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We had a Diocesan Sunday School Teacher’s Conference from the 14th to the 16th of February 2025. It was held at St. Mary the Virgin, Botshabelo – Mangaung Archdeaconry. It was a prestigious event which included a Leadership Training session from the Anglican Youth Ministries Diocesan Dep. President, Eco-champ Ikaelelo Madikgetla and Diocesan Secretary, Mr. Samkele Mtshatsheni. We were honored by the presence of a visitor from the Anglican church in Canada, Eco-champ Dr. Ryan Weston, from the Anglican Church of Canada who was accompanied by the Diocesan Green Anglicans Coordinator, Eco-champ Mogorosi Molisapoli. On Saturday, Green Anglicans Eco-champions took the center stage. The presentation was composed of World Hippo Day and World Pangolin Day. Sunday School teachers learned what a Pangolin is and the eight types of these anteater species. They also got informed about what a Hippopotamus is. One of the crucial takeaways was the similarity of both animals, being the fact that they are both mammals. Eco-champs clarified how the Hippo contributes to the Eco-system and why Pangolins are important to the life of our biodiversity. We are grateful to the Provincial Green Anglicans for our lovely visitor from the Anglican Church in Canada. Dr. Ryan Weston presented after the Sunday School teachers had presented. He informed attendees that he left North America where it was -15°C and was still trying to adjust to the scorching African heat. He expressed his concern with the number and size of wildfires due to global warming, in California, which keeps increasing year after year. Amongst other things, it was alarming and saddening that Polar Bears can’t survive as the ice melts due to climate change. More than anything, what scared me personally was when Eco-champ Ryan mentioned that the ice melting poses a danger of unknown viruses and diseases which might been frozen for millions of years. During lunch, Eco-champ Ryan Weston interviewed Eco-champ Motsei Hlalethwa and Eco-champ Morena Pule. He asked three critical questions we should wrestle with as Eco-champions: What is the spiritual foundation for your commitment to care for creation? What gives you hope in the face of ecological crisis? How are you and your community making a difference in combatting climate change? It was an amazing event which had a beautiful Gala Dinner. On Sunday, Eco-champs did beautiful red and white ribbons from plastic to exemplify the recycling of plastic and dangers of single use plastic. I’m would love to thank everyone that made this day possible. I’m really grateful to be part of this movement, which is led by the Holy Spirit. I hope this inspires everyone to do interactive presentations,  raise awareness on the dangers of climate change and effects ice melting, and the constant danger of single-use plastic. by Morena Pule          

The Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) is a multi-stakeholder body established to oversee South Africa’s transition to a low-carbon economy. The commission’s primary goal is to facilitate a just and equitable transition, ensuring that the country reduces its greenhouse gas emissions while promoting economic growth and social inclusion. On Thursday the 26th of February, the Presidential Climate Commission held a successful stakeholder consultation that saw a number of faith community leaders across South Africa come together, and Ms Nozwelo Radebe (United Congregational Church of SA ), Ms Tshepo Mohapi ( Methodist Church SA)  and Revd Samukuhle Khanyile ( Green Anglicans) represented  Climate YES . The PCC has developed a national Just Transition Framework which aims to support communities affected by the transition to a low carbon economy and the changes for best interest of South Africa at large. During this particular consultation, the faith leaders pointed out how climate change has affected different communities, mostly vulnerable communities. Some of these issues were collapse of maize crop in Sub Saharan Africa, which has  impacted food security. A day Zero in Gauteng of dry taps and cyclones hitting the continent. The PCC’s major mandate is to mitigate the impacts of climate change. However the PCC’s Secretary emphasized that the commission needs to work with different stakeholder to  build means of implementation. It is exciting to note that there was meaningful engagement  as the participants suggested  their views and thoughts on mitigating impacts of climate change. It was stated that for better engagement, during the process, implementors should use relevant and effective ways of communicating with affected communities. The participants suggested that communities should resort to indigenous knowledge of farming and lifestyle in general, which they believed had less impact on climate. The emphasis was that this knowledge should be passed from one generation to another.   The faith leaders also pleaded for support from the government to implement  these mitigation policies and lamented for fair land distribution  among the citizens of South Africa. The house postulated that educating the communities and including them in decision making will resulted in an empowered  societies and show a shift towards a more sustainable society. decision-making will result in an empowered societyIn conclusion the consultation agreed to support the youth who are fighting injustices of climate change as this will enable protection and preservation for future generations, thus choosing life over instruments of death.   # DoingNothingIsNotAnOption #ClimateYES #GreenAnglicans By Nozwelo  Hadebe

