Ncumisa

Good morning  New York! Good afternoon Cape Town. Good day everyone.  We are so glad you are with us, whether in St Georges Cathedral, the People’s Cathedral in Capetown, in Trinity Church Wall Street or at one of the nearly 80 online venues, from Arizona to Wisconsin , from Alberta to Ontario or Panama City. I like you,  believe in God. I believe in the realities that God has put in front of us.. today  I want to address some of these uncomfortable truths. We live in a VUCA world. Yes; VUCA: a world of Volatility, Uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. and nothing is more VUCA that the issue of water justice. Millions can live without love.. but  no one can live without water.  Clean drinking water is the most fundamental human right. It is central to the well being of all people on the planet and the lack of access to clean , fresh water is one of the most serious threats to human health. Unsafe drinking water, together with the lack of basic sanitation, causes 81 percent of all sickness and diseases in the world. In the end our harsh uncomfortable truth reality is, we don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.. it’s their water we are talking about. The book of the prophet Amos gives us a strong challenge “Let Justice flow down like rivers, and righteousness like a never ending stream” Amos 5:24 Justice and water are closely linked. In our city on one side are homes with more bathrooms that people, with big swimming pools and vast lawns for a couple of children to play on. On the other side, a dozen families share one communal toilet and tap and on some days we are not sure the  tap is working or there is clean water coming from it.. Girls are afraid to use the facilities at night for fear of being raped and children play in the filthy water seeping from the poorly services toilets. In South Africa  it  has recently been estimated that sixteen million people  do not have access to basic sanitation facilities (1 in 3 people).[1]  Not only is the access of water a health threat, it is also one of the biggest business risks to our country and. with climate change drought and flooding become more common We have forgotten the sacredness of water. Water does not come from a tap – it comes from a river and that river comes from our Creator. Water is mentioned 722 times in the Bible. Water  literally frames the Biblical story. The first book, Genesis, starts with a wonderful poetic image of water and Creation. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1) Before creation even took place, the waters were there. Water is a primal element giving birth to life. It is no wonder that when a child is born the waters break to symbolize the start of the journey – a new life coming into the world. And in the last book of the Bible, Revelations, we have a wonderful vision of re-creation. The followers of Jesus are being persecuted and in the midst of pain and destruction, John the writer encourages them to persevere, with this vision of re-creation. 22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse”. What a beautiful vision! Unfortunately  it is beautiful in biblical verse but not in the reality of human life. In South African society there has tended to be a divide between the environmentalists and the activists for social justice.  As Pope Francis says “we have separated the cry of the poor from the cry of the Earth”. This is nowhere more evident than in water.  Our modern globalized society via industry and agriculture  is stressing our water resources , and the lack of water impacts on the quality of life of the poor and the marginalized. Those passionate about the environment tend to focus on Creation theology and look to the Creation stories and the Psalms. They focus on the beauty of creation and the need to protect it.  Activists for social justice draw their theology from the stories of liberation of  Exodus, they focus on poverty and the need for liberation from oppression. I want to pose a question – where is the critical bridge that we all need to build and cross.? the bounty of our land including its water resources –  is to be used for the widow, the alien and the oppressed and the future generations. Christians know the name of the river that Jesus was baptized in – the River Jordan.  If we developed a theology of the river Jordan it would hold together economics and ecology, recognizing that “we all live downstream. it would remind us for example that “freedom is worth nothing for the poor if we cannot deal with sewage. [2] So what are the  most essential water challenges and what are we going to do about them? In Capetown there are three sources of water which are under threat: our rivers, our oceans and our aquifer. Firstly our rivers: It is not just that the rains do not fall – many  of the threats to water are coming from companies who pollute rivers with industrial pollution. In South Africa we  suffer a lot from acid mine drainage affecting our water systems. The shareholders of

Under the leadership of Bishop Allen Kannemeyer, the clergy of the Diocese of Pretoria are taking up the environmental challenge to care for Creation Rev Rachel Mash , Provincial Environmental Coordinator was invited to address the clergy on the theology of Caring for Creation. Rev Reynard Shovel has been appointed as environmental Chaplain and canon. The following actions were decided upon in archdeaconry groups TSHWANE BOKONE ARCHDEACONRY Worship We must make use of the Season of Creation, starting on first Sunday in June, so as to incorporate Environmental Day Plan and have an early morning “sunrise” service, an outdoor service Creative use of the liturgy. If there is a challenge with printing and use of pew leaflets, use time to teach. For instance, Baptism can be such an opportunity. Observe relevant days, e.g. feast of St Francis. Be creative according to local custom. Local Archdeaconry Family Day: This service is usually outdoors. How can we use the service more effectively to include awareness of the environment, the animals that are part of the setting? Advocacy Regionally Make use of the notice board, outdoor advertising. Make use of the supplied material, even post Lent, to engage the congregation and authorities. The carbon fast, take one action and spread it over a week for more effect The sewerage problem around Garankuwa, hold a meeting with the authorities responsible. Make a sign, a poster, to raise awareness, and teach.   PRETORIA EAST We can use two readings – blind Barthemeus (soil) water at the well (water) We have two parishes called St Francis we will support as archdeaconry.. 99 trees we were promised by Green Anglicans and will be planted. Garden to be started TSHWANE PEKONI using Season of Creation have an outdoors sunrise service use feast days of St Francis Make use of supplied materials – especially the bible study. use the materials on water in the Lenten period and beyond carbon fast – take one action from each day and spread it over a week for more effect HENNOPS  RIVER Worship: September use SOC materials. St Francis bless animals. Local church: Plant trees, vegetable gardens – encourage people to start these at home with “tyre gardens” Recycling bins Stewardship shouldn’t be only part of the year Encourage vegetable gardens also at home – we can use tyres to plant in As an archdeaconry – joint clean up projects MAGALIESBERG Worship – to bring awareness in our preaching – take it to the pulpit observe the season of Creation. Spread our information during the whole time – water land etc. set the month of June for Creation especially on the 5th of June (nearest Sunday is 4th June) Find youth representatives in our archdeaconries (young green anglicans) – search for them and involved them in the whole issue of the environment. Bible studies will be organized on creation and our environment Local church recycling and cleaning campaigns at archdeaconry level – (resell bottle tops) paintings of nature around our environment. Parishes to plant trees when we meet at Family days e.g. in mandela park and other venues. Bring different plants to decorate the church and have informal discussions about the environment. harvest Sunday – bring food and distribute it to needy families Archdeaconry/Regional Plant a tree at venues for clergy meetings (the host parish to provide the tree) MADIPENG World environment day to be done outside the church. For three Sundays have the service outside (start outside and then come in) . Sunday close to World Environment Day. Not just led by clergy. Start at local level to encourage congregation to recycle – remind them every Sunday. Share positive stories such as A certain woman at macau got into recycling and was able to build herself a house. Encourage young people to come with spades and rakes to clean the church yard. RUSTENBERG Worship Encourage parishes to hold their family days in the parks. Local church. Local church – 5th of June every church to plant trees at their parish Watering – use buckets to water twice per week Encourage people to make vegetable gardens. Fundraise for Jojo tanks National advocacy – Approach mines or stakeholders for resources Recylcing at parish level – encourage youth to collect bottle tops. Various methods of recycling will be established.   OTHER Involve local ward counsellors in the clean up Involve local media Make our clean ups ecumenical, anglicans can lead but we invite the Chapter has appointed Fr Reynard is appointed as chaplain to the environment. he will be a canon and sit on chapter. He is asked to call together the reps from the archdeaconries and put together a structure. [email protected] Father Reynard Schovel