Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association were among 12 faith organizations endorsing a letter to Congress urging action to ensure universal access to clean water.
The body of the letter and signatories follow.
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Dear Member of Congress:
As faith organizations across a broad spectrum of religious traditions, we understand water as a symbol of preservation, cleansing and renewal. We believe that water is a gift from God and needs to be protected. We understand that water is fundamental for life and human health. This understanding of the importance of water has been amplified during the pandemic.
It is urgent that communities have access to clean water to fight COVID-19. Water and wastewater costs represent a higher portion of monthly household expenses for impoverished populations. We therefore call for a moratorium on water shutoffs during the pandemic. Water utility shut offs are an immoral act that would prevent communities and households from following the Center for Disease Control’s guidelines on hand washing and would take away drinking water from families struggling to survive.
In addition to ensuring the water utilities are not cut off during this crucial time, Congress also needs to prioritize making infrastructure investments to ensure that everyone in the United States has dependable and safe access to clean water. Much of the drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure that serves our communities has existed for generations and many of these aging systems are falling into disrepair. Good water infrastructure helps provide communities with safe, clean drinking water and limits pollution in the streams and rivers that nourish our bodies, local ecosystems, and the whole of God’s creation.
The faith community has worked diligently to advocate for clean water protection over the years. We have done this with the understanding that we must protect God’s waters as well as the human health and wellbeing that is tied to water protection. Religious leaders in states across the United States have written letters to the U.S. Congress and multiple Administrations on the need to support clean water through funding and public policy.
The pandemic has revealed that many vulnerable communities in this country are often forgotten and neglected. All of God’s children deserve clean water and a healthy environment, neither of which are possible if their water infrastructure is crumbling or if their water is shutoff completely.
We call on Members of Congress to work together to place a moratorium on all water shutoffs and invest in water infrastructure.
Sincerely,
- Christian Reformed Church Office of Social Justice
- Creation Justice Ministries
- The Episcopal Church
- Faithful America
- Interfaith Power & Light
- North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light
- North Carolina Council of Churches
- Passionist Solidarity Network
- Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
- Reconstructing Judaism
- Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Justice Team
- Union for Reform Judaism
