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THE GREATEST  RIVERS WERE ONCE TRICKLES The greatest rivers with famous names – the Nile and the Ganges, the Yangtze and he Mississippi, the Amazon and the great grey-green  Limpopo all set about with fever trees-must have been no more than trickles and flickering streams before they grew into mighty rivers (Aiden Chambers) We must begin thinking like a river if we are to leave a legacy of beauty and life for future generations.” ― (David Brower) From the great rivers we learn that each small rain drop has its value – we must not despise the tiny pearl drops  of change that fall unnoticed and unremarked for they are feeding into streams. We also learn that those small rivers who have names will lose their identity into the bigger raging river. If they choose to keep their identity and flow alone, they will dry up in the dusty earth, but if they flow into the raging river then they become part of a movement that can break down mountains. To do so they will lose their identity… “Mountains & rivers know the secret. Pay no attention to boundaries.”-― (Brian Andreas ) People of different faiths, people who profess no faith, people who are anti-faith , we must flow together into the mighty river of change. “All kinds of fruit trees will grow on both sides of the river. Their leaves will not dry up, and they will never stop giving fruit. They will give fruit every month because their water flows from the holy place. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.” (Ezekiel 47;12) This river of environmental eco-justice born both of anger and love, hope and despair, is bringing fruits of community, of joy and of unity that were more than we hoped for. The movement has started we must not lose momentum now “Said the river: imagine everything you can imagine, then keep on going.”― (Mary Oliver) Wendell Berry said this “The river is of the earth and it is free. It is rigorously embanked and bound, and yet it is free. To hell with restraint, it says, I have got to be going. It will grind out its dams. It will go over or around them. They will become pieces” As adults we have been too slow in tacking the Climate Crisis – decades have passed and the crisis is growing more severe. Now young people are rising up and saying ‘we have got to be going’, will their river pass us by or will we join the flow? “There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above water. And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, Least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt. The time for the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! ………, All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” (Hopi Nation) Rev Rachel Mash – reflections from Church in Creation on the Upper Liesbeek River June 2019 Photograph: Milan Radisic “Salty Marsh”

“FUN RUNS” ARE NO FUN FOR THE OCEAN On World Ocean Day a team of young and old gathered at the Blue Lagoon beach – to appreciate nature and clean up the area which has different outdoor events happening every weekend from festivals to walks and runs, and as expected DCR Youth run was scheduled for the same day. Broken beer and wine bottles, polystyrene foam, straws and plastic bottle tops were the order of the day but what was saddening was the fact that the runners that were using were using plastic water sachets and throwing them everywhere while we were picking up; something of great worry as these were children of young age ranging from 7years howards. Reality kicked in right there of the ignorance of these run organisers to have a teaching element in them. these water sachets blow straight into the ocean causing damage to ocean creatures and birds. Not quite what we had anticipated, however worth every second spent cleaning up the lagoon while appreciating the waves and surfers that changed direction. Beautiful ladies who are contestants of Miss Earth pageant also picked up litter reminding us to make cleanliness fashionable. Different prizes were won for whoever brought back more litter, mug ‘n bean gave out vouchers to each participant. Looking forward to our next beach clean up for Mandela Day, 20th July 2019 article and picturesMandisa Gumada #GreenAnglicans #KZNbeachCleanUp#SmileAndWave#DurbanLitterFree

