'Faith groups have role in effort to conserve water'

PATERSON, N.J.
Water is the earth's largest resource. Covering 72 percent of the surface of the globe, it is the world's most critical life-sustaining source.

At the Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson, Christians and Muslims came together to learn about the sacredness of water and what threatens the world's supply of it.

"Environmental groups who specialize in water issues believe the faith community has to be involved" in conservation, said Sister Suzanne Golas, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, who spoke to the group at the center in early April.

"No matter the faith or the belief, those who have a deeper sense of the presence of the sacred in creation recognize the responsibility to have a right relationship with earth and the community of life," said Sister Golas, founder of the Waterspirit program at the Stella Maris Retreat Center in Elberon.

She discussed how faiths of the world perceive water, the scientific and environmentalist view on today's need to take care of water, and how all in the community can take action to safeguard it.

The gathering was coordinated by the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception and the women of the Islamic Center.

Noting that the Bible begins with water and ends with water, Sister Golas said, "In the Bible, water is the element most frequently mentioned -- partially because the setting of the Bible is on very arid land.

"However, there is one theme that runs across in our Scripture -- the theme of living water. Living water is water that is flowing cleanly and purely," she said. "There are so many references to water that talk about water living and bringing forth life."

To connect the idea of living water with Islamic belief, Sister Golas quoted from the Quran, Islam's sacred book. "'God created every moving thing from water.' This is mentioned several times in the Quran, also worded: 'It is he who has created man from water.' ... It's clear in both our Scriptures that water is connected with life," she said.

Committed to peace and justice, Sister Golas, who represents her order at the United Nations among the nongovernmental organizations, concentrates on sustainable development and environment issues, specifically water.

Climate change is the greatest threat to water supplies, according to Sister Golas.

She said that when big storms hit, like the major flooding that occurred recently in North Dakota, "many people tend to think, 'I don't see the problem. There is more water coming than we know what to do with.'"

"But we have to realize," she said, "there is a continuous water cycle that happens. Water is always moving, flowing and it is constantly evaporating. All that water will eventually go back to the lowest point and right back into the ocean."

Sister Golas said, "Water and life are closely bound together. That is the way God has made it."

She noted that in the womb the unborn child lives in an environment that is "95 percent water," and humans in their peak years "are made up of 72 percent water."

Every living thing relies on water, she added.