Ncumisa

The Anglican Church of Southern Africa (South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Angola Mozambique and Namibia) passed a motion at their Provincial Synod to divest from fossil fuels. Following the Paris Climate Change agreement, it is vital that global warming does not pass a 2° degree increase, otherwise this could lead to catastrophic climate change. The Province is already experiencing the impact of climate change in terms of drought throughout the countries and flooding in Mozambique. The total known reserves of fossil fuels are currently 2860 Gigatonnes of CO₂ the carbon budget is only 565 Gigatonnes – this is the amount that  can be burned to limit a rise in temperature to below 2°. In order to be good stewards of God’s earth, we need to move from fossil fuels. But we also need to be good stewards of God’s money and the reality is that due to those reserves that are cannot be used, the value of fossil fuels will drop  – which is known as the carbon bubble.  The Bank of England has warned of  huge financial risks from fossil fuel investments. Unlike in other countries where it is relatively simple to divest from portfolios which include fossil fuels and reinvest in fossil free portfolios, in South Africa there are currently no such fossil free portfolios. So the Anglican Church of Southern Africa will be negotiating with financial institutions to encourage them to create such a portfolio. The Motion follows: MOTION TO SYNOD: Divesting the Provincial Reserve Fund from fossil fuel This Synod noting God’s creation is under threat Human induced climate change is now widely regarded as the most pressing issue of our time. Extended droughts are a direct consequence of global warming, with extreme weather events occurring more often. Southern Africa is set to warm at twice the global average. The current severe drought and the resultant food price increases will affect the poorest and most vulnerable members of our society. A growing number of churches, universities and foundations have called upon the world’s major fossil fuel companies to support the required shift to renewable energy Respectfully requests: Requests Provincial Trust Board to adopt the principle to  divest from fossil fuels Synod of Bishops mandates the South African Anglican Theological Commission (SAATC) to identify ethical fossil fuel free portfolio options This report to be tabled at ACSA relevant body and negotiate with financial institutions for these to be created where necessary. Proposer : Bishop Ellinah Wamukoya Seconder: Bishop Steve Moreo

On the weekend of the 2-4 of September the Diocesan Youth Council had its camp, the youth from various part of George Diocese met at Rondevlei camp site, Green Anglicans representative (Ayabulela Pinzi) during his presentation reminded the youth about the important role they can play in reduction of carbon footprint, we also engaged about the duties and role of human beings in safeguarding God’s creation. The youth in attendance also contributed by suggesting ways in which they can play a significant and meaningful in safeguarding creation. Some of the suggestions were the ongoing educational initiatives on greening across the diocese , the little we do when put together is what can be used in changing  the mind-set or the perception of human being in so far as environment conservation is concerned. -Aya Pinzi

It was a day of great joy when Bishop Christopher Gregorowski visited Eluvukweni Church in Crossroads to confirm 16 young people. As a symbol of their spiritual growth they were each given a tree to take back and plant and care for  in their homes. “The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” Rev 22:2. A tree needs to be watered in order to live and we need to be watered by the Holy Spirit on a daily basis.  We are not just filled with the Spirit on our Confirmation day . Bishop Christopher taught us a simple exercise to breathe in deeply and to welcome the Holy Spirit as we breathe out stress, or fear, or anger. This is a valuable exercise to keep us filled with the Spirit in our daily lives. May these trees  be symbols of our spiritual life, but also bring hope into the community of Crossroads, and stand for the hope that the new Church Building of Eluvukweni will bring to many. We are very grateful for the donation of trees from Stodels, in celebration of arbor month. God for us, we call you “Father.” God alongside us, we call you “Jesus.” God within us, we call you “Holy Spirit.”

INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL DAY – GOING GREEN IN KENSINGTON International Sunday School day was a great day of celebration at Good Shepherd Church in Kensington (Diocese of Saldanha Bay) It truly was a day of celebrating children as we focused on caring for God’s creation. The day started with the planting and blessing of a tree, which will belong the children, they must take responsibility for watering and looking after it. The procession then moved into church, led by the children (some clutching teddy bears) and then the service began. The children performed  a beautiful dance to the tune of morning has broken  and a very creative drama based on the story of creation, from the Ryan the Rhino book. After he created  each thing, God laughed with great joy and this had the whole congregation joining him in laughter!! Rev  Rachel Mash, the Provincial Environmental Coordinator was our preacher for the day and she brought down  to us how much devastation we are causing on God’s earth. When we do something as simple as drop a plastic bag, it does not break down and will still be on the earth for 200 years! It can be chewed by a horse, or end up in the sea, where a giant turtle might think that it is a jelly fish and eat it and choke to death. All the Sunday School teachers wore “Green Anglican” t-shirts and we are proud to be part of this movement. The Church of Good Shepherd is determined to go green – we want to get recycling bins and put in plants all around to make our church an oasis of green in the community.

