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“Working together as Instruments of Lord’s peace.” The Ecumenical youth in Cape Town have formed a group called Together4Creation which has been celebrating the Season of Creation together for several years and has also been involved in joint beach clean ups and other activities. This year to mark the end of the Season of Creation the group held a  spiritual  hike at Tygerberg hills to commemorate St. Francis day ( which on the 4th of October each year ) . The aim of the hike was experience the beauty of God’s creation , as St Francis in known to be the patron of ecology and all animals . During the hike we shared moments of prayer and had a reflection on the first line of the prayer of St Francis of Assis “Lord make me an instrument of your peace”, during this time we looked at what it means to be an instrument of peace, as Christians we need to give ourselves to God’s service as instruments which seek to restore creation to what was meant in Genesis  chapter 1 when it was written   “ ….and it was good”. As those who care about God’s creation we need to know that not one instrument can be a solution to the problem but we each need to be like tools in a tool box which comes as a set. We all  play different roles when fixing a problem, this means we need to work together as a collective and listen to one another and become a solid team in order to reach our ultimate goal of seeing creation being good in the eyes of our Lord. The hike ended with a picnic where we all together shared a meal and some goodies . By : Bino Makhalanyane Photo credit : Dominique Yon Many thanks to the United Thank Offering for their support!

FARMING GOD’S WAY – DIOCESE OF PORT ELIZABETH Twenty three members from nine parishes in the Diocese of Port Elizabeth had the opportunity to attend training for home food gardens using the “Farming God’s Way’ methodology Everyone was fascinated by the way the facilitator has presented the course it was very much interesting. Every morning the training started with such a warm and touching prayers.  One of the participants was saying “What made an ordinary thing like planting vegetables (farming) magnificent was how it should be done God’s way, that approach alone changes the perception about farming”. FARMING GOD’S WAY The course combined theory with practical. The theory operates under 3 spheres: Biblical, management and technology. It encourages people to use what is in their disposal not to have excuses of not having. It taught us that the answer to problem of food security and poverty is in our hands, and that we encourage the dependency syndrome that we have to do away from it. We learnt many valuable things equipping us to start farming God’s way but I will highlight those that stand out in most of us in that group: Soil preparation using manure, compost, wood ash and bone meal depending on your type of soil. Garden layout using measurements and putting permanents to guide you. Measurements help the farmer to yield fruit and saving time and using your compost to feed weed. Building your own compost heap using what is available but understanding the process and the dos and don’ts. Fracturing also what it is and how is it done. The fact that you don’t work hard when developing a food garden, you don’t plough and no need to weed your garden. How to use grass cuttings as your God’s blanket, to keep your soil moist, to fertilise soil and prevent weed from your garden. God’s blanket prevents soil erosion, and helps water to sink through to the roots of your plants. Crop Rotation  around the fruity plants, leafy plants and root plants . GARDEN OF EDEN Everything in this course emanates from the Garden of Eden that God the 1st farmer planted the Garden of Eden from the East with everything and trees desirable and pleasing to the eye and good for food. Adam and Eve were put in the Garden of Eden to work and care for the garden but decided to sin. What the facilitator brought from this text of the Garden of Eden is to understand the 3 relationships that were built in there, the relationship of God with people, of people with plants and the relationship between God, people and plants. The different text in the bible were quoted and put into context with farming. Relating Bible to Farming was amazing and being reminded that God was the 1st farmer and he created us with everything we needed but our eyes couldn’t see. CONCLUSION As the church of God we always think we doing good by giving and supporting the needy not realising that we are promoting dependency, and the fact that we boldly called ourselves Christians in an unhealthy, poor and hungry community .Instead of fighting poverty we promote poor dependent community. Our challenge, all of us who attended the training “what do we do”? How do we encourage or influence others, our brothers and sisters to change our ways, to be able to humble ourselves before God and say “ We are sorry” , we came to realise that we’ve been doing things out of our own understanding , and following the system not God our Father, the creator of all creation, the Master Farmer. Healthy people eat healthy plants, which come from healthy soils, the living soil. Let us work towards encouraging and creating soil life as was created in the Garden of Eden, the 1st garden created by God. The members who attended were from the following parishes All Saints in Kabega (4 reps), St Augustine in Walmer (2 reps), St Stephens in New Brighton ( 2 reps),  Holy Spirit in Kwazakhele, Seyisi ( 3 reps), St Cyprians in Emagaleni Kwa – Zakhele ( 3 reps), St Peters in Zwide ( 1 rep), St Timothy in Motherwell (3 reps) and that includes the Parish priest Revd Lobese,, St Matthias in Motherwell (5 reps), and the St Matthews in Kwa –Magxaki ( 1 rep).  We are very grateful for the support of Green Anglicans and the United Thank Offering for this training Pumla Koltana

