On Saturday, 19 September, members of the Girls and Boys Friendly Society (GBFS) Western Cape Eco-Champs Programme were awarded certificates of completion at the Diocese of Cape Town GBFS Annual Conference after completing the six-month programme run by Green Anglicans and the Rotary Club of Claremont.
Speaking on behalf of the graduates, Enathi Matiwane said Green Anglicans had taught her to appreciate not just creation, but God’s intent behind it. During her talk to the conference, she said, “God wouldn’t have made the world so beautiful if it meant we could treat it as horribly as we’d like. She added that “humans aren’t the only things of value to God, but rather all creatures, plants, and all He created are, too. God’s beauty isn’t found only in human beings but also in His creation around us. The least we can do is keep the house He made for us tidy and sustainable.”
Before awarding the certificates, Ms Melissa Awu, a member of the Rotary Club of Claremont, addressed the conference on the 2026 Seasons of Creation theme Living Waters from Ezekiel 47: “Everything will live where the river goes.”
She challenged members, signed with the cross, to be children who give life, give hope and bring love wherever they go. Referencing 1 Timothy 4:12, she urged them not to let anyone look down on them for being young, but to set an example. She explained that the river in Ezekiel’s vision flows from the temple – from God’s presence – into the world, turning death into life and barrenness into abundance. It is a call to mission beyond the four walls of the church, bringing restoration, abundant life, healing, and God’s presence wherever it flows.
After the two speakers, Bino Makhalanyane, who coordinated the program, handed over the certificates to the graduates, who leave not only with the certificates but also with a mandate to embody the fifth Mark of mission, become full ambassadors of Christ in caring for creation, and mobilise others to join the movement.
The Diocesan GBFS Chaplain, Revd Miseka, closed the session by commissioning all graduates and calling on them to begin God’s work and to create space for other GBFS members to learn and join them in this important mission.
