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The Parish of St John’s the Baptist, Mganduli  officially opened the church Hall through dedication and blessing by the  Bishop  Rt Rev J T Ngombane The event also involved  planting a tree for climate adaptation Mr Bonginkosi White was invited to assist with the planting of the tree and lead an awareness about the importance of tree growing. The parish is the home parish for UDM leader Gen.B. Holomisa and MP Chief P. Holomisa The tree forms part of the Communion Forest   Mr Bonginkosi White   

Giver of life in the midst of poisoned water We groan with creation. Lord have mercy The words above are part of the prayers for Penitence in the Liturgy for World Environment Day on Trinity Sunday (June 4).  If ever there was an appropriate time to pray this prayer, it is now. The Hammanskraal area has been suffering from irregular water supply for the last twenty years. Now fifteen people have lost their lives. Fifteen precious lives are lost because of the poisonous state of the water in the Hammanskraal area. Even the water from taps which is presumed processed and safe to drink, is said to stink. Health practitioners have advised people to boil water (including tap water) before it is consumed. This represents a new low in service delivery failures by local municipalities. Our politicians seem to be caught up in battles for their own survival, and the dawn of coalition politics has caught all of them unprepared. We plead with our leaders to fix their gaze on the challenges we are faced with, to apply themselves and to serve the people of our land as best they can. At present it seems as if they are serving only themselves and the parties they represent.  The tragedy in Hammanskraal and reports from Parys and elsewhere bring home what Pope Francis says: ‘We must hear the cry of the poor and the cry of the Earth’ when he spoke of Social Justice and Environmental Justice. The loss of life in Hammanskraal is a human rights issue. A dysfunctional wastewater treatment plant has led to a deadly outbreak of cholera that has left at least fifteen people dead. The Water Services Act of 1997 states the human right to water and sanitation. • Everyone has a right of access to basic water supply and sanitation services; • Every water services institution must take steps to realise these rights; • Every municipality must plan in its water services development plan to realise these rights”.  It is these human rights that are being trampled upon in Hammanskraal and elsewhere where people have started to resign themselves to the inevitable: our leaders are failing us, and we seem to be on our own. The prophet Ezekiel asks: “When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet? And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have fouled with your feet?” (Ezekiel 34:18-19). As climate change impacts us more, water will become scarcer. When you combine water shortage with poor municipal services, it becomes a devastating and fatal combination. We need to also hear the cry of the Earth. If we do not protect our rivers and our water sources then how can Mother Earth look after us? We need to realise again that water is sacred, and that it is a gift from God. Water is our primal element. Christians become members of the family of God through the sacred waters of baptism. Our Muslim brothers and sisters wash their hands before prayer each time. Water flows through the pages of our sacred scripture.  At the start of Creation the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. In the last book of the Bible the Shepherd is said to guide God’s people to springs of the water of life (Rev 7:17). Water rushes, gushes, and pours through the pages of the Bible 722 times! Let’s do what we can to preserve this sacred and life-giving commodity.  May the tragic deaths of the fifteen people who have died from poisonous water galvanise those whose duty it is deliver clean water that is safe to drink for all, especially those who cannot afford bottled water, or lack the means to boil water first before consuming it. Our deepest sympathies are extended to the families of the fifteen people who lost their lives. Your pain is our pain. Your loss is our loss. May God grant you strength to live through this sad ordeal.  We must be worried. If this can happen in the municipality that is the capital of our nation, it can happen anywhere. We deserve better. We can do better. We have to become protectors and defenders of water. This is a responsibility that belongs to all of us. We cannot escape this responsibility. We appeal to our leaders to raise their output and put the people of God in our land first. Our goodwill towards our leaders is running out. Our confidence in them is at an all-time low. It is my prayer that this tragedy may lead to the emergence of real servant leaders. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard our hearts and minds in Jesus Christ (Phil.4:7). In the service of Christ The RT Revd AJ Kannemeyer Bishop of Pretoria photo credit – Times Live

