By Ruth Ivory-Moore, ELCA Program Director for Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility
“Psalm 104 celebrates the way in which water pours… This flowing water serves, in the psalm, as a sign of God’s overflowing blessings on creation, pouring down from God to the earth and giving life to creatures,” writes Benjamin M. Stewart in A Watered Garden: Christian Worship and Earth’s Ecology (p. 28).
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Raising awareness of the impact of climate change on the water supply is the goal this year of World Water Day, observed March 22. The United Nations’ secretary general writes: “Climate Change exacerbates the lack of availability of water. Today, some 2.2 billion people lack safe drinking water and 4.2 billion people live without access to adequate sanitation. Unless we act with urgency, the impacts of climate change are projected to exacerbate these figures.” Climate change is changing our landscape, and water is showing us its power seen by devastating effects of floods and coastline erosion.
Water is powerful, and it is our lifeline. World Water Day can also remind us of its magnificence. These photos* tell of that magnificence.
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Water holds a sacred place in our relationship with God. |
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All of creation… |
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…depends on water for survival. |
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Water plays a crucial role in almost every aspect of the global and domestic economy. Farms use a large amount of water. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, agriculture is a major user of ground and surface water in the U.S., accounting for approximately 80% of the nation’s consumptive water use and over 90% in many western states. |
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Water presents a place of solace as it acts as a natural mirror to surrounding landscape. |
God’s gift of water makes available incredible sustainability powers** to all creation.
We give you thanks, O God, for in the beginning your Spirit moved over the waters and by your Word you created the world, calling forth life in which you took delight. – Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 230
*PHOTO CREDIT: Chuck Moore (Random Snap Photography)
**Find more in the ELCA Advocacy resource “Caring for God’s creation: Stewarding the gift of water“