MOTHERS UNION OF ZULULAND LEARN ABOUT HOME FOOD GARDENING During the month of June 13 members from the  Mothers  Union of the Diocese of Zululand joined Mrs Thembsie Mchunu  for a workshop on how to grow their own food. This took place at her home so that the Mothers could see her garden in action ! Mama Thembsie Mchunu is well known in Mothers Union circles in the province and even at the World level – but not everyone knows that she is a passionate food gardener!  During the four  days training  they learned about the “Farming God’s Way”methodology.  This is an exciting training which links our faith with how we grow food. For example, on the first day we looked at the importance of using “god’s blanket” ( mulch) and why it is important to always have your soil covered and not exposed to sunlight. Mulching saves water and keeps the soil in good condition. On the second day  we got into how to prepare the land and also the importance of praying and submitting the land to the Creator. Day three was about how to plant your seedlings and the way we should plant each row planning for rotating the harvest, using the leaf, root and fruit techniquet. During day four we learned how to do compost making use of our household waste . Members were really impressed as we started each lesson with a scripture reference. Also with the help of the Provincial MU office Mrs Mncunu managed to organise  certificates for each participant. They  were able to buy some seedlings that they were divided among them as a starter.   There were some handouts for each day’s work. We are very grateful for the support of Green Anglicans and the United Thank Offering for this project ! Thembsie Mchunu and Bino Makalanyane

HOME FOOD GARDENING TRAINING IN THE DIOCESE OF LESOTHO Supported by the United Thank Offering Grant, the Anglican Church of Southern Africa is rolling  out Food gardening Training in the Dioceses. The Diocese of Lesotho completed a wonderful training focussing on young people, with the goal of inspiring green entrepreneurship. Eco- culture Project facilitated a home food gardening project in the Diocese of Lesotho. It took place at three venues: the Cathedral of St James and St Mary’s in Maseru, Hoohlo Primary School and Thaabe primary School. Seedling production. The first day we had Mme Tebello Mosuhli, an Agriprenuer who specializes in seedling production. She  trained the trainees about soil preparation, how to plant seeds in the seedling trays, how to  take care of the seedlings until they are ready for the market and how they are sold. Plot preparation: on the second day we had Ntate Teboho Moiloa, an agriculture expect and agripreneur. He gave us an  agricultural background, how seeds were collected and why, different soil beds and the  ancient practices of migrating seedlings to proper soil, adaptation to improving the soils  instead of moving from one place to another. We later moved to the garden to prepare plots  for crop production.  On the third day we continued with soil preparation, and then planted the seeds, green beans, rape and spinach.   On day four, we learnt about mushroom production in response to climate change, the positive impact it plays in mitigating climate change and its health benefits. We later prepared our Mushroom  bed and built a shelter around it to provide shade because the mushroom does not need direct  sunlight. We learnt all these from Mme Ntsoaki Sekhesa, a former lecturer and a farmer. Day five  was food preservation and storage day. Food waste in environmental issues needs to be  abolished, so there are ways that food can be preserved which include drying of food and  bottling of foods. The practical preservation exercise that was done was bottling of carrots  which will be used at a later period, bottles used to preserve were recycled as they were used  differently from their initial purpose. On Day six the  home gardening team attended the church service to acknowledge and show appreciation  to the church as they had been given land to grow their foods (exhibition site). The team was  asked to introduce themselves and to share the purpose of the project, which they did  beautifully, and later went and irrigated the production. Day seven was  tree planting day, the home gardening team visited Hoohlo Primary school where  an orchard was established, the trees planted were different varieties of apples, the purpose of  the tree planting initiative was to produce apples which can also be tried and stored for future  purposes, as continuation of preservation lessons. On day seven we continued with  the  tree planting initiative. The home gardening team went and visited Thaabe  Primary School and planted trees which had been donated by the Ministry of Environment On the last day of the home gardening project, home gardening team engaged with Mother’s Union  Guild in establishing an orchard for the Cathedral Church of St James and St Mary’s. The  project served the same purpose, growing food, which can be consumed as fresh fruits and  can also be tried and stored for future use. The home gardening project became a success as the lessons have been passed that food can  be grown in the back of our own homes which will reduce the amount of money spent each  day on food. The cost of living is now high, and the ability to grow one’s own food is a  lesson all of us need and its also good for the environment as the environment takes care of  us. Thapelo Lipholo Project Facilitator: Senate Lerotholi We are grateful for the support of Green Anglicans and the United Thank Offering Grant Photo credit – Eco Culture  

