December 2014

The Cathedral of the Holy Nativity in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, is certainly taking serious strides to become green. They have sourced a company which offers recycling and have installed a service which is being used by many in the city centre as the Cathedral is situated at the heart of the City. They organised a Youth Tree Planting day and sourced indigenous plants and trees to create a green and beautiful space which is water wise. A lot of fun was had by all on the day! With the support of SAFCEI, they have conducted an energy audit. This is a modern building as Cathedrals go and was built in the days of cheap electricity! So it boasts four hot water geysers and literally hundreds of light bulbs. Cutting down on electricity usage will release funds for ministry as well as helping the planet! A clergy forum was held hosted by Bishop Rubin Phillip where some 70 clergy gathered to look at the environmental challenges faced, as well as theologies that have contributed to our lack of Care for Creation. The environmental work at the Cathedral has been spear headed by Rev Dr Andrew Warmback , assistant green Dean! He also heads up the social development work in the Diocese which will be strong on issues of eco-justice. He is assisted by two interns Michelle and Sibusisiwe who are part of the WWF-SA young leadership programme.

Diocese of Lesotho youth conference On Friday the 11th December Green Anglicans presented to the youth in the Diocese of Lesotho. The youth conference was held at an Anglican school St Michaels and All Angels in Maputsoe, Leribe.  300 young people from the age of 7 and upwards attended the conference.  the team explained to the young people what it means to be a green Anglican. The young people were asked on what it means to be green. Volunteers was asked to come up and say what they thought it meant  to be green. The young people were quite clued up on how to be green. They knew how to recycle in their homes and what could be composted in their gardens.  They also knew recycling is important and learning not to waste food or anything that could be used more than once should be kept. It was also said although their country does have water, it is not good to waste it. The youth was really excited and welcoming to us, they were in high energy and spirit as they sang for the green team at the start and end of the presentation. Presenting to such a big crowd was overwhelming but yet humbling. The young people were excited to meet  Anglicans out in the world not only in Lesotho. They were also inspired to part of the Green Anglican movement.    

Youth in the Diocese of the Free State are going green! The Diocese of the Free State declared the Environment the Third Mark of Mission in their recent Synod. Bino Makhalanyane, who is the new President of the Anglican Youth of Southern Africa, got to hear about the Green Anglican Environmental Network and invited them to attend the end of year strategic planning for the Diocesan Youth. They wanted to relook at their current Aims and Goals in the light of environmental challenges. The Youth of Diocese of Free State wanted to know about the Young Green Anglicans movement and to discuss what ideas could they initiate so they as the entire Diocesan Youth The Green Anglicans decided to go as a team rather than just sending one person and took a road trip from Cape Town to the Free State.  They assisted the Diocesan Youth leaders to come up with programmes, ideas and challenges not only for the Anglican churches but also for the communities they represent.  A key part of the presentation was looking at the Municipality of Mangaung’s report , which identified local environmental challenges, in particular the shortage of water. This helped to make the presentation more relevant. “We as the young people within the Diocese of Free State will take the motion of including a portfolio to address Environmental issues with in the Diocese”- Chaplain of AYM   Jonathan Hobosch, young Green Anglican intern

David Chillingworth is one of the seven diocesan bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church, He was ordained as bishop of the Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane on 5 March 2005. On 13 June 2009, Chillingworth was elected the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church. He was born in Dublin and studied classics at Trinity College, Dublin, theology at Oriel College, Oxford, and trained for the ordained ministry at Ripon College, Cuddesdon. For Bishop David environmental ministry is important because “I live in a beautiful country and because I see the environment as a one of our most important links with the action of God the creator.  I have also come to understand that the environment is a strong part of our connection as people.  When I listen to people from Kenya and Burundi explaining to me the difficulties which climate change cause for farmers, my vision and understanding of these issues is enlarged and put in the context of our care for one another.” The Scottish Episcopal Synod has made it one of the main goals of their meeting to establish a report from the Church’s Rural Commission on issues affecting people living in rural areas of Scotland and the role of the Church in responding to these issues and a call for theological and practical responses to the sustainability of the environment. Along with other Scottish religious leaders, Bishop David has taken a stand for creation, signing a letter to the Prime Minister, which expressed ‘moral outrage’ at the West’s failure to help developing nations cope with climate change. The Church has also been working with the Church of Bangladesh through the Bangladesh Social Development Program, which aims to promote a wider awareness of climate change and how it is affecting Bangladesh and ultimately the whole planet. He is interested in the relatively new innovation of synthetic cells which offer a range of possibilities from creating new bio-fuels, clean water, new ways of cleaning up pollution, new vaccines and drugs, new sources of food. Even though the issues are still laden with ethical and complexity dilemmas, he is excited about the potential it may serve in assisting with some of the environmental issues we are faced with and  engaging in dialogue to best move forward with new technology which can ensure the maximum benefit for the whole of humanity.

  YOUNG GREEN ANGLICANS GATHER FROM SWAZILAND, LESOTHO, MOZAMBIQUE AND SOUTH AFRICA Twelve young green Anglicans from Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique and South Africa had the opportunity to attend a week of varied and challenging teaching at Rocklands in Capetown. They had  an experience of God through nature and a chance to build relationships and develop a strategy for growing the Green Anglican movement. The first few days they joined young environmental leaders from other denominations and faiths for a workshop run by SAFCEI looking at issues such as climate change and energy. The second half of the week they met as Anglicans to look at strategies to roll out the Green Anglican movement throughout the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. We also looked at materials and creative ideas that could be incorporated in sessions to be run with youth groups on subjects such as waste, land management, consumerism etc. We were blessed to have a visit from Peter and Miranda Harris who were the founders of Arocha International, a Christian environmental Organisation. Peter reminded us how important care for Creation is, that we are called to love God, our neighbour and our planet. “If you love the painter you don’t trash his paintings!” We ended our time together with a Thanksgiving dinner, thanking God for new friendships and a renewal of our call to care for Gods earth. “A very diverse group from Southern Africa shared their encounters in Environmental Ministry, which was very eye opening, at times we focus on what we do and how we do it and certainly we master it, however it is important for us to remember why we do it, and how swing everyone else to join in the livelihood of God’s creation.” Ncumisa Magadla “The Rocklands retreat week offered a way to start and continue the conversation of creation care and “Earth Keeping” by young people in the multi faith platform. We engaged in activities ranging from “what would your environmentally friendly community look like” to discussions on how energy is used. We were able to speak about what projects and concerns are specific to our dioceses and countries and engage in planning on where we are going from here and how that would look.” Willie Lutes, Diocese of Lexington “Being invited for the Green Anglicans meeting was a big blessing. I never thought that the Church has a big role in the protection of the environment. Now I committed myself to be part of this movement (Green Anglicans) and take action in my Diocese. With God’s help I will!”  Carlos Respeito.Mozambique “A week filled with enviro-intellect capacity building and advocacy exchange. I was at the right place of harnessing my eco-understanding. Being in groups with other young people who are having it thought in dealing with the issue of climate change but in a hard wayTruly a great week that felt like more than that due to friendships formed.” Jono Hobosch “The SAFCEI youth workshop was a great experience. Getting to know young people from over southern Africa and the environmental problems that they are facing in their countries and what they are doing as a faith based organisation to work together to get people environmentally aware”.  Nina Pretorius