thanks to all who ignored the rain and came) and recently Sonnwend, where we saw the largest lantern procession ever. Thanks to our helpers, sadly they are getting older and fewer.
Finally, I want to sincerely thank all staff, volunteers, committee members and all who contributed in one way or another during the year for their work and commitment.
Walter Burkhardt
TABULAM NURSING HOME INC.
The new legislation for AGE CARE which was progressively enacted in the previous financial year introduced many significant changes to improve the general standard of the AGE CARE industry - and to unload a good proportion of the total cost in various ways.
Many of the care aspects that we in TABULAM provided and took for granted as an obvious part of age care (like occupational and physio-therapy, other resident involvements like games, excursions) were evidently not provided in many other homes but are now an obligation for all home operators.
Not all changes can be listed in this short report. As far as TABULAM is concerned the most important new requirement was and still is that multiple beds per room are discouraged and the total floor area per person should be larger, to provide - if possible - more wet cells; all new buildings aim for each resident to have his or her own wet cell.
This objective - and to reduce the waiting list for new admissions - moved our committee to plan a new wing at the southern end of our Home: building 15 more rooms (beds) but admitting only 7 new residents, the other 8 rooms being filled by existing residents from our multiple-bed rooms. By January 1999 we were ready to go to tender.
Then, early in February, during a seminar for the entire aged care industry in Mildura - and after the previous CEO of the Templer Home for the Aged had resigned - Walter Burkhardt and Dr. M. Schreiber started talks which took wider and wider circles, involving both Committees of Tabulam and Altersheim, then also the TSA Regional Council and the AGWS committee. The final outcome was the transfer of the Altersheim's 39 low care beds to Tabulam at a cost as yet to be determined, accommodating all residents of Altersheim Hostel in new wings. More details at the AGM if desired.
Otto Löbert
AUSTRALIAN-GERMAN TEMPLER EXCHANGE
It was decided not to send a candidate to Germany during the last financial year. After a number of years coordinating the exchange scheme, Irene Bouzo found it necessary to relinquish this position. Irene continued and built upon the fine work of Morna Kortschak, enhancing the strengths of the program between the TSA and the TGD, and her efforts are deserving of our recognition and appreciation. Early this year Traude Glenk agreed to take over the coordinating position, and she has been active in making arrangements for the next round of candidates.
Claudia Mutschlechner arrived from Germany in early January, spending time with the Vollmer clan camping and attending Junior Camp at Point Lonsdale. For the ensuing months her hosts included the Glenk family in Montrose, the Droste family in Glen Waverley and the Herrmann family in Ferntree Gully. All these families are to be thanked for their commitment on the program and the hospitality and warmth shown to Claudia. Claudia participated in a range of Templer activities including the confirmation camp in April and attended a TAFE course at Box Hill Institute. She was also able to spend time with the Sydney Community (hosted by the Slip family) before privately travelling further northwards. Claudia arranged for a package containing some German tapes and books to be sent out here. These are intended to circulate amongst the Playgroup, the German Schools and other Templer groups. Claudia returned to Germany in late June.
Brendon Glenk returned to Australia earlier this year. He had extended his scholarship time in Germany with further travel. Brendon was involved on the committee recommending the selection of the next candidate to Germany.
All involved with the exchange scheme are to be thanked for their assistance and participation.
Mark Herrmann
AUS DEM GEMEINDELEBEN
GEBURTSTAGE
Wir gratulieren herzlich zum Geburtstag unserer Mitglieder
und wünschen auch allen hier nicht aufgeführten Geburtstagskindern
alles Gute und Schöne zum neuen Lebensjahr.
GOLDENE HOCHZEIT
Wir gratulieren Hugo & Erni Weller
und Gerhard und Hedl Beilharz
zu ihrer Goldenen Hochzeit und wünschen ihnen alles Liebe und Gute.
HERZLICHEN DANK
Für das liebe An-mich-denken durch Kartengrüße und Besuche. Und für all die Einrichtungen und lieben Menschen, die mir so schnell wieder auf die Beine geholfen haben, ein:
"Vergelt's Gott!"
Gerda Kazenwadel
Vielen herzlichen Dank für die vielen Blumen, Karten und guten Wünsche zu meinem 92. Geburtstag!
Edmund Graze
BEREAVEMENTS
On 31st July our dear mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and sister
Anna Kugler nee Krause
passed away peacefully.
In loving memory:
Heinz & Judith Kugler; Peter, Kelli & Rebecca Kugler; Gavin Kugler; Brett Kugler
Heinz Krause
Am 25. Juli 1999 ist unsere liebe Mutter, Oma, Schwester und Tante
Erna Shapland (geb. Frank)
im Alter von 86 Jahren plötzlich von uns gegangen.
In stiller Trauer,
Ursula Whitfield mit Familie; Ruth Ford mit Familie; Hertha Weber mit Familie
We extend our deep sympathies to the bereaved families
SOCIAL CARE
Dear Friends,
It is not too late to book for the holiday in Bright from Tuesday 26th October to Friday 29th October. Four beautiful sunfilled days and three nights at a very reasonable price. See details in July TR. No. 608. If you would like to join our group, the more the merrier, please ring me on 9557 6713.
More stories on how we began in this country are still required to make up a book. We all have a story to tell about our not always easy beginnings and perhaps some humorous and adventurous experiences. This is after all a very important part of our history. Please put pen to paper and tell us your story.
The Telelink Group meets every second Monday for a very lively discussion on the telephone. This is a valuable social contact for isolated people. Telelink Victoria is a large organization and we are privileged to be part of it.
Please let me know if you or someone you know would like to join our group.
Best wishes to our sick and infirm.
Helga Anderson
BA-BO AGM REPORT
The 1998/1999 Ba-Bo AGM was held in the Bayswater Hall on 1st August. Reports were received from most of the groups and clubs which use the Hall and its surroundings.
Our Treasurer, Paul English, commented that we were/are very grateful for all donations received, as there are things around the Hall that cannot always be budgeted for - for these we are truly grateful. He then went on to mention a few fund-raising goals that the council had in mind.
True to his word, Ralph Richter stepped down as Chairperson, and unfortunately - despite 80 people being in attendance - no-one felt able to take this job on. It was then decided, after some discussion, that the community council would need to function with the chair being rotated among its members.
With Tony Beilharz stepping down as Secretary to take on Hall Management, the former position also needed to be filled. This was subsequently filled (2 positions) at the next council meeting. Heinz (and Heidi) Vollmer's contribution over many years was then warmly acknowledged.
The new council consists of:
A short General Business discussion was then followed by the President of the TS thanking the council for its work.
Upon conclusion of the meeting, all those present were then invited to some coffee (or tea, etc.) and cake.
Tony Beilharz
for the Ba-Bo Community Council
TABULAM NEWS
After our parent societies, the Australian German Welfare Society and the Temple Society Australia had agreed to the amalgamation of the Hostel-part of the Templer Home for the Aged and the Tabulam Nursing Home all the residents and their next-of-kin were initially informed by letter and next invited to a meeting (one each in each Home) on August 5th at which the entire plan was again explained verbally, and all present were invited to ask questions. This happened and all departed satisfied.
Our plan is to apportion the 39 beds as follows: 20 additional nursing home beds, 15 hostel beds, 2 respite beds and 2 emergency beds, together 39. But we shall build 50 new rooms so that 11 of our present residents, who are in rooms of 3 and 4 beds, can move into new rooms.
This distribution will now be submitted to the Health Department for approval.
More next month.
On behalf of the Committee of Management
Otto Löbert
TEENAGE GROUP
On Saturday July 31st the Teenage Group met at the Bayswater Hall in the J.G. Room. A small group of us watched a video, ate food, listening to music and discussed some future Teenage Group activities. Although a lot of people were invited only a small group turned up. We hope to see more people come to future Teenage Group activities. Even if you don't know anybody who is going, take a step out of your comfort zone and come along and mingle with new people because we promise you that you'll have a good time.
Our next Teenage Group activity is going to be indoor rockclimbing. We are going on the afternoon of Saturday 4th September. For further details RSVP to Winfried Beilharz before 3rd September.
Winfried Beilharz
SYDNEY
Letzten Monat trafen wir uns am Sonntag, den 25. Juli in Meadowbank zum Saal, den Hartmut Beck hielt; er sprach über das Thema `Jesus und Nikodemus' aus dem Johannes Evangelium, 3. Kapitel. Es war schön, dass während dieser Zeit Luise und Helmut Ruff in Sydney zu Besuch waren und am Saal und dem anschliessenden gemütlichen Beisammensein bei Kaffee und Kuchen teilnehmen konnten. Es waren immerhin 24 Personen anwesend, was für Sydney ganz ansehlich ist.
Die nächsten Termine sind:
26.9.99 Saal 3.00 p.m. (wir hoffen, dass Renate Beilharz zum Saal-halten kommen wird)
31.10.99 Saal, 3.00 p.m. (nicht 24.10. wie im Kalender steht) (Dieter Ruff hat vor, zu diesem Termin nach Sydney zu kommen und den Saal zu halten. Gleichzeitig ist es meine Verabschiedung von der Gemeinde).
20.11.99 Samstag - BASAR ab 12.00 Uhr mittag in Meadowbank.
Last month we met on Sunday 25th July, for the afternoon service in Meadowbank, conducted by Hartmut Beck. His text was from the Gospel of John, chapter 3, `Jesus and Nicodemus'. We had the pleasure to welcome Luise and Helmut Ruff amongst us, who were visiting Sydney friends at the time and everybody of the 24 persons present enjoyed the lively conversation that followed with coffee and cakes.
The next dates are:
26.9.99 Service at 3.00 pm 31.10.99 (not 24.10 as on the calendar). Service 3.00 pm.
(Dieter Ruff intends to come to Sydney and offered to conduct the service; at the same time it will be my official `Good-bye' to the Sydney community.)
20.11.99 Saturday - BAZAAR as per 12.00 noon.
Ilse Birkner
A Special Service for Young and Not so Young
This month's service on 26th September, is designed to appeal to all ages of our Sydney Community. For our youngest members there will be stories, songs and activities, while for the not so young, there will also be stories, songs and food for thought.
Anyone who would like to obtain the words and cassette of the songs that will be sung at the service, please contact Emmy Simmer. She will also be able to answer any questions you may have.
Children, please bring some scraps of wool, sharp scissors and if your parents have any, a blunt tapestry needle.
We'd like to thank Ilse and the Sydney community for inviting us to Sydney, and look forward to seeing you on the 26th.
Renate Beilharz
NOTICES
FORTHCOMING SERVICES
12.9 Ba 13.00 TSA AGA E Rolf Beilharz
19.9 AH 10.45 Service G Harald Ruff
26.9 Be 10.15 Service E H.R. Uhlherr
10.10 Ba 10.15 Presentation E Herta Uhlherr
PRESENTATION
Parents wishing to have their children presented before God and the community at the service in Bayswater on 10th October at 10.15 a.m. are asked to contact the Office (Tel. 9557 6713) so that the necessary arrangements can be made.
Ed.
AUSTRALIAN GERMAN TEMPLER EXCHANGE SCHEME
Our exchange candidate from Germany, Irina Hornung, will be arriving in Melbourne on the 13th September for approximately 4 months. She will spend the first 2 months in our communities and will take part in the Templer functions and activities.
Her two host families will be Olga and Fritz Kroh and Rosemarie and Peter Weller. We take this opportunity to thank these families most sincerely for their kind offer.
Anyone who would like to invite Irina to their home or for an outing, sightseeing etc. can contact the Kroh Family in the first month i.e. September to mid October and the Weller Family during the second month i.e. mid October to mid November.
An opportunity to meet Irina will arise shortly after her arrival, when she will take part in the concert organised by Annette Wagner-Hesse in the Bentleigh Hall on the 19th September.
We extend a warm welcome to Irina and hope her stay will be a rewarding and enjoyable experience.
Our next TSA candidate, Alysha Murray, will be leaving for Germany early in the year 2000.
Traude Glenk
for the TS Australian-German Exchange Scheme
TEMPLER CONCERT
The Templer Choir and the Bentleigh/Moorabbin community are pleased to invite all members and friends to a concert followed by afternoon tea (coffee, tea, cordial & cake).
Celebrate the year of the Older Person and invite a friend or relative along.
Please book by Monday 13 September or as soon as possible, as seating will be limited.
We look forward to seeing you!
Annette Wagner-Hesse
CHOIR BOOKS
As a number of new members have recently joined the choir, we are running a little short of our choir books. If anyone still has such books ("Heim", "Geselliges Chorbuch", "Klingende Heimat" or "Bruder Sänger") and does not need them at the moment, we would be grateful to make use of them. Thanking you in anticipation.
Annette Wagner-Hesse
BAYSWATER-BORONIA LADIES GROUP
Dienstag 21. September BaH 1.30pm.
Diesen Monat werden wir einen schwäbischen Nachmittag gestalten. Heidi Vollmer und Agnes Wied geben eine schwäbische Liebesgeschichte zum Besten. Lachen ist garantiert und ist gesund.
Agnes Wied
Die Straße der Lieder
Friday 24th September at 7:30pm in the Bayswater Hall
We would like to present another evening in our series of musical adventures through Germany. The theme is RUND UM DIE ZUGSPITZE, a visit to Germany's highest mountain and the cultural heritage that surrounds it. And then we take a trip to Austria's southernmost part, Kärnten, and travel "von Villach zum Millstätter See". This is the country of the Hohen Tauern, the Groß Glockner and 200 lakes. The videos are of the "Kein schöner Land" series under the direction of Günter Wewel.
If you think this is all snow and ice, you are wrong. We meet the people, we watch the local Herrgottschnitzer at work and we look in on the 1990 Passion Play in Oberammergau, where some 2,000 local residents take part in a realistic re-living of the joy and the sufferings of Christ. The people of Oberammergau have been doing this service since the year 1634.
We visit the Matthias Klotz Geigenbau Museum, in an environment where the art of violin building by hand is still practiced to personal preferences. Where religious murals decorate the front of houses, protecting its occupants from the ravages of the elements.
There is an interview with a grandson of Richard Strauß, amongst the historic artifacts in the Villa Strauß Museum. And lots more!
The music ranges from the traditional brass-band marches and the devout choral, through Folksongs to Hits and the modern influences of the tourism industry.
Please come and enjoy a cosy evening with us, listen to the music and watch the story unfold on the large video screen. As usual we will finish shortly after nine, with coffee, tea and biscuits.
Alfred and Ursula Klink
TASTY TEMPTATIONS - PLAYGROUP FUNDRAISING
Need some goodies for the school lunches or something on hand in the freezer (if the cakes get that far), then please ring us to order some packets of tasty Lamingtons (jam filled), Lamington Fingers (no jam), and Jam Fairy Cakes. Each packet is $2.50 from which Playgroup receives $1.
The orders will need to be in by Thursday, 16 September, before the school holidays. Delivery will be on Thursday 7 October (the first Thursday after the holidays).
ALSO
come to our dk - `Book Look' - a wonderful display of quality children's books.
This will be at Playgroup on Thursday, 14 October, between 10am-12 noon. We invite grandparents, relatives and friends - all book lovers - to this morning. Playgroup hosted this display last year and everyone seemed most impressed with the quality of these books which make excellent birthday and Christmas presents. If you are interested but can't come, a catalogue would be available.
Last year we were delighted to receive about $170 worth of books for Playgroup as commission.
CHRISTKINDLMARKT
Unsere Christkindlgruppe hat beschlossen, eine Ruhepause einzulegen. Somit werden wir dieses Jahr keinen Stand in der Melbourne Town Hall haben.
Gestickte Decken haben wir noch zu verkaufen. Wer Interesse daran hat, kann gerne bei uns vorbeikommen. Bei dieser Gelegenheit möchte ich mich herzlich bei allen bedanken, die mir in den vielen Jahren - in irgend einer Weise geholfen haben.
Helga Kuerschner
GERMAN CONVERSATION CLASSES FOR ADULTS
Two nine week courses for adults will be running in October/November at the Bayswater Templer Hall. Details as follows:
Course 1: Basic German Conversation for Adults
Time: Tuesday evenings 7.30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Dates: October 5 to November 30
This is a basic class suitable for low proficiency students who would like to improve their everyday German conversation. Beginners are also welcome.
Course 2: Basic German for Nurses and Carers.
Time: Monday evenings 7.30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Dates: October 4 to November 29
This is a basic German conversation class with a specific focus on the language used by carers working with elderly German-speaking residents of aged care homes. It will also include everyday conversation.
Both courses focus mainly on speaking and everyday conversation, rather than grammar and writing. They will take place in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The cost will be $55 for each nine-week course.
Enrolments are now invited. Bookings should be made before course commencement. Please contact Irene for further information on email ireneb@eisa.com.au
Irene Bouzo; for the Ba-Bo German School Management Committee
FOUND:
After the Saal and AGM in Bentleigh on Sunday, 22 August, a gold chain was found in the Hall.
Would the owner please collect it from the office!
Mark Herrmann
TSA 50TH ANNIVERSARY
SATURDAY 11TH MARCH 2000, 5pm - Midnight
Has this space in your calendar been allocated to the TSA 50th anniversary celebration? We hope so! We would love to see all your faces there!
Preparations for the festivities are well under way and in order to make the evening as accessible as possible to all, there will be provision of childminding services (at the venue), and of some transport to and from the venue. Wheelchair access at the venue is also available. The venue is:
Pitrone's Restaurant and Function Centre, 642 Springvale Road, Keysborough, Victoria
We are now taking bookings for the Saturday evening and refer you to the looseleaf sheet accompanying this Templer record.
Unless tables of ten are booked, seating arrangements will be finalised by the organising committee. Perhaps children or parents could organise their own tables for teenagers or older children?
Prices as follows: adults $35 per head
full time students $25 per head
(children under 14 in main function room) $15 per head
Please indicate if you have children under 12 years of age who require childminding. This service is free! Adult supervision, a children's meal and suitable activities will be provided at no cost in a room adjacent to the main function room.
Please send completed booking forms with payment (cheque) to Moni Imberger
Once payment is received your tickets will be sent to you.
Your ticket will be your receipt and must be presented on the Saturday night as entrance card. Do not lose your tickets! Table numbers will be available at the door.
We have also been asking you to keep the next day, Sunday 12th March 2000 free. It is planned to hold the year 2000 Sommerfest on that day in the hope that as many people as possible are able to attend both functions.
Looking forward to seeing you on both Saturday night and Sunday!
Christine Ruff, for the organising group
Temple Society - online
Web Notes
A large number of Templers already have e-mail facilities and would perhaps appreciate being notified in this way on events for which a notice in the next Templer Record will be too late. How do you feel about this?
The proposal was prompted by someone who is frequently away from home and missed out on a funeral notice through the Community Telephone System. But I see it being of benefit to everyone: earlier notification, greater accuracy and scope, faster service and less frustration, (have you ever tried for hours to reach someone only to find out later they are on holiday?).
An e-mail stays in your mailbox until you collect it, and it can of course be read at any time from almost anywhere. And best of all, its distribution is so simple: One e-mail can be sent to any number of people with just one call, saving time, frustration and telephone costs.
Committees are at the moment looking at updating the list for the Community Telephone System. If there is general support for a TSA e-mail Notice Service it would simplify their task.
I already have about thirty e-mail addresses from people who have written to me on occasions. If you think it is a good idea, and you feel you would like to take part in such a system, please drop me a line (my e-mail address is at the bottom of this page) and we will introduce it immediately.
Alfred Klink
JG GROUP
INTRODUCTION
Don't you just hate it when you're on a deadline but you can't think of anything to write? I'm sitting here trying to compose something witty and interesting to write that will both hold your attention and put a smile on your face, but it's not working!! So I guess I'll stop beating around the bush and say a big hello to all you out there reading this. Hope you are all having fun doing what you do and trying to stay out of trouble (if only it were that easy!!). I am, or at least I'm trying, but that's another story for another time. I try and keep this section G rated!
September holds no real purpose except for giving thanks for the man who played ultimately the most important role in the evolution of your being. Sure, your mum endured hours of pain, lots of drugs and a few extra kilos, but if we get into the whole "birds and bees" thing (which I won't, don't worry), I think our dads did the big part. But enough of that (G rating, remember!).
I know my father and I don't always see eye to eye on a whole range of matters, but then again, show me a teenage girl out there who agrees wholeheartedly with everything her dad says. Thought you couldn't! But I guess there are a few lucky ones who don't have semi-constant battles over important things like telephones and guys. And good luck to them. Guys, on the other hand, I think have the upper hand when it comes to dads. I know that my brother is almost repeatedly favoured over me in my father's eyes when it comes to things like the TV and sibling rivalry. Either way, whether you have a sparkling relationship with your dad, or a bumpy one, he's one person that we wouldn't be complete without.
As far as JG events go, we have not as yet made any certain plans. Hopefully in the next few weeks, the Party Planners will hold a meeting to discuss the future. One plan of action will be to get re-acquainted with the 1998 confirmation group, highlighting what is happening with the JG, and encouraging them to get involved. One way of doing this is to hold a party under the guise of an All Day/All Night in the hope to ignite interest in the JG, but also form friendships that will hopefully last at least half a lifetime, if not a whole one.
In any case, stay tuned for further details. For this sensational month, I'd like to send out the warmest Birthday Wishes to...
That's it for another month. Hope all you fathers and opas reading this have a great day on the 5th, and I will catch you all, same place, same time in October.
Stay good, and if not good, stay safe,
Karyn Kinder, JG Ed.
CHILDREN'S SECTION
Hi Kids and Parents,
What did you have to eat yesterday? Did you complain because your parents made you eat something you don't really like? My kids did. But you are lucky. Some people in the world don't have enough to eat. The Israelites also didn't have enough food on their long journey.
God Feeds His People, Exodus 16 & 17
God's people travelled a long way. They began to complain. They said they did not have enough food. God heard the people and sent food to them.
Each morning the Israelites found little pieces of honey-flavoured white wafers on the ground. "What is it?" they asked. They called it manna, which means "what is it?"
The Israelites kept travelling. Everywhere they went, God gave them manna. But at one place, there was no water. Moses asked God what to do. God showed Moses a big rock and told him to hit the rock with his staff. Moses did what God told him to do. Water poured out of the rock and the people drank all they wanted.
FOOD JOKES
What kind of meringues come back to you? ------ Boomerangs.
What fish makes a good pudding? ------- A jelly fish.
What kind of sugar sings? ------- Icing sugar.
Why did the strawberry cry? -------- Because his mother was in a jam.
What kind of vegetables do plumber fix? ------ Leeks.
How do you start a jelly race? -------- Get set!
BIRTHDAYS
End of September TR
TR 609 - August 1999
Glaubenssätze
über das Walten Gottes in der Geschichte.
Diese Glaubenssätze stammen von Dietrich Bonhoeffer, der sie, bedrängt von der Gewaltherrschaft der Nationalsozialisten, im Jahr 1942 an seine Freunde sandte.
Ich glaube, dass Gott aus allem, auch aus dem Bösesten, Gutes entstehen lassen kann und will. Dafür braucht er Menschen, die sich alle Dinge zum Besten dienen lassen. Ich glaube, dass Gott uns in jeder Notlage soviel Widerstandskraft geben will, wie wir brauchen. Aber er gibt sie nicht im voraus, damit wir uns nicht auf uns selbst, sondern allein auf ihn verlassen. In solchem Glauben müsste alle Angst vor der Zukunft überwunden sein.
Ich glaube, dass auch unsere Fehler und Irrtümer nicht vergeblich sind und dass es Gott nicht schwerer ist, mit ihnen fertigzuwerden, als mit unseren vermeintlichen Guttaten.
Ich glaube, dass Gott kein zeitloses Fatum ist, sondern dass er auf aufrichtige Gebete und verantwortliche Taten wartet und antwortet.
ON CROSSES
The cross is a symbol full of meaning. Trying to understand symbols can enrich and energize our lives, but an intuitive, imaginative approach works better than a purely rational one.
Take the crucifix, which has dominated the experience and thinking of the mainstream Christian Church for two millennia now. This symbol is shorthand for the idea that the Lamb of God was sacrificed to make possible the salvation of fallen humanity - or put differently, that Jesus Christ brought a new impulse to help the evolution of humanity. Even without the suffering figure hanging on it, there is still the long, vertical line linking heaven/the divine and earth/the human, and the horizontal line connecting people with one another - one assumption is love God and love your neighbour.
The Templer cross (see cover) is an enhanced T with openings symbolising our Tempel's openness to our fellow human beings as well as to the transcendent dimension. But it subtly directs attention to the centre - God/the Spirit is within, not only above/out there.
Then there's the Egyptian cross, the Ankh, the "key to life and immortality". The oval top and the arms outstretched to embrace suggest to me the union of head and heart - loving wisely (without conditions or possessiveness). A reminder that when we are in a state of love, we are "in God", as John puts it.
The Celtic cross visibly adds the circle of wholeness and totality implicit in any cross. In sacred geometry, a vertical line is yang, creative, and a horizontal one yin, receptive.
In an equal-armed cross these opposites are united, creating wholeness. (Jung observed that the psyche finds this symbol particularly healing). When one consciously makes the sign of the cross, one is remembering the higher Self, not just the ego, and involving the sacred into the everyday.
The last one I want to mention is a rare cross coming up on 11 August, when the new moon totally eclipses the sun (visible mainly in Europe). Solar eclipses occurs regularly, but this one is aligned in a grand cross pattern occupying the "fixed" signs of the zodiac. ("Left brain" rational thinkers who have got this far are probably getting disgusted here. Perhaps you could put up with the symbolic language that astrology uses for a little while?).
The astrological interpretation of eclipses, and especially of a grand cross, tended to be pretty grim. Nostradamus foresaw large-scale disaster for this one, even without including Uranus, not discovered yet in his time. He saw the simpler T pattern with the two "baddies", Mars and Saturn, in square aspects (considered difficult) to the Sun/Moon at the vulnerable moment of eclipse - that was bad enough.
More positive interpretations are, however, possible, despite the four "square" aspects of the grand cross. A condensed overview follows, based on Roderick Kidston (in WellBeing 1999 Annual Forecasts p.59).
Mars stimulates action, has assertive, even aggressive energy and is associated with war and violence, at worst. At best: constructive effort, energy to achieve worthwhile things.
Saturn can slow down action and is associated with hard slog and disciplined activity. At worst: cold-heartedness, heavy-handed authoritarianism.
Both in the picture together - either constructive work for a cause, or an energy of coercion and possible destruction. But -not all destruction is bad. There are periods when a decent clean-out is absolutely necessary.
Uranus is there, too - its energy breaks down old habits and institutions, making room for new, hopefully better ways of being and behaving. Resisting necessary change can hurt; cooperating can make the upheavals seem exciting and valuable.
So perhaps this grand cross pattern, coming as it does at the end of a century and a millennium, is signalling dramatic energy not for military wars, but "to fight for a new way forward as old, worn-out modes of living and ways of acting are discarded."
Crosses remind us to be mindful of the holy in the mundane; to strive for balance and wholeness; to review periodically where we are at and to clear out stuff that no longer serves us, - things, attitudes or behaviours.
In this August's grand cross, the Sun/Moon are in the creative sign of Leo. What will we, as a community and as individuals, let go that has served its purpose, and more importantly, what new things will we create for the new millennium? - May we go forward with clear heads, loving hearts, healthy energy and faith that we can help "Thy kingdom come".
Herta Uhlherr
TEXT OF THE MONTH Mark 9:2-10
Early August holds the feast of the TRANSFIGURATION in the church calendar. Our text describes this event, and several interpretations follow.
Jesus leads Peter, James and John up a high mountain. A change comes over him - they see their Master transfigured; "his face shone like the sun and his garments became white as light" it says in Matt. 17:2.
Then they see the prophets Elijah and Moses (who to our normal way of thinking are long dead) talking with Jesus, and they are afraid. A cloud overshadows them and a voice says from the cloud, "This is my beloved son - listen to him!" Looking around, they no longer see anyone but Jesus.
Parallel accounts are in Matt. 17:1-8 and Luke 9:28-36.
In biblical stories, going up a high mountain often stands for one's consciousness being raised or expanded beyond the normal level. Jesus leads his disciples up, suggesting to me that he leads them into a high (or "deep") meditative state.
Reading the mystics (whether old or modern-day), or for example the mountain peak experience in The Celestine Prophecy, which I know a number of you have read, or the many near-death stories now documented, one frequently comes across descriptions of peak ("mountain top") experiences of "cosmic consciousness". These are often portrayed as ecstatic. There is ineffable light: colours are heightened and everything shines with intense brilliance. This wonderful, loving light surrounds and suffuses everything and one can feel and "hear" "God". There is the feeling of total understanding; one sees everything in the cosmos as connected - All is One. There's the feeling of timelessness, or being beyond the linear time we normally operate in, and one is aware of past, present and future all at once. (In such an altered state of consciousness, Elija or Moses - or anyone else - is not dead).
The disciples, unused (like most of us) to this way of seeing, are awed/afraid rather than ecstatic. (In Matt.17:7 Jesus reassures them/us "Have no fear"). "Heaven is spread about upon the earth, but men do not see it," says the Gospel according to Thomas.
I find it very interesting that these days not only mystics, who are often dismissed by "serious" people as deluded dreamers, but some scientists, particularly in the field of quantum physics, speak of this expanded way of seeing and knowing.
Until recently, few people experienced this dimension of the mind: mystics, poets, the initiates of old who underwent rigorous training, the more modern pioneers of the psycho-spiritual journey, aware of the cost.
But now, more are realizing that humanity is evolving into a higher state of consciousness and that we humans are participating co-creators in this "sacred work". For it to proceed, many entrenched attitudes, habits and institutions have to go, so that the higher good (the "kingdom of God") can manifest - therefore the many upheavals and changes of our time.
Language to describe expanded consciousness is not yet well developed, that's why the strange phrases and my many inverted commas. But understood as an experience of expanded consciousness, the story of the Transfiguration has no problems for me. Or I can accept it as a story trying to express the glory, the shining, loving radiance of the true "temple of God" that Jesus, our teacher, was.
Books that may appeal to people interested in such ideas:
Music of the Mind, An Adventure into Consciousness, by Darryl Reanney, Hill of Content, 1994. He really pushes the boundaries.
And a title I found irresistible: The Physics of Angels, Exploring the Realm where Science and Spirit Meet, by Matthew Fox and Rupert Sheldrake, Harper Collins 1996.
Ed.
THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS by Irene Bouzo
At the June '96 Founders' Day service in Bentleigh I enjoyed listening to the historical steps that our founder Chr. Hoffmann went through in establishing the groundwork of the faith and community of the Temple Society. I felt privileged and warmed by the legacy of spiritual and intellectual freedom that our founder gave us.
The text of the day (Mark 9:2-10), the story of the transfiguration of Jesus, made a strong impression on me and I would like to discuss it in greater detail. There are two reasons for this. Firstly our speaker, having read and commented on the text, then said that it probably did not happen at all and was perhaps an imaginary event. I was shocked, firstly by the incredible and fantastic nature of the actual story, - if the Scriptures are supposed to provide us with guidance, then how can we be guided by something that is, to the rational mind, so unbelievable. Secondly, I was shocked by the boldness with which the speaker dismissed the story as imaginary or just made up to illustrate a point. I felt the need to consider this further.
It takes courage to question the validity of this or any other story in the Gospels, for if you discard the historical certainty of the transfiguration event, you face the danger of sacrificing the essence of the story and of losing its truth and perhaps losing the whole foundation of faith itself - a frightening thought which can leave a believer destitute.
For the story of the transfiguration see TEXT OF THE MONTH.
Surely such a detailed description could not be an imaginary event, and yet it is unbelievable. Still, there must have been some foundation to the story.
The writings of David Friedrich Strauss, a university colleague and political opponent of Chr. Hoffmann, helped enlighten me. Strauss doubts the historical validity of the miraculous contents of the narrative.
I will try to bring this event closer to natural possibility and at the same time look for the significance of the transformation incident. Three things in this story stand out: the light, the apparition of the dead, and the voice in the cloud. How can one explain this physical illumination of Jesus where his clothes became whiter than anything ever seen before? At this point I draw on my personal experience.
A few years ago I was in a car driving through a turbulent thunderstorm. There was a simultaneous flash of lightning and crash of thunder. I saw the whole interior of the car engulfed in a blinding white light: my hands, my dress and the inside of the car were all illuminated in brilliant white like nothing I had ever seen before and have never seen since. The hair bristled all over me and I was really frightened. The moment seemed to linger and then all was normal again except that I couldn't focus my eyes for a few moments. The driver of the car could not understand my shock and wonder - he had only been aware of lightning and thunder outside.