YOUTH ARE RISING IN SOUTH AFRICA – DEMANDING CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION On June 16th,  1976, the young people of Soweto rose up against the imposition of Afrikaans in their education. It was the beginning of the end for apartheid. On Friday, just before youth Day, hundreds of school children marched in Cape Town and Pretoria demanding that Climate Change be put into the school curriculum for all learners. They also demanded that the Government  place a moratorium on new coal, gas and oil mining licences; to have 100% renewable energy by 2030; and that South Africa declare Climate change as an emergency About 500 people marched from Parliament to the City Hall in Cape Town.The march was organised by the African Climate Youth Alliance and was part of the global Fridays for Future youth climate protest.A memorandum was handed over to Marian Nieuwoudt, Mayco member for Spatial Planning and Environment. Green Anglicans took part in the march with a banner which said “God so loved the world” John 3:16 and were joined by young people attending the Volmoed Leadership Training Course.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE – A QUESTION OF SURVIVAL The 2019 ACT Ubumbano Solidarity Hub took place on 21-23 May in Johannesburg. 67 participants from community organisations, NGOs, FBOs and churches of which three of them were from the Anglican Church of Southern Africa namely : Bishop Ossie Swartz from diocese of Kimberly and Kuruman, Lay Canon Daniella from the diocese of Natal and Mr. Bino Makhalanyane from the Green Anglicans Movement, under the theme “Environmental Justice – a Question of Survival.” Maranda St John, from Diocese of Oxford, which is twinned with Kimberley and Kuruman also attended. The Hub started with a reflection on environmental injustices taking place in different communities and how this affected all even in our specialized groupings be it youth activism to women and gender, we are all affected by injustice brought by the subject. During our time together we where made to deeply reflect on how we are ministering to  those whom we lead and also looked into things we should let go of in order for our movements to keep growing and never loss its relevance, as the Hub takes a deliberate approach of  “focusing a solid amount of time on reflection than just talking about what we do.” Both Bino and Bishop Ossie were in the young peoples group which said in order for young people to be more actively involved in the subject matter , we need to create a visual picture of what the future can look like if we are all involved and these we can do by creating spaces where young people are educated on the effects of environmental degradation , share positive stories of what others are doing and create positive role models.    The church has many focus areas but after attending the Hub one has learnt that our work overlaps and we need to find space to work together in fighting the injustices of these world. Bino Makhalanyane

CLIMATE EMERGENCY – THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION RESPONDS At the Anglican consultative council in Hong Kong the Anglican Communion recognised the Climate Emergency and called upon Anglicans all over the world to respond. The following Resolution was passed by the Anglican Communion Environmental Network: Provinces were called to develop action plan and resources for sustainable living at individual, parish, diocesan and provincial level; including policies and procedures to minimise waste, increase use of renewable energies, and incorporate creation care into liturgical practice To hold strategic planning conferences on the Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Change, ensuring the involvement of Indigenous, youth, and women’s voices To identify environmental and climate-related threats in their context and to develop or adapt existing tools on disaster preparedness and mitigation. The Anglican Communion Environmental Network steering committee met in London at the Anglican Communion offices for strategic planning. During the meeting a workshop was held in the form of a  round Table discussion with Anglican Partners, to look at how to implement these resolutions. Partners who attended were: Anglican Alliance (representing Anglican Relief and Development agencies Globally), Tearfund, Christian Aid USPG, CMS, A Rocha, CofE Environmental Network, Anglican Communion office in the United Nations. All the Agencies recognise the climate emergency and Climate Change has become a priority in their global work. The Anglican Communion is a family of churches in 165 countries.  We are present in  the smallest village, the largest metropole. We can bring the voices of those most impacted by climate change to politicians, business people and opinion leaders worldwide. . The oceans are rising – but so is the Anglican Communion.

HOLY HIKE FOR WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY Green Anglicans held a Hike on Helderberg Mountains to celebrate World Environment Day. The day started with singing of “Be green in the corner where you are!” to remind us that God calls us to care for creation wherever we are.  One million species are now at risk out of five million because of human behaviour. We depend on the web of life and it is unravelling. So we are all called by God both to care for the web of life and to add to biodiversity in what ever way we can. The hike was beautiful as the sun rose after a wet night and we saw the beauty of dewdrops on the proteas. We were reminded that the Cape Floral Kingdom has as many varieties of plants as the whole of the United Kingdom and many of them only grow here. When we reached the top of the hike, by a waterfall, we had a few moments of reflection on Psalm 1. 3 “ blessed is the person who  is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. We looked at the trees and the way their roots crept through rocks in order to reach the living water. No matter what tough times you are going through, if you have your roots in God, then God will strengthen you. We appreciate the support of CTEET and the Table Mountain Fund for this programme