Ncumisa

  Dr Kumi Naidoo addressed faith leaders and interested citizens at a workshop in Cape Town on the topic : preparing ourselves for the 22nd Century “We must come to terms with the inconvenient truth that without the Faith community we will not be able to avert catastrophic climate change. The numbers of people that we need to be  standing up and making an appeal to our governments will not come from NGOs, trade unions or student movements, only the faith communities can mobilise so many. There is a lot of burden on the shoulders of religious shoulders. There is enough environmental wisdom in every religious text that we have.  The silence of religious leaders has been deafening in terms of standing up for what God created. He didn’t only create human beings, God made the whole world. Over all religious leaders have failed us they must read their scriptures again and fulfil the promise and obligation” He posed the question – “have you become well adjusted  to injustice? In his speech – I have a dream – Dr Martin Luther King said “ I refuse to be well adjusted to the idea that we will take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few while Gods children are trapped in poverty” A WWF report indicates that “if we were to deliver the same quality of life that folk in developed and elites of developing enjoy “ we would need five planets. As we plan for the 22nd Century – we need to ask ourselves “ what is an equitable distribution of wealth?” We have become  maladjusted to patterns of consumption that do not add quality to life. Planning environmentally for the next century means not just thinking about environmentalism. The struggle for environmental justice is part of human justice. Stop thinking in silos;  environmental challenges  v human justice. The women’s movement gave us an important word “intersectionality” you cannot advance gender justice without understanding class, religion etc. We need to break the divide between “red” and “green” movements, between labour movements and environment movements If you care about the environment you must also care about jobs. Ensuring the transition to a new green economy must take into account that it is within our grasp. Those who are holding us back are those who are unjustly benefitting from profit making at the top end of the fossil fuel industry. When there are profits they are privatized, when there are mess-ups – they are socialized. Nuclear is too expensive, too dangerous and too little, too late” The nuclear deal is an distraction from where we need to be going. No one will get exclusive licenses for the wind or the sun. Renewable energy is more decentralized. We either win on environment and poverty or we lose on both. Climate change is hitting us now and big time. The tragedy for Africa is that even though we are facing the worst impact of climate change , the world does not see it. Why?? The Philippines or New York disasters were huge cataclysmic media moments. The main impact of climate change in Africa is desertification and drought , a slow burning accumulative process. We need to make the link with the refugee crisis. What is the good news? As environmentalists we want to save the planet , but  “the planet does not need saving. The planet will warm to a point but when humans are gone, the planet will still be here – bruised and battered,  without us, the forests will grow again, the oceans will recover. The planet does not need saving. The challenge is this – can humanity coexist with the  planet for centuries and centuries to come? Can we  save the future for our children’s children. Preparing for the next century is going to take boldness, and we need to reclaim our democracy. We are in this for the long haul – it is more than being willing to give your life for the cause – we need to be willing to give the rest of our life. This is a marathon, not a sprint. A position of neutrality, to sit on the sidelines is a choice to be part of the problem. When our grandchildren look at us in the eye and say what did you do when the science was clear, what will you feel? .        

On the 17th October 2015 the archdeaconry of Bellville hosted environmental workshop at St Faith parish in Epping. It was opened and inspired by vibrant, green archdeacon Ven. Andrew Wyngaard who reminded everyone about the importance of taking care of the environment and that it is everyone’s duty to make to make a difference. The workshop included lay leaders and clergy training (Season of creation), Youth (How to be Young Green Anglicans) as well as Sunday School Environmental Program (Ryan the Rhino, the story of creation). After insightful sessions the archdeaconry decided on the following actions :  ACTION PLANS: BELLVILLE ARCHDEACONRY ST FAITHS EPPING Activity             When Who is responsible Environmental Green March and Season of Creation              September 2016 Youth initiate , whole parish Reduce littering in the church and get Recycle bins                   ASAP Parish office/luyanda Garden: Request trees from Stodels and create an outside garden.                By Easter Mr Bouwers Change the security lights to motions sensors. Target which lights can be left off during services. Change to low energy globes.                  ASAP Parish Office Have an environmental portfolio on parish council. Luyanda Nyubuse was chosen.                  Done     Mr Luyanda Nyubuse will bring these action points to parish council and follow through   ST ANDREWS EUREKA Will Invite Green Anglicans to the parish to introduce the program This year and next year Louisa will speak to the church wardens     ST JOHN BELLVILLE Invite green Anglicans to a Sunday service    Water week (March),                    (June)   Youth Month Ezra Theme one of the youth services after seasons of creation            June 2016 Ezra Environmental friendly camp site              2016 Ezra Sunday School teachers bought Rhino Books and will start immediately        17/10/2015 Hayley, Antoinette Suggest that the Diocese all use Ryan the Rhino during 2016. Take the suggestion to Diocesan Council.all S/S use rhino for the first 10 weeks of 2016 (Diocese) Next Diocesan Council Meeting Brigette Percy Matanda will send cd of songs in book (Ryan the Rhino) 2016 Percy Give feedback to the parish  on workshop 2015/2016 Hayley/Antanette  

