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The Anglican youth of Hlathikhulu Parish in the Diocese of Swaziland had a Green Valentine weekend. They arrived Friday 12, 2016 at St Mary’s where they held a sleep over conference. Friday they only had an evening song and went to bed in preparation for the next day. Saturday was the busiest day as they firstly had Morning Prayer in the church’s backyard vegetable garden. “It was a refreshing experience to enjoy the presence of God outdoor in the beauty of nature looking on the planted vegetables. For most of us was the first time experience and we wished we could do it more frequently.” Mcedisi Masuku Moving with the programme we the first session facilitated by Mcedisi. Masuku which was, Climate Change and Eco-Justice. He made a simple explanation of how green house gases emitted by human activities have lead to climate change and how it has affected world temperatures and rainfall distribution. He then gave some effects of Climate Change in food production in Africa and how the future is projected to be if no actions are taken. This presentation was an eye opening as it has provoked questions and discussions that even tried to address the role the youth and the church at large can play in influencing the justice system of the country especially on the subject matter. Swaziland Environment Authority (SEA) delegates were part of the discussion and gave the youth an assurance that they are ready to listen to their issues on environmental affairs. Thereafter, SEA took the stage and made a presentation on their role as an organisation on environmental issues in the country. Areas of interest for the youth were the education and project implementation part. The organisation also promotes Eco-clubs in schools and the Anglican Church has numerous Schools in the country and the youth made it to be next action after the Conference to implement Eco-Clubs in Anglican Schools. The Parish sealed its relationship with SEA as a symbol that they will work or journey together on environmental issues by planting an Avocado tree which will be a permanent symbol and reminder for their commitment to be Earth Keepers. This tree will also be a source of shade for the church and shelter for other animals, food and plays a role in reducing Carbon foot print in the environment. After Lunch, the discussions and presentations were sealed by Rev. M. Simelane who made a presentation, “The theological aspect of the Environment” A lot was discussed but to mention a few he stated that the church or people have developed at a very fast rate such that they are far ahead of God whereas God is still in the beginning where he said it is good. If the church is to deal with environmental issues, it has to go back to the beginning where God is. It was said that God loves nature in a way that where he ever revealed himself it was through nature (Moses and burning bush, the dove when Christ was baptised e.t.c) and even God the Son is at times described through nature (root of David, rock of ages, Lion of Judah e.t.c). In discussion it was stated that God is not happy if nature is not taken care of and is a sin in his sight. It is the duty of the church to take care of nature and to question the state when it is not doing well as much as the state has the duty to question the church. After this presentation the youth went for shopping in town and informally were picking up litter along the streets making awareness that Hlathikhulu should be kept clean. Coming back from Shopping on the programme was land scapping. The youth felt the need to keep their church looking good thus they planted flowers around the church.  In moving forward on their review for the conference, they stated that they need another workshop that will involve different stakeholders including government representatives. Sunday was declared as the day of Love for Creation where the whole church was involved in the service. Swaziland is currently faced with drought which has lead to serious water shortages. The focus of the service was on water as the readings of the day, sermon and prayers focused on water. Season of Creation was used to get readings and prayers. The readings were: Genesis21:8-19 (dependency on water) Psalms 104:10-17 (recognition of the relationship between water and life and God as the provider) Revelation22:1-7 (water as a metaphor for the life that flows from God) John 4.1-15 (the spiritual meaning of water) After service the non-youth and Sunday school church members were given an avocado tree to plant as a way of committing themselves to journey with the youth in being Earth Keepers. The youth also planted their own avocado tree, committing themselves to the Young Green Anglicans Ministry. St. Michaels and UNISWA Anglican Chapels held the same on Sunday and had their own trees to plant. Manzini Parish is yet to plant their own tree. We are grateful to the Wilson Family of St. Antony’s, Anglican Youth Guild and Diocesan office for assisting the Parish with resources to run this conference and SEA for availing themselves in our conference. A special thank you to Rt. Rev. E.N Wamukoya who sponsored the trees and flowers, what a green Bishop. We are looking forward in our next workshop and activities to implement as we are a green Parish. -Mncedisi Masuku, Diocese of Swaziland

