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Und der Engel zeigte mir einen Strom lebendigen Wassers, klar wie Kristall, der ausgeht von dem Thron Gottes und des Lammes; mitten auf dem Platz und auf beiden Seiten des Stromes Bäume des Lebens, die tragen zwölfmal Früchte, jeden Monat bringen sie ihre Frucht, und die Blätter der Bäume dienen zur Heilung der Völker.

(Offenbarung 22,1-2)

Die zweite Bibelbetrachtung für die Sieben Wochen im Zeichen des Wassers 2014 stammt von Dr. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Landesbischof der Evangelisch-Lutherischen Kirche in Bayern. Anhand von Beispielen aus der Bibel unterstreicht er, dass Wasser absolut lebensnotwendig ist und alle, unabhängig von ihrem wirtschaftlichen Status ein Recht auf freien Zugang zu dem Wasser haben, das sie zum Leben brauchen

Die vierte Betrachtung zu den Sieben Wochen im Zeichen des Wassers 2020 des Ökumenischen Wassernetzwerks des ÖRK kommt von Pastor Dr. Donald Bruce Yeates, einem Geistlichen der Presbyterianischen Kirche St. Andrews von Suva, Fidschi und beratender Kaplan der University of the South Pacific. Bruce ist seit 1975 als akademische Lehrkraft für Sozialarbeit, Gemeindeentwicklung und Sozialpolitik im Pazifikraum tätig und hat an der University of Papua New Guinea und der University of the South Pacific gearbeitet. In den nachfolgenden Betrachtungen unterstreicht er die Bedeutung des Menschenrechts auf Wasser und den Ansturm der Privatisierung vor dem Hintergrund, dass das berühmteste in Flaschen abgefüllte Wasser der Welt, „Fiji Waters“, aus seinem Heimatland komm

Die erste Bibelbetrachtung der Sieben Wochen im Zeichen des Wassers stammt von Ivo Poletto, einem brasilianischen Philosophen, Theologen und Sozialwissenschaftler. Er ist außerdem Berater für das brasilianische Forum für Klimawandel und soziale Gerechtigkeit. In diesem Beitrag analysiert er den Wasserkreislauf Brasiliens, die „fliegenden Flüsse“ des Amazonas, beklagt aber auch die schnell schwindenden Wälder, durch die der Wasserkreislauf unterbrochen wird, was sich wiederum auf die Wolkenbildung und das Grundwasser auswirkt. Er beharrt darauf, dass Wasser ein Allgemeingut ist, das besonderer Pflege bedarf, da ein Leben ohne Wasser unmöglich ist.

The second of the seven reflections of the Lenten Campaign: Seven Weeks for Water 2017 of the Word Council of Churches’ (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) is by Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the WCC’s Central Committee.

Dr. Abuom ist die erste Frau und erste Afrikanerin, die diese bedeutende Position einnimmt. Sie ist auch geschäftsführende Direktorin der Organisation TAABCO Research and Development Consultants (Forschungs- und Entwicklungsberatung) mit Sitz in Nairobi, Kenia. In ihrer Reflexion am Vorabend des Internationalen Frauentages erklärt sie als afrikanische Frau die Zusammenhänge zwischen Armut, Wasserknappheit und deren Auswirkung auf Frauen. Sie ist auch sehr kontextbezogen, da Kenia heutzutage unter einer großen Dürre leidet, welche die Situation der Frauen verschlechtert. Letztere sind in ihren Familien vorwiegend für die Wasserbeschaffung zuständig.

Die dritte Betrachtung der Sieben Wochen im Zeichen des Wassers 2019 des Ökumenischen Wassernetzwerkes des Ökumenischen Rates der Kirchen wurde von Grace Ji-Sun Kim verfasst. Sie ist Pastorin der Presbyterianischen Kirche (USA). Kim promovierte an der University of Toronto und arbeitet als Theologie-Professorin an der Earlham School of Religion. Sie hat 16 Bücher verfasst bzw. herausgegeben, darunter auch Making Peace with the Earth. Kim gehört der Arbeitsgruppe des ÖRK zum Klimawandel an.

In dieser Betrachtung erinnert sie sich an ihre Kindheit in Korea und vergleicht ihre Einstellung zu Wasser damals und heute aus ihrer Perspektive als öko-feministische Theologin. Außerdem befasst sie sich mit Gottes Versprechen „Ich will Wasser gießen auf das Durstige und Ströme auf das Dürre“ und stellt es dem heutigen konsumorientierten Lebensstil gegenüber, der unsere Gewässer verschmutzt und Millionen Menschen die lebensspendende Gabe Gottes vorenthält – Wasser!

This meeting between Jesus and the Samaritan woman shows Jesus going beyond conventional rules and talking to a Samaritan woman, which astonishes the disciples when they see him (v. 27). 

In the kitchen is a half drunk plastic bottle of water - left over from my last train journey. A large internationally-recognized label brands the bottle and adds value (at least for the shareholders in the company) to the humble yet life-essential contents.

The seventh and last reflection of the seven weeks for water 2020 of the WCC’s Ecumenical Water Network is written jointly  by Ms Frances Namoumou, Programmes Manager, and Mr Netani Rika, Communications Specialist, Pacific Conference of Churches.  In the following reflection they have analysed the water scarcity situation in the Pacific that is getting worsened by climate change with a justice perspective from the narratives of the persistent widow of the bible. They challenge us not to give up our “thirst for justice” under any circumstances.

The 6^th reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2020 is by Athena Peralta and Dr Manoj Kurian, programme executives of the World Council of Churches Economic and Ecological Justice programme and Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, respectively. In this reflection, they are focusing on the perils of cash crops such as sugarcane, produced primarily for exporting, threatening to impact the freshwater levels of Fiji. Over-dependency on food import for its sustenance is not a sustainable practice.

