Rachel Mash

My mind and heart I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. Psalm 121: 1-2 The COVID pandemic has been devastating for all of us. Everyone has suffered so much loss, of friends, family colleague, jobs, freedom, ability to socialise. Reflect on how the pandemic has affected you emotionally. The new realities of working from home, temporary unemployment, home-schooling of children, and lack of physical contact with other family members, friends and colleagues is hard to  get used to. Managing the fear of contracting the virus and worry about people close to us who are particularly vulnerable, are challenging for all of us. Here are a few tips Keep to a routine as far as possible. Lent is a wonderful time to commit to new spiritual practices, meditation, listening to sacred music. Keep up with personal hygiene (yup we have all been to zoom meetings in pyjama bottoms and a smart top!) Eat healthy meals. Sugar highs only lead to sugar lows later on…. Exercise regularly Allocate work time and relaxation time – if they all blur together you end up never relaxing properly Lent is a great time to cut out alcohol and replace with a more healthy alternative! Help others – voluntary work will make you feel better and bring blessing to others too Social media can get you into a negative spiral… find more positive people to follow and you will start getting positive rather than negative messages coming through. Block the negative ones and yes it is ok to unfriend people! 121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. Get out into nature, even if you cannot go far, as you walk your street, look up at the clouds and the birds and experience the renewal of your spirit in nature. “Those who contemplate the beatify of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature. T he assurance that dawn comes after night and spring after winter ‘ Rachel Carson.

  Reflection – how have you treated your body in 2020? “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God 1 Cor 6;19 There is a joke going around that says  “ On average a panda feeds for approximately 12 hours per day. This is the same as an adult at home under lockdown, which is why we call it a  “Pandemic” The COVID-19 pandemic means that many of us are staying at home  and sitting down more than we usually do. It’s hard for a lot of us to do the sort of exercise we normally do. It’s even harder for people who don’t usually do a lot of physical exercise. But at a time like this, it’s very important for people of all ages and abilities to be as active as possible. Remember – Just taking a short break from sitting, by doing 3-4 minutes of light intensity physical movement, such as walking or stretching, will help ease your muscles and improve blood circulation and muscle activity. Regular physical activity benefits both the body and mind. It can reduce high blood pressure, help manage weight and reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes – all conditions that can increase susceptibility to COVID-19. So before we get vaccines, it is important that we all try to stay as healthy as possible.  If you do then catch COVID-19 you are less likely to get a severe case. Regular physical activity can help give our days a routine and be a way to stay in contact with family and friends. It helps us to deal with stress and improves your mood. Meet the wonderful 97 year old Sheila White , an Anglican from British Columbia in Canada whose daily walks help her take the pandemic in stride https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1859701315790/

ASH WEDNESDAY – CALCULATE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT “Repent and believe the good news” Ash Wednesday is a time of lament, of looking at our life-style and repenting, making a change. We have sinned against God the Creator in the way we have treated the Earth. We have sinned against our neighbour in the actions we have taken that are warming this planet. Today at the beginning of Lent, start by recognising the damage you have done by using this interactive carbon footprint calculator. https://www.wwf.org.au/…/ecological-footprint… here is the Carbon Fast Calendar for Lent https://www.greenanglicans.org/…/02/calendar-2021done.pdf

Seeds of Hope.  These 40 Lenten devotions in honour of Bishop Ellinah are seeds of hope, a tribute to her life. Reflections on 40 different scriptures come from a wide variety of people from Archbishops to lay ministers, from different parts of the world. May these seeds sown in love grow to bear fruit! https://www.greenanglicans.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/lenten-devotionalfinal.pdf

Ellinah Wamukoya “For such a time as this” A great tree has fallen. Our hearts are broken at the loss of our beloved Bishop Ellinah  Wamukoya She was truly great in the kingdom of God. The first woman Bishop in Africa, she was a true pioneer.. She  modelled a new way of leadership, a leadership of  heart and hands that inspired and motivated those around her. She did not tell people what to do, she showed us the way. With her high levels of competency and spirituality she opened the doors for acceptance of women bishops in other countries across Africa.  Named as one of the BBCs 100 women of the year in 2016, she said of her ministry “I am going to try to represent the mother attribute of God” The last whatsapp she sent me from hospital was after  I told her that they had appointed a women assistant bishop in Kenya and she wrote “Amen dear sister, that is good news. A legacy indeed. I shall come out to celebrate. Praise God”. Sadly she did not. She inspired us to love God and love Mother Earth. She was one of the pioneer Eco Bishops of the Anglican Communion and her Diocese became a leader in environmental sustainability . Always hands on, she  planted trees, collecting litter and promoting reforestation, and biodiversity conservation. The Diocese won an award for two years as Environmental champion, from the Minister of the Environment. In her Masters Thesis she connected the Eucharist with Creation and shared this insight at Anglicans Ablaze: “Eating and drinking the bread and wine  enables us to touch the clouds, the sun the earth , everything in the cosmos. Christ is food – not bread alone – being food  he is life. Hungry people are all over the world – they do not have life in abundance because they do not have food” She shared memories  of carrying water long distances as a young girl and told me once that she felt that is why she became a bishop at this time, to be able to share the reality of the impact of climate change with her own stories. Like Esther , she came into her position ‘for such a time as this’. When she was already in hospital a prayer that she wrote was sent out by the Lambeth Conference, she wrote: “Creator God, we thank and praise you for giving us the opportunity to be co-creators with you and to ensure the sustainability of “Mother Earth” our meeting place with God.  God as a community of Father, son and holy spirit teach us as the anglican Community to work together for mutual respect with one another and your creation.  We repent for our negligence leading the earth to be in peril from loss of habitats and species. Help us to be caretakers of your gifts., protecting the land from abuse, and ready to share with all in need. Amen The Archbishop of Canterbury tweeted back – Thankyou Bishop Ellinah. Thankyou indeed dear Bishop. The great tree has fallen, but the seeds you have sown across the Green Anglicans movement of Southern Africa, Central Africa  and Kenya, and  the Anglican Communion  across the whole world have been planted. You have taught us, you have inspired us, you have shown us the way.  Now it is our task to let those seeds  grow – so that  your memory may  be blessed. “To be of the Earth is to know the restlessness of being a seed, the darkness of being planted, the struggle towards the light, the pain of growing into the light, the joy of bursting and bearing fruit, the love of being food for others, the scattering of your seeds, the decay of the seasons, the mystery of death and the miracle of birth (John Soos)   Hamba Kahle Bishop Ellinah. Canon Rachel Mash,Environmental Coordinator Anglican Church of Southern Africa.