SACC Western Cape Youth Ministry Desk hosts a Youth Workshop focusing on Climate Action
On Saturday, 21 September, the South African Council of Churches Western Cape Youth Ministry Desk hosted a leadership workshop under the theme of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13: Climate Action. This was part of their Ecumenical Youth Leadership Citizens Programme which looks at engaging youth leaders on how they can use their platforms to address issues of the SDG’s. This gathering highlighted the urgent need for faith communities and young leaders to respond to the climate crisis with knowledge, action, and hope.
The day started off with a bible study on James 2:14-26 led by Green Anglicans Comms member, John-Paul Roberts who is also part of the SACC-WC Youth Desk committee. The lesson spoke on the fact that we cannot only pray and ask God’s blessing on people but that we actually need to be engaging in what they need. Faith accompanied by actions.
Lisakhanya Mathiso from the African Climate Alliance (ACA) was the keynote speaker for the workshop with a presentation on the realities of climate change. She stressed the importance of contextualising the issue so that actions taken by young people can meaningfully benefit their communities. Lisakhanya also shared inspiring examples of ACA’s work in advancing climate action and spoke about how youth across the globe are rising to ensure their voices are heard at influential platforms such as the G20, COP, and the Presidential Climate Commission.
The Green Anglicans Movement was represented by Bino Makhalanyane, who led a session on the biblical mandate for climate action. Drawing on both Old and New Testament texts, he reminded participants that “the earth is the Lord’s” and that God entrusts His people with the responsibility to care for His creation.
Participants then broke into working groups for a community mapping exercise, where they identified areas of environmental harm caused by human activity. Each group developed an action plan to address these issues, which they will report on at the next workshop session in October.
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