Living Water

IF YOU'RE LIKE ME, you care about creation, but have a looming gap between your concern and knowing what to do about it. It can be paralyzing to live in an age of global climate change, environmental degradation, pollution, habitat loss, ocean acidification, lead in the drinking water of cities, and the melting of polar ice caps. Many works of ecotheology explain why caring for creation is a Christian imperative but struggle to get to the how.

Enter Watershed Discipleship: Reinhabiting Bioregional Faith and Practice. We can’t easily fathom a plan to care for the entire planet, but we can envision our watershed—the area in which water flows down to a common waterway such as a creek or river. (To find your watershed, enter your zip code on the EPA’s “Surf Your Watershed” site, epa.gov/surf.) Imagine caring for your watershed, along with the network of people who also live there. Ched Myers quotes Wendell Berry’s rewording of the Golden Rule to explain how this is an act of care for the entire planet: “Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you.”

In the introduction, activist theologian Myers defines the phrase “watershed discipleship” as a “triple entendre.” It reflects “ a watershed historical moment of crisis, which demands that environmental and social justice and sustainability be integral to everything we do as Christians.” It recognizes a “ a watershed context”—that we follow Jesus in a “bioregional locus.” And “it implies that we need to be disciples of our watersheds”—in other words, “learning from, following, and coming to trust ... ‘The Book of Creation.’”

This first book-length treatment of watershed discipleship features a roster of authors under 40, based in a variety of watersheds around the U.S. They recount regional history, explore local flora and fauna, and point out deeply relevant passages of scripture in which the unaccustomed Bible reader might not even notice an ecological implication. After reading this book, it is impossible to miss how connected Jesus’ life and parables are to the Jordan River watershed.

“Water is life,” as Native Americans have reminded us in protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Drawing on biblical imagery of water baptism, the Jordan River, and the River of Life in Revelation, the authors of Watershed Discipleship skillfully connect this theme to modern conflicts over access to clean water across the U.S. and around the world.

Watershed Discipleship calls us as U.S. Christians to radical repentance for our part in environmental degradation. Through retelling our history of colonialism, linking our overuse of resources to the systemic oppression experienced by marginalized human populations, and lifting up the biblical focus on the health of the land as a measure of whether or not the Israelites were following God faithfully, these authors illustrate that our disconnection from the land is a spiritual issue. And through stories of awakening to the intersectional justice issues faced by the land and marginalized groups and forming reconciling relationships with both, they offer hope: that our small actions of care make a difference and give us a literal place to start.

I highly recommend this book to those seeking to unite care for creation with their faith. But it is also suited for courses in ecotheology, creation care, and similar fields in colleges and seminaries. There is excellent theology here, interpreting scripture in light of modern issues while grounding it in specific places and history. You will be challenged to take a step, build a network, get to know the place in which you live, and seek and find God there.