Dreaming of a Green Christmas by James Irlam

For many in our society, Christmas is merely a season of rampant consumerism, which has dire consequences for the environment. Here are some ideas then for making our gift to the earth this Christmas a commitment to abandon throwaway attitudes:

• Buy or make durable gifts, without disposable parts or batteries.

• Make homemade gifts of organic jam, rusks, breads, biscuits, sweets, soaps, cosmetics.

• Give a gift that can be experienced, e.g. a theatre ticket, a homemade dinner, a course of some kind.

• Give your time and share your skills, e.g. a driving, sewing, cooking, gardening or computer lessons.

• Buy local, organic foods, cosmetics and cleaning products.

• Give gifts of plants or seeds.

• Purchase recycled products from charity shops.

• Give books that you’ve already read and enjoyed.

• Reduce the amount of packaging that you buy and avoid disposable products.

• Use recycled gift-wrap.

• Donate your old clothes and unwanted toys to charity.

• Donate leftover food to those in need, or feed your compost heap.

• Use a live, potted Christmas tree.

• Give gifts that change lives in a community which really needs it – support the Gifts 4 Good project (www.gifts4good.co.za; 021 7627944)

The beautiful city of Cape Town lies in one of the world’s ecological hotspots, renowned for its spectacular mountain scenery and exceptional floral diversity. Yet this diversity is under threat from rapid urbanisation and development, invasive vegetation, fire, pollution and the drying effects of climate change.

It is therefore encouraging to see growing environmental awareness in our society, ranging from long-established professional organisations to volunteer groups that steward local areas of ecological importance. One such group is the Community Conservation Group (CCG) at Rosebank Methodist Church, which was founded on Youth Day 2007 under the umbrella of A Rocha, an international Christian conservation organisation (www.arocha.org).

A Rocha (Portuguese for ‘the Rock’) was established in 1983 in the UK, and has been active in South Africa since 2002, working with communities of diverse cultures and with partner organisations in conservation projects and environmental education. The work of A Rocha is founded on the rock of Christian faith to express our love for creation, our concern for environmental justice for the poor, and our hope in the eternal restoration of all things.

There is much that churches and faith communities can do, at a community and individual level. The CCG at Rosebank Methodist, for example, has organised Environment Sundays and Sunday school programmes, which integrate environmental themes into worship and teaching by means of songs, prayers, sermons and information leaflets on energy saving, recycling, indigenous gardening and organic consumption.

The South African Faith Communities’ Environmental Institute (SAFCEI), which works nationally with faith communities around issues of environmental justice and climate change, has been mobilising faith communities to pray and to pressure our government to commit to reducing national carbon emissions at the crucial UN Summit in Copenhagen on Climate Change (7-12 December). The key goal of the Summit is to reach a fair, ambitious and legally binding agreement on reducing carbon emissions worldwide in order to stabilise atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide below the ‘safe’ level of 350 parts per million by 2050. Christians are urged to pray for the negotiators and political leaders at the summit, that they may rise above narrow politics to act courageously for the sake of all creation and our future generations.

For more information or to become a friend of A Rocha South Africa, contact James Irlam on 076 180 9972 or jhirlam@gmail.com. Email secretary@safcei.org.za to find out more about becoming an ‘eco-congregation’ (www.safcei.org.za). Sign up with Harvest of Hope for organic veggies from township gardeners (harvestofhope@abalimi.org.za).