On Saturday, February 22, 2025, the Diocese of Johannesburg officially launched its Diocesan 2025 opening service for youth organizations at the Church of Manche Masemola in Protea Glen, Johannesburg. The day began with an opening Eucharist led by the Diocesan Youth Chaplain, Revd. Theo, followed by an inspiring message from Revd. Themba Msipha, who urged young people to be mindful of the events unfolding in both their local communities and the world at large. The theme for the service, “Give Us Faith,” was further emphasized by Bino Makhalanyane from the Green Anglicans movement. Bino challenged the youth with the question, “What do we do with the faith we receive from our Creator?” He cautioned against the pitfall of having faith without action (James 2:17-22) and reminded the congregation that one of the five marks of mission in the Anglican Communion is safeguarding the integrity of creation. This, he stressed, is a call for all of us to care for God’s creation as part of living out our faith. With climate change causing increasing destruction in communities — from long dry seasons leading to droughts to sudden heavy rains resulting in floods, as seen in Johannesburg just days before this service with all these young people, they continue to face unprecedented challenges. This generation is the first to experience the full impact of climate change, including loss, displacement, and natural disasters. It is now our responsibility to respond and act. In addition, the City of Johannesburg hosts numerous national and international climate change consultations and conferences. Yet, the voice of young people from faith communities seems to often be missing from these discussions, such as the Presidential Climate Commission and the upcoming G20 conference. The Diocese of Johannesburg has a unique opportunity to represent young people in these vital forums, which requires us to be involved with the Ministry of Green Anglicans Provincial and the Johannesburg Anglican Eco-Spiritual Initiative (JAEI) in the diocese.  Revd. Theo challenged all youth ministries in the diocese to integrate at least one environmental initiative into their 2025 programs as a concrete response to the ongoing climate crisis. The service concluded with a powerful revival session where leaders from the present organizations unpacked the theme and shared their reflections, further reinforcing the call to action.

From February 26 to 28, 2025, nineteen Mothers’ Union members from ten churches in the Diocese of Port Elizabeth participated in Farming God’s Way training for home food gardens. The training began with a biblical reflection, emphasizing God as the first farmer who planted the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8) and entrusted humanity with the responsibility to work and care for the land (Genesis 2:15). The three-day course combined theory and practical lessons, focusing on three key areas: Biblical, Management, and Technology resources. The six biblical principles taught were: The Garden of Eden served as a central theme, illustrating three key relationships: God and human, human and plants, and the interconnection between all creation. The facilitators emphasized that God created everything we need, but we often fail to see it. As a church, we often believe we are doing good by giving handouts to the needy, yet we may unknowingly promote dependency rather than empowerment. Instead of truly fighting poverty, we risk creating a community that is reliant on handouts, forgetting that Christ said, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” (Mat 4:19). The training challenged us to reflect on: What now? How can we inspire others to return to God’s way, acknowledge our past mistakes, and embrace sustainable, faith-driven farming? In order to have healthy people, we require healthy food from healthy soil—living soil, as created by God in the first garden. We must commit to restoring and caring for the land as God intended. A big thank you to Anglican Environmental Network SA ( Green Anglicans) and the United Thank Offering for making this training possible. By: Mrs Vumazonke                                  

