Water: Meditation and Action
Environment: Pitcher, glasses, candle, copy of this prayer
Leader:
We light a candle
In the name of the God who creates life,
In the name of the Savior who loves life
In the name of the Spirit who is the fire of life.
Be still and aware of God's presence within and all around.
All:
In the rising of the sun and its setting
in the whiteness of the moon and its seasons,
in the infinity of space and its shining stars
you are God and we bless you.
May we know the harmony of heaven in the relationships of earth
And may we know the expanse of its mystery within us. Amen
Celtic Treasure, J. Philip Newell
Music:
Sitting with background water music (i.e. Halpern Inner Peace Music Solitudes by Dan Gibson Productions, etc.)
Reader:
Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Become conscious of the saliva in your mouth, the moisture on the palms of your hand, the wetness of your tears.
Our bodies are mostly water. Once, each of us floated around as embryonic selves in the sea of our mothers' womb, our lungs filled with the fluid. Water moves in and out of each one of our cells every moment of every day. The water we drink unites us with the sacred Earth as intimately as the air we breathe.
The water around us and the water in us are united in a wondrous continual cycle: evaporated from the oceans by the sun, condensing as clouds, and returning through rivers to the sea, passing on the way through countless animals, plants, and our own bodies. The natural cycle processes a regular trickle that is available for human life. It is transferred from ocean to the sky and back to the land. That trickle allowed life on land to evolve, and allows human life to survive. Each of us contributes to this trickle about a liter a day just through our breath and sweat.
The earliest life forms, our most ancient ancestors, developed in the sea. The mineral makeup of our blood and the salty taste of our tears are closely related to that of seawater, reminders of our marine evolutionary birth. The sea carries us through an eternal cycle: all in the end returns to the sea; it is the beginning and the end.
Water, like air, was originally vented by volcanoes or arrived on fragments of comets and condensed into seas as Earth evolved. The hydrogen in the water was created at the very birth of the Universe.
Let us pause for a time of silence.
Pour water into your glass and take a sip
Reflect that every sip is the story of Earth.
Learn the simple feeling of being Nature, not being separate from it.
Sharing:
Share words and remembered sounds of water comfort. Pause to reflect and share:
- expressions of gratitude of how water touches our lives, memories of water scenes that touched us (scenes of beauty, drought, pollution, etc)
- information about water issues that surprised you
- information about water projects, especially those funded by BVMs
- suggestions of how we might as a group honor, conserve and share water.
Determine your personal commitment to care for water.
- Reflect on the wonder in the gift of water.
- Practice water conservation in your daily life.
- Avoid the use of bottled water.
- Participate in legislative action to conserve and protect water.
- Collaborate with ICCR (Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility) and as shareholders write letters to the Corporations that have issues around water.
- Educate yourself on water issues such as contamination, privatization by corporations, desalination of ocean waters and scarcity of potable water and flooding/wetland destruction.
Silent time for prayers related to water: gratitude, intercession, reconciliation.
Voice prayers using the response:
Water of Life, cleanse and refresh us, help us renew the earth.
Closing Song Suggestions: (Some are on tape/cds)
As Water to the Thirsty - David Haas
Water of Life/Agua de Vida - James Cortez
Come to the Water - John Foley,SJ
Rain Down - Jaime Cortez
Flow River Flow - Bob Hurd
