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<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><b><span
style='font-size:15.0pt;line-height:150%;color:windowtext'>Archbishop Thabo
Makgoba<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<h1><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:15.0pt;line-height:150%'>To the People of
God – To the <i>Laos<o:p></o:p></i></span></h1>
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<h1 style='border:none;padding:0in'><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:15.0pt;
line-height:150%'>October 2009</span><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:15.0pt;
line-height:150%'><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
color:windowtext'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:windowtext'>Dear
People of God<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:windowtext'> First
of all, may I say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has prayed for me and
my family, sent messages, or otherwise supported us, following the death of my
mother last month. She was a remarkable lady, who had devoted her life to
bringing up our family in the face of great hardship, and who had taught me so
much of the life of faith which I was then able to make fully my own. She had
reached the grand age of eighty, and, though we knew she was unwell, her death
was nonetheless a shock to me. Yet I have felt so supported, so held up, by
the prayers of so many during this time. Thank you, ke a leboga, to you all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:windowtext'> Last
month also saw meetings of the Synod of Bishops, and the Provincial Standing
Committee. I hope you have seen the Statement that the Bishops issued. It is
on the ACSA website, www.anglicanchurchsa.org. Alongside responding pastorally
to the new reality created by South Africa’s provision of civil unions
for same sex couples (about which I wrote last month), we debated a wide range
of issues including theological education, spirituality, youth, social
questions and practical matters like our budget. The prime task of the Church
remains the same as ever – to preach Jesus as Lord and Saviour, sharing
his good news with all people. In order to ensure we did not lose sight of
this in the business we had to attend to, within Provincial Standing Committee
we changed the format of our agenda, and spent more time each day in prayer and
in Bible study groups. We focussed on listening to the word of God, so that in
discernment groups and in plenary debate, all that we discussed and decided was
rooted and grounded in our worshipping life, in Scripture and in our
relationship with Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:windowtext'> One
area on which we are continuing our work to produce a vision and mission
statement for the whole Province, that will help us affirm our common identity
and the priorities to which God calls us, alongside the great differences of
circumstances we face within our Dioceses. Thank you to all of you who
responded to my call last year to send in information about parish vision and
mission statements. Our objective is not to dictate to local churches, but
rather to keep our common life in mind, so we can be partners together in the
gospel – and to make sure that, wherever it makes more sense and provides
greater efficiency, we act provincially to resource and support dioceses and parishes.
The Anglican AIDS and Healthcare Trust, and the Liturgical Commission are two
existing examples of this – though we need to view their work within a
more comprehensive understanding of Provincial life and see how we can do more
and better.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:windowtext'> Another
major theme of our meetings, and one very close to my heart, was the
environment. Stewardship of our creation is a fundamental vocation from God
– not least because if we fail in our task then it is not just our
physical planet that suffers, but actually we ourselves, and all God’s
children, together with every other living animal and plant. The enormity of
what we face was brought home to us by a very powerful short video, produced on
dvd, by the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute.
SAFCEI, in which our own retired Bishop Geoff Davies is playing a leading role,
are doing some remarkable work, and this is just one of the many excellent
resources that are available from them (see www.safcei.org.za or write to PO
Box 106, Kalk Bay, 7990). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:windowtext'> As
a result, PSC passed three resolutions – encouraging greater partnership
with SAFCEI at every level, including calling on all parishes to become
‘eco-congregations’; giving thanks for the ‘Season of
Creation’ material produced last year, inviting parishes to consider
making every September a ‘Season’ when we consider creation and our
responsibility towards it; and exhorting us all to take every possible step to
reduce our carbon footprint, and, as a mark of commitment to this, to support
the 350.org Campaign and the International Day of Climate Action on 24
October. My hope is that before long every Diocese will have their own
coordinator for environmental matters – and perhaps every parish too
– and that, drawing on the work of SAFCEI and others, we will learn and
put into action specific steps as parishes and individuals to become more
eco-friendly. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:windowtext'> Let
me say a little more about the 350.org. This global organisation reminds me
very much of the Jubilee 2000 campaign – when churches and others all
around the world lent their combined weight to put pressure on governments to
change their stance on debt to the poorest nations of the world. None of us
alone could do this – but together, we made a sufficient impact to force
politicians to take the necessary steps. Now we can confidently do the same
for the well-being of our world! ‘350’ gets its name because this
is the highest level of parts per million of carbon dioxide within our
atmosphere that is safe and sustainable – yet current levels are around
390. The immediate goal of the thousands of events being held in over 150
countries of the world is to demand that at the UN Copenhagen Climate
Conference in December, governments make firm commitments to get us back to 350
as quickly as possible. (The website, www.350.org, has more details.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:windowtext'> I
will be taking part in a ‘Red Hot Faith-filled Climate Procession’
with other faith leaders, that will begin outside Parliament in Cape Town, and
weave around the city centre before culminating in a picnic in the Company
Gardens. We shall all be dressing in, or painting ourselves, red, to point to
the current unacceptable overheating of our planet! We hope to have fun, as we
make our voices heard!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:windowtext'> What
will you do on 24 October? Find out if there are events in your area (check
with 350.org), and join in! And, if nothing else, make this a focus of your
weekend services. Pray for ‘Climate Justice Now’ (indeed, you
might like to do this daily, just as in the past we prayed for political
justice). You could have a minute’s silence to remember the destruction
already being done to our world. Some churches, across denominations, are
planning to chime their bells across towns and cities all at the same time on
24 October. Be imaginative, and make sure there are pictures in the papers!
We want our governments, as well as those of the richer nations of the world,
to take seriously the need to treat God’s creation with proper respect,
care, and justice, for ‘the Earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in
it’. </span><span lang=EN-GB style='color:windowtext'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:windowtext'> Finally,
I am sure you will join me in expressing congratulations, love and prayers to
Archbishop Philip Russell, who celebrates his 90th birthday this month! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:windowtext'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:windowtext'>Yours
in the service of Christ,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:windowtext'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:windowtext'>+Thabo
Cape Town<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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