The Sunday Mail
Desire Ncube
The Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe has called upon its affiliates to complement Government’s efforts in dealing with climate change through tree planting.
Speaking ahead of the National Tree Planting Day next Saturday, EFZ secretary general Reverend Lindani Dube encouraged churches to be more active in tree planting.
“Climate change has profound effects on the social, economic, environment and political facets, it has become a global challenge as extreme weather conditions, storms, recurrent droughts, floods, heat waves, dry spells threatens both humanity and the environment.
“Its challenges include increased food insecurities, loss of biodiversity, increased water and energy shortages, increased gender disparities and conflicts.
“Thus, it is essential to promote sustainable green development, educate and promote a society with high resilience and an adaptive capacity to climate change,” said Rev Dube.
“It is vital to take note of the importance of tree planting and how a simple act of giving life to a plant can have overwhelming returns to the entire human race.
“We are urging all EFZ member churches to join the rest of the nation in commemorating the National Tree Planting Day. We are using the theme ‘Every EFZ local assembly plant a tree.’
He said the Church is actively alive to its place of embracing all that God mandated and assigned her to execute within the earth.
“Management of God’s creations is one of those key mandates that the Church is beginning to consider with an intense depth.
‘‘As the Church tracks back to its holistic mandate, it must come to a place where it refuses to be regarded only as a religious gathering but present itself as a powerful arm of God within the earth, resolving discords and mending fractures,” emphasised Rev Dube.
He added that the Church carries the anointing to break the yoke of climate change and its associated detrimental effects.
Climate change expert, Dr Nkulumo Zinyengere said one of the most gainful and holistic ways of tackling climate change while contributing towards public health is through tree planting.
Forestry Commission of Zimbabwe spokesperson, Ms Violet Makoto said her organisation is looking at preaching the gospel of tree planting during church services, taking advantage of the fact that church members gather in large numbers.
Ms Makoto said such a strategy would ensure that the tree planting message reaches a large audience.
“Such people (church leaders) command a lot of following and respect among their members and working with them will give us a lot of mileage in putting the message across.
“Most people in Zimbabwe attend church services regularly. As such, we are targeting every church in the country,” Ms Makoto said.
