04 July 2022, Glasgow, Scotland [Jim Botha with tedNEWS]
Several areas in Scotland are now cleaner and smarter thanks to the litter-picking campaign organised by the Scottish Mission.
On 18 and 19 June a team of adults and children from Paisley, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dundee got busy picking-up discarded crisp packets, cans, bottles, and other items on road verges, residential areas, and parks. The results speak for themselves! Not only are neighbourhoods cleaner and residents happier, but the collectors also found a couple treasures. In Aberdeen, the children were bemused to find a very pretty, but lonely shoe. And one of the participants in Paisley lifted what looked like a piece of plastic but discovered that it was a £20 note! A rewarding day in more than one way.
The litter-picking event was an initiative of the Africa-Scotland Action Project (ASAP) partnership. Running since 2021, the partnership allows the Scottish Mission to cooperate with ADRA-UK and five countries in southern Africa -Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, Mozambique, and Zambia- in a variety of projects designed to encourage communities to engage in environmental stewardship activities.
Protecting the environment is “an extension of the Great Commission,” said pastor Jim Botha, Scottish Mission president. “Believers are invited to bring the good news of God’s kingdom into all aspects of life around the world. Investing in a healthy clean environment is one small intervention that we can make. Reducing our carbon footprint is another.”
The litter-picking events were organised with the support of Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Dundee, and Aberdeen city councils. Reflecting on the support and equipment provided by the councils, pastor Botha commented, “One of the payoffs of these events is that churches can create and enjoy good relationships with civic entities in our communities. This helps us to develop longer term ministries that make a cumulative impact in the places where we serve.”
Pastor Claudiu Popescu coordinated the team of 27 members and 4 adventurers that left the Glasgow Turriff street squeaky-clean. “We dream of a day when one could clean up and return a week later and it will still be as shiny as it was left the last time,” said Popescu, “but we will continue to look for opportunities to improve our environment.
“I thought that litter picking would be really boring, but we had so much fun,” said Luntha, a Pathfinder who joined the local clean-up of the Goals recreational area in South Deeside. The Paisley group added an extra fun factor to their litter pickup by wearing costumes during the event, attracting quite a lot of attention, several children from the community stopped what they were doing and joined the clean-up.
“We are thankful to the Scottish Mission for their contribution,” said pastor Maureen Rock, Stewardship director for the Trans-European Division (TED). “The Scottish Mission president, pastors, members, and children are to be applauded as they enthusiastically worked together to take care of their territory. The responses received by the community also proved to be a powerful opportunity to witness to their neighbours.” Rock is planning to launch a programme in 2023, The Grateful Living for Children which will provide children with more opportunities to explore important stewardship values such as “Treasury, Time, Talents, Treasure, Testimony, Temple, Things, Tribe (family), and Truth.”
[Photos: Jim Botha / CC BY 4.0]
