We believe that water has a central place for us as people of faith. First, water cleanses. It washes away impurities and pollutants, and it is used to purify objects for ritual use. But more importantly—water is a primary building block of life. Without water there is no life, yet water has the power to destroy as well as to create. We can find ourselves at the mercy of water when we witness floods, draught, or contamination that renders water sources unusable.
The more specific significance of water manifests itself differently in different religions and beliefs but it is these two qualities of water—symbolic and life-giving—that underlie its place in our cultures and faiths.
It is this belief and understanding about water that leads us to reach out to you today—personally, but also in the hope that you will reach out through your networks.
We have received a grant for our work with a group of organizations that is working to strengthen our laws and regulations that protect our water resources. This is important work, but sometimes it is hard for voices like ours to be heard over the money-backed voices of those who seek to ensure that these rules don’t have the “teeth” to do much more than slap the wrists of those that violate them. We raise our voices as the representatives of our respective organizations, but we know that this is not enough. Our elected officials need to hear from you, their constituents.
Water is a resource that affects all of us—clean water is essential for life. Polluted, contaminated water threatens the most basic of our daily activities—drinking, bathing, and cooking. It endangers us as we recreate on our rivers and streams. But it is especially dangerous for those who are most vulnerable among us—our children, seniors, people with ongoing health concerns, people of color, and all who live in poverty, and we believe God calls us especially to protect those who are most vulnerable.
Stories are a powerful means of communicating the importance of protecting our environment. So we are asking you to share your stories about why clean water is important to you with us—so that we, in turn, can share them with our elected officials and your neighbors to encourage them to take action to protect our waters. Please consider sharing why clean water is important to you in the following ways:
- Recording a video of yourself, a friend or family member, or a group you are part of and sending it to us.
- Permitting us to record you.
- Sending us a photo of yourself, a friend or family member, or a group with a sign or signs.
- Sending us a quote or a statement.
In each of these cases, we would ask your permission to post it on our website and on social media. If you have other ways of telling your story about the importance of clean water, we would be open to that as well! If you aren’t sure, please feel free to ask!
We would like to have your submissions no later than April 30, so that we can post them in early May.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact Sandy at 717-545-4761, ext. 5, or by e-mail at s.strauss@pachurches.org.
We look forward to receiving your stories!
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