Forty Acts for sacred water for Earth Day

We are celebrating Earth Day differently this year at UCM: our spring multigen will be held on May Day because the calendar has given us the gift of May First on a Sunday, but I want to share a way you can affirm the sacred waters that surround us here on the island of Montreal and in this water-blessed country. For Earth Day 2011, the UU Ministry for Earth has challenged congregations to celebrate the sacred waters that sustain us, and to commit to 40 days of actions that will make our world more just.
Last week on April 17th , the kick-off Sunday for those 40 days, I brought a tray of some seemingly disparate objects to show the children during Time for All Ages, asking “What do a brick, a toothbrush, and a plastic and metal water bottle all have in common?” The children correctly guessed “water,” (though not everyone understood at first that the brick was to put in a toilet tank!) and we talked about the water saving practices each represented: I went on to encourage them to see how quickly they could count up their own 40 water-saving acts.
Question for parents and other adults: do YOU turn off the water while brushing your teeth or applying shampoo in the shower? Remember that “Water is a human right, not a luxury” (from my daughter Evalyn Parry’s “Bottle This!” –you can listen to it on her website, www.evalynparry.com). Check out http://uuministryforearth.org/ for more information.