“Let there be no waste!” (John 6:12) Devotion and welcome The brand new SACC Climate Commission was officially launched by General Secretary Rev Mzwandile Molo on the 25th of February at St. Stephen’s Ethiopian Episcopal Church, Mendi Avenue, Langa. The event was held in partnership with the Langa Spiritual Leaders Fraternal The event started with a devotion led by Climate Commissioner for the Uniting Presbyterian Church in SA  Rev Mzwamadoda Mfene who unpacked the theme from John 6:12. After Jesus had fed the 5000, he called upon his disciples to collect up all the people, saying, “let there be no waste”. This challenges us all as individuals as communities and challenges  the municipality to re-think how we handle waste Rev Siyabulela Tshatshu, chair of the Langa spiritual leaders fraternal welcomed us. The fraternal is  strong body with representatives from 44 churches! Why we are here! Rev Canon Rachel Mash, who is the convenor of the SACC Climate Commission and representative of the Anglican Church  explained the purpose of the gathering. The SACC Climate Commission has a three year plan  – the first year is waste, the second a tree growing campaign, and the third year will be looking at preparedness for climate disasters. Reflecting on the need for tree planting she said that the difference in temperature between our ‘leafy suburbs’ and a shack with no trees and no insulation may be as high as 15 degrees! Messages of support Messages of support were brought  from the Western Cape Council of Churches, and SAFCEI (Southern Africa Faith Communities Environmental Institute). We are very grateful for the support of SAFCEI for this event!. Messages were brought by  local Fraternals, the City of Cape Town – Climate Change directorate and the local Community Policing Forum. It was shocking to hear how crime spikes during hot temperatures! An encouraging  message of support was sent from Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay General Secretary World Council of Churches. “ From contextual eco-spiritual reflections to agro-ecological projects to engaging in social dialogue on alternative mining and Just Transitions, churches in South Africa have been leading the way and have much more to contribute to the growing faith-based movement for climate justice. We especially applaud the young people for their commitment in calling out ecological inequities and in co-creating alternatives for a flourishing planet. Once again, many congratulations to the new SACC Climate Commission! We pray that the SACC Climate Commission be blessed with wisdom, imagination, and boldness as it moves forward. The climate emergency demands all hands, feet, and hearts on board. Together, as a global ecumenical family, let us build a more just, peaceful and sustainable planet! The impact of plastic pollution in our communities Zainab Adams  from  Environmental Humanities- UCT  led an interactive discussion on “The Impact of Plastic on Communities”. The impacts are severe – attracting flies and rats, blocking drains which leads to flooding. Burning plastic causes toxic fumes and the production of plastic creates carbon emissions.  She invited the churches of Langa to join an initiative called the “Critical zones ‘ project The official launch Rev. Mzwandile Molo  the SACC General Secretary then led us  in a challenging message : when the church leaders are committed then everything is possible – we can act out of hope. He reminded us of the words of the song Mercy Mercy me “ things aint what they used to be  – where did all the blue sky go, poison in the air – how much more abuse from man can Mother Earth stand.”  Humanity must confess our arrogance -we don’t take care of Nature  it is Nature that takes care of us . The issue is not the survival of nature – nature will survive – the issue is the survival of the human species. Nature will spit us out and survive again. The SACC Conference chose the theme of Choose Life – and knew that at the centre of God’s creation is the earth – we are late comers. God so loved the whole world! When we talk about salvation we need to understand that also involved Creation. Gods eschatalogical future – God’s ultimate victory is not the victory of human beings but it is a new Earth. We need to get our theology right . The church must be involved in behaviour change, starting with our hymns and preaching. Rev Molo then lit a candle to symbolise the launch of the SACC climate Commission with Rev Mfene, Major Phore, Rev Rachel Mash, who represented the other Commissioners who are in different parts of the country Clean up in the streets of Langa Major Phore SACC Climate Commissioner representative of the  Salvation Army  then prayed for us and  sent us out to the streets of Langa for a clean up , moving from the Ethiopian church to the New Holy Apostolic Jerusalem Church of SA in Langa where Bishop. Makalusa gave us the final blessing The Clean up effort  was supported by the Litterboom Project who are working in the Community of Langa and are interested to form partnerships with the Churches. They collected over 1.2 tonnes of waste during the two days! Let there be no waste!    

On October 26, 2024, a group from the Young People’s Ministry, including Sunday School, Brigade, Bible and Confirmation class candidates, and Service Guild members, went on a hiking trip organized by PRIDE OF TABLE MOUNTAIN. Despite the heat, we were excited and prepared with sunblock, hats, and water bottles. At Kirstenbosch Gardens, we were welcomed with sandwiches and juice before being divided into two groups. One started at the famous “Boomslang” walkway, a steel-and-wood bridge over the gardens, while the other took a hiking trail and ended at the Boomslang. The guides were engaging, teaching us about water conservation, plant life, and the environment through interactive questions. We took breaks to appreciate the scenery and learn about different plants, including alien vegetation like silk trees. We explored Proteas, Ericas, Fynbos, and reeds, learning their significance and uses. It was fascinating to see how nature provides for everything. Due to the intense heat, we couldn’t complete the full hike, but being outdoors, making new friends, and learning made it worthwhile. Afterward, we relaxed under the trees with more sandwiches and drinks. Huge thanks to Pride of Table Mountain for an incredible day and to the guides and volunteers who made it fun and educational. We truly appreciate this opportunity! Blessings,YPM St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, Steenberg