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Anglicans Ablaze 2023 was eagerly awaited as it was the first time to be held face to face since COVID.  People arrived in their numbers from across Southern Africa, SA, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia and also from Botswana and a large delegation from Zambia! Green Anglicans were full of fire, as many young people had been together for two days of Climate justice bootcamp run by Climate Yes!(youth ecumenical summit) just before Anglicans Ablaze. We ran two plenaries one for youth and one for adults on the topic of Women and the Environment. Both sessions began with a moving tribute to the work of the late  Bishop Ellinah Wamukoya for her passion and leadership in this area. The tribute was read by Lulama Ntuta with images beautifully prepared by JP Roberts Then Nonku Mudau led an intergenerational panel of Rev Dr Rachel Mash, Dr Lisa Adjei (Christian Aid) and Mvumikazi from the Diocese of Mzimvubu. They talked about the impact of climate change on women( they must walk further for water, are more at risk of domestic violence when food prices rise, and are more vulnerable to disaster – because of social norms women wear longer clothes and are not used to climbing trees, they also are more likely to be looking after children or the elderly, so cannot flee). But women are also the solution – for instance in the area of deforestation – women are more likely to value the biodiversity of a forest – for food, healing, fuel, clean water and shade, whereas men might see it more for short term commercial gain. Young women prophetic voices are also rising in Africa such as Uganda Vanessa Nakate and Kenyan Liz Wathuti who addressed the bishops at Lambeth Dr Lisa talked about the actions of advocacy that are needed – we have to change our personal lifestyle as well as challenge corporates and politicians. Then Mvumi shared about community actions that young people can take – showcasing a beautiful bag she had made from recycling plastic bags! Across Anglicans Ablaze many people were modelling the brand new Green Anglicans tshirts with bible messages ” God so loved the cosmos” “The Earth is the Lord’s” and “The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” designed by JP Roberts Several break out sessions were run: Dr Lisa addressed the issue of Climate justice advocacy – chaired by Bino Makhalanyane and JP . Rev Rachel Mash was joined by Rev Thokozani Heathway  and Rev Ngube (video from Namibia) to discuss the impacts of climate change  – the devastating floods in Durban and the drought in Namibia, she shared practical ways that Anglicans can care for creation and preach the good news to all of Creation! The session was MCed by Bino Makhalanyane. Photos by Mandisa Gumada and Mel Awu (both Green Anglicans!)

Climate Yes! Bootcamp – Johannesburg. Forty young people from South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana and even as far as Zambia met together for two days of non stop bootcamp on Climate Justice We first considered the impacts of Climate change on our own selves. Dr Lisa Adjei – global chair of Climate yes! asked us to say what are we seeing which is different, what are we hearing which is different – which really brough the reality home Next we did  a community mapping exercise – looking at environmental challenges in our communities, a vibrant session led by Bino Makhalanyane Rev Rachel Mash led a session on what the Bible tells us about the climate, reminding us that Noah was the first ‘climate activist’ telling people the rain was coming – many thought he was crazy and yet he saved humans and all of biodiversity Makhutso from Swaziland explained how to get involved with the Conference of Youth at the different levels from national to continental gatherings. Ashley from ACT Ubumbano shared about  movement building – how we can learn from our mistakes and Nonhlanhla from PACJA shared Adaptation and Mitigation We then looked at the actions and beliefs of different groups of people such as clergy, school kids, business people, politicians and how best we can communicate with them about climate justice. This ended with a hilarious acting out of the different actions! Each day we started with a powerful contextual Bible Study led by Dr Lisa using the principle of See, Judge, Act. Firstly to look at the passage – what words or images jump out at you, then ‘judge’ what does this passage teach us in terms of climate justice, and thirdly ‘Act’ what actions can we take. We then moved into more action planning, starting with the Problem tree – looking at the issues such as waste or air pollution and identifying the root causes of the problem as well and the results  this helped us to the then identify the actions that we could take in our own communities to combat these issues. We learned about the Biblical basis of advocacy and then did a very powerful exercise called the ‘Goldfish bowl” where church leaders, politicians and community leaders held a noisy town hall regarding an environmental challenge – lots of shouting and nobody listening to each other made us realise how hard it is to speak up! An exciting session was led by JP Roberts on using social media – where we learned to make small videos and also posters. We had an important visit from the Dep of Environment who shared about the COP process and how young people can have a say in the months leading up the negotiations. Our final night a fun creativity evening was held with an environmental theme where poems and songs on the climate justice theme were presented. The last day it was sad to say goodbye to new friends and Rev Rachel commissioned us to go out into the world and be the change we want to see! The whole bootcamp was interwoven with music, friendship and laughter Amos 5: 23-24 says :  Away with the noise of your songs!   I will not listen to the music of your harps.  But let justice roll on like a river,     righteousness like a never-failing stream! But when songs of worship come together on the theme of climate justice then we can begin to build a river of justice together We are grateful for the support of Climate Yes! Anglican Overseas Aid, Act Ubumbano and PACJASA for this wonderful bootcamp