I tend to favour a natural rather than supernatural explanation for what happened to me. Clearly the lightning had struck in such a way that the electricity was somehow conducted through me. There was no doubt about that. - Nobody seemed interested in this incident, let alone had any idea what I was talking about, so I chose to forget it. Now for the first time I find an identical account in the transfiguration text. This causes me to think that there was probably a thunderstorm on the mountain; Jesus was possibly standing on the highest point. In Luke's accounts a bit more detail is given: Peter, John and James prayed with Jesus, then fell asleep and, upon awakening, saw the glorious apparition. It seems likely to me that there was a similar, freakish lightning strike like the one I experienced, with the white light enveloping the figure of Jesus. The witnesses were awakened out of a heavy sleep by voices, were momentarily dazzled by a flash of lightning, peals of thunder and two unknown individuals disappearing in a cloud. The two dead prophets (at least they supposed these to be Moses and Elijah) whom they saw with Jesus may have been unknown or secret allies of Jesus perhaps discussing his imminent trial.
The thunderstorm, the cloud and the unknown figures, combined with the like-minded mental state that the three disciples most likely had, lead to the development of such a story. "They deceived themselves when awake as to what they saw: this was natural, because they were all born within the same circle of ideas, were in the same frame of mind, and in the same situation" (Strauss). In the oriental and ancient Hebrew imagination the beautiful, the majestic, the luminous, the holy man and God are compared to the shining splendour of the sun and stars.
What could be the purpose of this physical illumination of Jesus? The answer is obvious: to glorify Jesus, a physical manifestation of the spiritual radiance or charisma created by his word and deed. Such a story based on external physical events could also serve to strengthen a weakening faith.
There is one more point to consider, the heavenly voice in the cloud declaring Jesus to be the Son of God. Jesus forbids them to tell of this till after his death or when he has risen. This motif of messianic secrecy also appears in other parts of the Gospels and could suggest a subjective notion developed by the early Christians after the death of Jesus. They, and not Jesus himself, proclaimed Jesus as the son of God after his death because they liked to think that this was so. Perhaps, as these are the sentiments and thoughts to which the early Christians and the authors of the Gospels owe their memoirs, one can sense what they were trying to achieve.
Interpretation could go on and on. It is easy to be drawn into scripture interpretation once you have the boldness to start, because it can lead to awe-inspiring and wonderful insight. A mythical interpretation of this event actually gets us closer to the vitality of the spiritual idea which lies in it: to reconcile the relationship between the individual and God through the teachings of Jesus.
Chr. Hoffmann gave us the confidence to seek truth for ourselves through a deliberate and conscious communication with God.
Irene Bouzo
The Life of Jesus critically examined, by David Fr. Strauss. Original German edition 1835, English translation 1972.
Another interesting book is Liberating the Gospels. Reading the Bible with Jewish eyes, by Bishop John Shelby Spong (1996). The Jewish authors were writing teaching material about Jesus in the style of their scripture (the Old Testament). Trying to express their strong feeling that God was manifesting in Jesus, they used the image of transfiguration/brilliant glory to symbolise their conviction.
Reflecting on different interpretations can help us deepen our understanding. Ed.
ANNUAL MEETINGS
12 September 1999 in Bayswater
In order to facilitate proceedings, we again wish to provide definite start times for our various annual meetings. The timetable is as follows:
Please note the times and read the individual notices below carefully.
THE TEMPLE SOCIETY CENTRAL FUND (AUST.) A.C.N. 004 279 001
Members of the Temple Society central Fund (Aust.) are herewith notified that the Ordinary General Meeting of the Company for the year ended 30 June 1999 will be held in the
Templer Hall at 41a Elizabeth Street, Bayswater, Victoria,
on Sunday 12 September 1999 commencing at 9.45 a.m.
Members unable to attend the meeting personally are invited to arrange for their representation by proxy (see enclosed proxy form).
Agenda
Mark Herrmann Herbert Hoffmann
Secretary Chairman of Directors
TEMPLE SOCIETY AUSTRALIA
In keeping with Clause 10 of the Constitution all members of the Temple Society Australia are herewith invited to attend the Annual General Assembly for the year ended 30 June 1999. It will be held in the Templer Hall at 41a Elizabeth Street, Bayswater, Victoria on Sunday 12 September 1999 commencing at 1.00 p.m. after a one hour lunch break.
Members unable to attend the Assembly personally are invited to arrange for their representation by proxy (see enclosed proxy form).
Agenda
Mark Herrmann, Business Manager; Dr. Rolf Beilharz, Regional Head.
TEMPLER HOME FOR THE AGED INC. Registered No. A 0026791 P
All members of the Temple Society Australia (= members of the incorporated association) are herewith invited to attend the Annual General Meeting of the Templer Home for the Aged Inc.
It will be held in the Templer Hall at 41A Elizabeth Street, Bayswater, Victoria on Sunday 12 September 1999 commencing at 10.30 a.m.
Members unable to attend the meeting personally are invited to arrange for their representation by proxy (see enclosed proxy form).
Agenda
Theo Richter
Secretary
TABULAM NURSING HOME INC. Registration No. A0015711U
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting of Tabulam Nursing Home will be held on
4 September 1999 at 11.00 am, in the rooms of the Templer Tennis Club,
41A Elizabeth Street, Bayswater.
Members are urged to attend the meeting to ensure a quorum at the set starting time of the meeting. The previous meeting was delayed for 20 minutes for lack of a quorum. Proxy forms unfortunately do not count towards a quorum as we require 30 members present in person to satisfy our constitution. Nevertheless we ask members to complete a proxy form if they are unable to attend in person. A sample form is attached.
Agenda
1. Members present
2. Apologies
3. Minutes of the previous AGM
4. Annual Report of the activities of the Committee of Management.
5. Treasurer's report
6. Auditor's report
7. Election of Auditor for the year 1999/2000
8. General Business
T. Doh
Secretary
IMPORTANT CHANGES AT THE TEMPLER HOME AND AT TABULAM
The Temple Society of Australia (TSA), the Australian German Welfare Society (AGWS) and the management committees of the two Homes have agreed to merge the hostel part of the Templer Home and the Tabulam Nursing Home. This followed much planning, productive discussion and negotiation. As this is a major change in our activities, we wish to explain why we are doing it. The short answer is for the many advantages: to both homes, to the older members of the Temple Society, and to other elderly people from the general German-speaking community in Australia. But you should also know the background which makes this move beneficial.
In recent years, several historic trends have become clear. The Australian government is encouraging people to stay in their homes, for as long as possible. They are providing services to allow this to occur. We see this as good. Partly for this reason, in recent years ever fewer Templers have been prepared to move to the Templer Home's hostel, which is designed to provide lower-category care. So that we could afford to run the home economically, we started to take in non-Templers not many years ago. We now have as many non-Templers in our hostel as Templers. Many of the non-Templers have come to us as a result of advice from the AGWS.
Also, the Australian government has recently set very high standards for all homes receiving government subsidies. Facilities which do not achieve accreditation under these standards will no longer be subsidised. To the extent that this will eliminate shabby, poor-standard care for the elderly this policy is good. But it means that many facilities as old as our own hostel will need to spend much money and effort to upgrade to the new standards. Larger homes will be in a better position to provide the high standards required, and to operate more efficiently than smaller homes. Operators of homes are increasingly tearing down and replacing old facilities with newly-built accommodation of the highest standard. Added to this need to modernise and increase the size of facilities, there has been a general increase in demand for high-care places (in nursing homes) and a decrease in the demand for hostel places. The time for hostels seems to have ended and future expansion will be in high-care facilities, accompanied by encouragement of independent living in units or the family home.
We have been increasingly concerned about the long-term viability of our hostel. Should we move to more high-care, with all the costs associated with such a move? We already have Tabulam where we have half of the beds. It would be nonsense to set up in competition with ourselves. Should we modernise as a low-care hostel and increase its capacity to make it viable? This would mean trying to attract more people from the wider German-speaking population to the diminishing hostel market. Should we modernise at its present, or smaller capacity, raising further doubts about viability?
All these scenarios raise the question: why would we want to tackle any of them?
You will now see the clear advantages of the solution we have achieved. Tabulam will increase to a large, efficiently operated, 80 bed nursing home with four extra beds reserved for emergencies or respite. A large building program will achieve for Tabulam the greater capacity in very modern facilities. There will be no large, multi-bed wards. The accommodation will be more private, in rooms of one or two people.
About 10 places in Tabulam will be low-care (hostel) accommodation similar to our present Home but in a newly constructed wing. This will be sited close to the existing Templer Home building. The decreasing demand for hostel rooms from Templers is well covered in this way.
Our agreement with the AGWS to share beds equally continues, as both parent societies are sharing equally the loans required to build the extensions. Templers will usually not require our total of 40 beds. This, together with the special emergency and respite beds, means that emergency cases among Templers will almost always be admitted without waiting. The AGWS will also have more beds available and this will greatly reduce the length of their waiting list.
There is one unavoidable problem related to building the new facilities. Our six original independent living units (numbers 1-6) will have to come down to make room for the new hostel wing. This may mean two moves for the 5 persons currently living there. Our Home Committee and Tabulam are acutely aware of this problem and will do everything possible to ensure minimal disruption and smooth moves for the persons concerned.
The mission of the Templer Home for the Aged is to provide care for all frail and elderly Templers. By ensuring that all Templers requiring care from hostel beds upwards are well looked after in Tabulam, the THA committee becomes free to concentrate its attention on other Templers (and friends) in the independent living units and even to reach out to Templers living further away. The committee will now arrange appropriate care for all Templers living at or close to the Bayswater site, using the existing facilities. It will try to meet the needs of Templers in the ways understood by Templers and carried out, if possible, by Templers.
And what about our existing building? Will it become a white elephant? Apart from servicing the care for the units, this building provides a wonderful opportunity for developing Templer activities at the Bayswater site, where the TSA is already consolidating its facilities for the future. Many things are possible. We welcome any suggestions you may have.
Rolf Beilharz, Regional Head.
This decision was not made lightly. Can you imagine the endless discussions sometimes till after midnight, that preceded it? Thank you to all those straining their brains on our behalf, especially the Committee of Management of the THA. Ed.
NOTICE FROM THE ELDERS
Second notice about a course on the religion of the Temple Society.
We invite everyone interested in learning more about the religion of the Temple Society to a social evening on Friday 13 August in the Bayswater Hall, starting at 7.30 for 8.00 p.m. Tea, coffee and biscuits or cake will be available. We may also bring some wine and appropriate nibbles.
As indicated in our first notice (June TR), the purpose of the evening is to find out from you how many are interested in a beginners' course about the TS, and how many would like to go to greater depth regarding our belief, based on the writings of Christoph Hoffmann and other Templer leaders.
We will also try to find the most suitable times for most of you to attend either course, both for time in the week and for the months of the year.
We would welcome seeing many of you there. We Elders are convinced that the Temple Society has a religious faith which is important for leading a harmonious and satisfying life, and is particularly suited to our world, in which technology seems to be producing ever increasing changes in the environment we live in. We want to show you why our religion is appropriate for our times. We hope that a course tailored to the audience will be a useful opportunity particularly for those members and friends who have not yet had a chance to have the Templer faith explained.
A phone call to the Office [(03) 9557 6713] would be appreciated to tell us you intend to come. (We wouldn't want to run out of biscuits).
Rolf Beilharz, for the Elders
SOCIAL CARE
Dear Friends,
The ability to see is very important and precious to us. Reduced vision or blindness can and will alter our lifestyle. I have received information from the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind (RVIB) which says the incidence of blindness and vision impairment is growing and they are endeavouring to create public awareness to help people prevent or manage cataracts and glaucoma.
Cataracts are a common eye condition where the lens becomes cloudy and vision blurred. Cataract affects one in four and can be partially prevented by avoiding UV rays. We are told we should always wear sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat when outdoors, because the effects of too much sun may not be obvious for many years.
Cataract can be treated with surgery. Consult your eye specialist who will advise you on the appropriate treatment.
Glaucoma is also a common eye condition. It is caused by a build-up of fluid pressure in the eye. Peripheral or side vision is affected first. Treatment is aimed at reducing the pressure inside the eye, usually with drops. It must be treated without delay as lost vision cannot be restored.
The RVIB offers many services and can assist in making the most of your remaining sight. You don't have to be totally blind for them to help you.
For further information contact your doctor, or the RVIB on
9522 5222 or Free call 1800 33 5588.
We offer the Templer Record in large print for those who have difficulty reading the normal print. Please contact the Office.
Best wishes to our sick and infirm.
Helga Anderson
AUS DEM GEMEINDELEBEN
GEBURTSTAGE
Wir gratulieren herzlich zum Geburtstag unserer Mitglieder
und wünschen auch allen hier nicht aufgeführten Geburtstagskindern alles Gute und Schöne zum neuen Lebensjahr.
ENGAGEMENT 20th July 1999
Thomas Knaub and Kim Opie
2/68 Orange Gve, Bayswater Vic 3153
Our congratulations and good wishes!
SILVER WEDDING
Congratulations to Trudi & Neville Murray on 24.8.99 on their silver wedding anniversary and our very best wishes for their future.
NEW MEMBERS We welcome as full members: Bernd Vollmer; Chris Blaich
TRAUERFÄLLE / BEREAVEMENTS
Kurt Lorenz passed away on 21 May 1999 at the Renmark and Paringa Hospital, South Australia, aged 74 years.
Beloved husband of Waltraut, loving father and father-in-law of Sabine and Roger, dear Opa of Luke, Danika and Tahnee.
Am 24. Juni ist mein lieber Gatte, unser Vater and Großvater
Gerhard Schulz
im Alter von 89 Jahren von uns gegangen.
Wir danken Hulda Wagner für ihre trostreichen Worte und Allen, die mit uns Abschied von ihm genommen haben.
Für die Karten und Briefe, sowie die Spenden ans Tabulam herzlichen Dank.
In stiller Trauer: Alma Schulz; Hilde, Dieter und Steffan Albrecht; Ingrid, Klaus, Oliver & Kerstin Seidensticker; Renate, Winfried, Mykel, Marcus & Kirrily Weber; Giselle, Duncan, Kaitlin & Kirsty Ness; Gary, Christopher & Michael Schulz
Am 8 Juli 1999 ist mein Mann, unser Vater und Opa
Stefan Maeder
von seinem schweren Leiden erlöst worden.
Bei dem Personal im Tabulam bedanken wir uns ganz herzlich für ihre liebe Pflege trotz schwieriger Umstände.
Maria Theresia Maeder; Helen & Peter Johnstone mit Garrett und Travis; Stephen & Narelle Maeder mit Alexandria & Jarrod
On 25 June my dear husband, our father, grandfather and great-grandfather
Walter Kübler
passed away peacefully at the Templer Home for the Aged. He was 93 years old.
The funeral service was conducted by our Alfred Klink in Bayswater. The Hall was decorated with an abundance of beautiful flowers given by the Fritz Höfer family, resembling Opa's country garden. We also sincerely thank Elisabeth Wagner for her piano accompaniment.
All our families are very grateful for the loving care and kindness Opa received from the management and staff of the Templer Home. They gave his suffering humane dignity. We thank all our friends for the many flowers for Opa, the kind cards and letters, and for the numerous donations to the Altersheim.
In loving memory, Helene Kübler; Irmgard and Herbert Löbert and family; Ursula and Alfred Klink and family; Oswald and Rosemary Kübler and family
Am 12 Juli ist unsere liebe Mutter, Oma und Urgroßmutter
Erni Julie Laemmle
im Alter von 92 Jahren von uns gegangen.
Wir danken Hulda Wagner für die lieben und tröstenden Worte bei der Trauerfeier. Bei dem Personal des Altersheims bedanken wir uns herzlich für die mitfühlende Pflege unserer Mutter.
In stiller Trauer Helmut Laemmle mit Familie; Maide Lubitz mit Familie; Erika Hackel mit Familie; Renate Dodds mit Familie
Aus Deutschland hörten wir, dass Frau Professor Dorothee Zahn geb. Lange am 23. Mai gestorben ist. Sie war die Enkelin des ehemaligen Jerusalemer Lehrers Jeremias Lange.
Aus Kanada - Lydie Fröschle geb. Scheerle ist am 29. Mai in ihrem 95. Lebensjahr gestorben. Sie stammte aus Sarona.
We extend our deep sympathies to all the bereaved families.
BUSHDANCE
Elisabeth Wagner gives her impressions of the Kids' Club Bushdance (17.7) from a grandparent's point of view.
For me it was a grandparent's delight. Our daughter Irene (Kemper) had invited our whole family and given each one instructions as to what food to bring and what to wear. All day I was full of happy anticipation - I was going to dance with my grandchildren. I found a colourful, wide skirt in the wardrobe.
When we arrived, the Bentleigh Hall was full of children - unbelievable! - all dressed nicely; the little girls in their dresses looked gorgeous! Eucalypt branches and bare trestle tables with vases of native flowers set the scene. The atmosphere was fantastic, with lots of happy, excited kids. The music was kept at a level so that people not dancing could talk and this was much appreciated.
Kangaroo Jack's dance instructions were clear and simple. Everyone, even if quite new to this or a bit uncoordinated, was soon able to follow them so that by the end of a dance we were doing the steps (or kangaroo hops) in time, together - and we looked quite good. No need for performance anxiety.
In the progressive barndance, grinning big men bending down from their great height to partner smiling little girls formed a strong, heart-warming image.
At the end we all sang Give me a home among the gumtrees with actions. Since people had brought their things and took them away again, the clean-up wasn't too daunting. And it was still early enough for young aunts and uncles to go on to other parties.
Seeing all these gorgeous, happy children felt like a gift and a blessing and we thank the organisers from our hearts.
Elisabeth Wagner
NEPAL Continuing Susan Graze's account.
On 8 April we left India, after an absolutely fascinating 3 weeks. Indian bureaucracy at the airport was very officious and took ages. The next three weeks in Nepal were to be quality time with (daughter) Jenika and her family, to observe how they live, work and manage their lives so far away from home.
Nepal is the meeting place of 2 religions, Hinduism and Buddhism. Hinduism dates back to 1,000 BC. One has to be born a Hindu. The caste system still exists. They have lots of gods, attendant consorts and animals which they worship at temples and shrines. They believe in rebirth and reincarnation. The cow is sacred. Hindus put food in front of their shrines, which encourages rats and dogs to scavenge and makes the area, to our western eyes, filthy. At certain times goats are sacrificed.
Buddhism was founded in India 500 BC. Buddhists have no gods, but follow a system of morality and philosophy. They also believe in rebirth. We found the Buddhist stupas to be much cleaner than the Hindu temples.
Nepal has a population of approximately 17 million. Only 5% of the population live in the capital Kathmandu. It lies in a valley at 1,350 m, surrounded by hills to 2,400m. We were unable to see these hills because of the dreadful pre-monsoon dust and pollution - tiny, noisy cars spew out filthy, black smoke, and people use dried cow dung and wood fires. There are unmade roads or roads with no curbs and huge pot holes; filth and dirt everywhere; rubbish thrown out into the street and burnt; as in India there were many cows wandering the streets. It was very hot, humid, usually over 30-35 degrees, so tiring.
Despite the above we really enjoyed our time there. Mark and Jenika live away from central Kathmandu, up a slight hill - not quite as polluted and much quieter. They rent the bottom half of a fairly large house with a lovely garden and excellent vegie patch. A short walk from their home is Jenika's "sanity", a hotel swimming pool where she meets friends with their little children three times a week. Jenika drives a 40-year-old VW. In monsoon time the streets get flooded and one cannot see the potholes, so bike riding is dangerous. Day-to-day living with them was a revelation. Each evening the next day's water supply has to be boiled and filtered. All fruit and vegetables have to be soaked in an iodine solution and then rinsed. Water is precious. There is a large basin under the shower to catch all water used. This is re-used for washing clothes and for flushing the toilet. For the toilet we learnt: "If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down"! For teeth cleaning, as in India, we had to use precious filtered water. Bathtime for the children is either in a bucket or playing in the basin under the shower.
Six days a week a Nepali lady named Sita comes to help Jenika in the house. She does the dishes, washes the clothes and hangs them out, cleans the house, helps in the kitchen with food preparation and washes the floors with a dettol solution. Her help is invaluable. Jenika is able to devote time to the children, shopping, cooking in the evening, keeping up with an enormous amount of correspondence, as well as visiting the YWCA, meeting and greeting new C.M.S. personnel at the airport and attending lessons in Nepali. Her latest interest is in an advisory capacity to a new HIV/AIDS clinic, using her knowledge to brainstorm with 2 Nepali staff and help and advise them. There are approximately 200,000 known cases of AIDS in India. This last year India sent back a number of girls aged between 8 and 12 originally from rural Nepal. They had been sold to Indian brothels by poor parents, who probably thought the girls were going to be taught domestic duties and earn money for the family.
We visited Mark's office. Mark has spent the last 3 months as acting director of the Hydroconsult Dept., instead of being out and about as Manager of the Engineering Consultancy Division teaching Nepalese civil engineers, which he enjoys. The hydro electric scheme is under way, but the pipeline to bring water to the Kathmandu valley is still on the drawing board.
The United Mission to Nepal (UMN) is an umbrella organisation built around integrity and commitment to the people of Nepal by the co-operation of 35 missions. The Church Missionary Society (CMS) is the Anglican sponsor of Mark & Jenika. UMN's first steps are literacy training, primary school support, teaching knowledge about hygiene and health. Only 1% of the population go on to tertiary education, compared to 50-60/% in the US and UK. Education is free, but schooling is out of reach for those who live in remote areas. The majority are illiterate. Many men walk to India or Tibet in summer, to find work, as few people can live on the harvest of their small plots.
As in India, corruption and bribery hamper honest progress. We heard that the Swiss offered to change the polluting blue public transport cars with white, non-polluting electric cars. The bribes the top officials wanted totalled more than the cost of all the new cars, so the offer was withdrawn. Also that a very high minister wanted his niece to have one of two jobs in a hospital in Kathmandu. She was on the short list of 5 out of hundreds of applicants. The dilemma - if she hadn't been given the job, supplies to the hospital could have been delayed indefinitely at the airport. Luckily, she was the best candidate anyway.
Sightseeing around Kathmandu - the 17th century was a golden age for building temples and palaces. Many are now World Heritage listed and it is incongruous to see children climbing over them, or washing flapping from statues of lions and elephants. In the old part of town around Durbar Square, there are the old Royal Palace, a pagoda, Indian style temples and many other buildings over 400 years old. In the Bhuddist area of Patan, the Golden Temple, built in the 1400s, has huge tortoises walking around as well as a fair few rats.
We wandered around the tourist area of Thamel with many tiny shops selling T-shirts, pottery, carvings, paintings, jumpers, carpets and silver to the gullible tourists. We saw the Pashupatinath Hindu Temple on the banks of the filthy, holy Bagmati River with burning ghats and ritual bathing and we visited the Hospice for the Dying, with old men and women lying on two tiers of bunks, waiting to die. We saw the Tibetan Buddhist Stupa Bodhnath, built 7th to 14th century AD. It is the largest Stupa in Nepal. There were prayer wheels and prayer flags fluttering in the breeze, whilst inside saffron-robed monks were beating drums, blowing trumpets and reciting prayers.
We went on a day trip to Bhaktapur, which was the capital of Nepal in the 14th and 15th C. The monkey temple, over 1,000 years old, had huge buddhas and prayer wheels. It was interesting to spend a day walking through these ancient, mediaeval towns and observe communal life continuing: weaving, washing at the well, food being placed in front of a shrine, baby goats and chickens scavenging, butchers' shops with the head of a goat or buffalo on a slab, covered with flies, and the butcher making sausages.
To be continued. Susan Graze
SYDNEY
Bei unserem Treffen am Sonntag, den 27. Juni, sprach Werner Ehmann zu uns und erinnerte an die Gründung unserer Gesellschaft vor 138 Jahren auf dem Kirschenhardthof. Sein gut formulierter Vortrag umfasste auch das Losungswort der TG - Matt. 6,33 - und die vorweg stehenden Verse aus Matt. 6, 27-32. Anschliessend unterhielten wir uns noch eine gute Stunde bei Kaffee und Kuchen.
Ich möchte hier nochmals, wie schon im letzten TR, auf unsere diesjährige Mitgliederversammlung am Sonntag, den 22. August, nachmittags um 3.00 Uhr in Meadowbank verweisen.
Nach der Verlesung der Jahresberichte betr.Tätigkeit und Finanzen müssen Wahlen durchgeführt werden. Wir brauchen einen
neuen Gemeindeleiter und Mitglieder für den Gemeinderat.
Der nächste Saal ist dann am
26. Sept. um - 3.00 Uhr nachmittags.
At the Service on Sunday 27 June, Werner Ehmann spoke to us about the founding of our Society 138 years ago at the Kirschenhardthof in Germany. In this context he also spoke about our chosen motto - Matt. 6:33 - which no doubt was a strong bond of the founding generation in establishing the settlements in former Palestine. As always, coffee and cakes and lively conversation followed.
Once more I want to remind all Sydney Community members that our
Annual General Meeting will take place on Sunday 22 August at 3.00 p.m.
Please seriously consider taking part since we have to elect a new Head of the Community and some committee members. You will also hear the activity and financial reports and we have to discuss further matters.
Our next service is on 26 September at 3.00 p.m. in Meadowbank.
Ilse Birkner
RECHTSCHREIBUNG
Vielleicht haben Sie schon bemerkt, dass wir uns immer mehr um die neue Deutsche Rechtschreibung bemühen. Wahrscheinlich dauert es noch eine Weile, bis wir alles richtig hinkriegen.
Ed.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Am 13. Juni traf sich unsere kleine Gruppe zum Saal in Tanunda. Nach den ersten drei Versen des Liedes "Lobe den Herren" hörten wir den Text aus Matthäus Kapitel 13, Verse 44 bis 52. Ulrich las einen Vortrag von Hulda Wagner vor, die uns erinnert, dass wir die guten Seiten im Leben sehen sollen. Gibt es nicht unzählige Schönheiten auf unserer Erde: ein herrliches Abendrot, liebliche Blumen, glückliche Kinder und vieles andere. Auch aus Schmerz und Tränen kann Kostbares entstehen. Lernen wir nicht durch Not und Schmerz Gottes Güte erkennen? Auf den inneren Reichtum kommt es an und wir werden erkennen, dass das Reich Gottes in uns ist. Wir hörten den Psalm 103. Die Andacht schloss mit dem Vaterunser und den letzten beiden Versen des angefangenen Liedes.
Uns wurde ein Plakat für's 50-jährige Jubiläum am 11. März 2000 zugeschickt. Thea Frank, Hilda Weinmann und Berthold Tannenbaum sandten Grüße und bedauerten, nicht bei uns sein zu können. Wie üblich beschlossen wir den Nachmittag bei Kaffee und Kuchen und lebhafter Unterhaltung.
Unser nächster Saal ist am 15. August, da werden Isolde und Dieter Ruff bei uns zu Gast sein und Dieter wird den Saal halten.
Die Frauengruppe traf sich im Juni bei Edith Hatswell und im July bei Edith Unger. Neben guter Unterhaltung werden auch Handarbeiten gemacht.
Rose Asenstorfer
SOMETHING DIFFERENT
For many years, Blaichs have enjoyed eggplant salad made the easy way. They say it is much less trouble, looks better and tastes great and thought other Bedenschan fanciers might be pleased to hear about their recipe.
EGGPLANT SALAD
Take 2 or 3 medium sized eggplants. Cut them in half lengthways. Do not peel, the skin is the best part. If the eggplants are really big, cut them into 3 lengthways slices. Use very little oil in a big frypan with lid (or big square electric pan). Cook cut side down for 8-10 minutes on medium heat with lid on, until dark brown. Then turn over and cook for another 5-6 minutes.
When cool, cut into cubes, mix liberally with olive oil and vinegar, add chopped onion, garlic, salt and pepper and let stand for a few hours. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Guten Appetit! Skaidra and Werner Blaich
ALTERSHEIMNACHRICHTEN HOME NEWS FLASH
Nach langen, gründlichen Überlegungen ist nun der Beschluss gefasst: der Hostel Teil vom Altersheim wird ans Tabulam angeschlossen.
Ich bin überzeugt, dass das eine sehr positive Entwicklung ist, aus den folgenden Gründen:
Das Wohlergehen unserer Heimbewohner war uns bei allen Überlegungen immer unser Hauptanliegen. Wir versichern Ihnen, dass Sie weiterhin gut versorgt werden, auch werden wir Sie auf dem Laufenden halten.
Der Zusammenschluss bringt mit sich, dass Tabulam ein großes Bauprogramm unternehmen wird, um all den Anforderungen der Regierung und auch unseren Wünschen gerecht zu werden. Dieses Bauprojekt erstreckt sich wahrscheinlich über mindestens 18 Monate.
Zum Schluss wollen wir noch an das Treffen für alle Heimbewohner und ihre Angehörigen erinnern, das am 5. August um 10 Uhr vormittags im Altersheim stattfindet.
After extended deliberations the decision has now been made: the Hostel part of the Templer Home for the Aged will amalgamate with the Tabulam Nursing Home.
I believe this to be a very positive development, for several reasons.
The shift of responsibility for residential care to one administration (Tabulam) will free up the THA Committee to focus its efforts on better providing for the care needs of our unit residents.
The welfare of our residents has been the primary consideration in all our discussions. We assure you that you will still be well looked after, and we will keep you informed of developments.
The amalgamation process will require Tabulam to undertake a major building program to incorporate all the requirements envisaged by government regulations, as well as what we think is in the best interest of our residents. This project is likely to take at least 18 months to complete.
In conclusion, we remind you of the meeting for all residents and their relatives to be held at the Home on 5 August at 10 a.m.
See also FROM THE OFFICE and TABULAM NEWS.
Walter Burkhardt
TABULAM NEUIGKEITEN TABULAM NEWSFLASH
Sie lesen recht - Neuigkeiten - nicht nur Nachrichten!
Nach Wochen und Monaten des Planens, Überlegens, Diskutierens und Verhandelns kam, im Einvernehmen mit unseren beiden Trägerorganisationen, gerade der letzte Beschluss zustande: Tabulam und der Hostel Teil des angrenzenden Templer Home for the Aged vereinigen sich. Tabulam wird drei neue Wohnflügel bauen, einesteils um die 39 zusätzlichen Bewohner aufzunehmen (wenn die Gebäude fertig sind), andernteils um die Wohndichte im bestehenden Heim aufzulockern und so den neuesten Anforderungen der Altersfürsorge Rechnung zu tragen.
Für dieses große Bauprojekt brauchen wir nicht nur viele Erbsen sondern viele, viele - und noch mehr - Dollars: mindestens 3.7 Millionen. Also, bitte bereiten Sie sich jetzt schon darauf vor, in den nächsten Monaten und Jahren immer wieder vom mir gebeten zu werden, Spenden für dieses Projekt zu machen.
Die Anzahl der high care Pflegebetten wird sich erhöhen. So werden wir mehr Pflegefälle aufnehmen können und somit die Warteliste verkürzen - und die Wartezeit. Im erweiterten Heim wird es jedoch auch einen Teil mit low-care, hostel-style Zimmern geben.
Mehr Neuigkeiten jeden Monat.
Im Auftrag des Verwaltungsausschusses,
O. LöbertIt's news hot of the press this month!
After months of planning, considering, discussing and negotiating, a decision has just been reached. With the agreement of both our parent societies, Tabulam and the Hostel part of the Templer Home for the Aged will be united. Tabulam will build three new accommodation wings,
For this big building project we need a lot of funds - not peanuts but hard dollars, lots and lots of them, in fact at least 3.7 million dollars. So please prepare yourselves for frequently repeated requests for donations in the weeks and months ahead.
With this increase in the number of beds once the new buildings are completed, we shall be able to admit more people needing a high level of assistance and the waiting time will be reduced. A new low-care, hostel-style section is also part of the planned Home extension.
More news next month.
