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Seven Weeks for Water 2018, week 3: "Sweet water", by Rev. Dr Dario Barolin

The third reflection of the "Seven Weeks for Water", of World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Water Network, is by Rev. Dr Dario Barolin, a pastor of the Waldensian Church in Uruguay. He is also the executive secretary of AIPRAL, the Alliance of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches in Latin America. In the following reflection he recalls an encounter with two youths of his church who are trying to revive a creek which has lost its freshness due to water pollution by industries. He then draws a parallel to the story of Exodus where Moses turns the bitter water of Marah into sweet, fresh water with the help of a plant, thereby implying plantation being key to watershed.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2018, week 2: "Is there fullness of life without water?", by Gloria Ulloa

The second reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water is by Rev. Gloria Ulloa, an ordained priest of the  Presbyterian Church of Colombia and the president of the World Council of Churches, Latin American region.  In the following reflection she relates her own experiences of growing up in her village by the riverside.  She laments the current situation of water in the Latin American region and challenges the churches to address this water crisis to usher fullness of life among us.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2018, week 1: "Water - Gift and Source of Life", by Ivo Poletto

The first Reflection of the “Seven Weeks for Water” of World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Water Network is by Ivo Poletto, a philosopher, theologian and social scientist from Brazil. He is also national advisor to the Climate Change and Social Justice Forum in Brazil. In the following reflection, he analyses the water cycle of Brazil, the “flying rivers” of the Amazon but also laments on fast depleting forests which are breaking the water cycle and making clouds as well as aquifers disappear.  He insists that water is one of the common goods that require special care, as there is no life without water.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2017, week 7: "Blue Community: Churches response to the right to water", by Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri

The final reflection of the Lenten Campaign: Seven Weeks for Water 2017 of the Word Council of Churches’ (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) is by Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri.  Dr Phiri is the deputy general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and responsible for WCC’s work on Public Witness and Diakonia. A Malawian by nationality, Apawo Phiri was a professor of African theology, dean and head of the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, and director of the Centre for Constructive Theology at the University of KwaZulu Natal in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.  In this reflection she explains the concept of a ‘blue community’ and points out why the bottled water industry is an impediment to the human right to water. She then takes us through the journey of the WCC into becoming a blue community through one of its ecumenical initiatives, the EWN.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2017, week 6: "Water: a source of conflict and a source of peace building", by Rev. Frank Chikane

The 6th reflection of the Lenten Campaign: Seven Weeks for Water 2017 of the Word Council of Churches’ (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) is by Rev. Frank Chikane. Rev. Frank Chikane is a former Director General and Secretary of Cabinet in the presidency of South Africa under Thabo Mbeki (1999 – 2008), Khalema  Motlanthe (2008-2009) and Jacob Zuma (2009). He was also Director General in Office of Deputy President Mbeki and Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet during President Nelson Mandela’s Presidency. He is also the former general secretary of the South African Council of Churches (1987-1994). Currently, he is the moderator of the WCC’s Commission of Churches on International Affairs and is the author of many books. He is remembered for his struggle against the apartheid regime in South Africa during his student days and the rest of his adult life until 1994. In the following reflection, relating to his own context as well as from the biblical story of Isaac’s wells, he highlights how water can be a source of conflict as well as a source of peace-building. Water has the potential to create peace when it is shared. He further explores the River Nile on the African continent as an example.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2017, week 5: "Normative content on human right to water in Africa", by Dr Rogate Mshana

The 5th reflection of the Lenten Campaign: Seven Weeks for Water 2017 of the Word Council of Churches’ (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) is by  Dr Rogate Mshana. Dr Mshana, a renowned economist is a former staff member of World Council of Churches responsible for its programme on Poverty, Wealth and Ecology, later known as the Economy of Life. He is currently working as a consultant on Economic Justice for the Council for World Mission and based in his home country, Tanzania. In the following reflection, he deals with the 5 normative contents of human rights framework on water in the context of Africa. He further relates water as a key element to achieve food security, health security and gender justice.

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Seven Weeks for Water, week 4: "Why Waste Water?", by Prof. Jesse N.K. Mugambi

The 4th reflection of the Lenten Campaign: Seven Weeks for Water 2017 of the Word Council of Churches’ (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) is by Prof. Jesse N.K. Mugambi, PhD, FKNAS, EBS. Prof. Mugambi teaches at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. He is also a Member of the Working Group on Climate Change and is an active member of the WCC’s Ecumenical Water Network. In the following reflection, he meditates on the theme of the World Water Day 2017: “Wastewater”. He asks, “why waste water?” Then he goes on to reflect on the African context: how we can reduce, reuse and recycle fresh water for our consumption. A frugal lifestyle when it comes to water use is the way to go for Prof.  Mugambi.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2017, week 3: "Nexus between water and food security", by Rev. O. Kolade Fadahunsi

The 3rd reflection of the Lenten Campaign: Seven Weeks for Water 2017 of the Word Council of Churches’ (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) is by Rev. O. Kolade Fadahunsi. Rev. Kolade is the Executive Director of Nigeria’s Kairos Foundation. He is also the programme associate for the national food security project of the Christian Council of Nigeria.  In the following reflection he underlines the inter-dependency of water and food security, given that 70 per cent of fresh water is used for food production and one third of food produced goes to waste.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2017, week 2: "Feminization of water poverty in Africa", by Dr Agnes Abuom

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 is the first woman and first African to hold this important position. She is also the Executive Director of TAABCO Research and Development Consultants, based in Nairobi, Kenya. In her reflection, being an African woman on the eve of International Women’s Day, she explores the linkages between poverty, water scarcity and its impact on women.  It is also contextual in that today Kenya is reeling under a serious drought which is deteriorating the situation for women as they are mostly responsible for fetching water for their families.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2017, week 1: "Christianity, Sacredness and Scarcity of Water", by Rev. Dr Benebo Fubara Fubara-Manuel