Throughout the conference, the 12th of September 2015 focused on the environmental talks as Christians, which green Anglicans were invited to host this program. Michelle Sheyi and Sibusisiwe Shezi (Green Anglican interns) as well as Rev Mandla Rangana represented the Green Anglicans for the day. The first set of presentation was set to elaborate on “who are Green Anglicans” and what is required of us as an Anglican community which was well presented by Michelle. A small workshop followed on looking at what the diocese of Mzimvubu can do in becoming environmentally conscious, all the groups were well presented and came up with grate ideas that can be used for their lifestyle as issues in urbanized areas differ from the rural setting. The following sections was followed by a presentation on “Ryan the Rhino” by Sibusisiwe as part of useful resources in educating people about the important of our environment. The main focus for this section was to involve the younger group as well as give out ideas for their next environmental event in the future. The response to the resource book was great, and have requested additional copies of the book, the only challenge with the book is the language barrier, and they have suggested if it is possible they can get it in isiXhosa, however in the mean while they are more than willing to use it in English. Not only did the presentation was drawn to the younger crowed but it also accommodated everyone Rev Mandla  Rangana concluded the day with an intriguing presentation on the theological perspective of the important of the environment, he took as into a new journey that most of the crowed were never exposed to yet we are familiar with. The clergy that was present were very pleased with the information which they found it to be refreshing and important to their daily lives as leaders of the church. This was followed by a number of items that the young people wanted to share with us dancing, singing and performances with their angelic voices and God sent talents which was well received by the guests. Overall the response was fantastic and the Diocese cannot wait to implement these ideas and are already planning for the future and have invited us to come back again not to lead the event but to part of the event and to see their progress as they are taking this very seriously and as well as to have fun We would love to thank the Holy Cross Mission for the warm welcome they gave us and accommodating us, it was truly a blessing and a successful event that was full of knowledge and very inspirational to the team as well. Would also like to send our utmost gratitude to the Diocese of Zimvubu for the invite and opportunity for having us in this eventful day. Not only did we leave people who were pleased and passionate about the environment but we left our new found family as we were told to return back to our new home soon. Wish them the all the best with the rest of the year and for the future. – Sibusisiwe Shezi & Michelle Sheyi

The Anglican Youth of the Diocese of Mzimvubu had their annual conference  at KwaMzizi, All Saints Parish,  on the 2-4 October 2015. The theme for the conference was extracted from Leviticus 6:12- 13 “Keep the fire blazing”. The conference focused on three aspects, 1. Spiritual growth, 2.Education and Leadership and 3. Anglicanism. The conference was indeed an eye opener to all of us. It was filled with good worship and chances to express the views of young people. Mr. Lwandile Malakhiwe Bada from Green Anglicans office made a huge contribution in changing our perspectives towards caring for our environment. He clearly explained to us that daily activities do have an impact in our future generation. He outlined the number of environmental days that are there in our lectionary, such as the world environmental day on the 5th of June. Out of his presentation we have learned skills on environmental education, we hope and believe that the knowledge gaps have been closed. It was amazing how young people have taken the issue of the environment in exciting way. They fully participated during the environmental education. They were very keen at going back to their home Parishes to educate everyone and the community at large. It is of great hope that we will all take the information and knowledge back to our Parishes and make a difference. After the environmental talk we proudly say “ACSA DIOCESE OF UMZIMVUBU IS GREEN” Sikho Bera (AYSA Umzimvubu President)