O. Löbert
FORTHCOMING SERVICES
8.8 Ba 3.15 Service, S.S. & com. aft. E Harald Ruff; & Elders' mtg.
15.8 AH 10.45 Service G Hulda Wagner
15.8 SA 14.00 Service G Dieter Ruff
22.8 Be 10.15 Service & Be-Mo AGM E Theo Richter
22.8 Sy 15.00 AGM
BA-BO SERVICE & COMMUNITY AFTERNOON
8 August Ba Hall 3.15 p.m.
Everyone is welcome. Could the ladies from Boronia and Bayswater please bring a cake already cut. Would the following ladies please be at the Hall by 2.45 p.m. to help with the cakes and with serving coffee and tea after the service.
Busch: Isolde & Veronica, Decker: Brigitte, Edelmaier: Hella,
Dryburgh: Heide & Monika, English: Erika, Etherington: Mandy.
If you cannot come, please ask a friend or ring Uta Steller Tel. 9720 2440.
BA-BO TEMPLER TENNIS CLUB
NEW COMMITTEE President: Darren Loebert
Don't forget the Dinner Dance on Saturday 15 August. Have you booked yet? See previous TRs for details.
Hella Edelmaier, Secretary
BAYSWATER-BORONIA LADIES GROUP
Tuesday 17 August Ba 1-3 p.m.
We are delighted that Lois will tell us of her work. Lois is a member of a surgical orthopaedic team active in New Guinea where she actively helped after the tidal wave.
We welcome all ladies to come and hear about Lois's work and the working conditions in New Guinea.
Traude Weber
BENTLEIGH-MOORABBIN COMMUNITY AGM
Sunday 22 August after 10:15 Saal
Three members of the committee will be retiring and not standing for re-election. Helga Anderson, Ingrid Edelmaier and Heinz Edelmaier have all contributed most generously to the Bentleigh-Moorabbin community, and each is due for a well-earned rest.
This means that three nominations will be needed for us to maintain our activities and, more importantly, meet the requirements of the Constitution.
May I ask everyone to think earnestly about joining the committee. The work isn't hard, the meetings are short(ish), and if we are able to meet the demands of the constitution, we won't need to have lots of Extraordinary General Meetings!
If you have any questions about the job specifications or how to nominate, contact a member of the current committee.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
for the Bentleigh Moorabbin committee, Judy Eppinger
KIDS' CLUB REPORTING/PLANNING
Members of the community are invited to the Kids' Club Reporting on past activities on Sunday 8 August, at Bayswater. Please see the Kids' Club section for more details of the afternoon's activities.
YOU ARE INVITED!
A "Wilhelmaner" is visiting our shores, come and meet him. Hans Held and his wife Heike are coming to Melbourne on a flying visit as part of their tour through Australia. They will be in our vicinity for only a few days, which means we Melbournians should make their stay with us a memorable one.
Hans emanates from Wilhelma, born during the war years. Fate took him and his mother to the "beach" stay in Famagusta, Cyprus and then on to Germany. He grew up at Lauf an der Pegnitz, near Nürnberg.
Our planned function for the Helds is in the Bayswater Tennis Pavilion on Sunday 29 August for lunch and afternoon tea. Anybody and everybody, not only former citizens of Wilhelma, are welcome to participate and meet the Helds. We would like to particularly stress that all young people are especially invited.
Please RSVP by August 22 to allow us to get an idea of how many people will come.
Wilhelm Sawatzky Tel. 9762 2783
KIDS' CLUB KOORIE CULTURE EVENING
On Saturday 18 September we have invited Murrindindi to tell stories, play the didgeridoo, throw the boomerang and tell us about aboriginal culture. All members, friends and families are invited. For more details see the Kids' Club Section and next month's TR.
TSA 50TH ANNIVERSARY
For those of us who have chosen to be amongst its members, the Temple Society must, to varying degrees, be a significant part of our lives. If we have elected to join the Temple Society we must surely see something of value in it. Of all the things the Temple Society has to offer, what is important to you? Is it:
What exactly does the Temple Society mean to you? Why not come and listen to what some of our members think?
After 50 years of existence in Australia this may also be an appropriate time in our history to think about how far we have come, where we are today and what we want for the future.
These issues may be covered by some members of our community who have agreed to speak at the TSA 50th Anniversary. Come along to hear what our speakers have to share and perhaps even contemplate what it is you believe.
With the prospect of great food and accompanying music and dance, this celebration should be a memorable occasion!
What: TSA 50th Anniversary
Where: Keysborough, Victoria
When: Saturday 11 March 2000 5p.m.- midnight
Also keep Sunday 12.3 free for celebrations.
More details in the coming months!
Christine Ruff, for the organising group
JG SECTION
INTRODUCTION
You're reading your favourite part of the TR, so get comfy and put your feet up, 'cos this month is jam packed with lots and lots of news. August isn't really the month of anything, except the end of winter, a really good thing! And - a new JG.
Last month we held our AGM. Although the number of attendees wasn't as high as hoped, the range of ages was varied, which was great to see. It allowed us to get a range of different perspectives on where people thought the JG was headed. We discussed possible causes and solutions to the problem of a lack of interest within the JG and came up with quite a few good suggestions. Everyone got a chance to express their feelings and each viewpoint was listened to with great attention.
One comment was that everything around us, is changing... everything but the JG, which has pretty much stayed the same in how it works and it was because of this that we decided that the JG wasn't working in it's current format. Part of this was due to the fact that we are `divided' into specific age groups. We've got the older ones who are all over 23, and the next group where the oldest is 19. And while we as one large group get along fine, it's our own individual lives, outside the JG and with our own age groups, that prevent us from coming together as one big group. The older ones have a different set of priorities such as work and generally speaking, are going to favour spending time with their age group. So they want to move on and let us spring chickens take over the nest.
Linked to this was a view that the range of activities was too big, by way of age. We looked at the `steps' within the TS, from Playgroup to JG, in terms of age, and decided that we should break the JG into two `groups'. Realistically we'd still be one big group but the idea is to alter the activities on offer to suit the group. You've got Junior Camp/Teenage Group, then Confirmation, then straight into the JG, where you have 25-year-olds and 15-year-olds, and that's where the division lies. If we want people to come to the JG, we need to change what we offer. Get me??
Of course, the two groups will work together. We will always be the JG. Some things you can't change. We're just trying to change the structure so everyone is happy and gets what they want out of it. So we decided to officially dissolve the JG. No more President, no more Treasurer, no more committees and no more formality. Now we're a bunch of pre-adult persons's who enjoy having fun, and who have made some great friends within the TS. Basically, I guess if you wanted to define us, we'd be a social club. Or as was suggested, the `Party Planners'! Whichever way you look at it, we want to get everyone re-involved and change the notion that you have to serve a function within the JG. Now all we're about is friends getting together and having fun, enjoying each other's company and getting to know more people our age within the Temple Society.
The next step was to cultivate a group of people interested in organising activities, soliciting money for activities, and letting people know what's happening. We're a bit like the committee, though we're not a committee. Does that make sense? In short, we do all the hard work, you reap all the benefits, like having copious amounts of fun. And if you've got any questions about what's happening or whatever, we're the ones you call. In fact, we are the Party Planners. I've included names and numbers of the group.
At the moment, we're still taking our first tentative steps in changing the JG. We haven't had time for much discussion yet but we'll be meeting soon to discuss where we head now. I'd love it if you could stay tuned to this section each month, as it will be our primary way of letting you guys know what's going on.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
As Shakespeare wrote in Romeo & Juliet, if a rose was called anything else, it'd still smell as sweet. I mean what is a name? It's a large part of your identity but you'd still be the same person even if you were called Arabella or Erroll (no offence), but I guess without a name you'd feel slightly weird. The JG is suffering a bit of an identity crisis at the moment. Whilst Party Planners is a fairly accurate description of our talents:
Sarah `Never again' Murray makes sure there are plenty of liquid refreshments, Darren Loebert sometimes acts as an amateur photographer, taking shots of partygoers in graphic detail, Monique Steller discovers couches' ability to hold the food,
Chris Blaich unfortunately hasn't done anything I can tell you about and I, well I'm not about to let you know all the things I've done at parties (my Mum reads this)...
Suffice to say, we've all been involved in a few wild social gatherings in our time. But we're not only about parties. And the JG as we knew it doesn't exist. And I don't think "The Group Formerly Known as JG" really has a ring to it (thanks Silvia for that suggestion.) So I ask you, do you have any ideas about what we should be called? For the time being, we will continue to call ourselves `JG' because everyone can associate with it, but if you've got any suggestions, send them to me at my address above (I'm Karyn).
And since technically, we're not the JG anymore, we can pretty much put anything in this section! [provided it passes H.U. Ed.]
You know who to send contributions to.
If anyone out there has any JG `artefacts' from any JG event from past years, can you please let Renate Beilharz know or pass them on to her so she can put them in the archives. Thanks.
BIRTHDAY LIST
For awesome August, I'd like to wish
Kathy Herrmann for the 1st
Peter Herrmann for the 18th
Liesel Haar for the 23rd
Monica Haar for the 27th
many happy returns!!
Well that's it from me. Hopefully next month we will have organised our first event for the `new and improved' JG!
And for those who thought I had gone to JG Editor heaven, I'm baaaaack!!! And here to bring you a JG section like you've never seen before! Catch you later,
Karyn Kinder, Ed.
Please note: Copy for Sept. TR has to go to Hulda Wagner, see FROM THE OFFICE.
CHILDREN'S SECTION
Hi Kids and Parents,
Winter is definitely here this week. It's cold, wet and windy. Last week was so warm we could have been down at the beach. This is where we find Moses and the Israelites on their way out of Egypt.
The Red Sea - Exodus 14 & 15
God led the people out of Egypt by a pillar of cloud in the daytime. At night, he led them in a pillar of fire.
Now the king of Egypt sent his army after the Israelites. God's people were scared. Moses said, "Do not be afraid. God will take care of us".
God did take care of them. A strong wind blew the water of the Red Sea back, leaving a dry seabed that the Israelites walked across. The army tried to follow them, but the water poured back over the seabed. The sea covered the whole army.
God saved his people.
Till next month, Moni
End of August TR
TR 608 - JULY 1999
REFLECTIONS
SERVING ONE ANOTHER
The German article following asks about the meaning of life - and finds one answer in freely choosing to serve one another. The song below is from the new hymn book we are preparing.
THE SERVANT SONG
This song also speaks of serving, accompanying and supporting each other as we seek to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
I know, however, that some people are quite uncomfortable at the thought of `having' to be anybody's servant, and I'd say that's not unusual in an ego-oriented culture geared to admiring winners. Servants are perceived as losers (and we'd hate to be seen as one of them!).
Our ego (an important part, but not all of us) craves status and being admired, or at least approved, and is fearful of being sucked into demands it doesn't want, or is unable to meet. And no one likes the feeling of being used. And we are right to be wary of some people's (usually unconscious) need to help or be useful to us so that they can feel good about themselves, or put us under obligation to them - a kind of emotional blackmail we can't stand.
It takes a good deal of self-knowledge and maturity to choose, free of subconscious compulsions, to serve with love, for the greater good - and to be able to accept, with grace and gratitude, the loving service of another. Where our service is taken for granted or arrogantly demanded, it is very hard to serve with love.
We have probably all observed different tendencies within ourselves at different times: the reluctance to give/serve, or to receive, the egoistical impulses that divide, separate and put down. But also the higher, unifying, more loving urges for the greatest good of all, when we spare no trouble and do our very best merely because it feels right, we want to, and for the joy of it.
Out of such a spirit can the `kingdom of God' be created.
Editor
EINANDER DIENEN
Teil einer Betrachtung von Ulrich von Hasselbach in der WARTE vom April 1999, S. 66-67, zu der Aufforderung in 1 Petr. 4,10:
"Dienet einander, ein jeder mit der Gabe, die er empfangen hat."
Der Autor macht sich Gedanken über die Frage nach dem Sinn des Lebens; ... "worin liegt der Sinn des Vorhandenseins dieses Wesens Mensch", ... da ja immer "mehr erkennbar wird, dass der Mensch im Grunde das übrige Leben in seinen Vielfalt weniger fördert als gefährdet." ... "Nun denken aber die allermeisten in erster Linie...: Wozu bin ich da?... Wenn sie an dieser Frage verzweifeln, dann kann es zu... einer totalen Depression kommen..."
"Gibt es also eine Antwort auf die Frage: Wozu lebe ich? Was hat mein Leben für einen Sinn? Eine Antwort könnte lauten: Mach etwas aus dir selbst! Lass vor allem deinen inneren Menschen zu mehr Tiefe gelangen, zu mehr Licht und damit zu stärkerer Ausstrahlung! Nimm die Gnade an, die sich dir anbietet! Lass sie einwirken auf die wesentlichen Schichten deines seelischen Organismus!
Tiefgang gewinnen, das wäre eine Antwort auf die Frage nach dem Sinn unseres Lebens. Eine andere liegt in der Weisung: `Dienet einander, ein jeder mit der Gabe, die er empfangen hat?' Wenn einer sich in seiner Todesstunde einmal sagen darf: ich bin anderen etwas gewesen, ich habe anderen etwas geben können, ich habe ihnen etwas bedeutet, ich habe ihnen in meiner Weise geholfen, dann hat er sicher nicht umsonst gelebt.
Wir sollten einen wesentlichen Sinn unseres Lebens darin finden, dass wir einander dienen. Das kann auf sehr verschiedene Weise geschehen. Es mögen sich hier Fragen regen, wie zum Beispiel: Kann ein Arbeitsloser im Dienen den Sinn seines Lebens sehen? Oder ein Schwerkranker, ein Verkrüppelter, ein alter Mensch, der ganz auf die Hilfe anderer angewiesen ist? Kann der anderen dienen? Sie alle können. Denn wir dienen einander ja nicht nur durch unser tätiges Handeln, sondern auch durch unser Sein, durch das, was von uns ausgeht. Manchmal schon durch ein freundliches Wort, ein Zeithaben und Anteilnehmen, eine Ermutigung, einen Trost. Wir dienen einander durch die Atmosphäre, die wir um uns her schaffen und verbreiten und die dann auch auf andere einwirkt. Aber auch durch die Geduld, die wir beweisen, und durch die Güte, die wir anderen zuwenden. Diejenigen, die nicht mehr am sogenannten Arbeitsprozess teilnehmen, können beispielsweise Kindern sehr viel sein und geben, Kindern und Enkeln.
Von den beruflichen Tätigkeiten, in denen Menschen stehen, sind einige besonders deutlich vom Dienst für andere her zu verstehen, etwa pädagogische und soziale Berufe, ärztliche und irgendwie dem Heilen Verbundene. Aber auch in ganz anderen Tätigkeiten können Menschen mittelbar oder unmittelbar ihren Mitmenschen dienen, wobei es natürlich darauf ankommt, wie sie ihren Beruf verstehen und ausfüllen.
Von der Grundgesinnung des freien Dienens her, vom Dasein füreinander, wird sich sicher vieles ändern in unserem menschlichen Zusammenleben. Wie Menschen sind, wie sie ihr Leben, wie sie Sinn und Aufgabe ihres Daseins verstehen, ist mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit folgenreicher als etwa die Durchsetzung dieses oder jenes gesellschaftlichen Systems.
Einander dienen wollen: mit dieser Bereitschaft können wir sinnvoll leben und dazu beitragen, die Welt im Sinne Jesu zu verändern. Der Blick auf Jesus mag uns Mut machen zum Dienenwollen. Jeder von uns hat mit seinen Gaben etwas besonderes einzubringen. Mit den besonderen Gaben, die er empfangen hat, die gerade ihm zuteilgeworden und anvertraut sind, soll er dem anderen und dem Ganzen dienen. Dazu findet er in den verschiedensten Lebenssituationen Gelegenheit, auch - und gerade auch - während eines Aufenthaltes im Krankenhaus.
Und so dürfen wir uns wohl das Wort zur wegweisenden Losung machen: Dienet einander, ein jeder mit der Gabe, die er empfangen hat!"
TEXT FOR THE MONTH
John 6:1-15 - Jesus feeds the multitude.
After hearing of John the Baptist's execution, Jesus goes up into the hills, but the crowd finds him. The Passover feast is `at hand'. Jesus directs that the 5,000 men (plus any women and children who may have been with them) sit down on the grass. He gives thanks for the food and they all eat their fill, with plenty left over.
This event is usually `read' as a kind of miraculous picnic, with emphasis on Jesus' multiplication of the boy's five loaves and two fish. Recently I came across a different angle. The writers (1)noted that this miracle is not connected with healing, like the others reported of Jesus. And in Mark's Gospel at least, no one is amazed by the event, although the healings usually astound or amaze the onlookers.
Rather than being about something paranormal, this event, they suggest, is significant because Jesus made 5,000 men all sit down together, whether they were Pharisees, Essenes, fishermen, Simon the Zealot's patriotic band of terrorist guerillas, or whatever other political group or religion was represented in the crowd. In effect, Jesus was getting factions who despised, or even killed one another to sit down peaceably and take a ritual meal together - all these clans of old enemies `in ranks, by hundreds and by fifties' (Mark 6:39-40). Surely this is no less 'miraculous'!
Would that we had fine, charismatic leaders who could persuade today's warring factions to sit down and picnic together and listen to the good news of brotherly love, co-operation and forgiveness.
(1) Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince in The Templar Revelation, Corgi 1998.
(They present quite a different picture of Jesus, Mary Magdalene & John the Baptist).
You are encouraged to reflect on the text and see what comes up for you.
HOW THE MIND WORKS
Alfred Klink comments on a book by Steven Pinker
The brain is one of Nature's most complicated structures, and the mind very likely its most closely guarded secret. But their combined influence on life and its progress on Earth is phenomenal. From the basic bodily functions to calculating and predicting future events, it spans motor control, sensory perceptions, language, intelligence and philosophical aspirations.
For centuries people have, in trying to understand the brain's functions, assigned certain functions of the mind to finite parts of the brain, even named sections accordingly, only to find in time higher levels of interconnections involving seemingly unrelated sectors. And in amongst all this accumulated evolution there arose a new identity, the mental capacity we label consciousness.
What is consciousness? Is it awareness? Is it free will? Is it something that only arises with a certain level of complexity? Or is it, in primitive form, already present in any system that includes some sort of feedback loop? Is any system conscious that senses changes and responds to, reacts to, or compensates for a change, such as a heater with a thermostat, an automatic door with a limit switch, anti-locking brakes on passenger cars? Normally consciousness is not recognized (acknowledged) as such at this level. We say that is just a machine. A machine does not know what it is doing, or why it is doing what it is doing. We are different! Aren't we?
At a time when artificial intelligence is becoming a technological industry, we are still struggling to define intelligence's basic concepts: How do we think, how do we interpret and store sensory inputs, how indeed form philosophical thoughts, what role does religion play in our thinking, what is this "I AM"? Some call it the last great barrier to the understanding of life, the biggest hurdle, the challenge for the 21st century: Who are we? Who am I? Whatever this new century may bring in other innovations, you can be sure the mind and consciousness will rank high on the agenda.
Steven Pinker is Professor of Psychology and Director of a Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, and his latest book is called How the Mind Works. "Here Darwin meets Turing", said one of the commentators, "...it is a meeting of the theories of evolution and of computation". The book makes for good reading. I enjoyed it.
I like, for instance, the way he talks about the eye, how we see things: "It took civilisation five thousand years of trial and error to represent pictorial perspective on paper, and only during the last hundred years man slowly unravelled, bit by bit, how our eyes enable us to perceive a three dimensional image." The physicist Charles Wheatstone was the first, in 1838, to draw attention to the phenomena.
Our mind combines the two two-dimensional outputs of the retinae with the parallax angle of the left and the right eye at the point of focus. Note, this is not the same as judging distance, which is done by sensing the deformation of the eye's lens needed for correct focus. If you close one eye you still have a feeling of distance, but no appreciation of depth. You need two images for that. The intricate 'machinery' of the brain picks out the minute difference in the two separate pictures from the eyes and relates this information to the known angle of their separation. (The imaginary triangle formed from the apex that you are looking at to the distance between your eyes.)
In nature it is of vital importance for survival to extract as much information as possible, as quickly as possible, from what the eyes see. Camouflage of a predator can often only be separated from the natural background by recognizing the predator's shape as a three dimensional object. This you can only do with stereo vision. Whenever the mind is presented with a picture it immediately searches for information that could suggest three-dimensional depth, such as similar patterns of varying size, or recurring dots spaced differently. In the computer picture below, arranged co-ordinates make letters stand out against the flat surface. See if you can see the message hidden in this magic eye picture.
A hint: Use the two asterisks shown at the top to let your eyes un-focus. (As if you were looking through the paper). Once you see two pairs of stars, concentrate on the two middle ones until they merge, then let your focus drift into the centre of the picture and watch four lines of large text miraculously rise up from the background. Start with the picture close-up, then gradually move it away. I wont tell you what it says, you will know it when you see it.
All but some four percent of people have stereo vision. Most deficiencies can be traced to some childhood problem with one or other of the eyes. Stereo vision is an age-acquired ability. Like many of the sensory and mental faculties such as sight, language syntax etc., the mind must be able to practise it, exercise it, during a critical period in a child's development to activate and condition the function. History data shows that the window of opportunity for stereo vision is very short. In animals often only days from birth. In humans the stereo vision circuits in the brain are functional at the age of four month and "wired" set by the age of two. Any extended periods of visual handicap during this time can seriously affect stereo vision in later life.
What I find fascinating in this continuous journey of self-discovery is how we gradually recognise the various principles that make us humans tick, make us function the way we do. All this ability to cope with modern life, with technology, our ability to drive a motor car, to sit in front of a computer and type an essay, to appreciate music, is using our brain in a way that could not even have been imagined when it evolved to its present size and shape. Isn't this amazing? We are interactively re-defining our brain's functioning as we go along, from stone-age, through bronze-and-iron philosophies to the computer information technology, molding its capabilities by the environment we create and relate with.
Interaction with the environment is the most natural, the most practical way to shape a person's thinking. The biblical commandment "ändert euren Sinn" (change your attitude) or "love your neighbour" on its own, without an instruction how to go about this task, I feel, is just wishful thinking. That's why it takes so many explanations, they fill the rest of the Bible. The desired attitude should evolve naturally, in an environment conducive to fostering such an attitude. We use our immediate environment as a functional part of our mind. For a better society, for the Kingdom of God to become reality, a living mind has to appreciate the need for such a condition. The idea must harmonise with life's struggle for survival, for evolution has made Life itself the reward, and consciousness is rooted in self-preservation.
How The Mind Works? Everyone should read the book. Given a fertile environment our mind will grow to meet any challenge we can understand. The brain, and life itself have an unlimited ability to do so. History teaches us that. AK
Alfred is good at issuing challenges. Do you agree with his last assertion? Or are there other ways to change our thinking, our attitudes?
BAYSWATER LAND UNIT DEVELOPMENT
As previously advised, the unit development (`Templer Village') in Elizabeth Street Bayswater has five vacant lots. The Regional Council is keen to complete the development by building on these lots. Sufficient member interest exists to enable this final stage of the project to proceed. As with earlier stages, the TSA requires a project manager and so seeks expressions of interest by 31 July 1999.
The project manager will be responsible for updating the available documentation, obtaining building quotes, liaising with clients, the successful building contractor and other contractors.
Further information is available from the TSA Office on (03) 9557 6713.
JUNIOR CAMP
Next year's camp at Point Lonsdale has been booked for the week from Monday 10 January to Monday 17 January 2000. Being a confirmation year, the minimum age of participants will again be 12. We will be asking for camp leaders soon.
Mark Herrmann
TEMPLER EXCHANGE
The deadline for applications was 30 June, so candidates will hear soon about interviews.
Our latest guest from the TGD, Claudia Mutschlechner, has been sending e-mails: having a wonderful time. She bussed up north to Cairns, flew to Alice Springs (rain!) bussed to SA (rain in Adelaide) then back to Melbourne - flying home 30 June, full of great impressions and determined to return and see more of Australia one day.
Ed.
SOCIAL CARE
Dear Friends,
In the latest newsletter of COTA (Council for the Ageing) there was a warning which I think is worth passing on:
Be wary of telephone service technicians who ask you to press particular keys `for testing'. It could be a scam. (We are still checking details).
I am very pleased to report that contributions for our book on the Templer beginnings in this country are coming in, but many more are needed. Those of you who have not yet started might wish to do so now. Please let me know if you would like some help with this project.
Best wishes to our sick and infirm.
Helga Anderson
AUS DEM GEMEINDELEBEN
GEBURTSTAGE
Wir gratulieren herzlich zum Geburtstag unserer Mitglieder
GOLDENE HOCHZEIT
Am 11.6.1999 feierten Franz und Lieselotte Korbel ihre Goldene Hochzeit und wir gratulieren nachträglich.
DANKSAGUNG
Für die Karten, Blumen und guten Wünsche zu meinem Geburtstag möchte ich mich auf diese Weise herzlich bedanken.
Gerda Weiss
MARRIAGE
Renate Hoffmann & Julian Lu on 28.11.98
Congratulations and our best wishes.
NEW MEMBERS
We welcome Christa Jürgensen and Ralph & Michelle Weller as new members and hope they will feel comfortable among us.
WHAT DO GRANDPARENTS, GOLD COINS, GIVING CUDDLES AND ENJOYING CUPS OF TEA HAVE IN COMMON?
Our Playgroup's annual Grandparents' Day and Australia's Biggest Morning Tea - which was again a successful and pleasant, sunny morning. Our children invited their Omas, Opas and friends who seemed happy to be `big kids' again and enjoyed playing with playdough and puzzles and delighting in their grandchildren.
Up to the usual standard, parents excelled themselves with providing a delicious spread (we are hoping to share that chocolate cake recipe, Jörg!) combined with a wide selection of teas and coffee of course.
We sincerely thank all who came (and the absentee donations) for your generous `gold coins' which raised $80 for Cancer Research.
Moni Herrmann, for Playgroup
TRAUERFÄLLE / BEREAVEMENTS
Am 23. Mai 1999 ist unsere liebe Schwester, Tante und Großtante
Lotte Frank
nach geduldig ertragener, langer Krankheit plötzlich verschieden.
Die Bestattung fand auf ihren Wunsch im engen Familienkreise am 31. Mai in Springvale statt.
Albrecht Frank mit Familie
Elisabeth Werlein
Am 7. Juni 1999 ist unsere liebe Mutter und Oma
Kaethe Elise Eppinger
im Alter von 90 Jahren von uns gegangen.
Wir danken Hulda Wagner für ihre trostreichen und mitfühlenden Worte in der Boyd Chapel in Springvale.
Bei dem Personal im Tabulam und im Altersheim bedanken wir uns herzlich für ihre mitfühlende Pflege über viele Jahre.
Gertrud und Roger Leitch
Helmut und Sally Eppinger mit Carl, Robert und James
Bernhard und Judy Eppinger mit Jane und Katrina
Aus Deutschland hörten wir, dass
Katharina Krügler geb. Tollgaard
am 1. Mai kurz nach ihrem 93. Geburtstag von ihrer schweren Krankheit erlöst wurde. Ihren Töchtern Traude Weber und Ursel Sturtz mit Familien in Melbourne und Helga in Deutschland gilt unser Mitgefühl.
Am 12. Mai ist Hilda Mayer-Dieth, Ehefrau von Oskar Kirchner, ruhig für immer eingeschlafen.
Allen Trauerfamilien drücken wir unsere herzliche Anteilnahme aus.
OBITUARY / NACHRUF
Lotte Frank quietly passed away in the Tabulam Nursing Home on 23 May 1999.
In our youth Tante Lotte was a motherly friend and confidante to us. We did not always appreciate her comments and remarks but now that we are older, her words and pieces of advice are remembered and found to be useful and true.
She was not only our Tante Lotte; she was Tante Lotte to all the younger members of the Bayswater-Boronia Choir in its early days in the 1950s. Many of these younger ones moved away, married and were replaced by others, but Tante Lotte remained a faithful and dedicated choir member until she felt she was getting too old.
She was also the president of the Bayswater Frauenverein for many years. This office entailed the decorating of the hall for functions and arranging for the cleaning and tidying up. And of course, as President, she arranged the monthly ladies' sessions and the annual excursions, as well as recording details of these meetings.
She undertook birthday visits to elderly members of the Bayswater Community. Cars were not so plentiful among the Templers in those days and she certainly did not drive. She used public transport or went on foot. People would have happily driven her, but it did not lie in her nature to inconvenience others.
She gave unstintingly of her time and help to the close and wider Frank family. She always seemed to be there when one needed help.
Once she became a resident of the Templer Home she made the Home part of her `family'. She helped wherever she could so energetically that she sometimes upset others who did not see or do things her way. For she was painstaking in all she did; some would even use the good Swabian word tüftelig - but I feel in the great scheme of things we do need people like Tante Lotte to balance those of us who are more off-hand and less careful in the work we do.
Towards the end, Tante Lotte, who had done so much for others, found it difficult to accept that now she had to have help and support - she, who had never wanted to have a fuss made about her!
Dr. Richard Hoffmann once said that the Temple Society was fortunate - in all difficult times the right men and women had been available to carry on its work.
Tante Lotte in her quiet, unassuming manner, in a different way, also gave the Temple Society a great deal.
Ade, Tante Lotte.
Ilse Beilharz, Heidi Vollmer (both née Frank)
COUNTRY TEMPLER MEETING
On 6 June Ilse and Helmut Beilharz kindly welcomed us to their mountain-top home at Strath Creek for the most recent Central Vic Country Templer meeting. We were a slightly smaller group this time, with 15 adults and accompanying children, but the day was splendid from start to finish. The service was conducted jointly by Mark Herrmann and Christa Lingham (née Hoffmann), a successful departure from the usual format.
Mark discussed certain aspects of Temple Society membership, including recognition of non-Templer spouses and the future of the JG. Chris spoke to the text of the day, discussing narrow and broad concepts of family, and reminded us of the importance of inclusion in `family' groups of either type. The two talks blended very well and led to a good discussion.
Incidentally, we sat facing the large windows of the Beilharz' lounge room and the sight of an eagle soaring and other bush birds flying about against the wonderful backdrop of rolling hills was an additional bonus, not a distraction. I was intrigued, however, at the sight of blue, rounded objects moving in fits and starts behind a bank close to the house, rather like something from the Muppets. It was rather a relief when one such object moved up the bank and revealed itself to have a sheep beneath it!
Following a good lunch and conversation, the glorious weather enticed us out for a walk on the property, led by Helmut. As we walked up and down the hills and climbed through the occasional wire fence, Helmut pointed out a wetland development, an area to be planted with eucalypts for honey production and later use as cut timber, an alpaca of uncertain age which had been incorporated into the sheep flock as protection against dog attacks, and more coloured sheep with their blue coats on. I am sure running the property means a lot of hard work for Helmut and Ilse, but for us city-dwellers a day on the farm is pure enjoyment.
Our thanks to Helmut and Ilse for their hospitality once again, and to Chris and Mark for their thought-provoking service.
Vyrna Beilharz
SONNWEND AT BAYSWATER
A hall full of people, the aroma of barbecuing meat, a mild winter's night; goodness, a person on top of the bonfire stack!? (Just a dummy, don't be scared, kids). The buzz of friendly conversation, extended families enjoying a good meal together, excitement on young faces. The bonfire gets brighter and hotter.
Lovely to reconnect with people one hasn't seen for a while, and welcome Ilse Birkner from Sydney.
A very long lantern parade, about 120 figures from babies to great-grandparents, file through the people in the darkened hall, over to Tabulam and the Altersheim; old faces light up - Brenne auf, mein Licht...; past the flats; Laterne, Laterne, Sonne, Mond und Sterne... a crescent moon and planet Venus brilliant above.
For some, memories of the Sonnwend Feuer in the camp at Tatura and the delicious prickle of butterflies in the tummy as your parents firmly held your hands, ran up in the dark to what must have been a smaller fire than this one and jumped, lifting you over the hot, red coals.
Since ancient times people have celebrated significant moments in the seasonal cycle of the year. Our Templer winter solstice evening has also become tradition. It, too, perhaps subliminally, has the ritual elements of yore: coming together in friendship, sharing a communal meal, making merry with Glühwein, brass band music (thanks, gentlemen!) and sparklers, and an enormous bonfire to burn away what is no longer useful and make room for the rebirth of light within as well as `out there'.
In the northern hemisphere, the midwinter solstice is marked by Christmas - which is also about celebrating the coming of light in the darkness. Without wanting to devalue the richness and fertility that can be found in the dark, I hope that the light of `Christ-consciousness', of unity, reverence for all, friendship and love may increase in each one of us, for the benefit of the whole earth.
A sincere thankyou to all the workers who made this lovely evening possible!
