A conference called Water Justice, on the global water crisis took place this past week at Trinity Church Wall Street. It is the 46th annual Trinity Institute session; each year the Institute focuses on a different topic. This year’s Institute aimed to educate attendees about the water crises worldwide, while also providing tools and actions to combat it. “This conference, infused with spiritual principles and common prayer along with science and solutions, allows us to deeply examine what connects us, and empowers us to take unified, faith-based action on the front lines of the water justice movement.” The conference was held in New York, but was also streamed at “partner sites” across North America. The Episcopal News Service has an excellent overview of the global water crisis here.
At every baptism in the Episcopal Church, the priest blesses the water with the following words:
We thank you, Almighty God, for the gift of water.
Over it the Holy Spirit moved in the beginning of creation.
Through it you led the children of Israel out of their bondage
in Egypt into the land of promise. In it your Son Jesus
received the baptism of John and was anointed by the Holy
Spirit as the Messiah, the Christ, to lead us, through his death
and resurrection, from the bondage of sin into everlasting life.
Water is necessary for life, and it is a recurring theme at the center of some of our most important stories and sacraments. It is holy, and must be protected.