Ncumisa

On Sunday the 8 of September 2019 the Parish of St. Andrew , commemorated the exaltation of the Holy Cross at the Holy Cross Chapelry. In this occasion led by Rev Mathula the congregation planted 200 trees

 14 eager hikers joined the  hike to the top of Table Mountain to celebrate the Season of Creation, spending the night on the top of the mountain in the People’s Trail hut. Members represented three Dioceses of Cape Town, Saldanha Bay and False Bay The hike was led by Sanparks tour guide Johan who has a passion for the mountain. He educated us about the various plants that grow there  and even showed us from what vegetation the khoi people used to create their bows and arrows. The knowledge shared was for many an eye opener, as he spoke about which ones are poisonous, which ones were used for ointments and medicinal purposes and even those that that grow to protect other flowers. Saturday the 7th saw temperatures reaching a high of 35C which made the climb all the more strenuous on the climbers, this made water a vital necessity for the climb up. We started early Saturday morning gathering at Constantia Nek, and then distributed the food amongst the members to carry up, fortunately we were saved by the rangers from that burden as they transported the groceries up to the cabin for us. This took a lot of weight off our shoulders, which came to the relief of everyone. The beauty of nature was amazing, however the focus on the nature changed quickly to focusing on making it to the accommodation on top. Though some struggled it was evident that we had a group of individuals that had a no die attitude, which was very enlightening to some as we reflected on the hike the evening during evening prayer which was led by Bino Makhalayane. Before we had evening prayer a small group took a walk to the famous Kasteelspoort ledge to take photos and then went to watch the sun set. This was a very magical experience as we were in awe of God’s hand upon creation. After evening prayer we had supper which was prepared by the tour guides which was amazing and for which we were most grateful. After supper Rev Rachel then led us in a game of 30 seconds which brought about a lot of enjoyment and laughter. As it got later everyone made their ways to the rooms and we called it a night. The next day everyone was up early to refresh themselves as we also prepared a fire for breakfast. During this time on Sunday morning Rev Rachel led us in the Sunday Eucharist where we shared in communion on top of Table Mountain, which was something really special. We would just like to say a special thank you to Table Mountain National Parks for their assistance and to the tour guide and his helpers. Looking forward to doing again in the future.  Many thanks to @CTEET john- Paul Roberts Kagisho Petlho reflected on the overnight hike “the weekend on the hike has shown me that as the future generation of tomorrow we have all that might take to start what we call the better change and brighter tomorrow. It all start with me to make the difference within my surrounding and I am the influence to the people surrounding me, I had learned that it might not be easy but if I stay constantly changing my behavior towards the creation and influencing others will be way simple as it will be a good lifestyle on cutting down on use of plastic and planting more fruit trees and verges as will not be only thinking about today and tomorrow but the future generation to benefit… being on the heart of Table Mountain nature reserve and seen it fresh and clean without a single plastic was a breath taking and seen on how the we as humans need to think positive towards mother earth and be the mustard seeds… I am the salt of the earth #Iamagreenanglican.”

God created the Earth and said “it is good” so why is it bad now? On Saturday the 31 August, we had the opportunity to address the GBFS at their annual conference which was held at St. Peter’s in Khayelitsha. The conference saw about 100 young people gather from all 3 dioceses in the Western Cape. The session to present to the members took place after lunch. We were welcomed by the GBFS President of the Diocese of False Bay, and were allocated a half an hour to present to the members. We started our time off with some praise before moving into the presentation and devotion. The presentation focused on introducing the young people to what Green Anglicans is and what it is that we do as many were uninformed about the movement. In the presentation we had the young people reflecting on their environments, those around their houses, their church and within their communities. Then we had them reflect on the state of the rivers and sources of our water and its conditions, and for majority the response was that both were in bad conditions. We then proceeded to ponder the fact that when God created everything it was good, how then has everything gone bad and how do we get it back to being good. This then led into the devotion where we shared that we are chosen by God, and we are chosen to bring about social justice, just like Jesus did. We not only need to bring about social justice for people but for all of creation. The session for the day was led by Bino Makhayalane and John-Paul Roberts. We appreciate the support of CTEET for this programme

55 YEARS OF ANGLICAN YOUTH – 55 TREES FOR MAXIXE The Anglican Youth of Lebombos Diocese in Mozambique celebrated Provincial Youth Day with a wonderful event full of joy and worship Celebrating the #seasonofcreation, the day started with a March through the streets of Maxixe carrying the Anglican youth banners. 55 shade trees were planted throughout the town to green the city. The young people then had several talks – Rev Mpho Mohale representing Provincial Youth Chaplain encouraged them to put on the whole armour of God Canon Rachel from Green Anglicans talked about the sacredness of God’s earth – we are concerned to keep the sanctuary of the church clean up the sanctuary of the Earth is filthy. She shared how plastic does not break down, it breaks into smaller and smaller pieces and ends up in our rivers and oceans. By 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans. She brought a message from the Archbishop calling on young people to take the lead on caring for creation In the afternoon there was a health exhibition where people could give blood and take various health tests, and an art exhibition where young people showcased their products. A wonderful Eucharistic celebration followed led by Dom Carlos Matsinhe. The young people then followed with praise and worship until the early hours! In the morning the young people joined the morning Eucharist at the blessed Virgin Mary of Chambone church. Rev Mpho challenged the young people from the text of Jeremiah 2:7 “I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable”. They are being called to renew the earth – the earth lies polluted but we are being called to act. Canon Rachel handed over the new youth manual in Portuguese “Cuidar da Creacao” to the archdeaconry youth leaders and chaplains. Provincial government officials who were present at the service were also given a copy by the Bishop. After the service the young people cleaned up litter to leave the Mother Earth clean before they boarded buses to return to different parts of Mozambique

BEING A GREEN DISCIPLE IN THE DIOCESE OF NIASSA The Diocese of Niassa held a four day consultation on “Intentional Discipleship” in Lichinga. The consultation was led by Canon John Kafwanka and Canon  Mark Oxbrow. As part of the exciting programme, Green Anglicans represented by Ven Raphael Eugenio looked at discipleship from an environmental point of view. Each day there was a slot to focus on the environmental aspects of discipleship and caring for creation. In the first session the attendees where challenged to consider the five items they would need in the case of an emergency. How can we best help our congregations to keep these items safe if an emergency should take place? What are the most important five actions the Church can take in the case of an emergency such as flooding or a cyclone? In the second session they looked at environmental challenges they face – using the “problem tree” as a methodology to look at the root causes of deforestation, dirty water and plastic waste etc. During the third session they looked at how the Church can adapt to climate change and be ready to face disasters in the future. The materials were adapted from “pastors and disasters” by Anglican Alliance After the workshop the group did a clean up in the community. Bishop Dino Gabriel from the Diocese of  natal also joined the Consultation together with two priests from the new Diocese of Nampula. T

MZI MOVERS! The Guild of Mary Magdalene held their Diocesan Annual celebration at the Collegiate Church – Holy Cross, Flagstaff. The Mzimvubu green Movers team safe guarded the integrity of the environment by cleaning up the church yard during lunch time. Yolanda Ursh Macaula Photos Kalipa #caringforcreation #seasonofcreation