Today we remember the words of our beloved Arch on his Birthday ECO UBUNTU Before colonization, most Africans lived in societies that were almost closed systems. Any material goods, energy, love that you gave ‘away’, never really went ‘away’, they  built up the community that protected you, comforted you, counselled you, corrected you, mourned and celebrated with you. People living in that time were acutely aware that physical survival and a human identity were not possible as individuals. Humans don’t survive or thrive as individuals. When hard times came, as they surely do in Africa, when drought gripped the land, and fire consumed the plains, it was groups of people that searched together for food, for water, for grazing. It was a few families, a clan, and a tribe that survived together, or perished. Ubuntu  acknowledges what we are, biologically. We are not individual beings; we have evolved as social organisms. This is the literal meaning of the expression which defines Ubuntu; Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu – “A person is a person through people”. As we grow in awareness we see how we are linked to all living beings by flows of matter and energy, how we breathe the same air, drink the same water.  Shouldn’t we extend Ubuntu beyond people to all other living beings? Ubuntu arose as relatively small groups of people cooperated to survive in a challenging environment, in an ecology that was often dry, hard, thorny and hot, periodically scorched by fire, permeated by diseases, parasites and venomous creatures, not to mention larger creatures with teeth, claws, hooves and horns.  We are in the midst of the sixth great extinction event, facing planetary crises of climate change, water availability and pollution.   This suggests a need for a change in our relation to the web of life, for a new gentleness and appreciation. We are human because a lion is, because a snake is, because a mountain is, because rain and drought are.  We are totally dependant on the ecosystems which support us, so to see those ecosystems as ‘us’, as a system that we are embedded in, as an extension of our being is pragmatic, and accurate. As is the traditional practice of Ubuntu. If Ubuntu encourages us to cultivate and care for ourselves, for our families and our brethren, so too should we care for our larger, extended body –the veld, bush, soil, air, water, and the wetlands. We need to widen the circle of our Ubuntu as we become aware of the totality of what we are. Our bodies extend into the soil, into the air, into the rivers and oceans. . Let us practice planetary Ubuntu, widen and deepen the circle, act with love to all that we are, to our entire community, to our extended planetary being. I am because you are We are because the planet is Archbishop Emeritus Tutu icon Bob Mash

Season of Creation in Namaqualand The parish of St Augustine’s O’Kiep with its outstations celebrated a wonderful Season of Creation full of creativity and vibrancy! In Concordia they held an open air church service, with Sunday School children sharing their stories through creative artwork about God’s Creation. Elders Hester (89 years) and Oom Willieboy and Oom Piet planted trees. Members of the congregation signed the environmental pledge A celebration of St Francis day marked the end of the Season of Creation Sunday School  held an exhibition to show the  children’s understanding of God’s Creation. There was the admission of new Altar Servers. The Confirmation Candidates shared their spiritual journey of the previous  week’s spiritual hike and workshop at Namaqua National Park. The Season ended as we planted trees as we commit ourselves again to be loyal stewards of God’s Creation. By Rev Earl Richards (The Northern Cape and Namaqualand is a dry, hot region that is classified as semi-desert. It scarcely ever rains and some areas have less than 100 millimetres of annual rainfall. ) #seasonofcreation #communionforest