---

"Like a bridge over troubled water" ~ Simon& Garfunkel

Many of the waters in our world and in our own watershed are "troubled" by pollution, degradation, trash, and a toxic legacy of chemicals. As people of faith, we are called to be stewards of the waters. The RiverWise Stewards, people of faith trained by the Watershed Stewards Academy (WSA) and IPC, provide assistance and inspiration to faith communities on how to become stewards themselves. Some of these Master Stewards recently gathered, "like a bridge over troubled waters" to share their stories of projects to heal local waters, and offer a bridge of fellowship across faiths at the Interfaith "Care for Sacred Waters" Gathering held at the Makkah Learning Center (MLC) Masjid (Muslim house of worship) on May 13. 

Current Watershed Steward (Class 9) candidates Ammar Hanif and Martha Scott, members of the MLC and Muslim Center of Annapolis, hosted the event. Presentations were offered on the both Christian and Muslim teachings about our responsibility to assure that all have access to clean, healthy water.  Rev.  Johnny Calhoun (Class 7 Watershed Steward) described the basis of Christian stewardship for Creation in this way:  GOD created human partners and collaborators to participate in creation. Ammad Hanif shared a story from the Hadith (stories about Mohammed, PBUH) exemplifying that sharing water with our neighbors who live downstream from us is an act of faith. And in advance of Ramadan (May 26-June 25), Martha Scott's presentation urged reducing the use of water bottles during Ramadan with this video. From the Qur'an she shared this teaching "Eat and drink from the provision of Allah, and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption (pollution).” (Qur’an 2:60)

Stewards Kirvin Bonner from Payne Memorial AME and Chris Gordon from Holy Family Catholic Church (both Class 7) described how their congregation projects - especially the ongoing maintenance of them - helped people understand more fully the necessity of keeping the installed rain garden or rain barrel operating effectively. Their stories were also filled with the excitement of witnessing a renewed beauty of the landscape (e.g. without invasives),  new visits by butterflies, a butterfly moth, and other unexpected wonders of God's Creation as if the Garden of Eden were coming back to life before their very eyes. IPC  showed their video retrospective of the RiverWise Program which clearly shows the before and after effectiveness of the congregation projects to prevent stormwater runoff. IPC also offered examples of the many ways that congregations have been engaged in watershed stewardship with projects like these as well as through education and advocacy statewide.    

A wide array of children's watershed awareness activities were offered by Natalia Sanchez of WSA and Venice  Alexander, member of MLC.  The children were fascinated to watch what the "rain" carried "downstream" on the watershed model brought by WSA (photo right).  Venice, a seasoned teacher led these activities: a Water Polluters/Water Cleaner-upers Relay Race, What's in your lunch bag? (How much trash?), Take home Planting -  with pea seeds, painting a rain barrel, and planting a tree - just to name a few! Activities like this are bridging across the generations with watershed literacy.

That said, we cannot wait for the next generation to clean up the mess left behind by previous generations, including our own. By building bridges across faith communities to celebrate both our differences and our commonalities we can become a powerful force for healing the "troubled waters" of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

---

Great Walks in the Park

The Spiritual Nature Walks for the One Water Partnership were wonderfully received. Almost 100 people have participated already. Due to this success we are planning another walk scheduled for Sunday, June 25th at 2PM. 

Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime feel free to replicate the walks on your own with your congregations. The materials are available HERE.  

CLICK HERE for a detailed brochure about the program. To find out if your congregation is in the Jones Falls or for more information email Bonnie Sorak or call her at 443-799-0349. 

This is a great way to learn about what's happening in our watershed and connect what you learn to your spiritual traditions. One Water Partnership is a new program designed to help congregations deepen their commitment to protecting the Earth and the local watershed. Through the One Water Partnership program, fifteen congregations in the Jones Falls will receive $1,000 in grant funds to support this work. Find more information HERE. 

Ready to get rolling as a One Water Partnership congregation right now? Fill out this brief interest form and we'll follow up to schedule a conversation on your congregation's interests and capacity.

---

Sacred Grounds Webinar & Workshop for Congregations in Montgomery County.

IPC is partnering with the National Wildlife Federation and others to offer Montgomery County congregations a Sacred Grounds webinar & workshop to learn how your community can receive up to $10,000 to beautify your grounds, conserve water and create habitat for wildlife. Join us! Click HERE to learn more.

---