“LIVING WATER” SEASON OF CREATION MINI-PRAYER SERVICE

THE SEASON OF CREATION 2026 “Living Water” Prayer and Reflection from Ecumenical Prayer service and Marfam “Water Warriors are Water Wise”

This sharing format which can take about 30 mins or longer is appropriate for synodal sharing and small groups or at start of a business meeting , e.g. PPC, seniors, youth, sodalities and families. It can be extended by including the scripture readings noted.

SEE.. This year’s theme, “Living Water”, set amid the exile and the losses of God’s people, explores the prophet Ezekiel’s vision (ch 47:9 and 12), of an image of living water flowing from God’s sanctuary “Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. It reveals and symbolises divine healing, renewing land, water, biodiversity, and human responsibility towards all of creation, a powerful biblical vision of hope and ecological healing.

Consider some aspects: 1. The word “Water”, 2. The image of Sister Water, as described by St Francis in his canticle “Praise be to you O Lord, for Sister Water who is very useful and humble, and precious and chaste” and 3. The experience of water in our own lives. Just mentioning the word immediately causes a reaction, very often negative. Don’t we consider water as a commodity, something we’re owed, and don’t always get? We blame the government. They are responsible and we’re angry with them. It has even become an election issue to ask “Who will best be able to fix the problem?”

What has been our experience of water in our many different life situations? Do we recognise the complexity, for the authorities, of managing a massive water system to provide clean, healthy water to millions of citizens? Are they taking responsibility? Is it truly a right, is it a gift from God? We believers see that it is given to us to be stewards, caretakers of water for ourselves and all of creation. How responsible are we, and am I, in our own use of water? Reflect and share.

JUDGE: Prayer from Season of Creation. (Taken from the ecumenical prayer service guidelines. If time allows also include any of the scripture passages noted below).

Holy God, whose Spirit hovered over the waters at the beginning, we gather as part of your community of all creation, thirsty for your grace.

We give thanks for the gift of water, the veins of our common home, that sustains the cedar and the whale, the pasture and the city. We are grateful for the local waters that nourish our homelands and our fellow creatures. We give thanks that in your well-watered garden, every drop is a sacred testament to your love.

Yet, we confess that we have treated this gift as a mere commodity. We have choked the seas with our waste and watched the arming tides rise in judgment.

We lament the cracked earth of the drought-stricken and the salty tears of the climate refugee. Melt our frozen hearts, O God, and let the waters of repentance flow.

Lord of all Life, in your vision to the prophet Ezekiel you promised that wherever the river flows, everything shall live. Stir in us a calling to care for the waters — to protect the watershed, defend the rights of water, and honor the dignity of the thirsty.

May your Word be a spring within us, gushing forth for the healing of the nations. Where water flows, Lord, let everything live, trees for food and leaves for healing

May God our Father who brought water from the rock sustain us in the desert. May Christ our Lord who is Living Water refresh us for the work of restoration. May the Holy Spirit carry us on currents of grace until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Amen.

Relevant Scriptures from the Season of Creation: Ezekiel 47:9-12, Psalm 65: 5-13. Revelation 22:1-7, Gospel John: John 7:37-39. credit: https://www.seasonofcreation.org

ACT. What can I do to become a more effective WATER WISE WATER WARRIOR? Reuse, reduce, recycle. Save, protect, clean up blocked drains and rivers, report leaks, don’t waste, use wisely at home, cut use of small plastic water bottles, have shorter showers, don’t leave taps running, water garden sparingly, use water-wise plants – see SPEKBOOM, don’t wash clothes unnecessarily. Pray – recognizing God’s gift and call to responsibility, consider needs of others, people, animals, plants.

References: www.seasonofcreation.org www.marfam.org.za