Herta Uhlherr
GRAZES VISIT INDIA
The Ba-Bo ladies thoroughly enjoyed Susan Graze's fascinating account of her recent travels with Theo and daughter Jenika's family in northern India, then Nepal, where Jenika lives. Susan has consented to share their adventures in the TR, but they have had to be cut.
Preface: Jenika's husband Mark Glover speaks Hindi; without him, travelling could have been a nightmare. Rebekah (4) and Joshua (2) were amazing, always cheerful and never a burden, despite the many strange situations they found themselves in. The only thing they objected to was the constant pinching of their cheeks by admiring Indian strangers.
Our impressions of Delhi and India in general were of filthy, crowded streets, ancient cars, polluted air, appalling traffic, beggars, people sleeping on the footpaths, loud blaring horns. It was not unusual to see pigs, goats, camels, donkeys, dogs and monkeys in the streets. The "sacred cows" just lay down in the middle of the road and the traffic whizzed around them. We quickly got used to bargaining for items, this was challenging and fun. We did not get used to the blatant lies told by taxi and rickshaw drivers, like "That hotel is full, I know a better one", if the hotel we wanted was not one which gave them a commission.
The ancient buildings were beautiful. In Delhi we visited the Red Fort, built by Shah Jahan in 1648 AD.
In Agra, south of Delhi, we spent time at Agra Fort built in the 1560s by the Emperor Akbar. A highlight of the whole trip was the exquisite Taj Mahal, built in the 1640s out of white marble as a memorial to a beloved wife, who died in childbirth with her 13th child. The symmetry of this building and the detail of the semi precious stones inlaid in the marble are superb.
From Agra we hired a car to the "pink city" of Jaipur via the Keoladeo National Park bird sanctuary, where we saw lots of storks and the fascinating, deserted old capital of Fatepur Sikri. Along this road were many huge, black, chained, dancing bears, which were forced to stand up and dance whenever a tourist bus passed by. We also saw quite a few truck accidents and a squashed taxi.
Jaipur is a walled city, built out of pink sandstone in a desert. A guided tour took us to the famous Palace of the Winds, the ancient observatory, and out into the desert to see the Tiger Fort, built 1734, and the marvellous Amber Fort, the capital from 1037 - 1728. Back in Jaipur we spent hours in the City Palace marvelling at old weapons, carriages, 600-year-old manuscripts, 200-350-year-old carpets and robes.
From Jaipur we caught the train back to Delhi, to prepare for our 2 weeks' trip north into the Indian Himalayan foothills.
The train trip Delhi to Simla took 13 hours, including buses because of a derailment (not uncommon). There were 70 people in our bus. We stood the whole way, straddling our rucksacks. The last 5½ hours of the trip were in a fascinating
little train (like Puffing Billy) which took us up over 2,000 meters, through 100 tunnels, to the spectacularly situated town of Simla. It is perched high on the ridge of several saddles, with forests in the valleys and views of the snow-capped Himalayas. We wondered why the balconies of our hotel rooms had bars and wire netting on them. We soon found out: when we returned from a walk, our balconies had been invaded by monkeys! Washing that Jenika had hung out was pulled off the line; food we had left in the room was strewn around and eaten! Big monkeys unable to squeeze through the netting sat outside peering in at us.
About to leave Simla for the trip down the mountain through the 100 tunnels, we learnt that our train had been derailed and all passengers were to be bussed back over the hundreds of scary hairpin bends. We didn't trust the buses, their brakes, the drivers, other drivers and the road in general, so we hired a taxi and told the driver to drive very slowly downhill. We arrived safely at the bottom of the mountain at Ambala, booked on an overnight train to Moradabad, with 5 hours to wait until the train arrived.
We ate at the station restaurant and went into the first class waiting room to have a wash and a bit of a sleep. The train was due at midnight. It was fascinating to watch the hundreds of people on the station - eating, sleeping, washing themselves under the tap, hopping down off the platform on to the railway lines to "go to the toilet" (in front of everybody). Beggars came past, some with tiny babies in their arms. There were many rats scuttling about and we were nearly deafened by the roosting in the rafters above us of thousands of Indian mynas.
At midnight an announcement: the train was delayed another 2 hours. At 12.30 a.m. suddenly all the thousands of roosting birds swooped, screeching and circling over our heads; the lights went out seconds later and we were shaken by an earthquake which measured 6.8 on the Richter scale. Rebekah & Joshua, asleep on top of our luggage, slept through it all. Later on we heard that 140 people were killed and many hundreds of dwellings flattened. This was our worst overnight train trip. Still sleepy, we almost missed our station and only just got ourselves and our gear off with seconds to spare.
In Corbett National Park we were shown our very primitive sleeping quarters. A bare room with 4 lots of bunks in 3 tiers, filthy blankets, a tap, but no toilet; we each had our own sleeping sheet, thank goodness. We still had great fun. The restaurant had excellent, cheap food, and there were lots of monkeys for the children to watch. Mark had hired a jeep and driver for 2 days and we saw lots of wild elephants, deer, boars, monkeys and peacocks in the jungle. One morning at sunrise, we went on the back of an elephant crashing through the jungle for another 2½ hours - a marvellous experience. On our way out of the park, the jeep driver stopped where we overlooked the river - and pointed out a tiger swimming silently towards 3 deer. Not many people see a tiger in the wild, so we were thrilled to catch a glimpse of one.
We spent Easter up in the mountains again in Mussoorie (where Mark had spent 6 years at boarding school) and generally relaxed. In the Christian guesthouse we attended excellent communal meals and spent a happy evening painting and decorating Easter eggs. Because of a shortage of water, no showers. Then Theo and I splurged on a decent hotel with en-suite and restaurant facilities down the mountain at Rishikesh, near the source of the holy Ganges River. We spent many hours walking along the banks observing people. The river appears clean and flows swiftly. Hovels line one side of the river with pigs, cows, people digging in the sand for stones; rubbish, faeces, children playing, women washing along the water's edge. At night, Hindu priests performed a river worship ceremony. Baskets of flowers with candles in them and little lamps were floated down the river. At sunrise the ghats (landings for ceremonial washing, funeral pyres and worshipping) were full of people performing their ablutions, praying and feeding huge cat fish with milk and bread.
At Dehra Dun railway station we met Jenika, Mark, Rebekah & Joshua and prepared for a marathon 23-hour train journey across northern India to Varanasi. The first class, air-conditioned carriage was comfortable and we were issued with sheets, blankets and a pillow each. During the day vendors came through the train with tea, porridge for breakfast and omelettes, rice, lentils, pocket bread for lunch. This was the type of food we ate right throughout our trip in India. The average cost of a meal for the 6 of us was usually approx. $A 6-10. Often Jenika bought mandarins, grapes and bananas which she washed in an iodine solution. As well as buying tea, we bought bottled water, lemonade, coke and we each had our own drinking bottles with coconut filters to purify the water.
Varanasi on the holy Ganges River is India's oldest town, with records going back 3,000 years. The streets leading to our hotel by the river were so narrow even a rickshaw was unable to fit through. We had to walk for miles with the children and all our luggage through a rabbit warren of streets. It was a fascinating insight into how people live. After being almost crushed by a herd of cows followed by a bull, we ended up hiring a boat and getting to the hotel that way. It was evening and we were entranced by the reflections of the floating candles on the water. The next morning at dawn, we were rowed along the Ganges, past burning ghats and temples, tenements and the hundreds of people tending to their ablution rituals in the water.
NEPAL to follow. Susan Graze
SYDNEY
Beim Treffen der Sydneyer Gemeinde am Sonntag, den 23. Mai, hat Klaus Peter Hoffmann die Ansprache gehalten, während ich um diese Zeit besuchsweise bei Freunden in Queensland (in der Gegend der Glasshouse Mountains) war. Es wurde mir später berichtet, dass Klaus 'seine Sache' gut gemacht habe.
Nun möchte ich jetzt schon auf unsere diesjährige Mitgliederversammlung am Sonntag, den 22. August nachmittags um 3.00 Uhr verweisen, wo wir einige wichtige Punkte zu besprechen haben.
Vor allem anderen muss die Wahl eines neuen Gemeindeleiters durchgeführt werden, da ich dieses Amt niederlegen werde; bis jetzt steht nur Klaus Peter Hoffmann als Kandidat für diesen Posten zu Verfügung. Außerdem müssen zwei Gemeinderat Mitglieder für einen weiteren Term bestätigt werden und ein Mitglied zum Gemeinderat neu gewählt werden.
Ich bitte deshalb, dass möglichst viele Mitglieder ihr Kommen möglich machen.
Termine:
25. Juli 3.00 p.m. Saal
in Meadowbank
22. August3.00 p.m. Mitglieder-
Versammlung in
Meadowbank
The Service on Sunday 23 May was conducted by Klaus Peter Hoffmann; I was enjoying a short holiday visiting friends in Queensland (Glasshouse Mountains region) at that time.
Although it's still early, I want to remind all Sydney Community members to
keep Sunday 22 August free, for our Annual Members' Meeting at 3.00 p.m.
It is very important, since we have to elect a new Head of the Community; I am retiring from this position.
We have one nomination: Klaus Peter Hoffmann is willing to stand for the Head of Community position if so elected. We also have to elect new committee members and to discuss a few urgent matters.
The next dates are:
25 July - 3.00 p.m. Service at Meadowbank
22 August 3.00 p.m. Annual - Members' Meeting at Meadowbank
Ilse Birkner
See also 'Chor Konzert in Wollongong' in NOTICES.
ALTERSHEIMNACHRICHTEN HOME NEWS
Ein riesiges Dankeschön an die kleine, so schwerarbeitende Gruppe von freiwilligen Helfern, die immer bei unseren working bees and fundraising events mitwirkt.
Letzten Monat war zu unserer Freude ein neues Gesicht unter den regelmäßigen. Wir danken Dorothy daß sie sich herbemüht und uns geholfen hat. Es wäre prima, wenn mehr Verwandte der Heimbewohner mithelfen würden.
Die Sonnwendfeier war mal wieder ein richtig schöner Abend. Das ist ein Abend der besonders auf Familien abgestimmt ist. Es war schön, die `regelmäßigen' Familien und auch `alte' Freunde von früher zu sehen. Wir danken Inge Hoefer, die unter schwierigen Umständen die Küche trotzdem fabelhaft organisierte.
Ein herzliches Dankeschön auch an alle Helfer/innen, deren Einsatz diesen Abend erst möglich machte. Ohne sie gäbe es keine Sonnwendfeier. Uli Hoefer & Co. bauten wieder einen riesen Holzstapel auf, der dann auch prima brannte - herzlichen Dank für den fortwährenden Einsatz.
Wie wir schon angedeutet haben findet dieses Jahr kein Basar statt. Unsere fundraising Gruppe ist öfters maximal beansprucht und es wird immer schwerer, Helfer/innen zu finden. Wenn jemand bei der fundraising Gruppe mitmachen, oder auch nur eine Weile irgendwo aushelfen will, der wird mit offenen Armen empfangen. Ich gebe gern weitere Auskünfte,
DER JUGENDLICHE GEIST
Jung sein ist nicht ein bestimmter Abschnitt im Leben, sondern eine Einstellung. Man wird nicht alt nur weil man so und so viele Jahre gelebt, sondern weil man seine Ideale aufgegeben hat. Die Jahre zeichnen wohl Falten auf die Haut, aber wenn man seine Begeisterung verliert, das gibt Runzeln auf der Seele.
Sorgen, Zweifel, kein Vertrauen zu sich selber, Angst und Verzweiflung - das sind die langen, langen Jahre die den Kopf beugen und den Geist in Staub verwandeln. Ob ein Herz 70 ist oder 16 spielt keine Rolle - jedes Herz kann die Liebe zum Staunen enthalten, die süße Verwunderung beim Betrachten von Sternen, Sternähnlichem oder Gedanken, Unverzagtheit gegenüber den Anforderungen neuer Situationen, den unersättlichen, kindlichen Appetit auf `was kommt nun?' und Freude am Spiel des Lebens.
Tr. Ed.
A huge thankyou must go to the very small but hardworking group of volunteers who continuously give of their time to help out at our working bees and fundraising events.
At last month's working bee we were delighted to see a new face amongst the regulars! Thank you Dorothy for making the effort to come and help. It would be great to see a few more relatives of residents at some of our working bees and functions!
Sonnwendfeier once again was a most enjoyable evening. This is a very family-oriented evening and it was great to see all the "regular" families, and a few "long lost faces" as well. Thank you to Inge Hoefer who, under difficult circumstances, did a fantastic job of organising the kitchen! A big thankyou to all the helpers who came and worked very hard to make this evening possible. Without them there would be no Sonnwendfeier! Uli Hoefer and co. once again gave us a bonfire to remember. Thank you all for your continuous hard work and effort.
As you know, there will be no bazaar this year. Our fundraising group has been extremely stretched and it is becoming harder and harder to find willing helpers, not only to join the fundraising group, but also to help at functions. If anyone would like to join the fundraising group or even just help out for short periods, you would be most welcome! For any enquiries please contact me.
Susi Blackwell
SPIRIT OF YOUTH
Youth is not a time of life, it is a state of mind. Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years; people grow old by deserting their ideals.
Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self distrust, fear and despair - these are the long, long years that bow the head and turn the spirit to dust.
Whether seventy or sixteen, there is in every being's heart the love of wonder, the sweet amazement at the stars and the starlike things and thoughts, the undaunted challenge of events, the unfailing childlike appetite for what next, and the joy and the game of life.
You are
as young as your faith,
as old as your doubt;
as young as your self-confidence,
as old as your fear;
as young as your hope,
as old as your despair.
Seen on the wall of Desley's office at the AH. If anyone knows the author or where the piece comes from, Desley would appreciate hearing from you (c/o THA).
FORTHCOMING SERVICES
11.7 Bo 10.15Service & S.S. G Alfred Klink
18.7 AH 10.45Service G Oskar Krockenberger
25.7 Be 10.15Service & S.S. E Renate Beilharz
8.8 Ba 15.15Service & S.S. E Harald Ruff
Followed by community afternoon & Elders meeting
KIDS' CLUB BUSH DANCE
Saturday 17 July from 6-9.30 p.m. in the Bentleigh Hall.
Bookings can be made with Marianne Herrmann - we already have 80, so don't delay. More details in the Kids' Club Section.
BA-BO LADIES GROUP
Tasmania at the southern tip of Australia is a showcase of beauty, from gentle `English' landscapes to vast mountain peaks and rugged wilderness areas.
With a group of friends, Friedel Reichert enjoyed a fantastic holiday in this great little state and will relate some of her experiences at the
next Ba-Bo Ladies Meeting on 20 July from 1-3 p.m. at the Bayswater Hall.
Elisabeth Wagner
BAYSWATER-BORONIA COMMUNITY AGM
The 1999 Ba-Bo Annual General Meeting will take place in the Bayswater Hall on 1st August, beginning at 2 p.m.
All members are encouraged to attend the meeting. The two Committee members at the end of their terms are Paul English and Tony Beilharz. We need a chairman and a secretary, and nominations before the meeting. Please seriously consider taking part and make use of the nomination forms in last month's TR.
As in the past, a full agenda will be posted to members prior to the meeting and you are urged to submit a proxy if you are unable to attend.
Tony Beilharz, for the Ba-Bo Committee
BA-BO COMMUNITY & BA-BO TEMPLER TENNIS
CLUB DINNER DANCE
will be held on Saturday 14 August at the Ba Hall commencing with sherries and savouries at 7.30 p.m.
As usual, fine food and music should ensure that a good time is had by all. Drinks are BYO.
So get your friends - tennis and non-tennis players - and make up your tables now. Bookings can be made with Gerda Knaub.
Prices: approx. $25 and $15 for full time students.
Tony Beilharz
BENTLEIGH-MOORABBIN COMMUNITY AGM
The Annual General Meeting of the Bentleigh-Moorabbin Community will be held on Sunday 22 August at 12 p.m. following the morning service. A light lunch will be served preceding the AGM.
The present committee members are: Judy Eppinger, Helmut Eppinger, Kurt Eppinger, Ingrid Edelmaier, Heinz Edelmaier, Herbert Hoffmann, Gisela Schmidt, Annette Wagner-Hesse, Paul Weberruss, Helga Anderson.
Three committee members are due to retire: Heinz Edelmaier, Ingrid Edelmaier, Helga Anderson. Nominations for committee should preferably be forwarded to any committee member prior to the AGM or nominations will be taken at the AGM.
AGENDA
1.Report from the committee's chair on the year's activities.
2.Treasurer's Report.
3.Report from community groups.
4.General business.
Should anyone have matters to be raised, please pass the items to a committee member prior to the meeting or raise on the day.
Helga Anderson for Judy Eppinger
WANTED TO BUY
a record player in good working order for someone in the Altersheim.
Please contact Helga Anderson on 9557 6713.
TSA 50TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2000 - Monthly Bulletin
What a lot we have to celebrate! 50 years of Templer history in Australia!
For some of us, those 50 years represent half a century of new beginnings in a strange country and working to establish a Templer community, with little else other than the Templer spirit which still keeps us together today.
Others of us were lucky enough to be born in this established Templer community, and the rest of the 50 years before our births is made up of stories we have heard from those who came before us.
Whichever category we fall into, all of us will want to acknowledge the achievements of the Temple Society in Australia so far. Some of us will have a story to tell or a memory to share and some of us will want to hear the stories and memories and honour those who made them possible.
As well as respecting the past, together we ought to be able to share a vision of where we will be in the future. Fifty years ago we had a hope and a goal. What is it that we are aiming for today?
An opportunity is being presented not only to reflect on what has been but to ponder what might still be...
What: Temple Society Australia 50th Anniversary
Where: Keysborough, Victoria
When: Saturday 11 March 2000 - 5 p.m. to midnight.
We hope to see you there!
Christine Ruff
for the organising group
BAYSWATER KEGEL CLUB AGM
The Annual General Meeting of the Bayswater Kegel Club will be held on Friday 6 August at the Clubrooms at 8.00 p.m.
It is important that we have a quorum present so please make every effort to attend.
If you are unable to come please fill out a proxy form and give it to your leader. Copies of proxy forms will be available from your group leader or from the notice case in the clubrooms.
H. Knaub
President
SPRINGTIME IN BRIGHT - AN OPPORTUNITY
FOUR BEAUTIFUL SUN-FILLED DAYS AND 3 NIGHTS FOR ONLY $250 PP TWIN SHARE. (Minimum group size at this price - 20 people).
This price includes:
Date: Tuesday 26 October to Friday 29 October.
Accommodation at Bright Alps Guest House & Ski Lodge,
83 Delaney Ave Bright 3741.
If you think you may be interested, please ring Helga Anderson 9557 6713 (b.h.) for more detailed information, itinerary and bookings by 16 July.
CONCERT IN BENTLEIGH
The Templer Choir, various musicians and the Be-Mo community are hosting a concert on
Sunday 19 September at 2.30 p.m. in the Be Hall.
Have you noted the date in your diary? More details later.
Annette Wagner-Hesse
The meaning of a song goes deep. Who is there that, in logical words, can express the effect music has on us?
Thomas Carlyle
KIDS' CLUB REPORTING / PLANNING
Members of the community are invited to the Kids' Club Reporting on past activities on Sunday 8 August from 12 noon. Saal & S.S. follow at 3.15 p.m. Please see the Kids' Club section for more details of the afternoon's activities.
Marianne Herrmann
7TH FOLKLORIC FESTIVAL IN WOLLONGONG
Will, or could, you be in Wollongong on 31 July by any chance?
About a dozen choirs and groups, hauptsächlich deutsch, will perform at
the Wollongong Town Hall on 31 July at 2.00 p.m.
Host is the German Male Choir Sanssouci, conducted by our member Günter (Strups) Arndt, who will also conduct the large massed choir. (See picture below; his wife Irmgard née Hornung is on the very left). It's sure to be a lovely afternoon.
Tickets at the door (ca $10 and $6 conc.).
CELLO AND HARP DUO AT KNOX
Closer to Ba-Bo, Alfred Hornung, cello, and Julie Raines, harp, will play as part of the Knox Arts Council Program.
Saturday 17 July at 8 p.m. at the City of Knox Civic Centre, 511 Burwood Highway, Wantirna, just east of the Knox City Shopping Centre.
Editor.
JG SECTION
INTRODUCTION
Okay, so I have a busy lifestyle. Two weeks will go by and I won't even notice `cos I'm so busy; but people, hasn't this year gone quickly?! You've already lived a whole six months of this year and there are only 6 more months left in this millennium.
That's either something to be completely freaked out by (Y2K) or deliriously happy about. Which option are you going for? It's kind of intimidating when you think about it, with all these questions for the onslaught of the year 2000 such as `will there be a world-wide computer malfunction that renders civilisation completely helpless?' Or `what am I going to wear on New Year's Eve 1999 for the biggest party in my lifetime?'
In the meantime, I will concentrate on the here and now. What's on offer in July? Cold weather, rain, school holidays (yay!!), more cold weather, a long deserved break for tertiary students, and a couldn't-come-soon-enough end to winter and the biggest event of all July events - the JG AGM.
But first, last month we had a long awaited All Day All Night and I am most proud to say that it was a complete success. From our seniors to the youngest, we had one hell of a night. It was a bit slow starting but once it got warmed up it was so hot you could have burnt yourself! (Okay, maybe not burnt yourself, but work with me here. I'm trying to create an impression that it was a really really really fun night, which it was!):
About 20 people turned up, which made for lots of entertainment. We laughed as we swapped anecdotes about confirmation camps and junior camps, drank all our red cordial and just had a @#$%^&! night (that isn't a swear word, it's a word that describes what a fantastic night it was, and since `fantastic' isn't really a strong enough word, and I can't think of one now, I left it `blank'). It was a chance to catch up with people we hadn't seen in a long time. I guess it's nice to know that the one thing the JG is bound to do is bring together people of various ages for a highly enjoyable time.
JG AGM
This year the Annual General Meeting will be held on Sunday 11 July in the JG room. Hopefully we'll get so many people together that we can hold it in the hall. After all, this will be `judgement day' on the future of the JG. So start thinking about where you want the JG to go and if you're prepared to see it grow thick and fast into the new millennium. It's our choice and we need YOU there to help decide.
The meeting begins at 1.00 p.m. but prior to that the JG will hold a BBQ at 12 p.m., which will be a great opportunity to catch up with friends and just enjoy ourselves before we launch into the details of where exactly the JG is headed.
The agenda will be as follows:
8.General business.
So cancel all existing plans for the 11th, because we need everyone in anyway connected with the JG to be here. If due to unforseen circumstances, you absolutely cannot be there, please let someone who is going know, so that they can vote on your behalf. Otherwise (provided there are no freak natural disasters, touch wood). I'll see you on the 11th for our AGM.
Okay, now that we've got the serious stuff out of the way, it's time for `entertainment', so sit back, relax and read on...
From the weird and wonderful world of totally useless facts, I bring to you some things that will hopefully bring a smile to your face. I can't guarantee that they will make your life more fulfilling and I know you will still be able to sleep easy without being informed of these strange facts, but hey, I'm doing this for you.
DID YOU KNOW?
BIRTHDAY LIST
In jubilant July, I'd like to send out a wish for a smashing birthday to
Erika and Silvia Anderson (21 July)
Hope your day is filled with double the fun and here's to many more years to come.
WORD OF THE MONTH - AGGLOMERATE
Brought to you proudly by the Heinemann Australian Dictionary.
That's it from me, but I hope to return next month. You never know who is going to be our next editor (pick me, pick me!!) but should a new individual blessed with the talent of bringing you this piece of art each month emerge, I will gracefully hand over my crown. Stay good, people. And if you can't stay good, stay safe!!
Karyn Kinder, Ed.
LITTLE GIRL'S PRAYER
CHILDREN'S SECTION
Dear Kids and Parents!
God is constantly showing us that He is with us. In this story He showed the King of Egypt that He was with His people.
The Plagues, Exodus 5-11
Moses went to Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, and said, "God wants you to let His people go." But the Pharaoh said, "No".
So God sent plagues to Egypt, one after the other:
But after each plague the Pharaoh still would not let the Israelites go.
So God's people took all they had, their flocks and herds and left Egypt, following Moses into the desert.
Jokes
These jokes come out of a book I got from Andrew Katz - Thank you, Andrew. Anyone else with jokes?
Q. Where will you find the centre of gravity? A. At the letter V.
Q. Where does a sick ship go? A. To the doc's (docks).
Q. Where does a golfer dance? A. At the golf ball.
Q. Where do tadpoles go to change into frogs? A. The croakroom.
Q. Where do cats like to go on holidays! A. The Canary Islands.
End of July TR
TR 907 - JUNE 1999
REFLECTIONS
THE HOLY SPIRIT OF DELIGHT?
Pentecost or Whitsunday - Pfingsten - has just passed. It is celebrated as the time when the Holy Spirit full-filled the assembled disciples and transformed them into strong, confident Apostles, bearers of the Good News (see Acts 2). It is the day the Christian Church was born.
Our household has just spent many days reflecting on the "Holy Spirit" (for Saals), but the many insights we had are hard to condense into an editorial. Instead, this question: What if the Holy Spirit - God's love and wisdom in everything - is also delight, "the magic spark of divinity in everyone, waiting to ignite"? To those with "eyes to see", the universe is full of delight; it's suffused and carried by this holy spirit of God.
Let's explore this idea a little.
Delight - love, joy, ecstasy, bliss - is a recurring theme in all spiritual traditions and is considered a path to God. Saints, poets, scholars and mystics of every persuasion have long suggested we take the via positiva, or way of joy, affirmation and delight. "We can sing and dance our way to heaven."
How do you feel about that idea? Can the exuberance of being able to let rip with music and movement be part of creating the kingdom of God on earth? I think it can.
Some interesting things to note:
Basic to Hindu belief is the concept of satchitananda - "existence, consciousness, bliss". Bliss (intense delight) is inseparable from existence and consciousness, and together they form the essence of all that is. - Are we open to the "bliss attacks", the little epiphanies that can delight us anytime?
Buddhism speaks of achieving bliss. Judaism, especially in the Old Testament Wisdom Books (incl. the Psalms and Proverbs) expresses much delight: "Your servants delight in revering Your name"; give thanks, praise wih harps and cymbals, etc. "In these teachings, delight is frequently acknowledged as a two-way path to God, connecting humanity with God... When God sends us delight, it is a way for us to find God". - "See the joy that is coming to you from God" (Book of Baruch, 2500 years ago).
The cosmic dimensions of delight:
the stars shine at their posts. When he calls them, they answer, "Here we are"; they shine to delight their creator.
I can sense some of you thinking: "The stars just are. It's human beings who project the idea that they are joyful." But what a wonderful attitude, to see the cosmos full of delight! I suspect that there are at least as many "philosophers of delight" as there are, for instance, existentialists and nihilists. Fortunately, we are free to choose beliefs that nourish and sustain us in our daily living.
Hebrew writers taught that we can find sparks of divine delight everywhere and in everything, especially within ourselves. Our task is to develop the knowledge and awareness which liberates our sparkling higher selves (the "spirit in our temple") out of the prison which our ignorance and "asleepness" keeps us locked in.
Remember St. Paul? He experienced an epiphany on the road to Damascus, where he was "blinded by the light". Once he found the truth of his own spiritual nature within, his sight was restored - but he now saw everything differently.
Then there are the German mystics from along the Rhine, like Meister Eckhart and Hildegard von Bingen, who wrote (and sang) of ecstatic union with God. Others who wrote spirited spiritual material in the last 1000 years were the Sufis, the mystics of the Muslim tradition, who also speak of blissful, direct, personal experience of the divine. The movement of the Whirling Dervishes is intended to transport the dancer to a higher awareness of God, the Friend, the Beloved. - Throughout dark times of chaos and cruelty, mystics have kept the positive idea of delight before those willing to listen.
So we are encouraged by many wise sources to pay attention to those moments of delight that come out of the blue and awe us with bright insights and immense joy. As we continue to "seek first the kingdom of God", let us not forget its intrinsic, sparkling joy and that the height of wisdom is to bring delight - high-level, high-quality happiness - into our lives and the lives of others. This will illuminate, inspire and fill us with grace. The creative energy released will help us accomplish a great deal, as individuals and especially as a community. Delight is a very attractive and energising idea.
Herta Uhlherr
Much of this is based on the book Out of the Blue... Delight comes into our Lives by M.U. Hansen, & B. Wilson with P. Hansen, Hodder & Staughton, 1996.
TEXT FOR THE MONTH
Luke 5:17-26
In a house crowded with people, Jesus is teaching. Some men want to bring their friend, who is paralysed, to him, but can't get his stretcher through the crowd, so they let him down through the roof.
Jesus forgives the paralysed man's sins. When the Pharisees question his authority to do what they believe only God can do, he says to the paralysed man: "Rise, take up your bed and go home", which the man does, glorifying God.
You are encouraged to read the text and reflect on it. The following lines about "the kind of friend I would like to have and to be" are from a Neukirchner Kalender Blatt passed on by a member.
FREUNDE
Solche Freunde wünsche ich mir,
FROM THE OFFICE
NOTICE FROM THE ELDERS
A Course on the religion of the Temple Society in the second half of 1999.
The elders are planning to hold a course on the Temple Society and its religion later this year. Persons interested in learning more about the religion of the TS can help us decide the nature of the course.
We are considering two broad types of course:
An introductory course with the topics: religion and background of the Temple Society, what distinguishes the religion of the TS from others, what membership means and how one becomes a member. This course welcomes your questions and sets out to answer them.
A more advanced course about our basic theology: the thoughts of Christoph Hoffmann presented in his book "The Temple Society and its Settlements in the Holy Land (Part 1 of Occident and Orient". The Templer Handbook complements Christoph Hoffmann's work with contributions by Templers since the time of Hoffmann. This course goes to greater depth. We welcome anyone keen to explore more deeply our basis, the thoughts of Christoph Hoffmann and other Templer leaders.
This is our first notice, to alert you to what is coming. We intend to invite all people interested in taking part in either course to a social function in one of our halls, to hear your preferences for type of course, the best time in the week for holding classes and so on, so that we can satisfy the largest number of participants. Watch the next Templer Records for more details, and especially for the time of the social function.
Rolf Beilharz, for the Elders
PLAYGROUP THANKYOU
Our Templer Playgroup has enjoyed very positive community support over the years, and so has continued happily since its formation in 1982 by a committed group of Templers. Many families have received the benefits and have cemented strong friendships over the years.
At each Presentation service, the collection is given to a specific cause or group and this year the Templer Playgroup was chosen.
We are grateful for this financial support and sincerely thank the community for their donation of $190. The youngest community group appreciates this ongoing assistance very much.
Moni Herrmann, for Playgroup
TEMPLERS FORMALLY HONOURED
In her article "Templer Books" in the March 1999 issue of the Templer Record, Irene Bouzo - among other things - comments on awards received by two Templers (end of para. 4 on page 6).
To complement this aspect of her work, I sought to prepare an up-to-date list of all Templers whose services were formally recognised by awards presented in Australia and Germany after the Second World War. My intention is not to put members honoured by awards on a pedestal, but merely to provide a summarised record of the relevant facts, most of which have been noted from time to time in the Templer Record and the Warte des Tempels.
The list set out below names thirteen Templers in alphabetical order. Of those, three are at present domiciled in Germany and six in Australia, while four are no longer alive.
Gustav BEILHARZ
Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Verliehen 1975 in Anerkennung seines Wirkens für das Deutschtum.
Ref. Templer Record, March 1975, page 7.
Ilse BIRKNER (née Wurst)
Verdienstmedaille des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Verliehen 1987 in Anerkennung langjähriger besonderer Verdienste.
Ref. Templer Record, Dec.`87/Jan. `88, page 13.
Hildegard BUCHHALTER (geb. Frank)
Verdienstmedaille des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Verliehen 1995 in Würdigung ihres ausserordentlichen Einsatzes für die Renninger Krippenausstellung über viele Jahre.
Ref. Warte, September 1995, Seite 153.
Albrecht FRANK
Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Verliehen 1977 für Verdienste um den deutschen Schulunterricht.
Ref. Templer Record, August 1977, page 6.
Werner FRANK
Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Verliehen 1981 für Verdienste um das Allgemeinwohl.
Ref. Warte, September 1981, "Treffpunkt" Seite 7.
Richard HOFFMANN
Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Verliehen 1987 für seine um die Bundesrepublik Deutschland erworbenen besonderenVerdienste.
Ref. Templer Record, Dec. `87/Jan`88, page 13.