MOTHERS UNION BAN STYROFOAM! The Mothers Union Provincial Council held their historic 50th Council meeting in Maseru, Lesotho from the 9th to the 13th of December  2015. One of the important issues that the executive members of Dioceses from across Southern Africa (RSA, Lesotho, Namibia, Angola, Mozambique and Swaziland) addressed is the growing Environmental Degradation and Climate Change. They were challenged in a presentation by the Provincial Environmental Coordinator with the question “What kind of world do you want to leave for your grandchild” Following this presentation a motion was passed that  “the MU Provincial Council commits to the promotion of green clean environments through: Banning the use of polystyrene and foam products in parishes and communities that we live in. Conducting awareness campaigns on the negative effect of these products on the environment.   Polystyrene (or Styrofoam) has  huge environmental impacts on God’s Earth. It  takes  at least 500 years to decompose. The production of Styrofoam is energy intensive and it is petroleum based.  It is  not usually recycled due to its lightweight nature and the high economic cost of transporting and degreasing the petroleum-based material. It is the primary source of urban litter. It is also one of  the main pollutants of oceans, and other water sources, causing choking  and starvation in wildlife. It also has health impacts since it is made from Benzene and Styrene, both of which are carcinogins (cancer causing). Microwaving Styrofoam causes the release of toxic chemicals, which pose a threat to human health. We salute the Mothers Union for leading the way in this important resolution. They also passed the following important environmental resolutions Promoting growing of vegetable patches and planting of trees Promoting recycling and proper disposal of waste    

ARE YOU PREPARED TO SAVE THE EARTH??   Christ the Mediatior Parish in Portlands, Mitchells Plain was abuzz on Sunday morning! The Church was having Back to School Sunday and welcomed  a member of  the Green Anglicans team to share a message especially focused at our young people. My message title was “Are you prepared to save the Earth?” based on Genesis 1vs 25-28 which highlights the importance of taking God’s instruction seriously that instructs us to “take care” of HIS creation.   We focussed on the current water crises in our country as we had the lowest rainfall in the last 100 years…Nowadays  people are marching for everything to fall ….., so my challenge to the young people was to “#Bring responsibility back” lets become an Anglican community that will  take ownership of taking care of our environment starting here in Mitchells Plain and influencing those that we are connected to….lets do it!!! Let’s save the earth! Praise God for Father Richard and the leadership of Christ the Mediator who immediately committed the parish to become green…..so lets join hands across the 3 dioceses and do our part to ” save the Earth! Yes, we Can!! #Rain Must Fall! Neil Adams

MOBILISING YOUR DIOCESE                       The Environmental Coordinators together with key young Environmentalists attended a cluster meeting in Benoni, to look at ways to mobilise their Dioceses. Representatives attended from Johannesburg, Christ the King, Highveld, Pretoria and Matlosane Dioceses. Here are some strategies that were discussed! Perhaps you will find them helpful in your Diocese.. How to change hearts Problem: people pick up litter or turn of taps when you nag, how do we get them to do it for love? It is a leadership issue: we need to identify those (20%) who have got the heart and use them as role models. The language of the heart is not facts but art , music, poetry, love. Get the ‘inspirers’ together Read “Laudato Si” the Pope’s encyclical – he talks about conversion , we need to expand Christianity beyond just God and People Remember the Cry of the earth is the Cry of the Poor. Link Environmental issues with Social Justice. Work through your organisations – eg Mother Union. They are active and givers   Social Media Strategy Provincial – we need to explore a Green Anglicans Instagram account. Branding – posters should be up in church which invites people to join our FB or twitter account Leaflets are needed Allow the Green Anglicans logo to go on any other branded items; leaflets, tshirts etc of other events organisations Diocesan: The Cluster will start a whatsapp group. It is not a good idea for a Diocesan Enviro-desk to start its own FB page. Rather post onto the Diocesan FB or Diocesan Youth FB so you reach more people. Make sure that your info/contacts are on the Diocesan website.   