This is first of seven reflections for the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network’s (EWN) Lenten campaign, "Seven Weeks for Water" in 2017. Rev. Dr Benebo Fubara Fubara-Manuel is an ordained minister, theologian and ecumenist of The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria. Fubara-Manuel currently serves as Rector of Essien Ukpabio Presbyterian Theological College, Itu, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria and is President of the Christian Council of Nigeria.  He is a member of the Covenanting for Justice Network of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). In his reflection, Fubara-Manuel elaborates on the Bible’s Exodus story of the pilgrimage of the Israelites in the wilderness of Shur. It tells of their days of travel without water and, finally, when they found water, it was bitter! Fubara-Manuel relates it to today’s global water crisis.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2016, week 6: "Palestinians deprived of clean water, an essential human right", by Simona Abderhalden

Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. (Isaiah 1:17)

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come (Isaiah 55:1)

Access to water and sanitation is a human right. This human right is in itself essential for life and dignity, but it is also the foundation for achieving a wealth of other human rights, including the right to health and the right to development.”

(Navanethem Pillay[1] United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014)

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Seven Weeks for Water 2016, week 4: "Water: from a spiritual feature to a factor of discrimination in the Holy Land", by Fr Michel Jalakh

The gap between demand and supply of water in the Middle East--and the urgent need to reduce the gap needs to be discussed seriously. We need to address the challenges and the available opportunities to ensure sustainability of water in the region. Today, on the eve of Lent, and upon the attention of the international organizations and non-governmental and humanitarian organizations upon the subject of water, due to its importance for the continuity of life and by coincidence with the World Water Day, several questions are asked in terms of the Middle East as a whole or the Holy Land in particular. Water is a basic necessity of daily life, and cannot be dispensed with because of its importance for humans, animals and plants. Towns and villages were established only where there was a resource of water. In this context, Apostle Peter says, "By God's word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water." (2 Peter 3:5).

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Seven Weeks for Water 2016, week 3: "Pilgrimage of Justice through the Beatitudes of Matthew (5:3-12)", by Ani Ghazaryan Drissi

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness..." 

(Matthew 5:6a)

The justice and righteousness of the fourth beatitude are presented by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew as a necessity. This justice is the way to happiness promised by the fourth beatitude: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Only those who hunger and thirst for divine justice will be satisfied and filled with happiness. However, for centuries, a major question arises over the meaning of this justice: what is the justice that Matthew presents? Why, contrary to the evangelist Luke who presents a physical hunger and thirst (Luke 6:21), does Matthew emphasize the need to suffer hunger and thirst for righteousness? What kind of justice does the first Gospel present?

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Seven Weeks for Water 2016, week 2: "The water of life - not in Palestine. A Kairos perspective", by Hind Khoury

“To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.” 

(Revelation 21:6) 

It is not a coincidence that our holy book, the Bible, comes from a desert area: Palestine, Jordan and Egypt. In fact, water has been and continues to be truly the source and essence of life. What the Israelites experienced in biblical times, drought and water shortages, is the experience of Palestinians today.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2016, week 1: "And we are still thirsty for water!", by Bishop Munib Younan

Salaam and grace to you from Jerusalem, the Holy City. As an Arab Christian, I am thankful for the opportunity to write a reflection for this year’s “Seven Weeks for Water”. Of course, this part of the world always has been dealing with water issues because of its dry climate and few water resources. Today, however, the Palestinian people face an even greater water challenge. It is a crisis that grows worse year after year.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2015, week 7: "Theological Reflection on Water from a Salimist (Korean Eco-feminist) Perspective", by Prof. Chung Hyun Kyung

The last in the series of theological reflections of the Lenten campaign “Seven Weeks for Water” is by Prof. Chung Hyun Kyung, a Korean Theologian teaching at the Union Theological Seminary in the USA. She reflects on the issues related to water from a Salimist (Korean eco-feminist) perspective. She highlights how we cannot serve both God and the Mammon at the same time and that Lent provides an opportunity to repent from our sins of abusing resources of mother earth, particularly of water, driven by capitalism. She emphasizes strongly on the “restorative justice” in making our relationship with God and nature – a just one!

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Seven Weeks for Water 2015, week 6: "Bringing Paradise Closer to Earth", by Susan Smith

The 6th biblical reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2015 is by Susan Smith, a Professor of Law and Director of the Certificate Program in Sustainability at the Willamette University, USA. She teaches environment law, including water law and is a water activist. She represents the United Church of Christ at the International Reference Group of the Ecumenical Water Network of the WCC. In this reflection she highlights that the kingdom of God/ paradise can be witnessed here on this earth, if we make water available for all for their basic sustenance with dignity, contrary to the model where water is “harnessed as fuel for the engine of economic growth to serve the twin gods of economic efficiency and profit”.

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Seven Weeks for Water 2015, week 5: "Prophetic voices coming from the Pachamama", by Veronica Flachier

The fifth biblical reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2015 is by Veronica Flachier, a journalist and theologian from Ecuador. She is a representative of the CLAI (Latin American Council of Churches) to the International Reference Group of the Ecumenical Water Network of the WCC and currently one of the co-chairs. In this reflection, she highlights that the water crisis we currently experience has been determined by the ambition of certain powerful corporations that formulate the rules in a world that is regulated by the logic of the consumer driven market, where not only water is a commodity, but so is the entirety of nature and even the human beings. Only by re-ordering the quality of the relationships in the frame of ethics and justice, can we dream of re-ordering our Pachamama – the mother earth.

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