The fifth reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2020 is by Dinesh Suna, coordinator of Ecumenical Water Network, World Council of Churches. He is a Lutheran and comes from India. In the following reflection, he explores the importance of “hand-washing” in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic while this basic facility is not available to millions of people, particularly to children. He dedicates this reflection to World Water Day which is being observed on 22 March with the theme “Water and Climate Change.”

The fourth reflection of the seven weeks for water 2020 of the WCC’s Ecumenical Water Network is by Rev. Dr. Donald Bruce Yeates, a minister of Saint Andrews Presbyterian Church of Suva, Fiji and a consultant chaplain at The University of the South Pacific. Bruce has been active in the Pacific since 1975 as an academic in social work, community development and social policy having served at the University of Papua New Guinea and The University of the South Pacific. In the following  reflection he underlines the importance of human right to water and the onslaught of privatisation in the backdrop of  world’s most famous bottled water which comes from his home country, the “Fiji waters”.

The third reflection of the seven weeks for water 2020 of the WCC’s Ecumenical Water Network is by Adi Mariana Waqa, the Child Protection Coordinator of the Pacific Conference of Churches with contributions from Frances Namoumou Programmes Manager, PCC  and Mereani Nawadra (Project Officer for Gender Equality Theology,  Methodist Women’s Fellowship. In the following reflection they critique Abraham’s decision to send off Hagar into the wilderness with a child with very little water. They draw comparisons that Hagar then and women of today take on the responsibility of securing water needs of the family at the cost of their own safety and wellbeing. This reflection is to commemorate International Women’s day in the context of right to water.

The second reflection of the seven weeks for water 2020 of the WCC’s Ecumenical Water Network is by Nikotemo Sopepa, an ordained minister of the Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu. Married with two children, he is currently the  Mission Secretary of the Council for World Mission in the Pacific region.  In the following reflection he compares the life affirming spirit of God that was hovering on the waters in the beginning of the creation story with today’s “death dealing” spirit of commercialization of water over the waters of the pacific region which is worsening its fresh water availability.

The first reflection of the seven weeks for water 2020 of the WCC’s Ecumenical Water Network is by Rev. James Bhagwan, an ordained minister of the Methodist Church in Fiji.  Rev. Bhagwan holds a Bachelor of Divinity (with Honours) in Ecumenical Studies from the Pacific Theological College in Suva, Fiji and a Masters of Theology in Christian Social Ethics from the Methodist Theological University in Seoul, South Korea. He currently serves as the General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches. In this introductory reflection of the Lenten campaign, he identifies himself and his community as “ocean people” and laments that the very saltiness that makes the ocean unique for earth’s sustainability is in danger of losing it.

The seventh and last reflection of the “Seven Weeks for Water 2019” of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Water Network is by Ismael Fisco Jr., a young adult from the United Methodist Church in the Philippines, and former Chairperson of the ecumenical youth movement Kalipunan ng Kristiyanong Kabataan sa Pilipinas (KKKP). He currently works as Director for an international digital publishing company while pursuing his Law degree. He writes for several publications and was part of the communication team of past General Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA). In this reflection, Ismael laments the recent water crisis in Manila, Philippines, which is his home country. Inspired by Isaiah 55:1, he argues that water should not be commodified and therefore must not be privatised. He proposes that the blue community is the way to go to address the water crisis.

The sixth reflection of the “Seven Weeks for Water 2019” of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Water Network is by Dinesh Suna, coordinator of the network. Suna comes from the Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church in Odisha, India. In the following reflection, Suna emphasises that "the lost, the least and the last" are at the heart of both the Bible as well as the Sustainable Development Goals. From the gospel according to Luke, Suna identifies parables by Jesus that demonstrate Jesus’s preference for vulnerable communities and challenge us to have that positive bias towards them.

The fifth reflection of the “Seven Weeks for Water 2019” of World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Water Network is done jointly by Dr Manoj Kurian and Ms Athena Peralta, the Coordinator of WCC-Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance and Programme Executive of WCC Economic and Ecological Justice programmes respectively. In the following reflection, they underline the nexus between water, food and climate change and how our irresponsible consumption pattern on one can influence the other sectors.  They further challenge us to review our footprints on water, climate change etc and encourage us to take actions this Lent for making our planet more sustainable.

The fourth reflection of the “Seven Weeks for Water 2019” of World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Water Network is by Rev. Dr Raj BharatPatta, an ordained minister of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church in India. He has recently completed his PhD on the topic Subaltern Public Theology for India from the University of Manchester, UK. He served the Student Christian Movement of India as its national General Secretary and also the National Council of Churches in India as one of its Executive Secretaries, particularly focusing on Dalit and indigenous people. He currently serves as an Authorised Presbyter at the Stockport Methodist Circuit in UK with a pastoral charge of three churches. In the following reflection, he narrates the story of Hagar through her voice, when she was left in the desert to fend for herself without an adequate supply of water to survive with and to keep her son Ishmael alive. Patta, draws similarities between the Dalit communities in India and that of Hagar, when it comes to access to water.

The third reflection of the “Seven Weeks for Water 2019” of World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Water Network is by Grace Ji-Sun Kim, an ordained minister of PC (USA). She received her PhD from the University of Toronto and works as an Associate Professor of Theology at Earlham School of Religion. She is a prolific writer and the author or editor of 16 books including, Making Peace with the Earth. Kim is part of the World Council of Churches working group on climate change. In this reflection, she recollects her early days in Korea and how she looked at the water then and now, as an eco-feminist theologian. She further reflects on the promise of God "I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground…" and contrasts it with today's consumeristic lifestyle, which is polluting our water bodies and denying millions from enjoying this life-giving gift of God – Water!