Green Anglicans hosted a cluster meeting/workshop for movers and shakers in the region of Gauteng. Beginning Friday the 30th of June to the 1st of July, all the leaders gathered to discuss national key environmental issues which are affecting all dioceses in the region. The team leaders were joined by Dr Roselyn Kareithi, who came insight of helping us review our working mechanism as Green Anglicans and its effectiveness. In some of the activities she made us discuss different ways of approach, especially to people who already have spiritual beliefs. We later proceeded into the program for the following day, where everyone was invited to come.
Saturday the 1st we moved to the Cathedral of St Mary in Johannesburg , where everyone was invited. Dioceses that were present included Johannesburg, Christ the King, Highveld and Pretoria. Predominately young people and a handful of clergy, the conference kick-started on a good note with a morning prayer from one of the very active clergy in the environmental ministry Rev Mpho Mohale, after that we had each diocese share what they have done so far and what they would like to achieve.
We had four major themes for the day (Water, Water, Coal and Food) Lydia Mogano from Southern African Faith Communities’ presented on food, Okuhle Waste Company came on behalf of Pickitup to talk about waste. A video about coal use and its health impacts called “Bliss of Ignorance” which highlighted in bold how use of coal is affecting the lives of many in South Africa as well the environment at large. The hall was then split into diocese to plan their actions for the next 24months, and this is what transpired :
DIOCESE OF JOHANNESBURG
Water and waste
- Advocate through visuals(documentaries, Posters)
- Speech
- Collaborations (rand water , municipality, JAEI, Pickitup)
- Jojo tanks (water harvesting)
- Finding recycling measures around your community
- Direct services
DIOCESE OF PRETORIA
WASTE MANAGEMENT
How are we are going to do it?
- Pass motions of synod (the whole dioceses to go the same road)
Plan of action
- Power of listening
- Heartbreaking stones
- Your gift
- What type of service?
- waste management
- church to partner with local school
- encourage taxi driver to have some bins in their taxis
- Teaching people to separate waste
- Teach people to identify between recyclable and none recyclable
- What partner organizations do you need to partner with ?(Tumelong, different areas)
- What are our challenges- People not willing to learn and lack of knowledge.
The Diocese of Highveld and Christ The King, both agreed and set up a follow up meeting, to discuss their plan of actions, as they still need to speak to a couple of people.