Brigitte KNEHER (geb. Rohrer)
Geschichtspreis der Stadt Kirchheim/Teck. Verliehen 1987 für ihre Arbeit "Chronik der jüdischen Bürger Kirchheims seit 1896".
Ref. Warte, Februar 1988, Seite 29.
Lilli KUHNLE (née Albrecht)
Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). Awarded in 1989 for her services to the community. Ref. Templer Record, March 1989, page 15.
Otto LÖBERT
Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Verliehen 1986 für Mühe und Arbeit um das Pflegeheim "Tabulam".
Ref. Templer Record, September 1986, page 15.
Magda STORZ (née Wurst)
Verdienstmedaille des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Verliehen 1974 in Anerkennung langjähriger besonderer Verdienste.
Ref. Templer Record, April 1974, page 5.
Manfred STRUVE
Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Verliehen 1977 für besondere Verdienste im Zivil= und Katastrophenschutz.
Ref. Familienmitteilung.
Paul WEBERRUSS
Commendation for brave conduct. Awarded in 1986 in recognition of "commendable courage". Ref. Templer Record, Dec. `86/Jan.`87, page 16.
Gerhard WELLER
Conspicuous Service Medal (CSM). Awarded in 1998 for outstanding public service to education in NSW. Ref. Templer Record July 1998, page 7.
The above list, based on available sources, may not be complete. I would be grateful for information on any additional Templers of whose formal recognition I am unaware.
Dietrich Ruff
SOCIAL CARE
Dear Friends,
This month I can report two exciting events in our community. On Sunday 2nd May the Kids' Club and other members enjoyed the hospitality of the Lubitz family on their property in Leongatha; one aim was to explore forming a regular Gippsland Templer Community. An informal, inaugural meeting was held and we planned the next meeting to be held in November at the Bulach's property in Tynong. [See also the other report and photos in MEMBERS AND FRIENDS].
The second event was an afternoon tea in the Bayswater Hall on Sunday 16 May, when we welcomed young families and grandparents to a reunion of children presented in our community over the last 2 years.
It was a most pleasant afternoon enjoyed by everyone who came and it was a joy to see how the children have grown and developed. Once the `ads` were over - invitations to join the TSA, Playgroup and Kids' Club - the children were minded by their proud grandparents; this gave the parents the opportunity to relax and enjoy each other's company. "It was so nice to be looked after", said one Mum, "the atmosphere was so warm and friendly", said another. [Thank you to Helga Anderson, Elisabeth Wagner and Ursel and Alfred Klink for organising this lovely afternoon].
In last month's TR, I asked if you would write your stories of your beginnings in this country. I do hope that by now you are collecting your thoughts and making notes. Send the stories to me at the Temple Society Office. You can speak them on to tapes, too. Your stories are important and people, who don't know them yet, find them fascinating. Please let me know if you would like some help in this matter.
I would like to remind you that the TR is available in
large print
for those who have difficulty reading the regular print.
Best wishes to our sick, and the infirm, too.
Helga Anderson
AUS DEM GEMEINDELEBEN
GEBURTSTAGE
Diesen Monat gratulieren wir herzlich zum Geburtstag unserer Mitglieder
und wünschen auch allen hier nicht aufgeführten Geburtstagskindern alles Gute und Schöne zum neuen Lebensjahr.
Apologies to Berthold Tannenbaum, whom we inadvertently aged a decade - oops!
DANKSAGUNG
Für die vielen guten Wünsche, Karten, Anrufe und Blumen zu meinem 80. Geburtstag möchte ich mich auf diese Art bei all meinen Freunden herzlich bedanken.
It's nice to be remembered! Else Huebner
BIRTH
Hannah Elenore Frank
Parents: Stephen Frank & Petra née Franz
Our congratulations and good wishes
NEW MEMBER
Kathy Bulach who has participated in community life for decades realised only recently that she never actually signed a membership form and has done so now.
Is there anyone else out there in the same position? The Office welcomes enquiries regarding your membership status, if you are unsure.
KIDS' CLUB/COUNTRY TEMPLERS FARM DAY
On a mild and sunny autumn day, about 40 people (Kids' Club families, visitors and some `Gippslanders') gathered at the Lubitz' farm near Leongatha on 2nd May.
Once most people had arrived (and the kids were persuaded off the trampoline), we sat in a circle around picnic rugs full of children, in the glorious sunshine.
Renate Beilharz, helped by Susi Blackwell, held an informal service on the theme of saying thank you, using songs, Leunig prayers read by various adults and a story - simple `tools', great message.
Winnie Beilharz had brought the BBQ and his trailer plus ATV `motorbike'. Soon the men had sausages sizzling, and the salads were brought out - it was communal lunchtime, a feast, with friendly conversation and `catching up'. Well-behaved, glossy dogs looked on, big eyes asking: any sausage for me?
The kids piled into the trailer and Winnie drove them round on the farm tracks; then up the lush, green hill that the others had walked 'up into the sky' with its white swirls of cloud. Surveying the rolling hills below, many people commented on the peace and beauty all around - great nourishment for the soul. Later, Kathy Bulach was heard to say, "Every part of this day did me good!"
We could see the four teenage girls way down on another `motorbike'. Some people rolled a long way down the hill.
Back down, Markus and Dirk (Lubitz) sent their rocket high into the air. The parachute opened, it floated down and - landed in the dam, but Dirk retrieved it. Applause from the `crowd' enjoying afternoon tea.
What a lovely day it was! We agreed that `Gippslanders' would meet again on 21 November at Heinz and Kathy Bulach's farm in Tynong - please note the date in your diaries straight away.
Finally, a big thankyou to the Lubitz family for having us all.
See also KIDS' CLUB SECTION. Herta Uhlherr
TEMPLER GROUP TOUR TO ISRAEL - 10.4. - 24.4.99
A total of 22 persons took part in this year's tour of Israel including one from England, 17 from Germany and Volker & Gisela Bulach, Herbert Hoffmann and myself from Australia.
Security at the Germany airport was exceptionally strict and took a lot of time. The flight to Tel Aviv took approx. 3 hours 40 mins and it was late afternoon when we arrived. A 45-seater bus name-tagged Templer Gruppe and Karin Klingbeil were waiting for us. After tea at our Hotel Beth Shalom in Haifa, we made our way to the Kaiser Wilhelm II Memorial lookout on Mr. Carmel to view Haifa at night - what a sight!
The next morning the bus took us into Haifa; we viewed the Kolonie Straße where many of the Templers settled in the early 1870s. Our guide for 3 days was Dr. Ejal J. Eisler. He gave us so much information about Templer life in what was then Palestine. His research and knowledge is just mind-boggling. It could nearly be said that if he didn't know it, it didn't exist or happen at that time. I think we all found him just amazing and, of course, our own guides, Karin Klingbeil (7 times in Israel) and Dieter Lange (11 times) were full of wisdom too. We visited the Templer Cemetery in Haifa, where a short service was conducted by Karin.
Over the next few days we visited the former Templer settlements of Betlehem, Waldheim, Wilhelma, Alt Jaffa and Sarona, now Ha Kirya. In Sarona, Karin, Dieter and myself were able to get in the Military Section, where many of the Templer homes are located. Permission was only gained some 10 days earlier. We were escorted to the Headquarters, in what was the home of Aberles, and Dieter's parents lived there in the forties. It is now where the Israeli Prime Minister often has meetings with the army staff. To our amazement we were able to video and photograph, but always in the company of guards. According to Karin and Dieter, it was the first time a Templer Tour was given this opportunity.
The highlight of the tour for me came a short time later, when I stood on the road outside my parent's former home; to my astonishment two guards who were with us asked me if I would like to go inside. It didn't take me long to say "Yes!" I was escorted in and was allowed to go to all 3 storeys and video and photograph. The home is now used as an office with desks, chairs, cupboards and computers everywhere. The house is still in good condition. I know my Father did a lot of work on this home, as he was a carpenter-plumber. The windows, doors, etc. were made by him, the door handles imported from Germany. The shed (Stall) at the rear has been converted into a dwelling and the person living there has been doing so for some 48 years. (Should anyone have any information on the construction, or have worked on this home, or have any photos, I would appreciate a call.) To go back in history some 58 years and be received in our former family home was a great thrill for me, and this will stay with me for ever.
There was never a dull day or moment on the tour - our two guides made sure of that; it was always go go go from early morning 8 a.m. till sometimes up to 5.30 p.m. We went to places like Acre (Akko), Galilee, the Sea of Genezareth, Tiberias, Tabgha, the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea (an experience to swim there!) Jericho, Masada - the list goes on and on - and of course Jerusalem, where we saw many of the homes of the Templers who used to live there; also the little Templer Saal. A short service was again conducted at the Templer Cemetery in Jerusalem, where lies the grave of Christoph Hoffmann, the founder of the Temple Society.
Jerusalem has so much to offer and many days could be spent there; and a lot more could be said about this tour.
Our two tour leaders, Karin and Dieter, did a first class job and everything ran like clockwork. Should they lead a future Templer Group Tour and you are thinking of going, all I can say is "GO!" because I definitely was not disappointed!
Unbeknown to me until our departure from Stuttgart, an old classmate from Tatura Camp 3 (1941-47) was on this trip - Irmgard Rams née Schnerring. In camp she was the one with the exceptionally fair hair, for those who might recall. She said it was the first time she'd met any of her classmates living in Australia in person, some 52 years on. (Anybody wanting her address can contact me).
Manfred Haering
ERINNERUNGEN AN WILHELMA
Von Freunden aufgefordert, über unsere Internierungszeit in Wilhelma zu erzählen, da von diesem Zeitabschnitt noch nicht viel geschrieben worden sei, will ich nun den Anfang machen. Ich hoffe, daß dadurch viele andere, die in Wilhelma mitinterniert waren, angeregt werden, auch etwas dazu beizutragen, so daß wir ein Heft voll Erinnerungen aus dieser Zeit von: 1939-1948 in Wilhelma hinter Stacheldraht machen können.
Ich erinnere mich noch, wie mehrere Lastautos voll Stacheldrahtballen die Koloniestraße heraufgefahren kamen. Bald wurde damit von jüdischem Militär ein etwa 2½m hoher Stacheldrahtzaun am Ende der 250m langen Bauplätze gezogen. Oben und unten an der 1 km langen Koloniestraße wurde je ein breites Tor gelassen, das ständig von jüdischem Militär bewacht wurde. Sie trugen khakifarbene Uniform und schwarze, hohe Filzkappen. Einige Wachtürme wurden dem Stacheldraht entlang verstreut aufgebaut. Auch darin stand immer ein Polizist auf Wache. Von da ab waren wir in Wilhelma, in einem großen, mit Stacheldraht umzäunten Rechteck, eingesperrt. Und von da ab hieß Wilhelma: Camp 5.
Ganz am Anfang wurden alle Einwohner Wilhelmas in der Stiftshütte eingesperrt, solange unsere Häuser von jüdischem Militär untersucht wurden. Auch wir in der Stiftshütte mußten alle eine Körperuntersuchung über uns ergehen lassen. Die Kinder waren schon ganz übermüdet und hungrig und weinten. Da entwischte die mutige Frau Bleyer kurz entschlossen raus aus der von Militär umstellten Stiftshütte und holte aus unserem Garten einen großen Schurz voll gelber Rüben. Das gab den Kindern eine willkommene kleine Mahlzeit.
Die wehrpflichtigen Männer wurden nach Akko abtransportiert und kamen dort für einige Monate in ein Gefangenenlager. Unser Vater (Gottlob Löbert) und Onkel Friedrich (Hornung) waren auch dabei.
In dieser Zeit hat mein Bruder Werner unseren und Hornungs Hof weitergeführt. Die Kühe in den Ställen mußten weiterversorgt werden und die Pferde, zur Feldarbeit, den arabischen Kutschern am Tor übergeben werden. Werner, erst 14-jährig, hat damals überaus viel geleistet.
Unser Lehrer, Herr Hönig, verließ Wilhelma kurz vor Kriegsausbruch um sich in Deutschland seinem Dienst zu stellen. Die übrig gebliebenen Lehrer wurden neu eingeteilt. Somit bekam unsere 4. Klasse wieder unsere Lehrerin der 1. und 2. Schulklasse, unser Fräulein (Luise) Dreher.
Es war gerade unsere Schulweihnachtsfeier, als beim Weihnachtsverse und -lieder Vortragen, unbekannte Schüler eintraten. Es waren die Schüler der deutschen Kolonien Jerusalem und Haifa. Die Einwohner dieser Kolonien wurden zu uns nach Wilhelma mitinterniert. Alle wurden sie bei Verwandten und Bekannten untergebracht - es mußten eben alle näher zusammen-rücken. Aber es brachte uns dafür auch mehr Leben und Unterhaltung in die Wilhelma Gemeinde.
Zu uns kam Frau Fauser mit ihren Kindern, Otto und Ingrid, sowie ihre Schwester. Das Zusammenleben brachte viel Spaß und Freude.
Einige Lehrer und Ältesten waren auch unter den Mitinternierten, z.B. - Herr Wilhelm Eppinger, Herr Nikolai Schmidt, Herr Philipp Wurst und einige Nichttempler, Frl. Schönecke, Herr Bamberg und Herr und Frau Probst Döring. Das Schulhaus mußte für die jüdischen Wachtposten geräumt werden. Bei Herrn Wurst hatten wir noch einige Monate Naturkunde, verbunden mit Erbgesetzlehre.
Das ging dann über in unseren Konfirmanden Unterricht. Wir waren eine riesengroße Klasse. Die Konfirmanden Mädchen trugen weiße Kleider und die Buben weiße Schillerkragen Hemden und kurze Khakihosen an diesem feierlichen Tag. Die Stiftshütte war schön geschmückt und ganz voll besetzt von Verwandten und Tempel Mitgliedern. Wir Konfirmanden saßen in einem großen Halbkreis vor der Gemeinde. Und wir alle hingen gespannt und konzentriert an Herrn Wurst's Unterricht. Schon seine ruhige, über allem Kleinlichen stehende Art gab uns ein gutes Beispiel mit auf unseren Lebensweg. Jeder Konfirmand bekam einen ganz kunstvoll geschriebenen Spruch zum Geleit. Es waren Sprüche aus jener Zeit. Mein Spruch zum Beispiel hieß "Wer nicht gehorchen gelernt hat, kann nicht befehlen." Geschenke gab es kaum, man konnte doch nicht aus dem mit Stacheldraht umzäunten Wilhelma `raus, um etwas zu kaufen. Ich weiß nicht, wie meine Tante Anna (Hornung) für mich ein Armbandührle hergezaubert hat. Unter unserem Pfefferbaum an weißgedeckten Tischen hatten wir eine kleine Konfirmationsfeier. Herr und Frau Wurst, die von allen eingeladen waren, hatten zu tun, bis sie bei all den vielen Konfirmanden vorbeigekommen waren.
Nun waren wir junge Erwachsene und aus der Schule. Es gab keine Gelegenheit weiter zu lernen, außer den verschiedenen, von Lager Insassen angebotenen Kursen die man mitmachen konnte, wie italienisch, französisch, Buchführung, Literatur, Klavierspielen, oder Nähen.
In demselben Jahr, in dem mein Bruder Werner und ich unsere Doppelkonfirmation hatten, feierten wir auch die Doppeldarstellung unserer Zwillingsbrüder, Gerhard und Manfred.
Wir hatten einen großen Gemischten Chor, aus lauter jungen Leuten bestehend. Eine Zeitlang war Frau Tietz und dann Frau Edith Imberger unsere Dirigentin. Wir sangen bei allen Festlichkeiten, auch bei allen Beerdigungen. Schon das Üben war immer ein freudiges Zusammenkommen. Zu den Beerdigungen durfte man, mit besonderer Erlaubnis des englischen Lagerkommandanten, im Trauerzug zum Tor hinaus auf den Friedhof. So war bei dem traurigen Anlaß doch auch ein Funken freudige Aufregung dabei, weil wir bei dieser Gelegenheit zum Lager hinaus durften.
Wir waren nicht verwöhnt, so war schon das Rationenfassen eine schöne Abwechslung. Da trafen wir viele von unseren Freundinnen. Weil es Werktag war, trugen die meisten ihre grauen Rationkleider. Die sahen aber garnicht mehr düster aus, denn jedes Mädchen hatte sein Kleid mit viel Fantasie und Geschick schön verziert, manchmal mit bunten Borden von Hexenstichen oder Kreuzstichen ausgestickt. Es war richtig interessant, die vielen verschiedenen, schmucken Ideen anzuschauen, und sie waren oft recht bestaunenswert.
So war unsere fast 10-jährige Internierungszeit nicht nur mit Hangen und Bangen, mit Hoffen und Warten ausgefüllt, sondern auch mit vielen großen und kleinen Freuden.
Nun wäre es schön, wenn viele, die in dieser Zeit in Wilhelma gelebt haben, sich auch in diese Jahre zurückversetzen und aus ihren Erinnerungen - und aus ihrer Sicht - noch viel dazu erzählen würden. Bitte schickt mir eine Kopie von Euren Erinnerungen zum Sammeln.
Olga Kroh
JAHRGÄNGE 1933/1934 - REUNION
See also Gretel Krockenberger's report in May TR p.20.
It was a glorious day. The atmosphere in the room was electric. The thought that people who had not seen each other for possibly ten or twenty years would need time to thaw evaporated instantly. There appeared to be an immediate rapport between the thirty-four former and new friends who met to renew acquaintance, reminiscence and generally express their thoughts in their own way about how wonderful life is.
The venue was the old gold mining and heritage town of Beechworth. Gisela and I joined the already warm and noisy group on a huge high. Our day started at the Benalla Art Gallery at lunch time. We had been invited to attend the opening of the exhibition, entitled "Interned and Out", of the Italian painter Cesare Vagarini, formerly from Camp 3 in Tatura. Italian style wines on the lawn, folk dancing by an Italian group in their traditional costumes, speeches about the painter and how he (and the undersigned) spent time behind barbed wire in the internment camp. The lunch that followed was long and very Italian. The table, seating some 200 people, was about 150m long. It was a perfect prelude to what was to follow in Beechworth.
At dinner in the evening, our thoughts first went to the rapidly growing number of friends who are no longer with us. Even though we often tried to change the subject, our conversations continued to circle back to our year's of confinement in Tatura. That era started in 1941, almost 58 years ago. Yet our memories were so vivid, the stories so detailed, that one could not help but think it only happened a few years ago. Inhibitions were all gone - most of us are now grandparents, and there was and is nothing we have to prove any more. At times we talked, often for the first time, of our past experiences and feelings towards each other. We even heard a whispered confession that some as young as 10 had a terrible crush on past class mates. To say "why didn't you tell me then" is easy today, but was considered impossible in those days. The bonding was superb. The laughter and the carefree approach to each other made the planned two days seem like mere moments.
We walked in groups, saw museums, looked over buildings of the 1850s era, refreshed our knowledge about Ned Kelly and his family. We marvelled at the exploits of the rather eccentric Beechworth Superintendent of Police, Captain Robert O'Hara Burke, who subsequently undertook (and perished on) the Burke and Wills expedition to Australia's northern shores. We ate at "The Bakery", undertook a bus tour around the old gold diggings, tasted specialty cordials in the last of four Beechworth breweries, the old Murray brewery. We had a long, long dinner at the Tanswells Commercial Hotel built in 1873. Our final communal breakfast was on Monday morning before we all headed off in different directions. We suspect everybody was well satisfied. And we will do it all again in five years' time!
In August of this year, 15 of us are meeting up with our peers in Germany to rekindle their memories also. We hope to see six former classmates from Tatura, as well as our teacher in the years 1942 and 1943, Mrs. Lilo Thaler, née Wagner.
The proposed programme sounds exciting. We would love to have more Aussies participate. Can we interest more of Jahrgang 33/34 to join us? Please give me a call on (03) 9762 2069.
Friedrich Sawatzky
OUTBACK TRIP (continued)
17, 18.9: - At the beautiful camping area at Muloorina Station on the east side of Lake Eyre South, spring weather is with us -a little sunshine, a little rain and a lot of overcast skies occasionally letting the near-full moon show its face at night. This morning (the 18th) I get up reasonably early to do a bit of work on the Toyota, after which I watch the various birds while having a shave.
A male crested pigeon uses all his talents to court his partner. When she shows him the cold shoulder and flies away, he continues his courting in the next tree. Mrs. Galah is keeping an eye on me while Mr. Galah is working on a nest in the hollow of a tree, little realising that a pair of corellas had apparently claimed the hole earlier and take over the hole as soon as the galahs leave. The female, being a lady of leisure, strains her neck to see what that queer being (namely me!) is doing in front of the car mirror scraping his face, while her poor partner is hard at work enlarging the living space in their new dwelling. Finally a few budgies come along. They sit six abreast on a branch to the left, not wanting to miss out on anything new that is happening in the neighbourhood. I must say that, with all this lively activity going on around me, even shaving turns into a pleasurable task.
Later as I sit writing, a pair of brolgas nesting among the reeds growing in the waterhole make a hell of a racket; the reason is a big white egret coming too close to the nest where Mama Brolga is patiently hatching her eggs. Heidi is lying on the bed in the tent reading; she doesn't get enough of that at home. The galahs are back in the hollow branch. I wonder what court-of-law will decide who will be moving in eventually - galahs or corellas. With the natural aroma of freshly baked damper just coming out of the oven and wafting into the tent, Heidi will be out in a second to have a slice with me, with a hot cup of coffee. At sunset about 200 corellas come and sit on the trees around us, being their noisy, cheerful selves before flying off to their resting places for the night.
19.9 - The sun is finally breaking through the clouds and, judging by the flies crawling into my ears and eyes, it will be a warm day. Heidi and I have finally worked out what sort of arrangement the galahs and corellas have. As we do not see them fight or quarrel, but work on enlarging the hole with their strong beaks in alternate shifts, we believe they are building a 2 family abode, thus eliminating the housing shortage, reducing local council rates and, above all, solving the babysitting problems.
20.9 - We are camped, together with hundreds of other racing and opera fans, along Trebilcock Creek, 30 km south of Leigh Creek, intending to go to the Beltana races in the afternoon and the Opera in the Outback, with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa in the Yalkarinha Gorge, in the evening. On Sunday we'll go to a church service at historic Old Beltana and the Gymkhana races in the afternoon.
22.9 - The Opera in the Outback was a success. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's singing was brilliant, as was the performance of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. I (Heinz) would, however, have selected more popular pieces than the relatively unknown operatic arias which were not very well appreciated by the huge audience present. According to audience response, the most popular items were excerpts from recent musicals.
The highlight of the evening for Heidi and myself was the haunting rendition of some Aboriginal songs presented by the Adnyamathanha Women's Choir. The words of these songs, sung in their language, were mainly repetitive, short statements. Dame Kiri sang with them and said that it was a moving experience for her, although she herself seems to have forgotten her origins - she did not sing even one of her lovely Maori songs as an encore.
At the BBQ afterwards, laid on for the patrons, we were entertained by a modern Aboriginal band and the well-known bushband "The Bushwackers", with new and old songs appreciated by thousands crowding around the truck which they used as a stage. The evening performance had started at sundown and it was after midnight by the time Heidi and I were in bed. The trip is almost over for us now.
Earlier in this article I was critical of the Aboriginal/White Australian relationship in the N.T., Qld. and W.A. Here in Beltana, there seem to be no such problems, with Aborigines and Whites rubbing shoulders at the races and the opera and working well together to present the church service at the Smith of Dunesk Australian Inland Mission in Old Beltana.
With these positive impressions, Heidi and I hope you have enjoyed our travel experiences as we head slowly south, getting ourselves conditioned to our hectic lifestyle at home.
Heinz and Heidi Vollmer
SYDNEY
Alle Jahre wieder - das trifft auch auf unseren Busausflug zu, den wir am Samstag, den 1. Mai unternahmen. 38 Mitglieder und Freunde fuhren um 9.00 Uhr morgens von Meadowbank los gen Süden. Zunächst war das Wetter mies, grau und etwas regnerisch, doch je weiter wir aus Sydney hinaus kamen, desto heller wurde es und beim ersten Stop am Sublime Point hatten wir eine herrliche Aussicht über Wollongong, das Meer und die weitere Südküste. Unser Ziel was ein kleines Weingut mit Restaurant etwas außerhalb der Ortschaft Berry, 16 km südlich von Kiama.
Inzwischen war schönes Wetter, die Meisten nahmen an einer kleinen Weinprobe teil und dann ließen wir uns das Mittagessen schmecken. Anschließend fuhren wir zurück in die Ortschaft Berry und spazierten dort noch etwa 1 Stunde im Städtchen herum und schauten in die vielen kleinen Geschäfte hinein. Dann ging es zurück nach Meadowbank und ein schöner, ausgefüllter Tag war zu Ende.
Übrigens konnte Claudia Mutschlechner, die zu der Zeite bei Gerlinde und Harry Slip in Sydney war, an der Ausfahrt teilnehmen und somit ein paar Sydneyer kennenlernen.
Kommende Termine sind:
Sonntag, den 27. Juni, 3.00 p.m. Saal in Meadowbank
Sonntag, den 25. Juli, 3.00 p.m. Saal in Meadowbank
Our annual bus excursion took place on Saturday 1st May. Thirty-eight of us started off from Meadowbank at 9.00 a.m. in a very comfortable coach, even fitted with seat belts! The weather was rather miserable at first, but the further south we drove the better it became. At the first stop, Sublime Point, we were already able to enjoy a clear and wonderful view over Wollongong, the ocean and the southern coastline.
We reached our destination - the Silos Winery and Restaurant - just before 12.00 noon; it is situated about 16 km south of Kiama, outside the small town of Berry. First we sampled some wines, then enjoyed lunch at the restaurant. Afterwards we drove back into Berry and walked around the main street with many shops, like arts and crafts etc. Soon it was time to travel back to Sydney.
By the way, since Claudia Mutschlechner was staying with Gerlinde and Harry Slip at the time, she was able to join us on this trip and meet some Sydney community members.
Coming events:
Sunday 27 June 3.00 p.m. Service at Meadowbank
Sunday 25 July 3.00 p.m. Service at Meadowbank
Ilse Birkner
A big Hello to all Sydneysiders! We are missing your children's birthdays. Could someone collect the names and dates and send us a list, please? We would naturally like to mention your 3-12 year-olds in the CHILDREN'S SECTION, too.
SÜD-AUSTRALIEN
Unser Saal am 11. April war über Ostern, das große Fest der christlichen Kirche. Der Text kam von Matthäus, Kap 20, Verse 1 bis 14. Erst ist Jubel, dann Verrat, Kreuzigung und Auferstehung. Ostern zeigt uns die höhere Wirklichkeit, die über das Sichtliche hinausgeht. Im Vortrag wurden wir ermahnt, auf die inneren Zeichen zu hören und durch inneres Erlebnis das Reich Gottes zu erkennen. Liebe ist der Schlüssel zum Himmelreich, Liebe ist stärker als der Tod. "Was hilft es einem Menschen wenn er die ganze Welt gewinnt und darüber seine Seele verliert?" Der Saal wurde von Lied Nr. 98 umrahmt.
Unsere kranken Mitglieder, Berthold Tannenbaum, Thea Frank und Hilda Weinmann, sandten alle Grüße. Wir wollen hiermit die Grüße erwidern und allen gute Genesung wünschen.
Der nächste Saal ist am 13. Juni wie üblich in Tanunda.
Die Frauengruppe traf sich im April bei Anne Stevens, die uns Wolle vermachte für unsere Handarbeiten. Im Mai trafen wir uns dann bei Elsa Mahlburg in Woodside, die überhaupt keine Rücksicht auf unsere schlanke Linie nahm und uns einen vorzüglichen Nachmittagskaffee servierte. Nächstes Mal treffen wir uns am 14. Juni bei Edith Hatswell.
Rose Asenstorfer
Warm greetings to you all in NSW, SA and the country.
HOME NEWS
CHANGE OR CHALLENGE
In letzter Zeit ist über das Altersheim viel nachgedacht und besprochen worden. Bis jetzt sind noch keine bindende Entschlüsse oder veränderte Richtlinien gefasst worden. Akkreditation unseres Heims ist und bleibt unser Hauptziel.
Was ist es, was das Altersheim spezifisch das Unsrige macht - ein besonderer Platz mit besonderer Verbindung zu Mitgliedern unserer Gesellschaft? Offensichtlich ist es viel mehr, als nur der Name des Heims. Aber können wir es erklären, was es uns bedeutet? Nach mehr als einem Vierteljahrhundert hat sich das, was ursprünglich als ein 16-Betten Hostel mit 6 anliegenden Kleinwohnungen begann, nun, um es bescheiden auszudrücken, in vieler Hinsicht verändert.
Veränderungen sind unvermeidbar, wenn man in Betracht zieht, was sich alles im Lauf dieser Zeit verändert hat, nämlich die verschiedenen Bedürfnisse der Templer, die allgemeine Vorstellung von Alterspflege, die rechtskräftigen Vorschriften, die staatlich vorgeschriebenen Massstäbe für Pflege, der Bedarf an Personal und, in jedem der gennanten Fälle, die damit verbundenen finanziellen Auswirkungen.
Offensichtlich ist das Altersheim nicht mehr das, was es am Anfang war. Aber das muss nicht bedeuten, dass es nicht mehr unser Altersheim ist. Es gehört uns, so lange wir das wollen, aber wir müssen uns im Klaren darüber sein, dass Veränderungen weiterhin vor sich gehen werden.
Viele von den Umstellungen sind uns aufgezwungen und/oder sind notwendig, um vielen äusseren Umständen gerecht zu werden. Wir müssen uns aber auch im Klaren darüber sein, dass die Tempelgesellschaft nicht das alleinige Anspruchsrecht hat. Alle Bewohner des Heims mitsamt ihren Familien, sowohl als auch die Regierung haben Anspruchsrechte an unserem Templer Heim.
Sind wir damit zufrieden oder sehnen wir uns nach dem, was einst war und nicht mehr sein kann? Viele kritische Punkte müssen in Betracht gezogen werden, wenn über die Zukunft des Altersheims diskutiert wird. Sie können sich darauf verlassen, dass das Committee of Management diese Punkte ernsthaft und sorgfältig in Erwägung zieht. Hochwichtige Fragen verlangen schwierige Entschlüsse - und dieser Anforderung stehen wir jetzt gegenüber.
Trotz all dem bleibt Manches unverändert. Für Samstag den 5. Juni ist eine Working bee im Altersheim geplant. Können Sie ein paar Stunden opfern um mitzuhelfen, das Heim in gutem Zustand zu erhalten?
Die nächste fundraising Veranstaltung ist die alljährliche Sonnwendfeier am Samstag, den 19. Juni. Näheres darüber in der separaten Anzeige. Können wir wieder mit Ihrer Unterstützung rechnen?
Of late much has been thought and spoken about the future of the Templer Home. At this stage no binding decisions or changed directions have been committed to. Accreditation of our facility is and remains the primary objective.
What is it that makes the Altersheim ours - a special place for and a special connection with members of our Society? Clearly it is more, much more, than merely the name. But can we explain it, what does it mean?
After over a quarter of a century, what began as a 16-bed hostel with 6 adjacent independent living units has changed in so many ways - that is an understatement! Change is inevitable when one considers the varying needs of Templers, society's perceptions of aged care generally, legislative regulations, prescribed Government care standards, staffing requirements... over this time and, in all cases, the related financial implications.
It is clear that the Templer Home is no longer what it was at inception. But this need not imply that the Altersheim is no longer ours. It remains ours for as long as we want it to be, provided we are aware that change will continue. Much of this change is forced and/or necessary to comply with a multitude of external factors. We do, however, need to be aware that the Temple Society is not the only stakeholder. All residents, together with their families, and the Government are also stakeholders in our Templer Home.
Are we comfortable with this or do we yearn for what once was and can no longer be? Many critical factors need to be considered in discussions about the future of the Altersheim; rest assured that the Committee of Management is earnestly addressing these. Vital issues make for demanding decisions - this is the challenge facing us.
Through all of this, some things do not change:
A working bee is scheduled for Saturday 5 June.
Can you spare a couple of hours to help keep the Templer Home looking good?
The next fundraising event is the annual Sonnwendfeier on Saturday 19 June - please see the separate notice for details in NOTICES. Can we rely on your support again?
