The fourth reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2024 series of the WCC Ecumenical Water Network is written by Rev. Dr Anupama Hial. In this reflection, she recalls her struggles in the past as a Dalit woman in India to get access to clean water. She challenges churches to be a catalyst for fulfilling the promise of Isaiah to provide free water to all who are thirsty, especially to the Dalit women.
Originally published in 2021, the 1st reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2023 series of the WCC Ecumenical Water Network is written by Michele Roberts*, from the Environmental Justice Health Alliance. In this reflection, the author, based on several instances of large scale water contamination in many cities in the USA, comes to a conclusion that lack of access to clean water in USA is a result of systemic racism.
Orthodox Christians are ready to celebrate Easter, finding deep reasons for joy even amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As people gather in-person or online to worship together, different nations and diverse communities are coping with vastly different circumstances and challenges. Even amid this, Orthodox communities are drawing together to celebrate the risen Christ and the value of the human person.
The seventh and last reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2021 of the WCC’s Ecumenical Water Network is written by Andrew Schwartz.* In the following reflection during Holy Week, he is using a small town in the USA as a case study to emphasise how local communities can take small initiatives to “resurrect” the contaminated or “dead” groundwater to form life giving waters. Leaving us on a positive note, he ends by saying, “if Holy Week teaches us anything it’s that death is not final.”
The 6th reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2021 of the WCC’s Ecumenical Water Network is written by Archbishop Mark MacDonald.* In the following reflection, he recognises that Jesus and his ministry are closely associated with water. Then he goes on to recall his presence at the Standing Rock protests in 2016 along with other clergy and indigenous water protectors. He felt, at that time, that Jesus was also present beside them at the Standing Rock to protect its waters.
The 5th reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2021 of the WCC’s Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) is written by Susan Smith and Dinesh Suna.* In the following reflection, they condemn the recent listing of water on Wall Street as a tradable commodity. Referring to the biblical assurance that God will quench the thirst of the poor and needy and that water should be made available to all even if they have no money, they proclaim the true value of water as a gift from God, a human right, a spiritual wonder and the source of all life.
The 4th reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2021 of the WCC Ecumenical Water Network is written by Krystina White.* In the following reflection, she narrates her experience of how people of colour are denied their right to clean water because of lead poisoning of tap water in Flint, Michigan (USA). She further demonstrates how ordinary women, though at the receiving end, can do extraordinary work, just like Deborah, the prophetess in the Bible. White and her friends challenged the lead contamination of Flint’s waters through the Black Millennials 4 Flint and offered lasting solutions to communities facing the crisis.
The 3rd reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2021 of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network is written by Jesse Cruz Richards.* The following reflection draws inspiration from the restoration of the Israelites from Babylonian exile as promised by Ezekiel, and from hopes and prayers for the restoration of the Klamath Tribes and other indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest to their rivers, waters and fishes, namely the C’iyaal, C’waam and Koptu.
The 2nd reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2021 of the WCC Ecumenical Water Network is written by Annika Harley.* In the following reflection, Harley highlights the challenges of mining and fracking in the Navajo Nation based on her conversation with Bitahnii Wayne Wilson, who not only challenges these unsustainable practices, but also provides small-scale solutions to indigenous communities in the time of COVID-19.
The 1st reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2021 of the WCC Ecumenical Water Network is written by Michele Roberts*, from the Environmental Justice Health Alliance.In this reflection, the author, based on several instances of large scale water contamination in many cities in the USA, comes to a conclusion that lack of access to clean water in USA is a result of systemic racism.
Prayers for unity took on a different look and feel this year, but they weren’t stopped by widespread restrictions on face-to-face gatherings. From prayer cards to personal reflections, online gatherings to new connections, the images worldwide convey the spiritual richness of an ecumenical family that came together in prayer.