Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty…You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills, giving drink to every wild animal; the wild asses quench their thirst. By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches; From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. [Psalm 104:1, 10-13]
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For the Christian community, water is symbolic of our relationship with God, carrying the image of renewal, promise, and hope. It is through water that we are baptized into the community of the church. Furthermore, water is essential to all life on Earth, and it links human life to the rest of God’s Creation. Creation begins with God calling life out of the water [Genesis 1:2]. The human body, in fact, is made of mostly water. We can go for weeks without food, but only a few days without water. It is through water that all of Creation is gifted with life, and life, in all of its forms, is not possible without water.
The protection of water for use by the rest of Creation, especially future generations and those living in poverty, is the responsibility of all of God’s people. As a gift from God, our response is to share the gift of water with all. In this involved caring for neighbor and for all of life we ensure that, as a matter of justice, nobody is denied water. More that 1 billion people in the world still lack clean drinking water, and 2.6 billion lack access to adequate sanitation. Unsafe water, and poor sanitation and hygiene cause 80 percent of the sickness in developing countries and the deaths of 5,000 children a day. We recognize clean water as a priceless gift of God, but too often we don’t realize the global water crisis is ours to reconcile.
[From “For I Was Thirsty…A Resource for World Water Day.” National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program website at www.nccecojustice.org ]
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We give thanks for the gift of water and especially for Puget Sound and its inhabitants—for salmon, orcas and seals, and for all the human communities whose lives are blessed by its bounty;
For Lake Washington and the recreation, transportation and scenic beauty it provides;
For the poetry of rivers: the Snoqualmie, the Tolt, the Cedar, the Green, and the Sammamish.
We pray for the healing of the Duwamish Waterway, one of the most contaminated sites in the U.S., and for those who work for its restoration;
We continue to pray for healing from the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico;
And we pray for those throughout the world who lack safe access to clean drinking water.
