News

                                      #GREENCHRISTMAS

DIVEST FROM FOSSIL FUELS! 5 trillion dollars have already been Committed! Yesterday the Divest-Invest Campaign released its figures. The campaign to take money out of fossil fuels and to invest it differently began only five years ago with a handful of students  and already the value of assets has reached $5.2 trillion! Worldwide 688 organisations and over 58000 individuals have committed to divesting their money from fossil fuels. The largest groups represented are the faith based sector (23%) and philanthropic foundations (23%) The pledges have come from 76 countries in all parts of the globe. Why is divestment important? The burning of fossil fuels is leading to climate change which will increase  poverty and hunger. We are on the cusp of a transition to green energy and divestment is a practical action that Churches can take to encourage this transition to take place more quickly Archbishop Tutu has called climate change the human rights issue of our day. He calls on churches and other organisations to: Freeze further exploration for new fossil sources. Hold those responsible for climate damages accountable. Governments stop accepting funding from the fossil fuel industry. Divest from fossil fuels and invest in a clean energy future. You can watch his video :http://divestinvest.org/individual/desmond-tutu-on-climate-change/ The Anglican Church of Southern Africa took the decision to move its money “out of the problem”  at its latest Synod. The challenge in South Africa is that there are currently no fossil fuel free portfolios, so ACSA will be working with other organisations such as the Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation, Fossil Free South Africa and Universities to put pressure on financial institutions to create such portfolios. You can see the list of Churches who have committed to the divestment process on : http://www.greenfaith.org/programs/divest-and-reinvest/listing-of-known-religious-divestment-efforts These include the following Anglican Churches which have already passed motions either calling for divestment or making the decision to divest Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia (Auckland, Dunedin, Waikato, Wellington) Anglican Church of Australia (Melbourne, Perth, Sydney               , Canberra) Anglican Church in Canada (Montreal, Ottawa) Anglican Church of Southern Africa Church of England (divest from thermal coal and tar sands)                                         

                                      #GreenChristmas      

newsletter-december-final

  A prestigious historical event, the guild of St Mary Magdalene (MMG) was launched official as a provincial guild after decades of existence. Hosted from the 10th –  13th of November 2016  in the Eastern Cape, the Diocese of Mthatha were the hands and feet of this events success, working with all the executives from the dioceses, the venue was over flowing with members of this guild. Visitors and delegates were welcomed with a very classy gala dinner on Friday evening and entertainment from a local dance group. We saw members of different guilds in the diocese come in numbers to support MMG.   Dioceses represented included, Lesotho which came in numbers, Cape Town, Mzimvubu, Mbashe, Grahamstown . The Diocesan Bishop who is also the dean of the Province, Bishop Sithembele Mzamane graced the morning service on Saturday morning with a wonderful sermon and officiating the provincial executive which was newly elected.  In his word, he encouraged the guild to continue doing the great, be strong and rigid in their ministry. Green Anglicans was one of the partners who were invited to come and be part of this occasion and in the spirit of caring for God’s creation, 3 trees were blessed and planted by the Bishop. This act is to mark the beginning of a new life in the guild and as the trees grow they will remind the members where they come from and the growth of the guild.  Two of the trees were planted at the diocesan centre and 1 at the Cathedral of St Johns.