Mark Herrmann, for the Templer Home Committee of Management
NOTICES
FORTHCOMING SERVICES
6.6 CV 11.00 Strath Creek Broadford E M. Herrmann & Christa Lingham
13.6 AH 10.45 Service G Dieter Ruff
20.6 Ba 15.15 Service & com.a'noon E Geoff McCallum
27.6 Be 10.15 Founding Day E Dr. R. Beilharz
CENTRAL VIC GROUP
Sunday 6 June at Strath Creek
A service will begin at 11 a.m. followed as usual by a communal lunch. Everyone is welcome, but as I plan to provide hot soup for you, it helps with quantities if you let me know you are coming.
Please bring your own meat to barbecue and a salad to share. A cake or biscuits to have with tea or coffee would be appreciated.
Venue: Helmut & Ilse Beilharz' place
Don't know the way? Please ring for directions or contact the Office for a map.
Helmut & Ilse Beilharz
BA-BO SERVICE & COMMUNITY AFTERNOON
Sunday 20 June at Bayswater
Everyone is welcome. Could the ladies from Boronia and Bayswater please bring a cake already cut. Would the following ladies please be at the hall by 2.45 p.m. to help with the cakes and with serving coffee and tea after the service.
Arndt, Ingeborg; Beilharz, Carol, Ingrid, Renate, Vyrna; Blackwell, Susan; Blessing, Trudy, Krista; Bouzo, Irene; Bulach, Gisela.
If you cannot come, please ask a friend
Uta Steller
TEMPLER EXCHANGE
Reminder: applications for the next round close on 30 June. See April TR p.8 for details of the scholarship. Forms are available from the Office.
Mark Herrmann
NOMINATIONS FOR BAYSWATER-BORONIA COMMUNITY HEAD OF COMMUNITY
A misunderstanding occurred last month between myself and the Office, which meant that members did not receive nomination forms for both "Head of Community" and "Community member". Both nomination forms are re-issued in this month's TR. I take this opportunity to remind everyone (not just Ba-Bo members) how important this issue is to the satisfactory continuation of the Community Council and therefore the community as a whole; it can't be left to "someone else" to do something about it.
Ralph Richter
Acting Head of Ba-Bo Community
BA-BO LADIES
In May Susan Graze gave a spell-binding account of her recent travels (with Theo and her daughter Jenika's family) in northern India, and of life in polluted, pre-monsoonal Kathmandu, where Jenika's family lives and works.
Am Dienstag, den 15. Juni, um 1-3 Uhr nachmittags in dem JG Clubroom, zeigt Margot Neu ein Video von der Eröffnung des 150. Cannstatter Volksfestes mit Festrede und Fest-Umzug.
Margot Neu
BA-BO TEMPLER TENNIS CLUB
The Annual General Meeting will be held on Sunday 20 June at 10.00 a.m. sharp at the Bayswater Clubroom`s. The meeting will be followed by a sausage sizzle and social tennis for anyone interested.
Agenda:
The meeting provides the major opportunity for you, the members, to have your say in the running of the club. Some committee positions will be vacant. All members are cordially invited to attend and are encouraged to support your club.
Darren Loebert
SONNWENDFEIER
The Ba-Bo Community would like to invite people from all communities and their friends to the Sonnwendfeier on Saturday 19 June at the Bayswater Hall.
The Altersheim Fundraising Group will again be offering a delicious selection of barbequed meats and salads for a reasonable price, with all proceeds going to our Altersheim. Hot dogs, Glühwein, tea and coffee will also be available and we are asking families/ladies (or gents) to bring along a cake to share over coffee later in the evening, when we listen to some lively music.
There will also be a bonfire with Kids' Club organising damper making and the lantern parade. BYO lanterns, or you can borrow one for a gold coin donation.
Times:
5.00 p.m.- Dinner will be available until sold old.
5.30 p.m.- lighting of bonfire
5.45 p.m. - Lantern parade
7.00 p.m. - coffee and cake available
7.30 p.m. - brass band will be playing
So rug up, bring your lantern and good humour, and join us for a fun family evening!
P.S. We would love some helpers for the evening, even for just an hour or so. If you can help out, ring me.
Inge Hoefer
CONCERT IN SEPTEMBER
The Templer Choir and the Bentleigh-Moorabbin community, together with various Templer musicians, are pleased to announce a
concert on Sunday 19 September at 2.30 p.m. in the Bentleigh Hall.
Afternoon tea will be provided. Further details over the next months. Please note the date in your diaries.
Annette Wagner-Hesse
SOME CHANGES AT BENTLEIGH
The Bentleigh Hall is currently being used for three activities not organised by or through the Temple Society.
Another change involves the carpark area. There have been instances of damage to the carpark (and general aggravation) from drivers racing quickly into the carpark, forcing their cars into a sharp circle (I believe it's called a doughnut!) and rapidly exiting. To try and prevent this re-occurring, posts and rails are being erected within the carpark. These will be painted white at the tops and have reflective markers on them. However, drivers will need to be aware of the changes (and in case you are wondering who they are, no, the drivers careering round the carpark are not members of the TSA!).
Judy Eppinger, for the Be-Mo Community Council
TSA 50TH ANNIVERSARY
Has the date been written into your diary yet? If not, time to do so.
It may seem a long way away, but a committee is already at work planning a function to celebrate 50 years of the Temple Society in Australia.
As at Sommerfest, wouldn't it be nice to have the Temple Society as a whole get together for what promises to be a special night?
This will be an event for all Templers, so please keep the date in mind and keep reading the Templer Record for more details.
Date: Sat 11 March 2000 (but keep Sunday free as well!)
Time: 5 p.m. - midnight
Christine Ruff, for the organising group
Temple Society - online
Internet - two websites that may interest Templer families
TATURA'S CAMP 3 PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVES.
The Australian War Memorial Photographic Data Base is huge, exciting and easy to access. One does not have to travel to Canberra, Tatura or any other city; however, access to the Internet is essential if one wishes to view photos of the internment camp era.
Figures vary as to the exact number of photos emanating from confinement days in Tatura. But 23,000 photos, as stated, is quite probable. Full details are available by dialling the Internet's: http://www.awm.gov.au/database/photo.asp
Connect further:
Keyword/Phrase: Tatura Camp 3, family name, (e.g. Hoffmann)
Conflict: 1939-1945
Photo Colour Any photograph
Images All records
Happy viewing,
Friedrich Sawatzky
You can find the Australian War Memorial Internet address also on the LINK page of the TSA Internet site: www.vicnet.net.au/~tempsoc.
http://www.first families2001.net.au will be a unique historical and cultural record of Australia. It is a database and collection of stories about the people of Australia, past and present. It is accessible to all Australians through the Internet, and welcomes contributions from everyone.
Your first family is the earliest person in your family known to have lived in Australia. You may choose to submit information on the earliest generation of each branch of your family.
For information on how to participate, how to go about getting a PIN Number etc. please see the About section.
Diana Richter
JG SECTION
INTRODUCTION
Winter is well and truly upon us! You can tell by the way you can actually see people's breath, and how our noses turn pink if we've been outside for a while. For those who live where snow falls, it's a great time, otherwise it's an excuse to wear 15 layers of clothing at once, and test the electric blanket's full capabilities. We also have a very valid reason for not wanting to get out of bed early. Living practically in the middle of the Dandenong Ranges, we get some cold mornings of Antarctic proportions. Frost, fog and frozen fingers! And, if we're lucky, it snows!
Okay, realising that I usually have the Victorian side of the TSA in mind when I write this section, I'd like to send a cheerful hello to everyone reading this, either in Germany or Australia. I'm hoping that both the TSA and TGD are enjoying my monthly delve into the youth of today - I sure enjoy writing it!
THE 98/99 JG ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
It's come the time for us (yes, you!) to make a decision about where the JG is heading. There has been a lot of conversation and many opinions on what the fate of the JG will be, whether we take it bigger and better into the 21st century, or not. But for this to be decided, we need all JGers to come along to our AGM on July 11. That means everyone from the last Confirmands to our older ones. It will be the perfect opportunity for you to tell us your opinion on whether we should keep the JG running. Remember it's your JG, and we really need everyone to come in order to make the right decision.
The meeting will start at 1 p.m., but beforehand, in keeping with tradition, there will be a scrumptious BBQ lunch for all to enjoy, starting at around 12.30. If you can't make it to the AGM, make sure you give your apologies to someone who'll be present. But hopefully we'll see each and every one of you there.
ALL DAY-ALL NIGHT
Since you were told about this highly anticipated event last month, I will accept no reason why you can't make it to the ADAN that promises to succeed any previous attempts of All Day-All Nights in JG history. And besides, when was the last time (bar Sommerfest) that we all got together and had a really sensational time?! Can't remember? Well, neither can I, so come along, even if it's just to catch up with some people you haven't seen in a while. Bring your party hats and liquid necessities along for a night of guaranteed madness and mayhem - JG style!!!
SATURDAY 5 JUNE is the date, JG Room is the venue and 7.30 p.m. is the time. What else do you need to know? See you there!
BIRTHDAY LIST
Jolly June heralds a fantastic, present filled, highly enjoyable birthday for the following people:
I know I am going to have a very, very entertaining birthday, so I can only wish my fellow Geminians the same.
Now, I'm under the impression that you all enjoyed the `entertaining' addition of quotes and rules for a better life in last month's JG section and since I've received no further complaints or contributions, I once again turned to the Internet and came up with the following:
THINGS WE WOULDN'T KNOW IF IT WEREN'T FOR TV
So there you go! Fascinating, wasn't it?
The WORD OF THE MONTH proudly brought to you by the Australian Little Oxford Dictionary, is...
bathyscaphe
Well, that's about it from me for another month. Hope you all have a warm time, and try not to get too severely frostbitten. Keep smiling and I hope to see you all at the All Day All Night.
Karyn Kinder, Ed.
CHILDREN'S SECTION
Hi Kids and Parents,
Dear Kids and Parents!
I'm writing this 2 days after Mother's Day and still feel good about the great day my kids and husband gave me. Did you all spoil your Mum, too???
THE BURNING BUSH - EXODUS 3 & 4
When Moses grew up, he left the palace. He did not like to see how the king made the Israelites slave so hard. He went to another land and took care of sheep.
One day while he was watching the sheep, he saw a bush covered with fire. But the bush did not burn up. When he went closer to get a proper look, God called him. "Moses, I want you to go to the king. Tell him to let my people leave Egypt."
Moses was afraid. But God said, "I will be with you. I promise I will bring the people out of Egypt."
Moses was still afraid, so God made Moses' rod turn into a snake and then back into a rod. God said, "I will use signs like this to show the king that I am with you."
So Moses went back to Egypt, to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to a new land.
`OUT OF THIS WORLD' JOKES
BIRTHDAYS
Hi Sydney, we'd love to include your kids' birthdays too. Could someone please send us a list?
End of June TR
TR 906 - MAY 1999
REFLECTIONS
This month we send special greetings to all mothers and carers. May you all be richly blessed!
MOTHERS' DAY
Jimmy Hird
Thank you to Magda Baumert for sending in a bundle of poems; such contributions are gratefully received.
REFUGEES, INTERNEES, FORCED MIGRATION
So many traumatised faces and forms - at the moment we see them daily on the news - of people forced to leave their homes and possessions, and often separated from their loved ones. Our hearts go out to them. - Many Templers, too, have experienced traumatic displacements this century.
Erika Goetze came across the following poem in an old note book of her mothers. It was on a small, yellowing, almost illegible piece of paper and she has copied it out for us. Erika thinks the poem's author is her grandmother, Sophie Bacher - it's written in her handwriting and dated 3.8.1918.
The poem asks: what crime did we commit that caused us all, including babies and old people, to be exiled to internment in hot Heluan in Egypt? While the accommodation was comfortable, the food, and the way it came to `uncultured' tables, was a problem. Being able to bathe daily was one compensation. We can get used to living under imposed rules and can still hold our heads high, despite having to bow to others' regulations for now.
Ein Gedicht aus der Gefangenschaft in Heluan.
TEXT FOR THE MONTH
John 16:16-24 Sadness and gladness
V.16 `A little while, and you will see me no more; again a little while, and you will see me.' The disciples puzzle over these words. V.20...`you will weep and lament... you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.' V.24... ask in my name and you will receive, that your joy may be full.'
This month is Pentecost - Pfingsten. It is described in Acts (Apostelgeschichte) chapter 2.
You are encouraged to reflect on these passages; they contain comfort and inspiration.
READER RESPONSE
Hennig Imberger sent in some thoughts after a Saal which touched on a point that has puzzled many people.
I enjoyed the Palm Sunday service held by Dr. Geoff McCallum on Sunday 28 March in the Bentleigh Hall and found the open discussion, which he invited from the congregation after the service, very constructive.
In addition to the verses describing the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, Geoff also read the account concerning the power of faith, which Jesus demonstrated the next day when he cursed a fig tree. That is, as Jesus and his disciples walked up to Jerusalem from their night quarters in Bethany, Jesus was hungry and looked for fruit on a fig tree they passed. He found only leaves ("because it was not the season for figs") and said, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." When they passed by again the next morning, the fig tree had withered to its roots.
Peter commented, surprised, and Jesus thereupon gave an important teaching on the power of faith (Mark 11:22-25). In the discussion following the service, people also expressed surprise that Jesus used such a demonstration, because he thereby killed a healthy tree and deprived people of the fruit it would have borne.
When another Templer had previously made negative comments about this apparently tantrum-like behaviour, I thought about it and it occurred to me that a teacher, in order to make himself understood, needs to use simple, obvious, clear and impressive illustrations (`hard hitting' if you like).
Moreover, teachers often incur considerable expense in order to achieve such clarity. And such expense can involve much plant life. For example, think of the many trees cut for building schools and supplying paper, and the expense involved in training teachers, building equipment, preparing slides and videos, etc.
When seen in this light and considering the importance of the teaching about faith which the demonstration highlights, then the passing of one fig-tree and the loss of a potential ton or so of figs seems relatively small.
Furthermore, Jesus said he and the Father are one (John 10:30) and that he does as the Father has commanded (John 14:31). Consequently the whole wisdom and power of God would have been at work to compensate those who may have missed the tree and its fruit.
Hennig Imberger
FROM THE OFFICE
GUEST UNIT
Do you have relatives or friends coming to visit from overseas or interstate? If so, they may wish to avail themselves of the guest accommodation offered through one of the converted youth group flats in Bayswater. In the absence of any bookings at the moment, the unit is being let short-term through an agent. We therefore require sufficient notice of any intending visitors. Please contact the TSA Office for all details.
CONFIRMATION CAMP
During the second week of the recent Easter school holidays, a mini-bus full of most of the last confirmation group travelled to Moyston (direction "Grampians"). Renate and Tony Beilharz, Bernd Vollmer and Claudia Mutschlechner accompanied the group. Although the group's actual confirmation was almost 12 months ago, it was good to see them being given the opportunity to bond and enjoy each other's company. Thanks to our dedicated leaders and, in particular, to Renate for taking the initiative to allow the camp to happen - we value and appreciate their efforts.
See Renate's Report in MEMBERS AND FRIENDS.
AUSTRALIAN-GERMAN TEMPLER EXCHANGE
Applications for the next scholarship round close on 30th June. Forms are available from the TSA Office. Full details of the exchange program were given in last month's TR p.8.
CHRISTKINDL MARKT
Once again, some of the proceeds from the Christkindl Markt raised by the Templer Tabulam Support Group has been directed to the Altersheim.
Belatedly we extend our warmest thanks and appreciation for the support shown by this group. Some lovely Christmas decorations to be used and displayed at the Home were purchased, the balance contributing to our general fundraising targets.
Mark Herrmann
Business Manager
TEMPLER HOME
Thank you to the members in the wider community who have completed and returned our questionnaire. We were overwhelmed by the number of responses. We will now study and analyse your replies, hoping to better plan for the future - yours and ours. By attempting to understand and appreciate the needs of TSA members, we believe we can better fulfil our mission: to care for frail and elderly Templers with compassion and dignity.
Mark Herrmann
for the Home Committee
GOOD FRIDAY
As in recent years, the Glen Eira South Ministers' Association organised ecumenical services for Palm Sunday (28th March) and Good Friday (2nd April). The two services were linked by the hymn "Lift high the cross".
On Good Friday a local park was the setting, where a relatively large crowd (80-90?) accompanied various speakers representing the disciples, Judas, the high priest, Peter, Pilate, the soldiers, the women, the centurions. The theme was "how could we have missed him?" The characters presented their particular perspective of the theme and, in prayer, suggested we today also run the risk of "missing him". Those in attendance were encouraged to observe, to be good examples through word and deed, to forgive and to seek justice, to stand up for what we know is right, to actively look beyond our material world, to recognise equality and the right of all to their identity and individuality, to not lose hope. The service allowed for contemplation between the various stations of the cross -a Taizé chorus was regularly repeated - and concluded beside the cross with a period of reflection. It provided a meaningful and appropriate reminder of the Easter message.
Mark Herrmann
TEMPLER CELEBRANTS - IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Our esteemed President, Dieter Ruff, celebrated his 75th birthday in April. We congratulate him and wish him and Isolde well.
The TSA Constitution states that `the President shall relinquish his position at the age of 75'. However, `if confirmed by the Regional Councils of Australia and Germany, the President may continue to hold his position from year to year after the age of 75.' The Regional Council of the TSA has given its endorsement for Dieter to remain President for another year, and is very grateful that he is willing to serve on, subject to approval from the R.C. of the TGD.
Dieter would like to complete some important work before retiring. If he carries on, it is vital that he is not constantly called to perform tasks that other Elders could also do, like conduct weddings and funerals (much as everyone would love to have him).
PLEASE NOTE
All requests for a celebrant in relation to a marriage or a funeral
should in the first instance be directed to the Office. Please do not
contact Elders privately. You can, of course, tell the Office your preference
for this or that Elder, who may, however, not be available due to other
commitments.
Currently our marriage celebrants are:
in Sydney Hartmut Beck
in Melbourne Dr. Rolf Beilharz, Herta Uhlherr and Theo Richter.
MARRIAGE PREPARATION
While on the subject of marriage - you may not know that Herta has done training in marriage preparation and enrichment.
A successful marriage doesn't just happen. We spend much time and money on all sorts of things - it makes sense to invest in something as important as your relationship as well. Also - the government strongly recommends that all couples wishing to marry engage in marriage preparation.
Three programs are available:
PREPARE for people marrying for the first time.
It is designed to give you a clearer picture of your relationship and will identify areas of strength and such areas as you may need to do some work on. PREPARE will help
PREPARE - MC is a special version of the program available for those marrying where children from a previous relationship are involved.
And for married people who want to enrich or revitalize their marriage there is a program called:
ENRICH it will
Both PREPARE and ENRICH are based on each partner's response to a series of questions covering areas of relationship important to most couples. There are different sets of questions for PREPARE, PREPARE - MC and ENRICH.
They are administered by a minister, celebrant or counsellor trained to use the program. He/she meets with the couple several times and provides feedback from a detailed computer analysis of their answers. It's not a question of passing or failing, but of identifying couple strengths and areas that would benefit from more work.
These programs provide an accurate picture of your relationship, for the price of a meal out together.
Naturally, anything said in these sessions is confidential.
You can choose to do a marriage preparation program with Herta even if you prefer Rolf or Theo to marry you. PREPARE or PREPARE - MC is best done several months before your wedding date, anyway.
Editor
SOCIAL CARE
Dear Friends,
For Sunday 16 May all the young families and grandparents of the children presented to our community over the last 2 years, have been invited by the Temple Society to an informal afternoon tea and reunion at the Bayswater Hall at 2:30 pm.
Such an afternoon was held last year for the first time and proved to be a great success. It provided a wonderful opportunity for the young parents to meet and get to know each other better, in relaxed surroundings.
I very much look forward to this afternoon and hope that many families can come.
1999 has been nominated as the International Year of the Older Persons. Making it happen is the collective responsibility of tens of thousands of people. The special theme is "Towards a Society for All Ages". Many organizations are planning activities and are committed to the success of the year. Our community has a rich history of achievement and success. As our contribution to the I.Y.O.P. I would like to compile a book of stories from members and friends of how they came and started their life in this country.
We have stories and documentation of life in Palestine, but nothing about the difficult beginning of the post-war years. All this is a valuable part of our community and indeed of Australian history. I would therefore ask our readers to contribute by recording your stories and how you, as migrants, have contributed to the development of Australia.
The stories need not be great novels. You could talk into a tape recorder or make notes, which can be collated and edited. Why not make it a family project?
The 'younger' people could write about their childhood experiences, e.g. going to school and not knowing the English language.
I find the idea quite exciting and hope you share my enthusiasm. For further information please ring me.
Best wishes to our sick and infirm friends,
Helga Anderson, Tel. 9557 6713
UNICEF
has asked the TSA for donations for the children of Kosova who are in such dire straits. Anyone wishing to contribute (donations over $2 are tax deductible) can
Editor
MEMBERS AND FRIENDS
AUS DEM GEMEINDELEBEN
GEBURTSTAGE
Wir gratulieren herzlich zum Geburtstag unserer Mitglieder
und wünschen auch allen hier nicht aufgeführten Geburtstagskindern alles Gute und Schöne zum neuen Lebensjahr.
DANKSAGUNGEN
Für die vielen Karten und Anrufe zu meinem Geburtstag sage ich auf diese Weise herzlichen Dank.
Annemarie Graze
Für die vielen Glückwünsche und Gratulationskarten, die wir zu unserer Silberhochzeit erhielten, sagen wir auf diesem Wege unseren herzlichsten Dank.
Jim und Helga Anderson
SILVER WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
Congratulations to
Ursel & Wolfgang Sturtz
on their silver wedding anniversary on 25 May and our very best wishes for their future.
BIRTHS
Daniel Heinz Bulach born 8.3.99
Parents: Carl & Sonia Bulach
Daniel, who was only 840 g at his prem birth, now weighs 1580 g and is growing nicely, but still in hospital. Many good wishes to the tiny soul and his family!
Caroline Klink born on 25.3.99
Sister for Philipp and David.
Parents: Ulrich Klink & Annette née Hausmann
Samuel Eric Heron born on 27.3.99
Parents: Tim & Monika Heron
MARRIAGE
Michael Kuerschner & Beate née Hoffmann on 20.3.99
in the Sydney community's lovely church
Congratulations to all these couples!
TRAUERFÄLLE/BEREAVEMENTS
Am 15. März 1999 ist unsere liebe Schwester, Tante und Großtante
Gertrud Margarete Blaich
von ihrer schweren Krankheit erlöst worden.
Wir danken Dr. Rolf Beilharz und allen, die mit uns von ihr Abschied genommen haben und im Besonderen Mark Herrmann für seine tröstenden Worte.
Bei dem Personal im Tabulam und im Altersheim bedanken wir uns herzlich für seine mitfühlende Pflege unserer Trude.
Hertha Blaich; Ursula und Gary Fisher mit Veronica und David; Ralph und Linda Blaich mit Lia und Robbie; Helen Blaich
Am Sonntag, den 18. April 1999, ist mein lieber Mann, unser guter Vater, Opa, Bruder, Schwager und Onkel
Fritz Weberruss
im Alter von 75 Jahren von uns gegangen.
Wir danken Rolf Beilharz für seine guten Worte. Für die vielen schönen Blumen, Karten und Briefe und Spenden für das Altersheim sagen wir unseren herzlichen Dank, auch an alle, die Fritz die letzte Ehre erwiesen haben.
Irmgard Weberruss geb. Voges; Roswitha Lipstein, mit Michael und Kathryn; Martin und Marlene Weberruss mit Joshua und Sabrina; Regina und Peter Gleeson mit Rachel und Grace; Bringfriede Steller; Helga Weberruss mit Familie
Am 23. März 1999 verstarb mein lieber Mann, unser guter Vater, Bruder, Opa, Schwiegervater und Onkel
Harald Richard Graze
im Alter von 62 Jahren nach einer sechsmonatigen, mit großer Tapferkeit und Zuversicht ertragenen Krankheit.
Wir danken Dieter Ruff für seine trostreichen und mitfühlenden Worte in der Lilydale Memorial Park Chapel und am Grab.
Auf diesem Wege danken wir auch allen Verwandten und Freunden für die zahlreiche Teilnahme, sowie für die vielen Blumen und Beileidsbezeugungen.
In stiller Trauer
Marion Graze geb. Uber; Thomas Graze mit Familie; Janine Dodds geb. Graze mit Familie; Michael Graze; Theo Graze mit Familie; Ingeborg Arndt geb. Graze mit Familie.
Am Karfreitag, den 2. April starb unser lieber Vater, Grossvater und Schwager
Walter Kimmel
im Alter von 89 Jahren. Wir danken Mark Herrmann sehr herzlich für seine lieben und tröstenden Worte bei der Trauerfeier.
Im Namen der hinterbliebenen Familien,
Ilse Aschenbrenner geb. Kimmel und Hans Faig.
TEMPLER EXCHANGE
Our guest from the TGD, Claudia Mutschlechner, has submitted her `Abschiedsbrief'. I've shifted her P.S. to the front - you'll see why .
P.S. As you can see I've been among you long enough to learn your language...
Hello und guten Tag!
Da ich soon meine Reise antreten werde, I'm going to say "Auf Wiedersehen" to all the nice people I met hier in Australien.
I really enjoyed myself here, was auch ganz einfach war because alle Leute waren so kind to me. The Sommerfest is gone and ich bin jetzt schon fast 3 months hier and I don't even want to go heim again.
Nach dem Junior Camp im Januar I stayed four weeks with Dieter and Traude Glenk in Montrose and they took me to einigen Sehenswürdigkeiten wie: the Australian Open, William Ricketts Sanctuary and Healesville Sanctuary. Meanwhile we tried to organise my Course, aber am Ende hat Irene Bouzo doch alles organisiert (Danke).
Brendon came back from Deutschland wo ich ihn schon kennenlernen durfte und wir unternahmen auch noch einiges zusammen, for example Caribbean Market, a trip into the city and a Moonlight Cinema evening at the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Unter der Woche hab ich den Damen und Herren im Altersheim company geleistet, which was very interesting für mich.
Am Sommerfest haben most of you mich kennengelernt und Dieter und Isolde Ruff waren so freundlich, mich zu meiner neuen host family Droste in Glen Waverley zu bringen. On 15 February I started the Public Relations course at Box Hill Institute and finished on 29 March. Es war sehr interessant und ich habe einiges gelernt, was good for my future ist. Bei Drostes bin ich dann auch nochmal four weeks geblieben und here I got introduced to the facettenreiche Kurturleben of Melbourne. Monika took me to several Theateraufführungen und Balletstücken and both girls, Andrea and Kim, took me camping to Waratah Bay mit eintägigem Besuch von Wilsons Prom.
Ausserdem I had the chance to go to Flinders and Arthur's Seat with Gertrud Poddey and Isolde and Dieter Ruff. Glenks showed me beautiful Phillip Island for a Wochenende.
Time flew and schon kam ich zu meiner nächsten Gastfamilie, Rolf und Monika Herrmann in Ferntree Gully. I was invited to the Ladies' Afternoon in Bayswater am 16. März und habe mich gefreut, dass so viele Ladies anwesend und interessiert waren. Monika took me to German School und ich war erstaunt wie schnell und mit wieviel Freude die kids deutsch lernen...
Ausserdem durfte ich an einem Altersheim Saal teilnehmen und genoss die anschließende Garden Party. Ursula und Alfred Klink luden uns zum Lunch ein and I got the chance to see their half-underground house, which was very exciting.
Now I'm going to the Confirmands' Camp to the Grampians and danach privat mit dem Bus nach Cairns, mit einigen Stops in Canberra, bei Slips in Sydney, Brisbane etc. In Cairns I'm going to catch the plane to Alice Springs und komme dann mit dem Bus über Coober Pedy und Adelaide zurück nach Melbourne. Den Trip hat übrigens Silvia Anderson (thanks a lot!) für mich gebucht.
Ich hoffe ich komme rechtzeitig zur Sonnwendfeier wieder hier an, wenn nicht bin ich aber sicher bis zum 26. Juni zurück and will fly back to Germany on 30 June.
It was a pleasure to meet you all and thanks very much to all the host families for their efforts. I got a very good introduction into the Australian Temple Society und Dank Monika Herrmann konnte ich nicht nur die Bayswater Halle sehen, sondern auch die in Boronia und Bentleigh. Ausserdem ermöglichte Dieter Ruff einen day trip to Tatura, wofür ich sehr dankbar bin.
I say Goodbye and hope to see you all soon, wenn nicht in Deutschland, dann das nächste Mal wenn ich nach Australien komme.
Eure Claudia Mutschlechner
We wish Claudia well for her tour up the east coast, then down the centre of Australia. - Silvia Anderson works in the travel industry.
BACH IN THE DARK
Bach bei Kerzenschein
This concert given by Alfred Hornung in March was a magical experience. The large and beautiful church in Toorak was full. As the lights dimmed before each of the three cello suites, leaving Alfred and his cello illuminated only by four candles, people were absolutely still - spell-bound.
The sweet tones Alfred gets out of his instrument sounded full, almost like an orchestra at times. When the lights gradually came on again, the audience woke as from a dream and gave him well-deserved applause. I am very glad I went!
Emma Polacsek
TEMPLER TEENAGERS - A CASE STUDY
Researchers: Renate Beilharz, Tony Beilharz
Research assistants: Bernd Vollmer, Claudia Mutschlechner
Overall activity: Confirmation Camp
Environment: Gumnut Holiday Camp, Moyston, and the Grampians Area.
Subjects: Confirmation group of 1998 - Michael Blaich, Steven Blaich, Simon Christian, Belinda Frank, Liesel Haar, Emily Herrmann, Kieran Murray, David Nicholson, Jonathon Paton, Sasha Ruff, Aidan Steller, Chris Ware.
This was not a random sample of subjects.
Dates of study: 10 April - 17 April 1999.
Specific environmental conditions the subjects were subjected to:
Shopping;
then there was:
sitting on the edge of high cliffs (the Balconies, the Nerve Test);
As can be seen, the subjects were engaged in a variety of activities, designed to allow the researchers to study their reactions under different conditions.
The following conclusions about Templer teenagers were drawn:
No responsibility is taken for the accuracy of these statements.
Follow up studies will naturally be taken at the next confirmation camp to confirm these findings.
But seriously, we all had a great time, kids and leaders.
Renate & Tony Beilharz (photos next month).
TREFFEN DER JAHRGÄNGE 1933/34
Two reports on the very successful reunion of the `vintages' 33 and 34 at Beechworth have been received. (Other report next month).
On Saturday afternoon, 10 April, 34 participants of approximately the same age converged on a motel at Beechworth for a get-to-gether. Ten people had come from NSW, several of them having detoured via Tatura, the old campsite and Waranga Basin, as well as attending the Vagarini exhibition in Benalla as invited guests.
Our first official meeting was for afternoon tea in the motel dining room, followed by dinner. As the hours ticked away, the noise level rose likewise and the room echoed with laughter as we were regaled with humorous anecdotes. A special poem had been written for the occasion and everybody was asked to contribute to the entertainment. Several deferred this until we celebrate again and we look forward to hearing about the experiences of their younger years then.
We also remembered our classmates who have passed away and we were especially saddened by the two recent deaths of Erhard Sawatzky and Günter Eppinger. Unfortunately one couple had to withdraw due to illness and we wish Hermann (Uhlherr) a speedy and complete recovery.
The communal breakfast next morning was again a noisy but joyous affair, as was the luncheon in the Beechworth Bakehouse.
Our organisers had put in a special request for glorious weather which was granted to perfection, enabling us to make use of the outdoor setting under the shade umbrellas, where we often congregated to while away the hours in a relaxed and companionable way.
Sunday afternoon was spent on a conducted bus tour being guided around Beechworth and surrounding areas. We learned a great deal about the hardships, as well as the successes, of the early settlers.
Most of us stayed a second night, enjoying the companionship of those we meet frequently and the ones we had not seen for many years.
Our thanks and gratitude go to Friedrich and Gisela Sawatzky, who had spent many hours organizing this most successful and harmonious reunion.
Gretel Krockenberger
In August of this year, 15 of us are meeting up with our peers in Germany to rekindle their memories also. We hope to see six former classmates from Tatura, as well as our teacher in the years 1942 and '43, Mrs. Lilo Thaler, nee Wagner.
The proposed program sounds exciting. We would love to have more Aussies participate. Can we interest more of Jahrgang 33/34 to join us? Please give me a call on 03 9762 2069.
Friedrich Sawatzky.
