Activity | Sharing Our Water Stories

For many, a crucial part of radical hospitality and connection is becoming familiar with the detailed stories of the people and places we know. Trace the rivers from where you are to the nearest sea—divining your connection to the world's body of oceans and beyond to the global community.

This can be done in many ways. A Worship Associate might offer a personal reflection or tell the congregational building's water story in a service. Alternatively, it can be done as a solitary writing activity, either for a journal or to share in small groups.

1. Start with a map showing your location, perhaps at maps.google.com. Find the nearest creek or river to your location, and trace it to the ocean.

2. Jot down the names of each leg of the waterway as it merges into bigger tributaries.

3. Reflect upon your experience or feelings for this waterway. Did you grow up alongside it? Is it a busy throughway, carrying people to other places?

4. Research the waterways online and in person when safely accessible.

5. Write a story describing your imagined (or real) journey down the waterway to the ocean.

There is no one way to do this activity; you are encouraged to go where your interest takes you. Creating your own version, written or recorded, will help you learn more about your area and assist in feeling more connected.

Example 1: Watershed acknowledgment

Here is a simple watershed acknowledgment video I created for a water communion service, sharing the history and path of our local river to the Bay.

Creating your own version, written or recorded, can help you learn more about your area and feel more connected.

Example watershed acknowledgment video created by Tanya Webster for a Water Communion, sharing the history of the Ohlone and the path of this waterway to the San Francisco Bay.

Example 2: 2020 General Assembly Sunday Morning Worship, Rev. Joan Javier-Duval 

At the beginning of her sermon, Rev. Javier-Duval offered a watershed exploratory:

"Although it is just 10 and a quarter square miles, the smallest state capitol in the country, there are at least 26 bridges in Montpelier, Vermont. Bridges speak of the water that flows beneath them, the journey into watersheds and beyond. Montpelier lies at the confluence of the flowing waters of the Dog River, the North Branch and Winooski Rivers. The Unitarian Church of Montpelier, where I serve as minister, sits on the bank of the North Branch, which begins in the town of Elmore and flows for 18 miles before joining its water with that of the Winooski. There is a bridge over the North Branch just outside our building. Winooski is an Abenaki word that means "wild onion." This wild onion river flows from the town of Cabot westward for 90 miles to Lake Champlain, up to the St. Lawrence River and eventually out to the Atlantic Ocean. Hundreds of miles from where I stand now, flows the north branch of the Chicago River, four blocks from the house that I grew up in on the north side of the City of Chicago. Thousands of miles from there is the bridge my father crossed in a rural village in the Philippines when he was courting my mother. The family lore goes that the bridge was impassable on the day of one of his visits. So my father had to walk carefully along a wooden plank to cross that bridge in pursuit of romance. These waterways and bridges have shaped my past and continue to shape my present."

Transcript can be found at: https://www.uua.org/ga/past/2020/sunday-worship or watch the sermon video: Start 49': 26" - stop 51:20, https://vimeo.com/433330836