Today we celebrate the second anniversary of the Communion Forest. At its launch on 3rd August 2022, on the London Day of the Lambeth Conference, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said, “The Communion Forest is a symbol and an act of hope, something we can do together as we journey on from the Lambeth Conference.”
And that is indeed what has happened! Communion Forest initiatives have sprung up in every corner of the Anglican Communion. We have heard about activities in countries as diverse as Australia, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe, Canada, El Salvador, England, the USA, Brazil, Mozambique, Guatemala, Ireland, South Africa, the Philippines, Eswatini, Scotland and New Zealand. Each of these initiatives is helping towards the overall goal of the Communion Forest, which is to significantly increase Anglican tree growing and ecosystem conservation, protection and restoration across the world and deepen care for creation within the life of the Church. Please let us know of any initiatives you are involved in!
The Anglican Alliance played a leading role in imagining the Communion Forest into being as a legacy of the Lambeth Conference and has incubated it over the last two years, in partnership with the Anglican Communion Environmental Network.
The small team, with its two facilitators Irene Sebastian-Waweru (for Africa) and Nicholas Pande (for the rest of the world), have reached out to provinces, shared stories and resources, held webinars and developed partnerships – all contributing to connecting, equipping and inspiring individuals, dioceses and provinces across the Anglican Communion to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth – the Anglican fifth Mark of Mission.
Nicholas Pande, who also works on environmental advocacy with the Anglican Communion Office at the United Nations, adds, “The Communion Forest is tangible evidence of the Anglican Communion’s commitment to the well-being of the earth, giving us more credibility in global negotiation spaces such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA) and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
How can you be involved?
Give: Funding is needed to pay our part-time facilitators, who enable the work to keep going. Your donation is extremely welcome and can be made here.
Act: Get involved! Visit the Communion Forest’s website for inspiring stories and resources. See especially the Getting Started section.
Pray: Please pray for the Communion Forest, that it will continue to help deepen care for creation in the life of the Church, make a practical difference in reversing the environmental crisis and serve as an act of Christian hope for the well-being of humanity and all God’s creation.
