Network of Earthkeeping Christian Communities in South Africa

 

NECCSA Update: February 2007

 

A monthly newsletter on Church and Environment in South Africa

 

 

1. World's Churches go green and rally to cause

 

Wed Feb 7, 2007

By Paul Majendie

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Dire warnings from top scientists that mankind is to blame for global warming set off alarm bells everywhere -- but many of the world's churches have already "gone green" in the race to save the planet. For Christians, Jews and Muslims, the message is the same -- mankind has "stewardship" of the earth which it has a duty to protect for future generations.  And environmentalists hailed churches for stepping up to the plate with a real sense of urgency.

 

"Caring for the environment is a key part of many religions. Any contribution which highlights and tackles issues such as climate change is very welcome," said Mike Childs of Friends of the Earth.

 

Last week's Doomsday warning from a U.N. panel of scientists -- temperatures are rising inexorably and mankind is the culprit -- dramatically underlined how the clock is ticking.  That gave added impetus to the campaign and religious environmentalists say pious words of intent are not enough.  Martin Robra, climate change spokesman for the World Council of Churches grouping [of] 560 million Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican Christians, said the debate "must now shift from denial and delays to responsibility and remedies well within humanity's grasp."   So what are the churches doing?

 

The tide shows signs of turning in the United States, which is responsible for one quarter of the world's emissions of carbon dioxide and uses one quarter of the world's crude oil.  A group of 85 evangelical Christian leaders this month kicked off a campaign to mobilise religious conservatives to combat global warming.  With full-page newspaper advertisements and a television ad, they declared "With God's help, we can stop global warming for our kids, our world and our Lord."

 

CREATION CARE NEEDED

The push for "creation care" -- the idea that the environment is a divine creation that must be protected by humans -- was highly successful with its "What Would Jesus Drive?" campaign to get Americans to use more fuel-efficient vehicles.  Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the world's 77 million Anglicans, drives an eco-friendly car, bangs the green drum and argues "We are consumers of what God has made. We are in communion with it."

 

Catholics are also very much singing from the same hymn sheet with Pope Benedict making protection of the environment one of the keynotes of his Papacy.  He has called on every Catholic to become environmentally friendly and dedicated an entire section of his 2007 World Day of Peace message to what he called "the ecology of peace," saying that disregard for the environment harms human existence. "The destruction of the environment, its improper or selfish use, and the violent hoarding of the earth's resources cause grievances, conflicts and wars, precisely because they are the consequences of an inhumane concept of development," he wrote.

 

Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew, the Istanbul-based spiritual head of all Orthodox Churches, is planning to take a ship full of religious leaders to the Arctic Circle this summer to focus on global warming.  The Big Green Jewish Website seeks to galvanise British Jews into environmental action. The Greening Synagogues initiative in the United States opts for the practical -- programmable thermostats, energy-saving light bulbs.

 

And for Muslims, the issue is just as pressing. "It is a question of trusteeship," said Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, chairman of the Muslim Council of Britain's inter-faith relations committee.  "We believe that we are God's deputies on the planet and we have been given the responsibility to ensure we use God's gift in the correct manner and leave it in a fit state which can be passed on to future generations," he said.  Words were matched by actions in December when a meeting in Saudi Arabia of environment ministers from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference issued a 12-point plan -- including calls for water, soil and land preservation.

 

C Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved

 

2. WCC SUPPORTS GROUNDBREAKING GLOBAL FRAMEWORK TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has endorsed a groundbreaking climate change statement, fruit of an unprecedented consensus among high-level representatives of the corporate world as well as civil, religious and educational institutions.

This statement is "carefully drafted and urgently needed", wrote WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia in a letter endorsing "The Path to Climate Sustainability: A Joint Statement by the Global Roundtable on Climate Change" on behalf of the WCC. The Council "will continue to participate in the process of bringing the concerns this statement addresses to the world", he added.

Endorsed by an unprecedented group of companies and organisations from around the world, the statement calls on governments to set scientifically informed targets for greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. It also urges them to place a price on carbon emissions and to set forth policies aimed at addressing energy efficiency and de-carbonisation in all sectors.

