Baptism & the Sacred Waters of the Earth (Eco-Spirituality)

It’s interesting to note the intersections and interplay of symbols and meaning that often surround us in life.

Recently, I found myself standing at the front door of a quite exquisite church building after having attended a Sunday service there. The door was wide open – revealing to any passer by the beauty of the Sanctuary inside. Equally captivating were the gardens just outside these doors.

As I stood at the intersection between the inner Sanctuary and outer Sanctuary, the Church Sexton (Property and Grounds Keeper) stepped out of the building and walked towards the nearby lush array of leaves and flowers and rocks. He gently (and very lovingly) poured out the water that had been used earlier that morning for the Sacrament of Baptism.

Now, knowing that there is often quite interesting symbolism at the heart of many liturgical practices, I asked about it.

The Sexton explained to me that these waters would never ever be simply poured down a drain. They are especially blessed - having been recognized as such, and having been used for a Sacramental purpose. They were to be returned directly to the sacred Earth from whence they originated.

This appealed greatly to my Eco-Spiritual approach to life – much as do many contemporary baptismal fonts which are now made from very natural and roughly hewn materials - rock in particular.

Note: The Baptismal Font pictured above is from St. John's Stevensville United Church in the Niagara region.

We are baptized into a Spiritual Life of Integrity and Love in the name of Creator, Spirit and Christ. We are Christened with the very waters that are a source of and a sustenance to all precious life on our planet. We continue to honor those waters and all Creation – this bountiful Garden of Eden - as such.

I loved the Heaven on Earth symbolism of it all, and can’t resist sharing this imagery on my Blog. I would hope that many churches employ this practice of honoring the waters of the Earth, returning them directly and lovingly back to Nature after such services - and even more importantly I hope they speak about it and enable their members to be activists in a way that is consistent with such Eco-spiritual symbolism.