GREEN ANGLICANS MOVEMENT TAKING ROOT IN RWANDA
At is 81st meeting , held in Kigali from the 28-30th of June, the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Rwanda welcomed the Green Anglicans movement and requested Eco-bishop Jean Pierre Methode to plan for practical actions to be taken.
Green Anglicans ACSA Provincial youth Coordinator, Bino Makhalanyane was attending the Commonwealth Heads of State meeting in Kigali and was able to spend time with young people from the Rwanda Anglican Students Association (RASA) at the St Etienne Cathedral, with the Diocesan youth leader, Ntahobari Celestin.
During their time together they took a look at addressing three themes as part of making care for creation part of our daily lives,. The first was that of : have we been good stewards of what God gave us dominion over? ( Gen 1:26-28 ), The second theme was “ Taking accountability for our actions”
( Gen 3) and lastly we addressed environmental hazards in our local communities.
During our discussions the following was picked up
- Being good stewards: we have failed to take care of that of which God said, “It was good” and we can still do better to try and restore that which we have abused as human beings.
- Taking accountability: Gen 3 teaches us that we need to be people who take accountability of our action and not stop shifting the blame for the choices we continue to make which are harmful for the environment.
- Environmental Hazards: three main issues were identified. Deforestation mainly for making charcoal to sell, cook with and keeping warm. Air pollution from vehicles, burning of wood for coal and factories. Water pollution from household waste and factory waste making it hazards to drink the water straight from the rivers.
The exercises showed that we have common issues as Africans and hold possible simple solutions which we can easily implement at our local communities including education and awareness which the church has an audience for.
It was interesting to note that several of the participants are involved with environmental organizations but this was the first time they had made the link with their faith and Biblical teachings.
In establishing the Green Anglicans Movement in the church of Rwanda members need to each do their little bit within the context they’re in. It is these small actions which will see us reconcile as one with all of creation.
The theme for the CommonHealth Youth Forum which sat from the 19-21 June 2022 was “Taking Charge of our Future “ and the future we are talking about starts now.
A big thank you to Mr Celestin the Youth leader in Kigali Diocese for organising this session with the young.
Photo credit: Celestin
Story Bino Makhalanyane
