The diocese of Khahlamba’s Youth Conference
June 16 is a special day for the youth of South Africa the day when young people come together for change commemorating the 1976 uprising. The theme of this day has continued to live since, Anglican youth members gather on this day to celebrate this important day. However, if one were to ask; what’s is that you would like to change as the youth of 2018 then environmental issues make it to the list. The diocese of Khahlamba this year prioritised care for creation as something they need to engage and work on.
Gathered at the parish of St Andrews’s, KwaMlungisi, Queenstown, the Diocesan Youth Guild sat in a discussion regarding what it means to be an Anglican that is environmentally aware, what environmental elements do we use during our sacraments and services as well as how it would affect the liturgy of the Anglican church and its traditions. We also looked at the role we play in the community, identifying key environmental issues that are common in Queenstown, which include;
- Water shortage
- Waste /Litter
- Load shedding (energy insufficiency)
It was noted that, sometimes people don’t act in an environmentally friendly way because of the cost implications – so discussions continued; how these issues could be solved at an easy and accessible way for anyone in the church and the community. Some of these solutions turned out to be ideas around income generating for the youth guild. These would include selling recycling to respective waste companies, banning single use plastic and getting the Mother’s Union to make re-usable bags, that would be branded with whatever organisations request .
Ncumisa Magadla
#greenanglicans