The ACSA Diocesan Environmental Coordinators met together with reps from the Provincial Organisations for learning, fellowship and to make actions plans The three day workshop was interwoven with the spirituality of creation care, with an opening worship based on Ezequiel 47 reminding us that water leads to the restoration of eco -systems, healing of the land and renewing of God’s people In the opening session we got to know each other with a fun icebreaker and then shared our challenges and joys in small groups. Resources were shared regarding what the church is already doing. Ours is the Mission of the whole church, not just a few, it is core business, the fifth mark of Anglican mission. We also learned about the importance of the Season of Creation a key time in our church year (1st of Sep to 4th of Oct) where we focus on the Scriptures about creation care, and pray, preach and act for Creation . Next we looked at the Provincal resolution that has been passed to ban the use of  plastic and Styrofoam – the health impacts on us and eco-systems and how they contribute to flooding. The challenge is implementation, but people shared that it is do-able. The “Greened” canons. Over the last few years the Province has incorporated the different environmental resolutions into the Canons. These are a very useful tool to encourage parishes to implement water saving, food gardening, tree planting etc  Our day ended with an evening prayer on the theme of trees.  Trees help to hold the soil when there is heavy rainfall, they reduce the temperature and they also take in harmful pollution and carbon emissions, the leaves of the trees do heal the nations! Theme : Trees The next day started with a Contextual bible study on Gen 41  , looking at the story of Joseph preparing for seven years of drought in Egypt. What can this story teach us about making the necessary changes in response to climate change? This was led by Geke who is a PhD student who will be researching the Green Anglicans Movement Next up was a wonderful presentation by the Dep of Forests, Fisheries and Environment about tree planting.  We learned about  indigenous and alien trees, how to choose the best tree for your eco-system, and when to plant.  ACSA has formed a relationship with DFFE and all Dioceses can request trees for free.  The presentation ended with a practical tree planting moment and we shared the liturgy from the Communion Forest tree planting Next up was the Impacts on agriculture of climate change. Anathi Makamane is a young inspiring lecture from UFS who happens to be Anglican.  She shared the impacts  of impacts of CC on food growing and possible adaptation methods. She reminded us of the passage where the wise man builds his house on the rock!  (Matt 7)  Moving videos were then shared showing the impacts of climate change and the losses and damages that they cause to lives, homes and infrastructure. A beautiful outdoor Eucharist using the Season of Creation liturgy was led by Canon Mpho Mohale. Rev Mash challenged us to “Choose life -so that future generations may live “ Deut 30 We were then blessed with a presentation on the Just Transition PCC commissioner Blessing Manale . We learned that the transition could lead to losses in the coal mining sector but new mining jobs in the minerals needed for batteries. The potential for South Africa to become a manufacturing hub for renewable energies is very high and would create many green jobs. Role of coordinators A discussion took place about our role as Diocesan Environmental Coordinators or Chaplains which helped us to understand better what God is calling us to do . The youth reps led an evening prayer on the theme of climate change The last day was short as we ended at midday . The opening prayer looked at the impacts of mining on people and nature.  We then turned to goal setting and action plans for Dioceses and Cluster groups. Rev Maria Jacobs led our outdoor closing eucharist and Rev Mash challenged us to ‘preach the good news to the whole of creation”  (Mark 16:15) We are very grateful for the support of the Bishops for transport to attend the workshop and for the adaptation network and the Anglican Overseas Aid.

Green Anglican Activists could not put their phones down, for 5 days, and this was all fine! In fact, that was part of the plan. The Green Anglican Team organised a Mobile Journalism (MoJo) Training for, some Green Activist in the Province. This training taught these activists the ins and outs of using their Smart Phones  as a tool to capture important moments on Climate change adaptation, and anything else that is of value. The group consisted of participants from Diocese of Cape Town, ANSOC, Diocese of Mbashe, Diocese of Mthatha and Ecumenical partners. The Training was facilitated by Dominique , of MoJo. Revd Rachel Mash, Bino Makhalanyane and John-Paul Roberts from Green Anglicans, welcomed us, and made sure everyone was settled. The agenda went into details of the history of Mobile Journalism, Photography, Videography, the required Shots that make up a great Video, Adding sound, Editing the video, and so much more. The group was paired into twos and the work got practical, with some healthy competition, with Lutho Sigcu from UWC ANSOC, claiming to be the A-Student, as an experienced Content Creator. This fuelled the group, and challenged everyone dearly, in a healthy green way! We had visitor from The Friends of Zeekoevlei, who gave us the scoop on the challenges of Zeekoevleii, and were kind enough to allow us to interview them for footage for videos for assessments. The training concluded on Day 5, and the participants were tasked with producing two videos each, covering an Adaptation Project in their vicinity. We look forward to seeing these videos and sharing them with the Environment Family, across the Province and the greater Anglican Communion. Our goal is to lift up the voices of people impacted by climate change and how they are adapting to those changes. These ideas can then be shared and adopted by others We are grateful for the support of the Adaptation Network and Australian Anglican Overseas Aid in this project Melissa Awu, Cape Town

The Diocese of  Lake Malawi  passed a resolution to establish one woodlot per parish or station. The Diocesan Synod declared that every third week of January should be dedicated to replenishing the Environment. And so the Green Anglicans of Malawi took the initiative to implement this Synod resolution. To kick start this initiative, this year we secured 500 Mangoes and 500 Pine tree seedlings. Fruit and non-fruit trees were distributed and planted in all archdeaconries and the table below summarizes the total number of trees planted during the exercise; 8 Archdeaconries , and two schools received trees A total of 1000 trees were planted RECOMMENDATION          The Diocese of Lake Malawi is taking this exercise seriously in such a way that each parish with idle land is being earmarked for a woodlot/orchard.          Parishes should be encouraged to make an allocation for this exercise on annual basis.          Parishes should be proactive in sourcing the trees as early as possible to ensure that during planting time we do not struggle as to where to get them          The Green Anglicans in Malawi are so thankful to Rev. Dr. Rachel Mash and the United Thank Offering  for the support to make this exercise a reality; we do not take this gesture for granted. The team is working tirelessly to make sure that the campaigns being pursed reach to all the parishes in Malawi. These parish woodlots will be part of the Anglican Communion Forest Initiative