The parish of St Monica, Kanana, Diocese of Matlosane started their Season of Creation with birdsong. Parishioners were surprised to be  welcomed by sounds of forest birdsong instead of a hymn as the service opened. The sermon was based on Biodiversity: The Choir of Creation, Psalm 148. We were reminded that all the creatures of the Earth worship God, not just humans, and that all creatures are precious in God’s sight. We received communion  quietly, listening to the singing of birds & forest sounds. The service ended with the planting of a tree donated by a green Anglican, Mr. Ntseare, who is the main parish interpreter.  The congregation was dismissed from under a large tree and we were sent out into the world to love and care for it. Next week the Sunday Scholers will have a procession with drawings of Creation.

World Day of Prayer for Creation 2016 marks the start of a global celebration of the World Day of Prayer for Creation, 1st of September. The Orthodox Church has long celebrated this day, last year the Pope called on Catholics to celebrate, and this year the Anglican Communion Environmental Network and the World Council of Churches added to the call. In the last 40 years, forty percent of land creatures and ocean creatures have been destroyed by human activity. In one generation we have destroyed vast tracts of God’s creation. So we pray and must act. As Karl Barth said “to clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.’ As Christians of all denominations clasp hands across the barriers that divide us, we will begin to see change and action in our churches and communities. The Catholic Cathedral of St Mary’s hosted a Prayer for the world Day of Creation and invited interfaith leaders and young people to lead the prayers and meditations. The service was introduced and blessed by Archbishop Steven Brislin, and Lindiwe Van Staden, a young Anglican was the speaker for the day. Here is her powerful message “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… This is the line I read on the first day of Sunday school. I watched in awe as the children’s eyes lit up while they imagined this mind blowing miracle take place. As a kid I loved the story about the creation, but I never truly understood what my role was, even though the bible explicitly said we as humans are to protect his creation. I never really saw this as my responsibility but rather someone else’s. It was only much later in life when I started to appreciate outdoor expeditions that I truly understood what it meant to be a responsible citizen. Though the bible talks a lot about caring and being responsible for his creation, it was never a core theme in the teaching while growing up. And maybe that is why I never understood that taking care of his creation was just as much my responsibility as anyone else’s. And now we are facing very difficult times as the world’s resources grow scarcer and our livelihoods are at stake. Becoming an environmentally responsible citizens should be considered more of a way of life that ensures respect for human dignity and peace. But why is it important to take care of God’s creation? The creation provides us with the physical fibre of our lives: and nature provides us with the good stuff that we use every day single day. Nature gives us food on the table, it provides the material for clothes on our backs, nature is so amazing that it even provides the building material necessary to build our houses and churches. Mother Nature is also a place where God is felt and experienced the closest to man, for each plant and creature has a soul. You can feel God’s presence in the quiet of the Kalahari, the bustling of the forest, and even the roaring and crashing of the seas. The Creation is a beautiful gift from God and provides us with the basics for our lives, yet it in our modern ways we can so easily and often take it for granted. For God says in Leviticus 18 verse 26 and 28 – if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. Our Modern ways has been both a blessing and a curse. For we are born to a knowledge Era and modern technology is at the centre of our day-to day lives. It has championed in providing us with a huge amount of benefits that can aid us to alleviate suffering and create new ways to bring about solidarity among people. However in the same breath, modern technology can also be our down fall for it has made it easier to become alienated from our environment and it has provided us with new ways to plunder the worlds natural resources on mass scale. We should stop and listen to Mother Nature’s cry as we cannot keep taking from her because soon there will be nothing left. We should care for our creation, become responsible citizens that do not neglect but rather protects and respects the beauty nature has to offer. I would  like to end of with a quote by Richard Nelson – “I’ve often thought of the forest as a living cathedral, but this might diminish what it truly is. The forest is not merely an expression or representation of sacredness, nor a place to invoke the sacred; the forest is sacredness itself. Nature is not merely created by God; nature is God. Whoever moves within the forest can partake directly of sacredness, experience sacredness with his entire body, breathe sacredness and contain it within himself, drink the sacred water as a living communion, bury his feet in sacredness, touch the living branch and feel the sacredness, open his eyes and witness the burning beauty of sacredness”