On Saturday 30 April 2022 the Diocese of Free State Environmental team had the privilege of presenting a paper “Creating Heaven on Earth Now” to the Bloemfontein Mother’s Union Archdeaconry who sat under the conference theme “Transformation Now’.
Revd Canon Mafereka (Diocesan Education officer and member of Eco-team) spoke with Mothers’ Union on how our own waste continues to become a disasters and hazard problem in our local communities, he made an example of when a child is baptized in church saying “ We all ensure that the water is clean and even the surroundings within the church are clean and beautiful, symbolising the beauty of the river of Jordan , however as soon as the child walks out just a few meters from the church the local river streams are full of litter and human waste coming from our own homes, the real river is so filthy no one wants to drink or even swim in it”. . He went on to say it’s like giving the child a glimpse of what heaven looks like and then moments later send them straight back to hell.
The main message to members of Mothers Union was that of Transforming our communities for a better future of our children. This transformation needs to start now as things are getting destroyed and messed up now, children no longer see clean river streams, yet we speak of a Christ baptized by the river. Our communities have become dumping sites with no space for our children to play without putting them in danger. So the time is now to transform from our old habits and build our heaven here on Earth.
The Conference was Styrofoam free in line with the MU Provincial Resolution.
Bino Makhalanyane
