Feature Article October 7, 2004
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Water regulations and the rural church
by Rev. Jean Brown, Trinity United Church, Madoc
Our rural churches have been challenged by the demands of the Ontario Water Regulation 170/03 which originally demanded that each church install a treatment system, signed by an engineer, and then submit weekly water samples to be tested at private labs with the weekly estimated cost of testing being upwards of $75 a week. In July of 2004 a delegation from the Ontario Conferences of The United Church of Canada met with the Ministry of the Environment to express their continued quest for safe drinking water, while noting that the proposed legislation meant serious financial encumbrance and a great impact on already fatigued church volunteers. The church is asking that the government allow churches to be exempted from the legislation if they can produce a two-year history of good water samples, and also that congregations be allowed to take their water samples to the local Health Unit for testing. The United Church of Canada continues to lobby and to encourage the government to bear our small churches in mind as they review and amend the regulations. Certainly our churches need to examine their wells, water and septic systems, and bring them up to date. There is no doubt that the times they are a-changing, and churches have traditionally been among the movers and shakers in the world to effect change, to be on the leading edge and to be an example to others. This legislation is a wake up call to the churches and to the public to start saving for future modifications to existing water systems, so that the next generation will benefit, and safe drinking water will be available for every person.
God calls us all to respond in faith and to encounter whatever change or crisis is presented to us with courage, dignity, in the awareness of Gods presence and in the power of Gods Holy Spirit. May we respond to the call of God with all that we have and all that we are, and may we respect the water, the land and the whole world that God allows us to use for the brief span of our life here.
May we take up the challenges to provide safe drinking water here at home and around the world.
At the present moment, the Rural Life Committee of the National United Church of Canada is advising that churches not undertake major financial expenditures until the matter is further clarified by the Ministry of the Environment and the Ontario Government.
Congregations are encouraged to test their water on a regular basis, to ensure that the water is safe for drinking, or to use alternate methods such as bottled or boiled water. Meanwhile with Gods help we grapple with the problems of the world, and attempt to embrace life in this world of stress, struggle and to do so with joy, laughter, love, and the confidence of our faith. May we say yes to life, and may we respond to the challenges that will always keep us growing, learning and exploring.
