by Dan Vogel, Creation Care Team member
From September 8 — October 6, St. John the Evangelist will join with other churches around the world and across sectarian boundaries in celebrating a Season of Creation. This will include Sunday worship with a liturgy emphasizing this year’s theme: “Only when we work together with Creation can the firstfruits of hope emerge.”
This first Sunday will focus on Water. This morning my scale told me that I was just over 50% water, which is low for a person. We all are bags of water flowing around.
Now of course, you want that water to be clean. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.
We are fortunate to live where we can turn on the kitchen faucet and get clean water. We don’t understand how remarkable that is in all of human history. That doesn’t just “happen.” There is a lot that goes into getting that water safely to your cup. As long as it’s all working the way it’s supposed to, we generally don’t think about all that it takes and all the people that are involved. We live in a bubble of our own making.
On the left is a painting from the Fine Arts building at this year’s MN State Fair of what we think we live in. Humans are sprawled around the river that flows through with our nice little grid of rectangles. All nice and neat. The river is excluded from our daily life.
On the right, though, is a picture of the same area looking downward from two hundred miles straight up. The river shows up clearly, but all those streets and buildings not so much.
The world that we think we live in and the world of reality differ significantly. A space alien might easily miss what impresses us, but they would be impressed by just how much water we have all around us.
Not that we haven’t tried to hide it. For instance, back in the 1930s, Phalen Creek was diverted into a culvert and disappeared from sight. Fortunately, we are more aware now of how we need to take care of our water—which includes the need to get out and wander around by it. Wakaŋ Tipi Awaŋyaŋkapi, a local Indigenous-led non-profit, has a new project called Daylighting Phalen Creek. (Pronounced Wakaŋ (Wah-KAHN) | Tipi (TEE-pee) | Awaŋyaŋkapi (Ah-WAHN-yahn-gah-pee), the name is a Dakota language phrase meaning “those who take care of where the sacred things dwell.”) Their goal is to bring the creek back over the next few years so that Saint Paul will get a creek to rival Minneapolis’ Minnehaha Creek. You can check it out here.
We need to be alert to those who would take our water away from us. There are many local events surrounding our vital waterways that you can attend to help learn more about this important issue. (I attended Spirit of Water: A Celebration with Mississippi River at the beginning of August. The event had originally been scheduled for July, but had been delayed because the Mississippi River was too high for the event to take place then! Sometimes, Mother Nature overrules humankind’s best laid plans.)
The more we connect with our wilderness the more we will recognize just how integral water is tied into our worship.
The Gospel from Morning Prayer on August 30:
John 7:37-38
“Let the one who believes in me drink…Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.”
The reading from our Racial Healing Eucharist honoring Jonathan Myrick Daniels:
Amos 5:24
“Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
Lest we forget, our faith tradition started with:
Mark 1:10
“…just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and Spirit descending like a dove on him.”
And for each of us who were baptized, our rite began:
“We thank you, Almighty God, for the gift of water.”
Water is sacred. How can we become more mindful about treating it as such? I have three asks.
First, be aware of the water all around you. Get out and enjoy it. Take time to wander around in it.
Second, protect it as the sacred resource that it is. Don’t let them steal it from you while you are distracted by other things. Prayerfully support local non-profits and legislators who are working to protect the quality of our water. Bishop Michael Curry says, “As Jesus went to the highways and byways, he sends us beyond our circles and comfort, to witness to the love, justice, and truth of God with our lips and with our lives. We go to listen with humility and to join God in healing a hurting world.” As Christians, we follow the Way of Jesus when we work for healing and justice for our environment.
Third, join us in worship this Sunday in person or online as we emphasize water as an essential part of God’s creation. After the air we breathe, the water we drink is our most fundamental need.
