August typically brings the Water Ceremony to our church calendar. This year the ceremony moves to September 9th. Over time, it’s undergone changes, but it remains as an important symbol of the connections we cherish as a congregation. It also symbolizes our diversity.

Water has always symbolized connection for me. My understanding is that all water is, in the final analysis, connected. The oceans are not locked away from each other but join in one great expanse of ocean that goes by different names in different areas. Rivers flow into bigger rivers, and those into bigger rivers yet, the water from the smallest brook finally making its way to some sea. And it’s all joined in the cycle of evaporating water that returns to the earth as rain and snow. Then there’s the connection with our own bodies: We begin life floating in the waters of the amniotic sac. Something like 70% of us is water, and the saltiness of the oceans echoes in the saltiness of our life’s blood, in our tears of sorrow and of joy. All living beings must have water, or we will die as all our life processes shut down, unable to continue.

I’ve liked being around water for as long as I can remember, especially ocean waves and inland waterfalls. I used to live by a river, and I still miss its many moods. A shallow stream in summer’s drought, a cracking crystal river of ice in the winter, dark with fallen leaves in fall, a roiling flood in spring, the river was a part of me. I’ve not had the privilege of living full-time near the water since, but I can still find ways to have the blessings of water in my life. One of my favorite places to walk is along the White River. Tom and I now spend six weeks of the winter at a beachfront cottage by the Atlantic. When I’m there, I never tire of hearing the waves and of watching the colors of the ocean change with the changing light. And I can still find waterfalls to sit by. We have a fountain on our deck where the water sparkles and sings in the sun as it cascades over the (fake) rocks.

The connection of all waters calls to mind the connections we have as individuals in this congregation. As Reverend Seth says in the Water Ceremony liturgy, “Whether it is raindrops gathering to form a pool, groundwater collecting deep beneath the earth that we tap for wells, streams joining to form a river, or rivers flowing into and becoming one with the sea, water seeks water, and comes together to make something bigger than the individual drops.  So too do we come together to create a community bigger than our individual selves.”

The Water Ceremony also speaks to our individuality, as do the differences reflected in the many forms water takes. Again, from the Water Ceremony itself: “This co-mingling of water, water from different places with different meanings, symbolizes both the many unique qualities, characteristics and skills we each bring to this church community, as well as the many unique beliefs and experiences we bring to share.  Just as water from the tap combined with water from the river becomes one, so to do our spirits and our hearts become one when joined together in this loving community…. This water… represents our unity. Not our uniformity, but our unity.”

As we move forward into the new church year, may we honor both our uniqueness (even our eccentricities) and our connection. May we embrace our own and each other’s individual gifts and remember that together we are more than the sum of our separate selves.

Now I need to go get a glass of water!

~Rev. Julia