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Sister Imelda Poole, MBE, a native of Great Britain, is a sister of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM). After many years in the field of education and grassroots mission in the United Kingdom, her ministry moved to Albania where the Roman Catholic archbishop of Tiranë-Durrës invited the IBVM to work in the mission against human trafficking. This led to her co-founding Mary Ward Loreto, an NGO that addresses the root causes of trafficking, including poverty, and is involved in the rescue and rehabilitation of survivors of trafficking. 

Sr Imelda Poole currently serves as president of Religious in Europe Networking Against Trafficking and Exploitation (RENATE). RENATE has grown from a handful of religious sisters into a leading NGO combatting human trafficking in 31 European countries. It regularly convenes in different European nations to support work across borders in partnership with the many members of RENATE. Presently, Imelda Poole is co-founding the NGOs Mary Ward Loreto UK and Anti Modern Slavery Alliance.

 

The 6^th 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 5^th 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 4^th 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.

Bible study on Genesis 12:1-4a by Rev. Dr David Marshall