Calling climate change "an urgent problem," the statement lays out a bold, proactive framework for global action to mitigate risks and impacts while also meeting the global need for energy, economic growth and sustainable development. It outlines cost-effective technologies that exist today and others that could be developed and deployed to improve energy efficiency and help reduce CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases.

"The Path to Climate Sustainability" statement has been released today at a press conference in New York chaired by Jeffrey D. Sachs, head of the Global Roundtable on Climate Change (GROCC) and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.

Endorsements come from critical stakeholders, including leading corporations from all economic sectors to smaller firms with very different perspectives and concerns; they also include an array of civil, religious, environmental, research and educational institutions as well as a distinguished list of world-leading experts from the fields of climate science, engineering, economics and policy studies.

"The WCC is anxious to encourage large companies like those included in the Global Roundtable to take action in their own businesses and provide leadership in the private sector that will result in limiting the polluting emissions that are causing climate change", said Dr. David G. Hallman, advisor of the WCC Climate Change Programme.

The Global Roundtable on Climate Change
The Global Roundtable on Climate Change is an initiative of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and brings together more than 100 high-level, critical stakeholders from all regions of the world - including senior executives from the private sector and leaders of international governmental and non-governmental organizations - to discuss and explore areas of potential consensus regarding core scientific, technological, and economic issues critical to shaping sound public policies on climate change.

The full text of the statement is available on the GROCC website:
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/grocc

Source WCC News Release 20/02/2007

 

3. NOTICE OF INAUGURAL ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SAFCEI

 

Notice is hereby given that the Inaugural Annual General Meeting of the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute will be held at Goedgedacht, outside Malmesbury, Cape Town on Monday 12th – Wednesday 14th March 2007. The meeting will be opened on Monday 12th at 18h00 and end  with lunch on Wednesday 14th March.

 

The newly elected Management Committee will meet at 14h00 on Wednesday 14th March.

 

Bishop Geoff Davies

 

Executive Director

RETURN TO FAX: 021 7023625/ EMAIL: secretary@safcei.org.za /PHONE: 021 7063622 (am)/ POST TO SAFCEI, P.O.BOX 106 KALK BAY, 7975.

 

Further details of the meeting, including the costs, may be obtained from the above contact details.  For those intending to attend, confirmation needs to be given as soon as possible.

 

4. A Job opportunity at A Rocha

 

General Administrator: Salary: R42 000 p.a. for 15 hours per week inclusive of benefits

 

This is a part-time vacancy commencing 1 May 2007, in a one year contract, with the opportunity to renew the contract and increase the number of working hours. The successful candidate will need to be a Christian in good standing with a local church. The post requires someone with proven experience as a business minded manager of financial and general administrative systems. Integrity, initiative and creativity in administrative management are essential.

 

Job Description: The successful candidate will oversee and develop A Rocha’s financial and general administrative systems, including banking, invoicing and donor finance.  Preparation of A Rocha accounts for audit, management of A Rocha’s payroll including taxation and UIF payments, and assistance in public relations mailings are key aspects of the post.

 

Qualifications: Applicants should have a post graduate qualification in accounting with proven experience in business finance management.  A valid driver’s license and the use of a car is a requirement.

 

Application Process: Please post or hand deliver a letter of application to the Director with a CV and the names and contact details of three referees, one of whom needs to be your church pastor. No faxed applications will be accepted.   

 

Applications are to be sent to Riverside, 16 Payn Street, Pietermaritzburg, 3201, South Africa.  Tel/fax +27 33 345-8540

 

Closing Date: 20 March 2007.

 

 

Notes:

You are welcome to distribute this NECCSA Update electronically to any other interested person. You are also welcome to send news to be included in the next NECCSA update to econradie@uwc.ac.za by 15 March 2007. You may send such contributions in the language of your choice.

NECCSA's website address is www.neccsa.org.za where membership details can also be found. You are invited to accept ownership of this website in order to use it to share informa­tion on Christianity and earthkeeping practices. Please send any information to the email address above.

NECCSA's banking details are: First National Bank, Musgrave Rd Branch, Branch code: 221126, Cheque account number: 62035719064.

If you prefer not to receive the NECCSA Update in future, please send a message in this regard to the email address mentioned above.

Distributed by EM Conradie 28/02/2007