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Seven Weeks for Water 2015, week 1: "Engendering Water: An Eco-Feminist Reading from Southern Africa", by Kuzipa Nalwamba

The biblical reflection for the first of the Seven Weeks for Water 2015 is by Kuzipa Nalwamba, an ordained minister of the United Church of Zambia (UCZ), who is currently pursuing her PhD from University of Pretoria. She highlights  the undeniable underlining gap between men and women’s political, economic and social conditions, contribution and participation,  which also gets reflected on access to water. More often than not, the burden of meeting water needs for the families, unfairly rests on the women.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2014, week 7: "A Lenten Journey: From the wilderness of drought to the springs of living water", by Stephen Larson

The seventh and final reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2014 is by Stephen Larson, the interim pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Geneva, English-speaking congregation. In this reflection, he narrates the “watery Lenten journey” of his congregation, inspired by the EWN’s Seven Weeks for Water. His congregation chose water as the theme for all the 7 weeks of Lent, including Holy Week through Easter. You can find various worship resources used by this congregation during their Lenten journey on the EWN website.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2014, week 6: "Mission as Breaking Ground: Jesus’ “I Thirst” and its Relevance Today", by Raj Bharath Patta

The sixth Biblical reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2014 is by Raj Bharath Patta, an ordained pastor from the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church in India, currently serving the Student Christian Movement of India as its general secretary. He understands the fifth word of Jesus  on the Cross (“I thirst”), as expression of his physical need. In this reflection, Patta illustrates the missiological relevance of this word of Jesus to us today, in our own contexts.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2014, week 5: "No one owns water, it is God's gift", by Fulata Moyo

The fifth  Biblical reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2014 is by Fulata Mbano-Moyo, a Malawian Reformed systematic theologian and  WCC's programme executive for women in church and society.   Reflecting on the story of the Samaritan woman, she highlights that water is life: important for renewal; needed by everyone, regardless of race, sex, age, ability or any other quality; a gift of God that should not be privatized and confined to the powerful so as to deprive the less powerful; and that like the Samaritan woman, each one of us should make sure that we work towards making physical and spiritual water accessible to all.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2014, week 4: "Water – A Gift of God and a Human Right: A Critique of Anthropocentrism", by Geoff Davies

The fourth Biblical reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2014 is by the “Green Bishop” Geoff Davies, executive director of the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environmental Institute. Citing several examples from the Bible, he brings a strong critique of the anthropocentric  understanding of our theology  and  encourages us to become “earthkeepers”. He also strongly advocates that water  is a gift of God and no one should be denied of this life giving resource.

 

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Seven Weeks for Water 2014, week 3: "A pilgrimage towards water of life", by Guillermo Kerber

The third Biblical reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2014 is by Guillermo Kerber, the World Council of Churches programme executive for Care for Creation and Climate Justice. Based on a personal experience of a pilgrimage on water in the Bible, he underscores water as the “source of life” and introduces water as the protagonist of crucial moments in the history of people’s lives in the Bible.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2014, week 2: "Water for Life", by Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm

The second Biblical reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2014 is by Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, Germany. Citing  examples from the Bible, he highlights that water is absolutely necessary for life and that everybody has the right of free access to water for their sustenance,  irrespective of their economic status.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2014, week 1: "Pilgrimage towards Water Justice: Foretaste of a Redeemed Earth", by George Zachariah

The Biblical reflection for the first of the Seven Weeks for Water 2014 is by George Zachariah, associate professor at the United Theological College, Bangalore, India. Drawing on insights from the book of Revelation, he rejects the imperialistic market forces that tend to commodify common resources, including water, and affirms water as a free gift for all.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2013, week 7: "We need to wash our dirty feet!", by Anderson Jeremiah

Jesus uses water as an effective and surprising channel to demonstrate the central aspect of his vision for the disciples' ministry. According to John's gospel the Last Supper took place in an undisclosed and secret room, in order for Jesus to be alone with his disciples and loved ones. There were no slaves or helpers to break the bread or to pour the wine - just the gathered few.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2013, week 5: "Sister Water or Blue Gold?", by Dom Tomás Balduino

At the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Ricardo Petrella, a professor, author, and water activist from Italy, reported that Nestlé and Coca Cola are buying up large tracts of land in Brazil that contain permanent water springs. Those multinationals are investing vast sums of money in Europe in the bottled water market. Their aim in South America is the same. The International Monetary Fund has put pressure on African governments to accept water privatization as a condition for their receiving subsidies for development. 

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Seven Weeks for Water 2013, week 4: "Thirst for water - thirst for life", by Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser

The biblical writings reflect the conditions of life in a country where water was scarce and therefore precious as the most vitally necessary means of survival. People depended on water from springs and wells, or from rainwater collected in cisterns which were carefully dug out. The availability of a well or cistern was of particular importance for semi-nomadic people and their flocks. As the conflict between Abraham and his son Isaac with Abimelech shows, the ownership of a well could easily become the subject of quarrels between those with large flocks (Gen. 21, 22ff; 26, 15ff).

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Seven Weeks for Water 2012, week 4: "Food Waste and Water"

In this season of repentance, the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) encourages us to reflect on the fact that more than one third of the food produced on this planet for human consumption - the daily bread for which we pray and with which we are graciously and abundantly gifted - is wasted; not through natural disasters, but through our own disgracefully negligent stewardship of this gift. 

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