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Friday, August 2, 2013

VINE-MAKING WORKSHOP



(Robin Opperman from Umcebo Design with some of the proto-type vines public art works.. Pic by Illa Thompson)

Spend a few hours on Saturday morning having fun, learning a new skill, meeting great people, and making art from recycled plastic! Join Diakonia as they make components for giant vines out of empty ice-cream containers.

Starting at the Diakonia Centre, the idea is to have dramatic, huge public artwork vines decorating the inner city in October, in time for the Diakonia Social Justice Season Festival.

The first vine making workshop will take place at the Diakonia on August 3 from 09h00 until 13h00.

For 37 years, the Diakonia Council of Churches has been working for a transformed society. It is running a Social Justice Season later in the year looking at churches as life-affirming communities and encourages parishes and individuals to come along and participate.

“In 1985, the late Archbishop Denis Hurley proposed an annual Social Justice Season. For a month or so every year, the local churches would concentrate their attention on one social issue. Through the hymns, readings and prayers of the liturgy, through sermons and exposure programmes, the church’s energies would be galvanised for practical social action. The most powerful way, he suggested, of establishing a strong tradition of social justice activism in the churches is to encourage parishes to form small groups that would work together on these issues,” says Nomabelu Mvambo-Dandala, Executive Director of Diakonia Council of Churches.

“A well travelled biblical image is that of the vine-keeper pruning the vines, removing the deadwood so that the available nourishment will be focused on the remaining productive branches,” Mvambo-Dandala continued. “Using this image as a starting point, our Social Justice Festival, planned for October this year, will be called The Vines Social Justice Festival. What we envisage is that the local congregations through their small study groups will prepare to showcase their social justice activities and projects at the Diakonia Centre during their Social Justice Festival.”

To find out more details of the Social Justice Season, and to book space at the workshop, contact Diakonia on 031 310 3500 or email: Karen.Read@diakonia.org.za

The first vine making workshop will take place at the Diakonia on August 3 from 09h00 until 13h00. The workshops will be co-ordinated by Jackie Sewpersad and Robin Opperman of Umcebo Design (email: robin@umcebodesign.co.za / Facebook: Umcebo Design | Umcebo Trust.) Entry is free and all are welcome! Please take along a few empty two-litre white and cream ice cream containers!