Africa Climate Week in Nairobi Kenya provided a platform for Africans to come together to share ideas, knowledge and concerns looking ahead to COP28 later this year and beyond. Bino Makhalanyane (South Africa), Irene Sebastian, Brian Sunkuya  Desmond Tutu Owuoth and Rev Dennis Nthenge (Kenya) and Kenyi Dube (South Sudan) of Green Anglicans were part of a delegation of 16 participant form the Climate Youth Ecumenical Summit (Climate YES). No to the curse of generational debt The week started with a  Pre-Summit event hosted by African Faith Actors Network on Climate Justice.  We were excited to meet Bishop Ernesto Manuel from Mozambique there. At this event with faith leaders, young people brought emphasized the need for more local based production rather than importing solar panels or wind turbines, they must be produced in Africa.  For a  Just Transition, young people called for a halt to all forms of climate finance which come as loans to African countries. Young people are faced with high unemployment rates and the threat of the curse of a generational debt. As a Climate justice movement for young people delegates from Climate YES continued to advocate for youth inclusivity at all decision-making platforms as this generation remains the most affected generation by Climate change. Key Learnings The youth play a crucial role in the fight for Climate Justice, and they must go beyond being mere bystanders or attendees; instead, they should actively embrace their role as changemakers and decision-makers. Young people ought to continuously invest in and take time to develop the requisite skill sets to match the expectations and ambitions that they set or are set as they are increasingly included in climate solutions. Young people play a huge role in climate action as their innovations can contribute to climate justice and for that, it is important that young people are invited to be part of Climate action discussions because they can produce solutions to the Climate Challenges. Africa climate week was criticised heavily by civil society for being too driven by corporate agendas and a strong focus on carbon offsets and carbon trading which culminated in a march organised by Laudato Si. In issuing outcomes of the Summit (Nairobi declarations), our African leaders continue to call for an acceleration to climate action and finance mechanisms. As young people we call for less talk and more action on commitments made. It was a great networking opportunity as we were able to meet with leadership of the AACC (All Africa Council of Churches) We are very grateful for the support of AACC and Christian Aid for Climate Yes! We were also able to have a braai(nyama choma) and meet with other members of Climate yes! rom across the continent and also held a strategic meeting with leadership By : Bino Makhalanyane          

WORLD RHINO DAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2023 It was a privilege to host an Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and WILDTRUST World Rhino Day event at Durban Seafarers Mission today. Born out of the vision of the late Stephanie Seaward to “bring Africa to the seafarers” and her dream of having a life size Rhino at the Mission, we were inspired to hear of the amazing work being done by such dedicated people to save our Rhino’s. The Rhino will now remain at the Mission offering a unique feature for seafarers to enjoy, promoting the amazing work being done to preserve these spectacular creatures, and inviting seafarers to be part of the solution too. Rev Peter Houston – Mission to Seafarers

The Mothers Union Diocesan Council of Kimberley and Kuruman convened on the 9th September 2023 under the leadership and guidance of Diocesan President Mother Keobakile Rabotsho and MU Diocesan Chaplain Revd. OJ Dithejane ,respectively planted three trees at St Pauls Mothibistad, Kgalagadi Archdeaconry as a way to observe Arbor month, and the Season of creation. The trees planted symbolizes the Mothers’ Union anchor in God as even when swayed by wind and storms the trees remain anchored in our Lord Jesus Christ. The trees will form part of the Communion ForestBy : Diocesan MU Deputy President Mme TK Moeng Photo credit : Diocesan MU Secretary Mme Mother Z Daniels   #seasonofcreation #arborday #communionforest