The Drought is Here

  “Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’” 

                                                                     John 4

I spent the past three days driving my Prius through the very northern reaches of our synod in California visiting people, pastors and congregations from Chico to Yreka.  It was good to connect with these leaders; to hear the hopes, joys and concerns of their lives and ministries.  I was also shocked and amazed as I drove past Lake Shasta and Trinity Lake, pictured below.  They are alarmingly dry for this time of year, and with the snow pack at 10% of normal, it portends to be a long, hot, dry summer.  Water rationing is already in place, and some communities are being told their water supplies will be exhausted in a matter of weeks unless significant rain begins to fall.  Even with the rain falling this week, it will not be nearly enough to change what some climatologists are calling a “500 year drought.”

Five years ago, when I visited our Companion Synod in Rwanda, water was also an issue, but in a much different way.  There are many places where you don’t simply turn on a faucet to get all the water you want.  Children and adults are forced to walk for miles every day to fill 5 gallon yellow water cans, and then carry them – full and weighing 40 pounds – the same miles back to their homes.   

To offer assistance to these thirsty people, the Lutheran Church of Rwanda and the Lutheran World Federation were working to create water catchment systems, so that more sources of clean, potable water would be available in remote areas.  Their profound witness -– reaching into the everyday lives of people with the love and regard Christ has for ALL -- causes me to wonder -– “What will our witness as followers of Jesus be in the coming months (and possibly years) of drought conditions?”  What support will we offer to the people of the communities we serve, in what will surely be “ground zero” for the worst effects of the drought?  

• What will our words and actions say to those whose lives will be devastated because of the lack of our usually abundant supplies of water? 
• How will we stand with and support both the growers and the gatherers who may well be standing in food lines together before the summer is out? 
• How will we support the firefighters and those whose homes or lives have been lost when a predicted dangerous fire season comes?
• How will we advocate for using less water for the lawns and shrubs around our homes and churches so fields and orchards and livestock will have more water?
•  How will we advocate with State and local water officials for just, equitable and ecologically sound water policies?

I’ll be driving and praying about this (with my eyes open) when I’m “on the road again.”  I look forward to reading/hearing how you are walking and working and imagining God’s presence through these and other questions in our lives and ministries...

“Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?”       

Matthew 25

Pax,

Bp. Mark