OUTBACK TRIP (continued)
4.9 - It is 7.15 p.m. Victorian time. The sun has just set and the orange glow can be seen along the western horizon. We are camped on the shores of one of the dry Wanna Lakes. A loaf of bread is nearly ready in the camp oven. Tonight we will have leftovers from the night before - kohlrabi with metwurst and fried potatoes - absolutely yummy! The slight breeze we had earlier has gone completely. It is peacefully quiet, all I can hear is Heidi cleaning the lettuce for dinner. Above the horizon, I can just make out the thin crescent of the new moon. It will be more visible when it gets dark. Heidi decides that she wants to walk off into the dusk on to the not-so-dry lake surface. I wonder if she will come back with very muddy shoes, as the lake did have water not so long ago. Well, Heidi has more sense than Heinz, who would definitely have come back with mud up to his ankles.
5.9 - Today we cover 150 km to just before the WA/SA border. A ranger we met yesterday told of a waterhole (soak) which is full to the brim at present. `You can use the water for washing and drinking if you boil it for a few minutes. But don't swim in the hole as the Aborigines who still use this waterhole would not like that at all'. We found the soak surrounded by a multitude of flowers. Heidi can name many flowers and birds. I can only remember the names of plants and birds if they are edible, otherwise they are not so important to me.
A nice campsite awaits us 500 metres over a sand dune. We again make use of the unexpected water supply and have a welcome bucket shower. Heidi and John also do some necessary washing. The evening is nice and mild with some weird cloud formations and a dust storm on the horizon. John (who paints pictures with similar cloud formations) comments: `This could turn into something nasty'. Sure enough, it starts to rain in the middle of the night. The rain together with some strong windgusts gives us a sleepless night.
6.9 - By 12 noon the clouds are clearing but a very strong northwesterly is blowing. We stay here for another night.
7,8.9 - The last 2 days we have been driving a lot. In the sand dunes the vegetation is mainly mulga scrub interspersed with currajong, Christmas tree mulga (shaped like a fir tree), marble gums and some quandong trees, the fruit of which is still green, otherwise we would make some jam. Inside the hard, marble-sized kernel of this fruit are nice nuts. Heinz will fry some with our evening meal (hope they are not toxic!). Here, the flowers are nowhere near as prolific as north on the Connie Sue Highway, also animals are very rare. Two camels, two kangaroos, no emus or dingos. We see few birds and one rabbit.
We are still about 600 km away from Coober Pedy. At the border between WA & SA the Unnamed Conservation Park starts, with the chain of Serpentine Lakes. A long time ago, when the countryside around Adelaide had a tropical climate, these lakes were a river reaching to the sea. There is water in some of them at present but we have no trouble crossing a dry lake. There is little to say about the Conservation Park otherwise, as the countryside seems to get drier with less vegetation the deeper we get into SA. An abundance of brilliant red Sturt's Desert Peas greets us at Emu Junction (the old contaminated atomic test site), but otherwise there is nothing positive to say about the place.
10.9 - Early afternoon and the dug-up plain around Coober Pedy comes into view. It has an eerie feeling about it. Coober Pedy is a real frontier town, with a population of about 3500 - 45 different nationalities including 400 Aborigines. A multitude of shops try to sell opals of various quality to the few tourists about. Accommodation varies from camping ground, underground backpackers hostel to high-class hotels. A Polish butcher sells high quality smallgoods made on the premises. Two ladies sell their own brand of screen-printed clothes, handbags, tablecloths and handkerchiefs in their "Wannagoanna" shop, all made in Coober Pedy. In spite of all this `buy, buy' attitude, there seems to be a happy-go-lucky atmosphere around which makes us like the town.
12.9 - We head east towards William Creek in the morning, saying goodbye to John, our travelling companion of 17 days - he is going south to Adelaide.
After 90 km we see a signpost "Cadibarrawirracanna Lake 5 km". We turn into this track which is on Anna Creek Station, the biggest cattle station in the world, run by the Sidney Kidman Pastoral Co., 30113 sq. km in size. We set up camp on the sandy edge of the lake; its name is the longest place name in Australia. Black swans, seagulls, terns and grebes are about by the hundreds, although a lot of them disappear when they see us. The sky is overcast again and we expect some rain. The few stunted gums will give us no shelter.
13,14.9 - Another traveller at William Creek tells us that he went swimming in the usually dry Lake Eyre North, so we head east for 73 km to the edge of the lake. The water is about 300 metres from the shoreline. After walking a further 300 metres and more, the water is barely 30 cm deep (why do most travellers, your truly not included, always exaggerate?). Nevertheless, Lake Eyre North is a vast expanse of water and definitely worthwhile visiting.
15,16.9 - On the way back from Lake Eyre North we have a hot but refreshing shower at a bore. When we reach the Oodnadatta Track and head south, we realise that we are truly on our way home. Evening finds us at Coward Springs, a very low-key, impeccably kept official campground. We settle under old tamarisk trees which we share with the galahs. In the morning Heidi wants to go to the original Coward mound spring 3 km away. Heinz dutifully follows, and now, at about 2.30 p.m. is sweating over how to put all this on paper. After a late game of Scrabble and a cup of Glühwein we hop into the natural spa bath (29o C) before turning in. (To be continued).
H. & H. Vollmer
SYDNEY
Über die Osterfeiertage regnete es in Sydney; es fing am Gründonnerstag an und hörte erst wieder am Dienstag nach Ostern auf. So war es sehr erfreulich, dass zu unserem Karfreitag/Oster-Saal am 2. April immerhin 47 Leute kamen, auch junge Familien mit Kleinkindern. Ich sprach zuerst über den Tod Jesu (Matthäus Kap.27, Verse 45-54) und dann über das Ostergeschehen.
Anschließend durften die Kinder Schokolade-Eier im Saal suchen, was ihnen viel Spass bereitete, während wir Älteren bei Kaffee und Kuchen im hinteren Raum gemütlich beisammen saßen.
Zunächst wird nun unser Bus-Ausflug am
Samstag 1. Mai stattfinden
(Richtung Südküste).
Abfahrt 9.00 a.m. Kirchle Meadowbank
23. Mai - Saal 3.00 p.m. Meadowbank
We had really wet Easter days in Sydney and so it was very pleasing to welcome 47 members and friends with 8 little ones, who attended the Good Friday/Easter service on 2nd April. My sermon was based on the death of Jesus (Matt. 27,45-54) and then on the amazing experiences the disciples had on the Sunday morning after the crucifixion of Jesus, the day we now call Easter.
After the service the children were entertained in the front hall with a chocolate egg hunt and games, while we "oldies" enjoyed conversations over coffee and cakes in the rear hall.
Our next event is the bus excursion to the South Coast on
Saturday 1st May, beginning at 9.00 a.m. at the Meadowbank Church
23 May Service 3.00 p.m. Meadowbank.
Ilse Birkner
HOME NEWS
ALTERSHEIMNACHRICHTEN HOME NEWS
Wenn wir ein wenig voraus schauen - die Sonnwendfeier findet am 19. Juni statt, Beginn 17.00 Uhr. Das ist immer ein schöner, harmonischer Abend für die ganze Familie, jung und alt. Bitte diesen Abend freihalten.
Dieses Jahr haben wir beschlossen, nicht bei der Dolls' Fair mitzumachen. Auch den Basar verschieben wir auf nächstes Jahr und hoffen, dass er dafür umso größer und schöner wird. Sammeln Sie also ruhig Sachen für den `Bonanza Basar 2000'.
Wie Sie vielleicht bemerkt haben wird das Büro im Heim renoviert. Wenn es fertig ist, sollten viele tägliche Handlungen freundlicher, besser und zeitsparender laufen.
Das Personal unterstütz unsere Heimbewohner weiterhin so effektiv wie möglich unter schwierigen Verhältnissen; wir schätzen seine treuen Dienste sehr!
Jetzt noch ein Gedicht, das ich vor kurzem in einem Business Journal gesehen habe. Es spricht von einer alten, grauen Frau, die gekrümmt und ängstlich am Rand der schnee-nassen Straße steht. Eine Truppe Schüler kommt fröhlich lachend vorbei. Schließlich hilft ihr ein Schüler über die Straße, sagt dann zu seinen Kameraden: `Sie ist ja jemandes Mutter' und er hoffe, dass auch seiner Mutter geholfen würde, wenn sie alleine wäre. Am Abend betet `jemandes Mutter' für den feinen Jungen - er sei ja jemandes geliebter Sohn.
This month we would like to remind everyone of the Sonnwendfeier which will be held on 19 June, starting at 5.00 p.m. This is always a real family evening and, with your support, will be a very enjoyable and rewarding get-together. So keep this evening free and come along with your family, young and not so young, to enjoy the harmonious friendship and hospitality.
This year we will not be catering for the Dolls Fair and are taking time out by postponing the bazaar to next year in the hope that it will be even bigger and better. So do keep collecting your items for donation to the "Bonanza Bazaar 2000".
As you may have noticed the office renovations are on the way and, when completed, will make the daily operations and interactions at the Home more efficient and friendly.
The Staff is continuing to support the residents as effectively as possible under difficult circumstances and we certainly appreciate their dedication!
Now, I would like to share a poem I recently read in, of all places, a business magazine.
Traude Glenk
for the THA Committee
SOMEBODY'S MOTHER
TABULAM NACHRICHTEN
Liebe Mitglieder, Freunde und Gönner!
Das Wohltätigkeitskonzert, das der Österreichische Klub zu Gunsten TABULAMS am 11. April veranstaltete, war ein großer Erfolg. Wer nicht dabei war hat viel versäumt.
Zahlreiche Gäste - darunter offizielle Vertreter der Konsulate Österreichs, Deutschlands und der Schweiz, sowie das viktorianische Parlamentsmitglied für Bayswater - trafen schon ab 12 Uhr ein und genossen die gute Küche des Klubs.
Um 14 Uhr eröffnete Bruno Klepp (M.C.) das Konzert und Präsident Rolf Maedler begrüßte die Anwesenden. Ich bekam kurz die Gelegenheit, dem Klub im Namen des TABULAM Heims zu danken. Das Programm, das von Otto Griesmayr gut geplant und organisiert worden war, war sehr abwechslungsreich (Vortrag, Musik, Gesang, Jodeln und Tanz) und so gekonnt dargeboten, daß der spontane Beifall reichlich verdient war.
In der Pause konnte man Kaffee oder Tee mit verschiedenen Kuchen genießen und sich mit andern Gästen unterhalten.
Der Parlamentarier, Mr. Gordon Ashley, sprach mit lobenden Worten kurz über die erste Besiedlung der Bayswater Gegend ab etwa 1870 von so vielen Deutschen, dass der Ort lange Germantown hieß. Eine neue Besiedlungswelle von Deutschen (den Templern) begann dann ab 1949. Später führte das 1972 zum Bau ihres Altenheims und 1981, zusammen mit dem D.A. Hilfsverein, dem Bau des TABULAM Pflegeheims.
Die zweite Hälfte des Programms war nicht minder abwechslungsreich und interessant.
Als Abschluss des Nachmittags dankte Rolf Maedler den Künstlern und überreichte mir dann den Erlös des Konzerts ($4125) sowie einige Spenden, die den Gesamtbetrag auf $4550 brachten.
Nach meinem nochmaligen Danksagen an alle Mitwirkenden und einem Gruppenfoto beschloss Bruno Klepp die Veranstaltung.
Im Auftrag des Verwaltungsausschusses,
Otto Löbert
TABULAM NEWS - in brief.
The Austrian Club's Concert to benefit Tabulam was a great success. The total raised, including some extra donations, was $4550 - a great achievement. Thank you to all concerned.
NOTICES
FORTHCOMING SERVICES
2. 5 11.00 Family Service E in Leongatha
9. 5 Bo 10.15 Mothers' Day Service E Theo Richter
16. 5 AH 10.45 Service G Herta Uhlherr
23. 5 Be 15.15 Comm.Afternoon Serv. E H.R. Uhlherr
& Elders' Meeting
6. 6 CV 11,00 Central Vic Service Mark Herrmann
at Broadford Christa Lingham
GIPPSLAND SERVICE - 2 MAY LEONGATHA
The Service which will begin the Kids' Club Farm Day at Lubitz' Farm may also become historic as the inaugural meeting for a new Gippsland Group. All Templer families, friends and relatives are invited to attend. Map and details in April TR CHILDREN'S SECTION, e.g. BYO meat, drinks, crockery, chairs, gumboots; salad and `afternoon tea' to share.
COMMUNITY AFTERNOON BENTLEIGH - SUNDAY 23 MAY
Everyone is invited to the service beginning at 3.15 p.m. and followed by afternoon tea. The following ladies are kindly asked to help and be at the hall by 2.45 p.m. to set up:
Rita Grubb, Monika & Regina Imberger, Susan Snyder,
Diana Rainbird, Doris Katz, Margrit Katz, Sigrid Katz, Debbie Katz.
If you are unable to come please ring me so that a replacement can be arranged. Please bring a cake to share.
Helga Anderson
Special Event
Families and grandparents of children presented over the last 2 years: Invitation to afternoon tea at the Ba Hall on 16 May. See Social Care in FROM THE OFFICE.
BE-MO COMMUNITY WORKING BEE
SATURDAY 15 MAY
The major Be-Mo working bee will be held on the morning of Saturday 15 May from 9 - 12.30. Many cleaning and gardening jobs are waiting, and once again we ask for your help. It would be appreciated if you could bring some of your gardening and cleaning tools. A scrumptious morning tea and good company will be provided.
We look forward to your support and hope to see you there.
Ingrid Edelmaier
for the Be-Mo Committee
SPECIAL NOTICE TO BA-BO COMMUNITY MEMBERS
At last year's Annual General Meeting I accepted the position of Acting Head for a period of one (1) year. This was done with the proviso that the community seek to find a member willing to take on the position for the full three (3) year term.
It is now May, and this does not leave much time (3 months) until the next AGM. It is vital that the Ba-Bo community become active in the search for my replacement as the time left will pass very quickly. You all have family members or friends who may be interested, if approached in the right manner. It is time to speak to those friends and relatives about this situation.
Included in this month's TR you will find nomination forms for both Head of Community and Committee Member. Please send completed forms to the community secretary, Tony Beilharz.
PLEASE NOTE: We will not accept verbal nominations on the day of the AGM in August as has been done at past meetings. We must have written nominations in hand before the actual meeting. Don't assume that someone else will do the seeking, it is everyone's job to find a new Community Head.
Ralph Richter, Acting Head
Bayswater-Boronia Community
BAYSWATER-BORONIA LADIES GROUP
Susan and Theo Graze are currently in Nepal visiting their daughter Jenika and family. At our next meeting Susan will tell us about their adventures and impressions of Northern India and Nepal. You are welcome to come along and listen to Susan's fascinating stories.
Our meeting is on 18 May from 1-3 p.m. in the Bayswater Hall.
Gisela Sawatzky
PLAYGROUP - GRANDPARENTS' DAY & BIGGEST MORNING TEA
For Thursday 27 May we invite all our grandparents, relatives and friends to visit Playgroup. After our usual activities to 11.00 a.m., we will join Cancer Research's fundraising in Australia's Biggest Morning Tea, so please make a donation for your favourite cuppa and cake.
We look forward to your company.
Moni Herrmann for Playgroup
STORIES OF OUR BEGINNINGS IN AUSTRALIA
Helga Anderson is initiating an exciting project in this Year of the Older Persons. See Social Care in FROM THE OFFICE Section and please encourage one another to participate.
Ed.
SACHBEARBEITERIN/LOHNBUCHHALTERIN
gesucht für Tabulam.
Teilzeit oder Vollzeit, Vertretung für 3 Monate gesucht.
Kenntnisse erwünscht: Deutsch/Englisch mündlich und schriftlich, Computer Kenntnisse.
Erfahrung erwünscht: Quality Assurance, Lohnbuchhaltung, Schriftverkehr.
Bitte vereinbaren Sie ein Gespräch mit Director of Nursing Gabriele Glöckner, oder dem Direktor: Tabulam Altenpflegeheim Bayswater, Dr. M. Schreiber.
Dr. Martin Schreiber
PERSONAL GESUCHT FÜRS ALTERSHEIM
German-speaking qualified PCAs required for a variety of shifts at Templer Home for the Aged in Bayswater. We are a low level aged care facility providing care to older people who speak German. Please contact me at the Home on 9729 3444.
Susan Taylor, Director of Care
CAR BOOT SALE - 23 MAY
In Club Tivoli's Car Park from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. (Melway 58 G8).
To secure a parking space, sellers please call:
Kuno, Herbert, Bruno
Bargains Sausage Sizzle Fun!
JG SECTION
INTRODUCTION
It's magical May! Yay! Well, I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday and an even better Easter! But now it's time to get back into the swing of things, and start buying all those woollen jumpers and cutting wood for the fire. We're nearly into winter, which is good and bad. It means freezing cold mornings, getting dark really early, the tendency to sacrifice any outside activity in favour of snuggling up on the couch with a hot chocolate.
Mothers' Day also falls in May. It's a great chance to thank the most important female in your existence (after all, if it weren't for her, you wouldn't be here) for everything she's done in your life. Everything from packing your lunch in your Barbie lunchbox on the first day of prep, to dishing out all the embarrassing baby photos of you at you're 21st!! Ahh, Mothers. Can't beat `em. (And for the record, I never had a Barbie lunchbox!!!) But I will be thanking her for all the times she's been my personal taxi driver, for helping me when I've left all my CATS until the last night and for being the peacemaker between my father and me on many occasions, especially where the telephone is concerned. So when Mothers' Day rolls around, make sure you thank your Mum for all the things she's done. Spoil her, do the dishes!
There may be people reading this who no longer have a mother. But you've still got the memories and you can still give thanks for everything she did for you. She'll hear you.
Last month, I gave you an ode to Friendship, this month, in honour of Mothers' Day, here's one you can give to your Mum.
RETURN OF THE JG
Since it was decided in February that we would be ceasing all `official' JG activity until the AGM on 11 July, it was brought to my attention that we should have an unofficial All Day, All Night. None of us have really had the chance to socialise since Sommerfest, and even then we were busy all day. So, in consultation with Nigel and my fellow JG-ers, it was decided that we should hold a `reunion', kind of like a prelude to the AGM. And since I am giving you well over a month's notice, I really would like to see all JG members there with their party hats on!! It's a great chance to catch up and have a sensational time, just like we used to do. The chosen date for this monumental event is SATURDAY 5 JUNE. So don't delay, put this in your diary right now; drop everything and bring along your red cordial and be there. Starting at about 7.30 p.m., this JG-only event is sure to tease and tantalise your party taste buds. So I guess that leaves one thing to say, which is, I will see you all on 5 June.
Darren Loebert
Okay, now to the entertainment aspect of this already thoroughly entertaining section. I took it upon myself, as the highly esteemed editor, to provide you with some laughable quotes, pathetic jokes and some interesting rules for life, all `discovered' in books that shall remain nameless. So without further ado, here it is... (and please, please, give me some material that is better than this, otherwise you'll have to suffer!!) Once again, my address is 9 Parker Road Silvan Vic 3795
RULES FOR A BETTER (?) LIFE
I'm not saying these work, but hey, you can always try...
I also found a book of quotes; some are quite funny, if not strange. You decide...
BIRTHDAY LIST
This month, I'd like to extend the warmest birthday wishes to:
Kieran Murray for the 4th and Alysha Murray for the 15th.
Hope you both have an excellent day, with lots of cool things, like presents, happiness and cake!!
WORD OF THE MONTH
This month I bring you yet another ridiculous word that I'm sure no-one knows the meaning of unless they look it up in the dictionary... UXORIOUS
That's it from me - this month, anyway. Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing it. Have a great month, don't do anything I wouldn't do! Stay happy people.
Karyn Kinder, Ed.
CHILDREN'S SECTION
Hi Kids and Parents,
The Bible is made up of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Each of these Testaments is made up of a number of Books. We have been reading stories from Genesis which we have now finished. The second Book of the Old Testament is called Exodus.
A BASKET BOAT - EXODUS 1 & 2
Joseph and his brothers died in Egypt but their family - the people of Israel - grew bigger and bigger. The people of Joseph's extended family were called Israelites.
The new king (Pharaoh) was afraid the Israelites would grow powerful and turn against him. He made them into slaves who had to do very hard work. He did not even want them to raise boy babies and gave orders to throw them into the River Nile.
One Israelite woman who had a baby boy wanted to hide him from the king's men. So she made a special basket that could float. She put the baby in the basket and let it float on the river, watched by his sister. The Pharaoh's daughter came down to the river to bathe and saw the basket. Curious, she had a maid fetch it and found the baby boy in it, crying. She took pity on him. His sister asked the princess, `Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Israelite women to nurse the child for you?' and the princess said `Go'.
The boy's mother was fetched and looked after her child until he was old enough to go to the royal palace, where he became the son of the Pharaoh's daughter. She named him Moses and he grew up in the palace.
Until next month, Moni & Gary.
BIRTHDAY
Kyra Megele
Martin Wennagel
Jay Ruff
End of May TR
TR No: 605 - APRIL
REFLECTIONS
Karfreitag und Ostersonntag sind hohe Feiertage im Christentum. Wichtige Themen dabei sind Versöhnung - redemption, atonement, reconciliation - Sinnesänderung, Vergebung, Erlösung. Das Gedicht aus Freies Christentum, Auf der Suche nach neuen Wegen (Heft 1 Jan/Feb 99), das man am besten langsam und in Ruhe liest, spricht von Sinnesänderung und Erlösung, in moderner Sprache.
Meditatio
The Resurrection - How we understand it
Easter is the festival of Christ's rising from the dead. It is the most important festival in Christianity. The Easter proclamation "Christ is risen" belongs to the oldest testimonies of the young Christian religion. The New Testament gives us the message: "Jesus died on the cross and was buried, but death did not destroy him; he was resurrected by God to a new life. We know this and we testify to this, because he appeared to us, because we have seen him".
This testimony contradicts human experience to such an extent that it seems - both then and now - to be incredible. It has met with ridicule and derision; it has been fervently believed; and between these extremes there is a multitude of all kinds of attempts to explain it.
How did the Christians know that Jesus rose from the dead? The New Testament tells us where the knowledge originated. The oldest report in which the question of the resurrection is dealt with in detail appears in Chapter 15 of the Apostle Paul's first letter to the community in Corinth. The letter was in answer to a question from this community directed to the Apostle relating to the resurrection, which some Corinthians had said was "nothing".
Paul replied with unmistakable clarity that the resurrection of Jesus was the basic fact of the new faith. Without the resurrection of Jesus, Christianity would lose its foundation and the Christians would be the most pitiable people in the world. However, this they were not, for the very reason that the resurrection was a fact. All doubting Corinthians could rely on this fact.
To corroborate this, Paul specified that this resurrection was first evidenced by the Scriptures. By this he meant that it was foretold in the holy literature of Judaism. For the Jewish Christians this was compelling proof that resurrection, which runs counter to normal human experience, was possible. For these Jewish Christians all that was required now was for them to convince themselves that this had actually happened in Jesus' case.
For the gentile Christians - presumably a significant percentage of the community in Corinth - this scriptural evidence was not compelling because they did not know Jewish piety. They required factual proof of the resurrection. Paul then had to provide proof to the Jewish and gentile Christians that the resurrection actually occurred. He does this immediately by citing the accounts of the various appearances of the risen Christ to persons who could be asked about it, provided they were still alive.
Paul refrains from any oriental embellishments of these appearances. He simply says: Jesus was seen by Cephas (Peter), afterwards by the twelve, then by over five hundred of the brothers at once, then by James, afterwards by all the Apostles and finally by me. We testify to the truth of the resurrection based on personal perception. Why should we testify to something like that, if it was not true? We do not gain any advantage through our testimony, instead we are derided, taunted and persecuted, and our lives are even threatened! Why then should we lie?
Certainly - so Paul continues - one has to ask oneself how this resurrection is to be understood, as it cannot be understood purely physically, because that would be absurd. However, there are many examples in nature which may be used as an analogy to the resurrection. The kernel of wheat turns into a plant; the sun, the moon and the stars all shine, but give off a different light; human beings, cattle, fish and birds all have flesh, but different kinds of flesh. Resurrection could well be similar: physical man has a "natural" body, risen man has a "spiritual" body; the physical body perishes through death, the spiritual body appears in the resurrection - i.e. carries the image of the natural body, yet is something fundamentally different. More cannot be said about it, because nothing more is known.
In our opinion, this means that Paul did not want the resurrection understood as a physical occurrence, but rather as a spiritual event.
The four Gospels, written at a later date than the letter to the Corinthians, combine the resurrection appearances with the account of Jesus' empty tomb. In other respects also they tend to indicate the physical nature of the appearances, although they emphasise that the risen Christ was able to walk through closed doors and that at times he was not immediately recognised by his disciples.
Paul did not mention the empty tomb as testimony of the resurrection. His reasons are open to conjecture. Some say that the story of the empty tomb was generally so well known that Paul did not need to mention it in particular. This does not seem convincing; had Paul considered the empty tomb conclusive evidence for this argument, he would have had no reason to pass it over in silence in his enumeration.
Others say that Paul had only omitted the reports of the empty tomb, which were very well known to him, because they were based on evidence by women, whose testimonies were not accorded evidential value at Court; he had named unchallengeable witnesses only. This view is arguable, but we believe that if this was the case, the Apostle would at least have mentioned the matter of the tomb in passing.
Another view is that Paul was unaware of the reports of the empty tomb, and therefore omitted them. We doubt this opinion. In our view, Paul discussed in detail their collective experiences of Jesus when he visited Peter and James in Jerusalem for a fortnight. We consider it impossible that the latter did not mention the story.
We therefore think that Paul knew the story of the empty tomb very well and that he omitted it intentionally; possibly because it appeared fantastic to him, and unverifiable; possibly because it pointed to a resurrection which would be understood to be more physical, something Paul considered to be unnatural, unworthy and absurd.
As evidence for the story of the empty tomb it is often emphasised that, had the tomb been empty, the Christians would certainly have introduced a veneration of the tomb and they would have turned the tomb into a place of pilgrimage. As far as can be ascertained, a veneration of the tomb did not begin until much later than the period covered by the Scriptures of the New Testament.
From our personal viewpoint, Jesus' resurrection, as reported by Paul, poses fewer difficulties than the belief in the "resurrection of the body" which the Church teaches, especially if the bodily resurrection is understood to be physical. Already Paul considered this to be silly, although the Gospels hint at it by emphasising the empty tomb, and the formulation of the creed also suggests it. Why then did the Church decide to adopt its doctrine?
It probably did so for many reasons. Firstly, it wanted to differentiate the Christian interpretation of the resurrection from corresponding ideas of Jewish piety on the one hand, and from the heathen religion and philosophy on the other. This differentiation became a necessity of Christian self-definition, as Christianity increasingly expanded and, in the process, clashed with differing views.
Secondly, the formulation "resurrection of the body" has a graphic quality, it is more easily understood than the Pauline formulation of the "spiritual body", which is only a kind of image of the physical being.
Thirdly, the "resurrection of the body" is attractive, because one can imagine that one no longer has to bear all the ailments and infirmities of old age, but will be young, beautiful and healthy again. As naive as this may sound, in our view the attraction of the Church doctrine of the resurrection of the body, as it is reflected in the heads of some Christians, contains much of such wishful thinking.
Since we as Templers are bound by neither a formulated creed nor the inspiration doctrine, we wonder how Jesus of Nazareth may have perceived the resurrection. In the foreshadowing of the cross, reference is made to the resurrection. But it does not say there how this is to be understood. Instead, Jesus is reported to have said elsewhere that the children of the resurrection were like angels and were God's children; the requirements and rules which applied to ordinary mortals no longer applied to them. In the same context, Jesus also said that life and death were not different before God; to God the dead were also still living.
The New Testament does not report anything further. Some may regret this, but it can also be said that this brief, modest and profound statement contains everything that is necessary and sufficient for us.
Richard Hoffmann
Templer Record March 1975, quoted in Templer Handbook p.81 (slightly edited). Auf Deutsch im Templer Handbuch S.97. The Templer Handbook can be obtained from the office, cost $10.
TEXT FOR THE MONTH
The gospel accounts of the events from Palm Sunday to Maundy Thursday (incl. the Last Supper), Good Friday and Easter Sunday are recommended for reflection at this time.
John 13:34 & 35. A new commandment I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
Joh. 13:34 & 35. Ein neu Gebot gebe ich euch, dass ihr euch untereinander liebet, wie ich euch geliebt habe, auf dass auch ihr einander liebhabet. Daran wird jedermann erkennen, dass ihr meine Jünger seid, wenn ihr rechte Liebe untereinander habt.
The Greek language has several words to describe different kinds of love, unlike English, which has only one to cover the many ways of loving. Agape, used here, is a noble love, not based on blood ties, self interest, neediness or sexual attraction; rather it is generous and unconditional, with the good of the other and the whole at heart - Christ-like love. That's what the German translator is getting at, I think, when he says `rechte Liebe'.
FORGIVENESS AND OTHER ACTS OF LOVE
Finding true value in your life
by Stephanie Dowrick. Viking Penguin, 1997.
Forgiveness and other Acts of Love is a non-fiction book that encourages the reader to struggle with the virtues of courage, fidelity, restraint, generosity, tolerance and forgiveness. In spite of this challenge it remained on the best seller list for many months - an impressive achievement.
The book does not promise instant rewards for little effort. Instead it speaks of paying attention, of seeing problems as invitations to grow, and of finding true value in our lives. Through Dowrick's memorable stories and insights, quotations and shared experiences, readers are invited to reflect on their lives and gain a deeper understanding of human beings (and self) and a new engagement with society. She quotes S.R. Covey on service: `You may be good, but what are you good for?' Virtue is seen as both private and public, benefitting society as well as the individual.
In the Introduction, we learn that this book emerged out of two personal crises: a diagnosis of breast cancer and a long-drawn, traumatic court case. During this time of `grim uncertainty', Dowrick spoke fortnightly with Geraldine Doogue on `Life Matters' (Radio National) about `the humane virtues' and worked on them in her life, experiencing `how each did endow me with its unique grace and blessing'. She redefines the virtues in the light of contemporary psychotherapy as well as world religions. She chose the word `humane for its promise of kindness, decency, truthfulness and order; and because it is through our "humanity" that we recognise our connections with one another. And I chose the six virtues for what they could teach me about honour, strength, humility, steadfastness and endurance... and love: that sublime ideal that comes to life only when it moves from intention to action.'
The book's rich wisdom is based on Christian and Hebrew Scriptures, incl. the mystics, on Hindu and other Eastern philosophy and on the ideas of Dowrick's mentor, Roberto Assagioli, as well as many authors. There is a full bibliography. `Each of the world's major religions has taught its followers to pay as close attention to the companions within the mind - their own thoughts - as they would to their companions in the world outside' because attention and intention cause change in us and our environment. `Whatever you put your attention on will grow stronger in your life. Whatever you take your attention away from will wither, disintegrate, and disappear. Intention, on the other hand, triggers transformation of energy and information. Intention organises its own fulfilment.'(Deepak Chopra).
Dowrick seeks authentic ways to be more self-responsible, mature, aware and compassionate and to use our power for change wisely, in the face of so much despair. She asks: `How do we cultivate love in a climate of selfishness, petulance and greed? How do we remain alert to what we share with people whose rage and negativity cost us our homes, our happiness and perhaps our lives? How should we meet the blindness and arrogance that threaten the planet on which we depend for our most transformative experiences of wonder and beauty, as well as for our very existence?' Individual enlightenment must be matched by `commitment to social responsibility and planetary justice'. `The brilliance of the humane virtues is that they are big enough to embrace all the spheres of human existence: inner and outer; personal and social; psychological and spiritual. They are humble as well as awe-inspiring. They can teach us as much about beauty as survival and as much through silence as through words.'
'Silence' gives us a clue to the inner foundation of Dowrick's spirituality: she is a Quaker. These `Friends' believe that God's presence is in every human life; they are non-violent and repudiate injustice.
N.Rundle (in Eremos No. 65, Nov.98) feels `a powerful feminine energy' pervading the book (i.e. gentle, relating or connecting, conciliatory). He finds it a `treasure trove'. Although its style won't suit everyone I, too, found it stimulating and challenging; it has pointers to the more conscious and harmonious, relating what we would consider part of the 'kingdom of God', and I recommend it.
Editor
AUSTRALIAN-GERMAN TEMPLER EXCHANGE (A.G.T.E.)
