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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 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 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!

The seventh reflection of the of the "Seven Weeks for Water", of World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Water Network, is by Raquel de Fátima Colet, a consecrated Catholic member of the Company of the Daughters of Charity of the Province of Curitiba/Paraná/Brasil. She is a member of the Ecumenical Movement of Curitiba (MOVEC).  In the following reflection she relates the beatitudes in the context of respecting and protecting our waters. She says, “The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) present us with a path to follow Jesus, in the commitment to his Kingdom of love, justice and peace. From Latin America, from its exuberant nature and the lives of our peoples, today we want to proclaim the beatitudes of caring, translated into our prophetic participation in the promotion of a fair and equal access to water a universal gift and right”.

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.

Water and fire are indispensable life forces. As such, they are the gifts of God to the human being. At the same time, they can turn into destructive forces when not treated with care.

“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)

In Gaza, 30 to 40 percent of all disease-related deaths are caused by bad water. The multiple cases of kidney and liver diseases Gaza have to do with salts and minerals in the water. 95% of the water that Palestinians in Gaza have been consuming for decades has been proven unfit for human consumption.

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).

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?

“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.

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.

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!

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.

The fourth biblical reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2015 is by Elias Wolff, a Roman Catholic priest and professor from southern Brazil’s Curitiba region and a representative of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) to the International Reference Group of the Ecumenical Water Network of the WCC representing the CNBB. He highlights that water as a gift of God becomes the image of God, who gives life. It is an instrument by which the life plan of God comes true on earth. God’s self-revelation is sometimes experienced through the image of water.

The third biblical reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2015 is by Rommel F. Linatoc, the Christian Conference of Asia representative to the International Reference Group of the Ecumenical Water Network of the WCC. He is currently the executive secretary for Christian Unity and Ecumenical Relations at the National Council of Churches in the Philippines. He highlights the importance of using water imagery in our liturgies to talk about justice. He also challenges us to not limit our liturgical celebrations to Sunday services but that they should become a part of our life.

The second biblical reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2015 is by Advocate Rajendra Sail, a founding member of an ecumenical social change organization, Raipur Churches Development & Relief Committee (RCDRC), in Chhattisgarh (Central India). Through this reflection, he challenges the rampant commodification of water by the profit oriented corporates, when people are denied access to water for a dignified living.

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.

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.