Mobilising Youth Make it vibey, attractive, fun be visible at Youth Conferences, ask for a slot, wear your tshirts Make sure enviro actions and days get added to Diocesan youth year planners we have the challenge of ‘getting our hands dirty’ whereas youth like fancy clothes Link tree planting with confirmation class   Mobilising Clergy remember that clergy are too busy and this ministry should not be seen as an extra burden but something that feeds them Eco-retreat for clergy An enviro-outing or hike on a Monday when they are on day off and spouses are working Think of alternative venues for church meetings eg Bishops forum, get them out of dark church halls to a nice place where they can stay afterwards for a short walk. Wear casual clothes to the meeting Lectionary – Season of Creation must be highlighted inside the lectionary most people don’t look at the back Set up a database of clergy who have studied enviro subjects, publicise their names they could be invited to preach on these subjects Remember knowledge is power – always keep them in the loop and cc them so they cant say they didn’t know. Let them know about things in advance. Give them attention , pop in say hi, greet for birthdays etc. Remember the self supporting clergy often feel out of the loop Train clergy at theological college Working in “hot spots” These are parishes in the Diocese who have severe environmental challenges. Often the Diocese does not visit them because of challenges of lack of toilets, kitchen facilities, clean water etc. identify a ‘hot spot” parish with a ‘green priest” it wont work otherwise Existing better off resourced green parishes can assist – coming to plant a garden or subsidizing water tanks etc. Give back to the community eg veggie gardens Anglican Schools often have resources or eco-clubs who can help make the parish feel special, eg next meeting hold it in their church Get lay ministers involved – some will have extra time on hands Get the Bishop to buy-in Bring motions to synod.

EUCHARIST IN THE WETLANDS In celebration of World Wetlands day, a group of intrepid worshippers joined Fr Bob Commin in a “walking” Eucharist through the wetlands of Glencairn Valley. We lifted up our voices with nature in the words of the Benedicite South Africana “Tabled and peaked mountains, channelling rivers to the sea: mysterious in cloud, in mist, in snow Give thanks to our God who is good O Love that endures forever” The service started close to the beach and took a moment to consider the impact of humanity on God’s Earth. In our time of penitence we considered the damage we have done to God’s Earth and to God’s people as we ‘other’ them calling them vagrants or bergies. The readings and Psalm had new meaning as we read them looking up at God’s creation, hearing the cry of the birds and the wind in the reeds: Psalm 19 had new meaning: “The heavens declare  the glory of God;     and the firmament[a] proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours forth speech,     and night to night declares knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words;     their voice is not heard; 4 yet their voice[b] goes out through all the earth,     and their words to the end of the world” As the gospel was being read a group of geese joined in with their cry of joy! Instead of a sermon, we were given the readings and a time of personal meditation around the lake. How infrequently in our busy lives do we have a chance to spend time with God and Nature and to listen to God speaking to us through the book of Nature. The group then crossed the wetland (rather wet in some parts!) and arrived cheerful and muddy at the Dell by St Andrews Church where we shared the simple Eucharist together. The familiar words had new meaning in the sanctuary of Nature. Let us treasure our wetlands. Water is a scarce resource and in many instances, the provision of this incredibly precious resource is as a result of wetlands.  The majority of our wetland areas have been mindlessly destroyed for agriculture, afforestation and settlements and in many instances this is the reason that our country is suffering under such horrendous drought conditions in some areas and flooding in others at present. Wetlands are able to reduce the severity of droughts and floods by regulating streamflow and also absorb large amounts of water which is released over a period of time, maintaining a constant supply to the environment. Wetlands purify water through filtration and provide habitat for many different plants and animals. Wetlands also recharge groundwater, control soil erosion and act as carbon sinks, trapping CO2 which otherwise would have been released into the atmosphere contributing to climate change. Internationally, wetlands are considered vital for human survival as they are among the world’s most productive environments; cradles of biological diversity that provide the water and productivity upon which countless species of plants and animals depend for survival. Rev Rachel Mash (Wetlands information courtesy of JAEI)