World Water Week & Acequia Spirituality

 

This is World Water Week so of course I have to note this United Nations sponsored recognition of the necessity of water for life on Planet Earth. I could probably write a blog entry on the subject of water for every day of this month, let alone for a week, although I may stick to just one. My long-suffering paddling partner, Ruth, loves to be out in a canoe or kayak but not with the same, um,  intensity. I would probably be paddling every day for most months of the year and it is nearly always a spiritual experience. Even a hike is better if it occurs along the edge of a body of water!

The UN theme in 2023 is Seeds of Change: Innovative Solutions for a Water-Wise World. We humans are not water-wise, especially in wealthier nations, and there are roughly two billion Groundlings who don't have an adequate supply of water for everyday living, let alone for recreation. In parts of the world procurring daily water is dangerous, with women putting themselves at risk to do so. Here in Canada many Indigenous communities have waited decades for governments to fulfil broken promises to provide safe potable water, an appalling reality in a rich country. 

Even in developed countries there is a growing concern that climate change is changing hydrological patterns, threatening sources for agriculture and daily use. A few weeks ago I saw that in Spain there is a growing movement to re-establish the thousand-year-old system of acequias, or water channels. These were ditches which criss-crossed hillsides to slow run-off of water, including snow-melt so that it could be used for crops and replenish aquifers. The system was introduced to Spain by the Moors and the Spanish word comes from the  Arabic word al-sāqiyah which means "the water conduit" or "one that bears water" 

More than a decade ago I was at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, one of the most arid states,  for a wonderful conference called Water and a Baptismal Life, which was about the spirituality of water.  While in Santa Fe for a couple of days I came upon the historic, the Acequia Madre, or Mother Conduit, part of the system which transports water to the city from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. While the Spaniards get the credit, when they arrived they were impressed that Indigenous peoples already had elaborate water ditch systems for irrigation.

Acequia Madre, Santa Fe, New Mexico

In New Mexico there is a concerted effort to find, rehabilitate, and use these acequias both for practical purposes and as a spiritual exercise which spans generations. When I made the connection between the efforts in Spain and New Mexico I did some snooping and discovered a PBS documentary released earlier this year titled Acequias: The Legacy Lives On. I felt that this was providential and wondered if we should be adopting "acequia spirituality" across traditions, an approach which seeks a new or renewed wisdom regarding water which is both practical and reverential. https://www.pbs.org/video/acequias-the-legacy-lives-on-ff9qji/

How many times have I written about the importance of "living water" as metaphor in scripture, both in the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament? Too many? Yet, virtually every religion regards water as holy, a gift from the Creator.

Following the Water and a Baptismal Life seminar, one congregation added an additional vow to their baptismal promises. Each baptism now asks, “As we bless this water of baptism, will you give thanks for God’s gift of water and promise to care for all the waters of creation?”

We can all answer that question with "we will, God being our helper" as an aspect of our acequia spirituality.