The Regional Council of the TSA, in agreement with the Regional Council of the TGD, runs an exchange scholarship for young members/associate members.
Aim
The aim of the scholarship is to increase our younger generation's interest and participation in our community life and to promote efficient communication and cooperation with the TGD. This aim is to be achieved by enabling the scholarship holders to:
(a)acquire a good working knowledge of German
(b)participate in the TGD's community life and get to know TGD members
(c) appreciate our Templer heritage by observing German cultural life and Swabian traditions.
Conditions
Recipients of the scholarship will first attend a 2 months' German language course at a Goethe Institut or similar institute in Germany and then spend 2 months in the region of Stuttgart, where they will participate in the activities of the TGD.
Benefits
The scholarship will comprise:
(a) an amount of up to $2000 towards a return airfare to Germany
(b) an intensive 2 months' German language course
(c) accommodation with a Templer family or families for 2 additional months.
During their 2 months' stay in or near Stuttgart, the scholarship holders will be responsible to, and guided by, the Regional Council of the TGD. We in Australia hope to reciprocate their hospitality when the TGD sends young people to Australia.
Funding
Funding for the scholarship comes from the Temple Society Central Fund (Aust.). Donations to the scheme are always welcome.
Age of Applicants
Applicants must be eighteen years or over. (The upper limit is flexible).
In Return
Scholarship holders, after their stay in Germany, are to submit a report about their activities and impressions of their stay. They will also be involved in the selection and preparation of future candidates. It is expected that they will get involved and actively participate in the Temple Society's community life in Australia.
Dates
It is preferred that applicants complete their candidature by June 2000. They may choose any time of the year. However, the months of July and August are not recommended for a stay with the TGD as this is the summer holiday period in Germany.
German candidates, on the other hand, are advised not to come to the TSA in October and November, as this is examination time here and many of our young people are busy studying.
Applications
Young members/associate members interested in being sponsored are herewith invited to apply by 30 June 1999. Application forms are available from the TSA Office [Tel. (03) 9557 6713]. Candidates will be called for an interview later in the year.
GUEST ACCOMMODATION
One of the youth group flats has already been utilised in its new form as short-term guest accommodation by both interstate and overseas visitors, who commented positively on the facility. We will monitor participation in this new initiative with great interest. However, as no bookings have been made until August, the flats will be let short-term through an agent. It is therefore very important that intending visitors give sufficient notice. Please contact the TSA Office for all details.
TEMPLER HOME UNIT VACANCIES
Members are advised that a number of Altersheim units are currently available for occupancy. And while priority is given to Templers, we cannot leave our places vacant for too long. There is considerable outside interest in our units, so interested members should act promptly in making the necessary enquiries. Please contact the TSA Office for all details.
LOST PROPERTY
Some lost property - a carry bag containing towels - was handed into the TSA Office recently. It was left behind at the Sommerfest in Bayswater on Sunday 14.2.99. Do you know whom it belongs to?
MEMBERSHIP CONTRIBUTIONS
In this issue of the Templer Record we have enclosed reminder notices for outstanding membership contributions. Naturally we hope that prompt payment can be made, but if for any reason this is not possible, we invite you to take up contact with the TSA Office. Thank you in advance.
Mark Herrmann
Business Manager
GEBURTSTAGE
Wir gratulieren herzlich zum Geburtstag unserer Mitglieder
Wilfried Imberger 1. 4.08
und wünschen auch allen hier nicht aufgeführten Geburtstagskindern alles Gute und Schöne zum neuen Lebensjahr.
ENGAGEMENT
Holger Messner and Tanja Reeka on 3.1.1999
under the Brandenburger Tor in Germany.
c/o 8 Phyllis Avenue Boronia 3155
MARRIAGE
Christian Anderson & Tiffany Conway on 13.3.99
Unit 3/1 Tennyson Street Sandringham Vic 3191
Congratulations and our best wishes.
SILVER WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
Congratulations to
Ulf & Ruth Weller
on their silver wedding anniversary on 26 April and our very best wishes for the future.
NEW MEMBER
Last year Susan Graze became a member of the TS and we somehow neglected to mention her in the TR. Our apologies. We certainly welcome Susan and hope she will continue to feel at home among us.
Occasionally a birthday `gets lost' too - we do apologise. We work very hard to get everything right, within the time available, but don't always manage perfection.
Ed.
PRESENTATION
At a beautiful service in Bentleigh on 28 February,
Anja Christine Ruff born 5.10.98
daughter of Harald Ruff and Christine née Arndt
Nicholas David William Blaich born 20.3.96
and Stephanie Christa Rose Blaich born 15.4.98
son and daughter of Dieter Blaich and Judith née Forrest
were presented before God and the community by our Elder Mark Herrmann.
For the little children at the front (and for the `big' children among us) Mark framed his reflections with two delightful poems from When we were very young by A.A. Milne. The choir, now almost 40 strong and looking great in black and white, sang `Father welcomes all his children' and a German lullaby.
The text, Matt.10:1-8, read by Trudy Herrmann, included Jesus saying to his disciples `You have received without paying, so give without being paid.' Mark said, `Our children are our gifts and we have received them without paying. We then give of ourselves in providing for them, caring for them and loving them. And somewhere down life's road that responsibility becomes their own, yet... they remain our children. On a solid foundation a bridge of trust, friendship and respect between parents and child has been built; a bridge that will hopefully see much traffic to and fro.'
Presentation Services in the Temple Society gain much of their meaning by being held before God and the community, from whom so much loving goodwill flows so palpably towards these young families. `We remain conscious of the special gift these children represent and act accordingly'. The community is `prepared to offer support and reassurance whenever necessary. I like to think of this simple Presentation Service as creating a special bond between the parents, their children and the entire community.'
Thank you to Mark, and to Annette Wagner-Hesse for conducting the choir despite the shock of her father's death a few hours earlier. (See Obituary).
It was good to see TGD Elder Otto Hammer and his sister-in-law, Helene (Lenele) Heynold (Lore Decker's sister) at the Service. They were also able to go to the Country Templer meeting at Creswick.
Editor
BEREAVEMENTS/TRAUERFÄLLE
Am 26. Februar 1999 ist meine liebe Frau
Juliana (Julia) Kuebler geb. Tylski
im Alter von 72 Jahren an ihrem schweren Leiden gestorben.
In stiller Trauer,
Otto Kuebler, sowie Julias vier Schwestern mit Familien im Ausland; Rudolf Kuebler;Theo Graze mit Familie; Harald Graze mit Familie; Ingeborg Arndt mit Familie
Wir danken Hulda Wagner und Dieter Ruff für ihre lieben Worte bei der Trauerfeier.
Mein lieber Mann, unser lieber Vater und Großvater
Herbert Petrick
ist am 27. Februar nach schwerer Krankheit gestorben. Wir danken Oskar Krockenberger für seine tröstenden Worte.
In stiller Trauer,
Erika Petrick; Doris Tooth mit Familie; Sylvia Herrmann mit Adrian und die Familie Frank
Wir haben gehört dass Hilde (Hille) Mottram geb. Messerle
im März in Grimsby, England, gestorben ist. Sie war die Schwester von Malle Wagner und Gertrud Harding.
Hilles Tochter, Doris Pritchard, besuchte Hilles Freundinnen und Freunde vor ca. 3 Jahren in Australien um Geschichtle und Anekdoten über ihre Mutter zu sammeln, da sie ein Buch über das Leben ihrer Mutter schreibt. Hille erlebt das leider nicht mehr.
Heidi Vollmer
Nach dem plötzlichen Tod meines lieben Mannes
Theo Wagner
am 27. Februar, durfte die Großfamilie viel Liebe und Mitgefühl erfahren. Das war wirklich ein Trost in unserer Trauer.
Jedem einzelnen möchten wir danken für die Anteilnahme, besonders Dieter Ruff für die Gestaltung der Trauerfeier und allen, die mitgeholfen haben, auch allen, die Theo die letzte Ehre erwiesen haben.
Hulda Wagner;Ursula Paton mit Familie;Peter Wagner mit Familie; Marianne & Pierre Prigent;Annette Wagner-Hesse mit Familie; Erica Irving mit Familie und die Geschwister: Lieselotte Thaler mit Familie;Gerhard Wagner mit Familie
Am Samstag den 6. März ist mein lieber Mann, unser lieber, treusorgender Vater, Opa, Bruder und Schwager
Günter Otto Eppinger
im Alter von 65 Jahren plötzlich für immer von uns gegangen. Für die lieben, trostreichen Worte von Herrn Dieter Ruff, die ergreifende Musik von Veronika, David und den Bläsern, die schönen Blumen von Anna Eppinger, die vielen Blumen, Karten, Briefe und Spenden fürs Altersheim, sowie für das Aufräumen der Halle, möchten wir uns auf diesem Wege recht herzlich bedanken.
In tiefer Trauer,
Irene Eppinger, & Rosemarie, Nelly & Elisabeth mit Familien; Helga Sawatzky mit Familie; Sigrid Katz mit Familie und die ganze weitere Eppinger & Wied Verwandtschaft.
"Der Herr ist mein Hirte."
Our deep sympathy goes to all the bereaved families.
OBITUARY
THEODOR WAGNER 6.10.24 in Jaffa - 27.2.99 in Frankston
When at the end of a beautiful Presentation Service in Bentleigh, during which his daughter Annette conducted the choir, Theo Wagner's sudden and unexpected death was announced, it sent shock waves through the congregation.
He had died the night before in Frankston Hospital, where he had driven to have his hand seen to; it had been injured that same afternoon at his beloved Treehaven Equestrian Centre. He was about to leave the hospital and go home when he suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.
With his enthusiasm for life and his business and social skills, Theo served as head of the Bentleigh-Moorabbin Community from 1978-1987 and, as community chairman, was part of the Regional Council. He enjoyed organising and participating in all the community activities, ably supported by his wife Hulda, an Elder and also on the R.C. at the time. (As I write, I am told Hulda has just held an inspiring Saal at the AH, including the parable of Jesus calming the storm on Lake Galilee, and how faith can help us weather the sudden storms of life). For a short while, Theo also held Saal Services and was a Director on the Board of the T.S.C.F.
When one thinks of Theo, strength, vitality, humour, a great capacity to enjoy life, business acumen, determination (obstinacy?) and enormous energy spring to mind. But his business ventures struck trouble and the last two years were very difficult for him and those close to him. As his son Peter intimated in the eulogy, Theo seemed no longer able to distinguish between his dreams and reality, and the resulting stress was enormous for all concerned.
Before that, however, there were seven decades when Theo touched many lives with his energy, joy in life and loyal friendship, and we are grateful for that.
May he be at peace now.
Editor
COUNTRY TEMPLERS MEETING AT CRESWICK
We counted 27 adults and 13 children at the latest Country Templer meeting, held at Dot and Peter Ware's home at Creswick on 14 March. It was a good mix of country and Melbourne Templers (this time also with our German visitors, Otto Hammer and his sister-in-law Lenele (Helene Heynold), who were made very welcome).
Theo Richter put much thought into his sermon, which dealt largely with the apostles - how they would have felt upon being singled out by Jesus and what is thought to have become of them later. Theo's warm nature and easy manner of speaking, plus the research he puts into his talks, always combine to create a very easily followed and thought-provoking Saal.
After the service, the day mellowed into (let's admit it) an eat-and-natter-fest. We sat at tables in the sun-drenched, sheltered courtyard enjoying the mix of delicious salads we had contributed, with our barbecued meat. Some went for a walk, but for many lunch merged into afternoon tea, with coffee and cakes making their appearance. Meanwhile, the children raced around in the Wares' spacious back garden, having as much fun as the adults. An altogether harmonious day!
These country meetings have a special flavour, and a real bond has developed between the two merging groups. The idea of holding services in the country for the benefit of those who find it difficult to attend Melbourne functions is proving a great success! You are all encouraged to attend one of these meetings and experience the friendly atmosphere for yourselves.
Vyrna Beilharz
SENIOR CITIZENS HAVE FUN
`Uns're Oma fährt Motorrad...'
In the March TR, our Care Worker, Helga Anderson, encouraged our senior citizens to enjoy the special activities put on for them. - Several people have asked that we share the following with our readers.
Meta Beilharz, a great-grandmother Templer from the Altersheim, was invited to a Garden Party for Senior Citizens held by the City of Knox on 20 February. (She had been nominated by Tabulam because she faithfully helps residents there almost every day). So, together with a 99-year-old Tabulam resident, Frau Holl, and the two carers escorting this lady, Ur-oma Meta went off to enjoy the Garden Party.
First there was afternoon tea with entertainment. Then the chance to try activities. After waiting in line for a motorbike ride, Meta went for a spin on a Harley Davidson. She left the sidecar for the older people and she rode pillion, with the wind in her face. `I don't suppose he was speeding, but it felt fast!'
There's more. She also wanted to try abseiling. She figured the finger and toe holds of the rock-climbing wall were not for her so she climbed up the ladder, even though the rungs seemed pretty far apart. Once on top of the platform, she was strapped into the harness. As she went over the edge to abseil down, she waved and let out a `Ju-hu...' - What fun! (And this is the lady who wouldn't go to Sydney with the choir some years ago because she thought she was `too old').
`Uns're Oma wird bald achtzig...'
No, she's just turned 88, and still likes to try new adventures whenever she can. How wonderful that such things are possible today!
We also hear that Magda Persztik and Liese Hermann took advantage of the free public transport during Senior Citizens' Week. After going to town by train, they criss-crossed greater Melbourne from one end to the other by tram and had a lovely day out.
Three cheers for our Seniors!
Editor
OUTBACK TRIP (continued)
Previously, at Mt. Dare Station at the edge of the Simpson Desert, we had met another traveller, John, who wanted to join us at Yulara for the route west through WA and back east to Coober Pedy.
27.8 - Our two cars leave Yulara driving west and camp at Lasseter's Cave. On into Docker River Aboriginal Community to fill up with diesel (dogs outnumber the 200 locals by six to one). From the township to the WA border, the countryside has some of the loveliest scenery in the world (according to another fellow traveller), with its red sand and an abundance of wildflowers, gentle desert oaks whistling in the breeze and the Peterman Ranges, red and green close up, and mauve and blue in the distance.
28.8 - Away from the road, we camp on a small rise. Looking back we can see the Peterman Ranges and the Schwerin Mural Crescent glowing in the late afternoon sun. The country through which we pass on the next day looks lovely: red sand, yellow straw flowers, blue and white pincushions, yellow grevilleas, purple pea-like flowers and vivid, deep pink parakeelias. Gumtrees, desert ash and mulga scrub alternate in the slightly undulating land. The weather is mild and warm during the day and on the cool side in the evening. We camp on a flat in between the mulga scrub among hundreds of wild flowers, which equal anything you can see in the north-west of WA. Just now it is hard to imagine the unforgiving harshness of this land in summer.
The animosity between Aborigines and Whites in NT, Qld and WA leaves much to be desired. The only complimentary remark concerning Aborigines we have heard was made by a school teacher at Ayers Rock, who said "Without their spirituality, THEY would be doomed; unfortunately WE have lost ours".
Tomorrow we will reach Warburton Aboriginal Community. It is the centre of dozens of smaller native settlements spread over thousands of square kilometres from Ayers Rock west into the Gibson and Victoria Deserts. This is real Aboriginal country! Warburton Community has a population of about 300 Aboriginals and 25 Whites, who do the bulk of the work. This weekend is football carnival time, with teams from neighbouring communities taking part in the competition. We would need an extra permit to visit the village precinct and do not bother, as the steady rain has already cancelled part of the show. Last chance to stock up: food, 300 litres of diesel at $1.10 per litre and 120 litres of water, before we set out round 1 p.m. for our long drive south on the Connie Sue Hwy to Neale Junction, then east on the Anne Beadell Hwy to Coober Pedy. This is the main purpose of this year's trip - all in all, 1200 km of desert with no habitation or supplies at all.
Although the roads are called highways, they are only desert tracks. As there are no signposts, we ask for instructions at the roadhouse: `It's easy! Turn right at the empty fuel drums just over the creek, take every right-hand track and you will be on the Connie Sue in no time!' We do this, and 40 km later we are back at the starting point. This time we ask the Aboriginal policeman. `Yes,' he says, `turn right at the fuel drums, but open your eyes and use your head, always stay on the main tracks. Let me give you some advice. Don't travel too far today as you'll get bogged with all this rain.' To himself he probably said. `These southerners have no idea!'
As it continues to drizzle, we cover only 22 km before setting up camp on a flat between sand dunes. We turn in early, as the weather becomes more miserable. It rains all night. At 7 in the morning Heidi and I wonder `When will this stop?' Our old tent on the trailer is not waterproof any more. Believe it or not, by early afternoon the sun is out in force and as I sit here in shorts writing down our experiences, the birds are singing and all the flowers have opened up and turned their faces towards the beautiful, warm sun.
8.9 - The scenery today varies between desolate claypans, flower-covered sand dunes and rocky rises. We settle for the night on the clifftop of Harkness Gorge. Underfoot it is all honeycombed rock and shale, covered with spinifex. It does not take long to clear away the prickly grass to set up our campstove and table. Due to recent rains, there are some small pools of water in the gorge below. We climb down to have a welcome wash and take some water to the campsite for cooking. The end of the day entertains us with a beautiful sunset.
Before setting out in the morning, Heidi takes advantage of the extra water supply and gets her head washed - literally not verbally, as there is little need of that! Lunch is at Ryans Bluff, which we climb afterwards, and the evening finds us camped among some weirdly gnarled gumtrees at the foot of a sand dune. John, our traveling companion who was born in Lithuania, is an ardent hobby painter and has a great time sketching the trees. Heidi cooks jam from native figs which we picked yesterday at Harkness Gorge, and Heinz makes a wire grill to cook mini dampers for breakfast in the morning.
3.9 - The mini dampers (the recipe was given to us by a school tour out of Yulara) turn out delicious and are easy to make. 117 km later we are at Neale Junction, where the Connie Sue and Anne Beadell Highways intersect. Standing at the signpost in the middle of the crossing, you wonder where the description `highway' comes from, as the sandtracks leading in the four directions of the compass are barely wide enough for one car.
We have travelled 300 km due south from Warburton; 381 km due west lies Laverton, 440 km due south is Cocklebiddy on the Eyre Highway and 959 km east is Coober Pedy, our next fuel and supply point. These tracks were surveyed and bulldozed through the mulga scrub desert by Len Beadell and his Gunbarrel construction party in 1962. (Anne is his wife, Connie Sue a daughter).
H. & H. Vollmer
SYDNEY
Beim Eintreten in unser schönes Kirchle war das Motiv des bevorstehenden Gottesdienstes am ersten Sonntag im März unmittelbar spürbar. Die weißen Tafeln waren mit bunten Girlanden und Sträußchen geschmückt. Wir feierten das Erntedankfest.
Als Auftakt gab uns Hartmut Beck reiche Gelegenheit, über den Losungstext des Tages zu reflektieren - Kapitel 2, Verse 8-10 aus dem Brief des Paulus an die Kolosser. Dann wurden die endlosen Gaben der Natur, die wir oftmals für selbstverständlich annehmen, gepriesen. Eine Auswahl derer, von den Familien Steller und Weller u.a. gestiftet, war liebevoll auf dem Podium ausgelegt und hernach zum Verkauf angeboten.
Mit dem sinnvollen, Natur und Gott preisenden Lied `Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan' fand der gedankenerregende Gottesdienst seinen Ausklang.
Die nächsten Termine:
Freitag, den 2. April - 3.00 p.m. Karfreitag/Oster Saal, Meadowbank
Sonntag, den 23. Mai - 3.00 p.m. Saal Meadowbank
On entering our beautiful little church, the theme of the impending service on the first Sunday of March was obvious straight away. The white tables were decorated with colourful garlands and little bouquets of flowers. We were celebrating Harvest Festival.
Hartmut Beck gave us ample opportunity to reflect on the text of the day: Collossians chapter 2: 8-10.
The latter part of the service was dedicated to the endless gifts of nature, which we so often take for granted. A varied selection of these was lovingly displayed on the dais (and were sold after the service).
We acknowledge gratefully the gifts of nature donated by the families Steller, Weller et al.
Next dates:
Friday 2 April - Good Friday/Easter Service 3.00 p.m. - Meadowbank
Sunday 23 May - Service 3.00 pm. Meadowbank
Im Auftrag, Erni Weller
SÜD-AUSTRALIEN
Unser letzter Saal war am 20. Februar, den Oskar Krockenberger für uns hielt. Er war mit seiner Frau Gretel auf Besuch in SA anlässlich seiner Schwester Irene Severin's 80. Geburtstag. Sein Bruder Bruno Krockenberger mit Frau Dörte waren auch anwesende Gäste, außer unserer üblichen Gruppe. Leider geht es Frau Hilda Weinmann und Frau Thea Frank gesundheitlich nicht so gut, dass sie kommen konnten. Beide schickten jedoch Grüße und wir wünschen ihnen gute Besserung.
Der nächste Saal ist am 11. April um 2 Uhr in Tanunda.
Die Frauengruppe feierte im Februar mit Irene zusammen ihren 80. Geburtstag, dafür wurde dann im März bei Rose wieder gearbeitet. Nächtesmal treffen wir uns am 12. April bei Anne Stevens (geb. Scheerle) in Gilberton.
Rose Asenstorfer
ALTERSHEIMNACHRICHTEN HOME NEWS
Bis Sie diese Zeilen lesen haben wir auch schon das Gartenfest hinter uns. Das Heimkomittee bedankt sich bei allen Helfern und unsern treuen Gästen. Wir brauchen natürlich beide. [Es regnete! Aber das Essen und die gemütliche Unterhaltung waren prima].
Wie Sie schon im vorigen Rundschreiben gelesen haben, sind wir dabei, das Heim neu zu organisieren. Wir freuen uns, dass unser Personal dabei positiv und begeistert mitwirkt. Wir sind uns alle sehr bewusst, daß dies ein langsamer Prozess ist und wir immer neue Hürden im Wege finden werden, die bewältigt werden müssen. Probleme sind aber dazu da, dass man sie bewältigt.
Die City of Knox Care Extension ist eine Organisation in der alle Wohlfahrtsgruppen verbunden sind. Sie kümmern sich um alle Benachteiligten in der Stadt und haben auch nach Auswärts Verbindungen. Die City hat mit dem Beginn des Monats März einen Unterhaltungskalender herausgebracht. Dieser ist auf die Senioren gezielt und wer sich dafür interessiert, kann sich einen in unserm Heim holen oder direkt von der City of Knox erhalten.
Our Garden Party will be over by the time you read this. The Home Committee is most grateful to all the helpers towards a good cause. I also want to thank all our guests for coming. [It rained steadily, but both food and relaxed conversation were very good].
Your committee is confident that the Home will achieve accreditation in due time and the best news from the care manager, Susan Taylor, is that our staff is becoming very enthusiastic about the outcome of their efforts to create a real team spirit.
As the Home's representative in the City of Knox Care Extension, I am keeping in touch with all the care groups and facilitators within the City and that makes communication and possible help from other organisations easier.
The City has published a calendar of events that can be visited by seniors. The calendar covers the 10 months from March to December, and the Home has a few copies; otherwise they are obtainable from the City Office.
Cheers, Kurt Beilharz
See also `Senior Citizens have fun' in MEMBERS AND FRIENDS.
BARON VON MUELLER'S MELBOURNE
Remarkable 19th century Germans. A display at the State Library of Victoria, 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne, from mid-April.
TABULAM NACHRICHTEN
Liebe Mitglieder, Freunde und Gönner!
Letzten Monat berichtete ich von einer geplanten Erweiterung unseres Heimes um einen Flügel von 15 Betten. Wir schätzen die Gesamtkosten werden rund $1.2 Millionen betragen. Im Finanzplan ist vorgesehen, den größten Teil unserer angesammelten Reserven mitzuverwenden und von den Trägergesellschaften je eine Anleihe zu den üblichen Zinsen zu erhalten, die dann über drei bis fünf Jahre zurückbezahlt wird und zwar größtenteils von den Einnahmen aus den gesetzlich vorgeschriebenen Wohnsätzen (accommodation charges), die für die Bewohner bezahlt werden.
So ist alles schön untergebracht, aber nun kommt das "dicke Ende". Aus diesen Reserven, die sich über viele Jahre in der Betriebskasse des Heims angesammelt haben, entnahmen wir das Geld für die Erweiterung (vor drei Jahren) zur Beschäftigungstherapie und die Verbesserung (vor einem Jahr) der Wohnlichkeiten für Dementia-Fälle, sowie einige kleinere Anschaffungen. Diese und alle andern Erneuerungen müssen immer vom Verwaltungsausschuss durch gesammelte Spendeneingänge bestritten werden. So entstand für den Verwaltungsausschuss eine Schuld an die Reserven-Kasse, die laufend durch eingehende Spenden getilgt wird. Der Höchststand des Schuldbetrags war über $216,000 und ist zur Zeit rund $207,000. Nun können Sie schon erraten was der nächste Satz beinhalten wird. Jawohl, es ist eine riesengroße Bitte an alle, um eine zusätzliche, besondere Spendenaktion, denn der obige Finanzplan wurde auf der Basis gemacht, dass der Reserventopf am 1.7.2000 (Baubeginn) voll ist.
Der bereits angesagte Unterhaltungsnachmittag am 11. April im Österreichischen Klub (76-90 Sheehan Road West Heidelberg - Melway S.19, Quadrat F9) wird sehr schön werden: bis jetzt sind auf dem Programm (es kommt noch mehr dazu) Musikdarbietungen, Tanzgruppen Vorführungen, eine Tombola - und nicht zu vergessen, die Speisen der erstklassigen Küche (die Bar ist auch offen). Der Eintritt ist $15 pro Person.
Der gesamte Erlös wird ebenfalls dazu verwendet, die Schulden an die Reservenkasse zu tilgen. Uns Beteiligten bleibt aber der unvergleichliche Genuss und die Erinnerung an einen schönen Nachmittag.
Das faszinierende Buch, "The Blue Rider" das Herr Richard Falkinger schrieb (er war in unserem Komitee als Architekt während der zweiten Bauphase unseres Heims) kann über unser Büro im Tabulam bezogen werden [Tel. (03) 9720 3711]. Vom Preis von $16 pro Stück spendet Herr Falkinger $10 an unser Heim. Wir haben jetzt 20 Stück verkauft, also werden unsere Schulden an die Reserve-Kasse um weitere $200 getilgt.
Ja, und diejenigen die uns besonders großzügig unterstützen wollen ($5000 oder mehr mit einer Bezahlung), die überhäufen wir mit Dank und beehren sie indem ein Zimmer im Heim nach ihnen benannt wird (24 Zimmer sind schon so geziert). Der Name wird auf einem eigens hierzu geschnitzten Schild am Zimmereingang angebracht. Diese Schilder werden uns seit fünf Jahren kostenlos von Herrn Karl Bubeck angefertigt (zuvor von Frau Eva Schubert), wofür wir sehr, sehr dankbar sind! Wie wär's? Möchte jemand ihm neue Arbeit beschaffen?
Im Auftrag des Verwaltungsausschusses,
Otto Löbert
TABULAM NEWS - in brief
The planned 15 bed expansion I reported last month is estimated to cost around $1.2 million. The finance plan envisages using most of our reserves, borrowing from our parent companies (at commercial rates) and repaying the loan in 3-5 years with donations, but mainly with the accommodation charges we receive on behalf of each resident.
However, TCM (Tab. Com. of Management) is in debt to the reserves fund of the operations side of the Home, because of improvements and additions made over the last three years. Donations this year of $9000 have reduced this debt to $207,000. So: a gigantic request for special donations: The finance plan is based on the reserves account being full by 1.7.2000, when building is due to commence.
Entertainment afternoon in the Austrian Club (76-90 Sheehan Road West Heidelberg, Melway p.19 F9) on Sunday 11 April. Entry $15 p.p. Entire net proceeds will be used to reduce Tabulam's debt to its reserves account. It should be a wonderful afternoon!
Is anyone feeling extremely generous? Donations of $5000 or more at a time are very gratefully received and honoured with a room being named after the donor. A specially carved wooden sign mounted by the door of the room marks such generosity (we already have 24). Karl Bubeck (& Eva Schubert before him) carves these signs for us free of charge for which we are very grateful! Would someone like to provide new work for him?
CORRECTION - ART SHOW
The Cesare Vagarini Exhibition is definitely at the Benalla Art Gallery, not in Bendigo. Sorry. It's on until 16 April and features internment camp scenes among other things. See March TR p.25 for more details.
Ed.
NOTICES
FORTHCOMING SERVICES
REMINDER: The collections from the Good Friday and Easter Services are going to the Red Cross this year.
FAMILY SERVICES
The focus of these is on families/children, but the message is for all ages. Feel welcome to come. Dates and times above. Especially the service at Lubitz' farm near Leongatha (see CHILDRENS' SECTION for details and map )is an opportunity for `distant members' from SE Vic to meet with other Templers. Hope you can make it.
Editor
PRESENTATION
For the children presented at Be on 28.2.99 see MEMBERS AND FRIENDS.
AUDITOR
The Bentleigh-Moorabbin committee is very pleased to announce that it has been successful in obtaining the services of an Auditor. Manfred Ruff has kindly offered to act as Auditor, and will be taking up his stewardship soon. This means, of course, that Hans-Jürgen Kirchner can retire and enjoy his trip overseas instead of studying the books. Our thanks again for all the work done by Hans-Jürgen and we look forward to a valuable input from Manfred.
Judy Eppinger, Bentleigh-Moorabbin Committee
CONFIRMATION CAMP
We wish all the participants a great time and also send greetings to those not going.
BA-B0 LADIES GROUP
In March we had a delightful afternoon with Claudia Mutschlechner.
In April we will be `travelling' to New Zealand. I hope you will like what we were able to see. New Zealand is different from Australia. Their rainforest has birches and ferntrees, not like our gumtrees here. We thought even the two Islands were different from each other.
Till then: 1-3 p.m. on Tuesday 20 April.
Hilda Beilharz
GERMAN CONVERSATION COURSE FOR ADULTS
The Bayswater-Boronia Templer German School will run a basic German language course for adults in Term 2 this year. We expect the first eight-week course to commence on Tuesday 4 May till Tuesday 22 June. Classes will be held on Tuesday evenings from 7.30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Bayswater Hall. Class times can be altered if necessary to suit the majority of students. The course will cost $50 for TSA members.
The course is designed to give practice in everyday German conversation, and confidence to communicate in authentic situations, including some German current affairs. Grammar and writing will be kept to a minimum. Bring a ring binder along to collect worksheets, conversations, grammar sheets etc. For those people who may have a German-speaking spouse and want to keep up the language with their children, there may also be some fun language activities that might help with this.
Learning a foreign language, or brushing up on what you already know, needs confidence. We plan to make these sessions relaxed and non-threatening. This course is suitable for beginners, or anyone who has learnt German in the past but needs practice.
Bookings need to be made by 28 April.
NB. This course is being offered in response to expressions of interest from members of the TSA. The course will only run if there is enough interest, and details may also vary.
Anyone who is interested or needs more information please contact Irene Bouzo on e-mail: ireneb@alphalink.com.au
Irene Bouzo
TSA 50TH ANNIVERSARY - 11 & 12 MARCH 2000
Reminding one and all to keep the Labour Day Weekend (Vic.) of the year 2000 free, for the Templer event of the new decade - the TSA 50th Anniversary Bash!
A festive dinner is being planned for Saturday 11th March 2000 from 5 p.m. till midnight.
Write it in your diaries now!
Child-minding facilities will be available on the night and for more details... read our next instalment in next month's TR.
Christine Ruff, for the Organising Committee
SIEBZIGER TREFFEN DER JAHRGÄNGE 1929/30
Nachdem wir auf unsere Aufforderung im Templer Record vom November 1998 keine Reaktion erhalten haben, schlagen wir nun vor, unser Treffen vom 14. bis 16. März 2000 auf Phillip Island abzuhalten, in der Woche nach der geplanten TSA Jubiläumsfeier. So hoffen wir dass unsere auswärtigen Freunde an beiden Feiern teilnehmen können.
Wir sind in Unterhandlung mit einem Motel in Cowes, wo wir zwei Nächte bleiben wollen. Am ersten Abend feiern wir unter uns im Motel. Den zweiten Abend können wir vielleicht in einem Restaurant mit Blick auf Bass Strait bei guten Essen und Tanz verbringen.
Das Tagesprogramm werden wir später ausarbeiten. Merkt Euch das Datum!