Prayer resources and theological reflections

There are many faith-based prayers or theological reflections on water, cleanliness and social justice. We've collected a few of them here. Why not use them to hold a celebration to raise awareness of water and sanitation issues, and to give thanks for the gifts of water and life, for your own faith community?
There are five prayers and five times of day for 
prayer; the five have five names. Let the first be 'truthfulness', the second 'honest living', and the 
third 'charity in the Name of God'. Let the
fourth be 'good will to all', and the
​fifth 'the praise of the Lord'.

​– Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

Care for our Common Home

​Laudato Si’, Pope Francis's encyclical on the environment, also called 'Care for our Common Home', was released in June 2015. It calls on the Church and people everywhere to address the environmental crisis facing the world.

Seven Weeks for Water

The Ecumenical Water Network is made up of churches and Christian organisations and promotes people's access to water around the world. Its Seven Weeks for Water is a series of theological reflections dedicated to water and justice issues.

Conserving water in Islam

​This khutbah on an Islamic approach to water conservation, by Sheikh Dr Muhammad Ridwaan Gallant, is one of many resources produced by the Southern African Faith Communities Environment Institute. Check out safcei.org for more.

Christian teachings on water

Rev Fletcher Harper, executive director of GreenFaith, has put together this three-page summary of Christian teachings on water. Click here to download. It is one of many resources available on GreenFaith's website, www.greenfaith.org.

Islamic sacred texts on water

Numerous references to water appear in the Qur’an and other Muslim teachings. Saffet Catovic, co-founder of Green Muslims of New Jersey, produced a five-page paper exploring the sacred role of water in Islam for GreenFaith.

Ripples in the Water

This inspiring short book by the World Council of Churches tells the success stories of people and churches striving for water justice. The WCC has 345 member churches representing more than 500 million Christians worldwide.

Buddhist prayers

Click here for the Buddhist prayers about water, collected by GreenFaith, the  interfaith coalition for the environment founded in 1992.  It works with institutions and people of all faiths to help them become better environmental stewards.

Hindu teachings on nature

Hinduism contains numerous references to the worship of the divine in nature in its sacred texts. Dr Pankaj Jain has produced this paper looking at 10 key Hindu environmental teachings for GreenFaith. Download the paper here.

Jewish teachings on water

Judaism has many teachings and sacred texts that foster an ethic for the respect and protection of water.  Rabbi Lawrence Troster, GreenFaith's Rabbinic Scholar in Residence, has written this three-page paper exploring key themes in Judaism.  
Main picture above by Dhrubajyoti Biswas