25th May 2026
Rivers of Spirit: Spirit of Rivers – a reflection
On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39
The above is one of the alternative readings given for Pentecost which thinks of the Spirit not as wind or fire, but as a river of water.
Last Friday I took part in a thought-provoking event at St John’s Waterloo entitled Rivers of Spirit: Spirit of Rivers – https://stjohnswaterloo.org/tag/rivers-of-life/
We began by going down on to the foreshore of the Thames where, like children, we looked at all the treasures on the little beach – shells and pebbles, smooth-worn glass, ends of clay pipes, rounded stubs of brick, sticks and pieces of bone. We sang and we prayed as, with increasing reverence, we were drawn to the sound and the movement of the river, to the ebbing-flowing tide – drawn to the Thames living presence.
From that reconnection with the river, we were more open to hear the wisdom of the afternoon’s speakers.
Bishop Martin himself quoted from the passage from John’s Gospel, and talked about the living nature of water through the example of the eel.
Eels are amazing creatures. They are laid as eggs in the Sargasso Sea from where they voyage by ocean currents some 6500km to reach Europe. During this first couple of years they develop from egg to glass eel. They leave the sea and swim inland up various rivers including the Thames, where they continue to develop becoming elvers and then yellow eels and finally silver eels – this can span from 5 to 20 years. Now they are mature enough to make the return journey to the Sargasso to begin the whole cycle again. Eels in the past were numerous in our rivers and a source of food for many (and not just humans). But due to the effects of climate change, pollution, loss of habitat including from obstacles such as weirs and dams, their numbers over the last 40 years have declined by a staggering 95-98%. (1)
God’s Spirit, like rivers of living water, is there to cleanse and refresh us. But what if we harden our hearts and do not seek forgiveness and renewal?
The first two speakers, Al Barrett and John White spoke about the importance of creating communities. Al Barrett is the vicar of the Hodge Hill Church in east Birmingham. John White is the founder of the Hazelnut Community and author of the Rooted in Rubble articles from which I have recently quoted.
Al spoke about creating ‘bumping places’ – places where parishioners from many and diverse backgrounds can meet and get to know and trust each other. He spoke how during Covid they ‘rediscovered’ the green places in the parish including the common. Commons have existed for hundreds of years as spaces designated for use by the community – the commoners – who would have rights to graze animals, gather firewood etc. Where Commons remain today they are often important as essential green spaces for local people and as essential habitats for wildlife.
And Al described how finally he managed to ‘discover’ the River Tame which was barricaded out of sight and inaccessible to the community through which it flowed.
John spoke about how the Hazelnut Community’s garden brings people together in the garden and in the gardening. Gardens root us and place us in a right relationship with creation.
Debbie Colvin described to us our place – our home – within the Thames basin which stretches from the Cotswolds to the estuary, from the Chilterns and northwards to the South Downs. Within this area rainwater drains down to the Thames, but not just via stream and rivers, but also percolating down into the strata deep below our feet where the water moves and buffers, hydrating the ground, feeding into springs and wells. A slow and measured process whereby rain falling on the hills of Reigate may take 10-20,000 years before reaching Trafalgar Square. (Prior to the 1930s the fountains in Trafalgar Square were fed by artesian wells (2)).
Paul Powlesland spoke about his life’s journey that finds him as a self appointed river guardian for the River Roding and as the founder of the River Roding Trust. His love and respect of this river sees him clearing rubbish, planting willow and Black Poplar saplings and defending the rights of the river and the communities that live nearby. Called to jury service, Paul made his oath not on a Bible but on the River Roding, making this river a sacred thing, a being worthy of worship. (3) Much of this river, the third longest in London, is degraded – desecrated – by sewage, rubbish and pollution. Paul’s approach is hands on and includes pressing the Thames Water Authority to do its job properly. (4)
Paul himself lives off grid on a narrow boat which means his life is intrinsically connected to that of the river and the environment. His awareness of the drought that we are currently facing, is measured by how much water remains in the rainwater that provides him with water.
What struck me about the issues raised by these speakers was –
- how little value we, as society, place on water,
- our lack of concern/ interest as to where our water comes from and
- our lack of concern as to whether it will be there in sufficient quantity in the future (humankind is extracting fresh water at a faster rate than the rate at which natural processes allow for replenishment (5))
- our lack of concern for the health and wellbeing of our rivers – and not just our rivers, but the springs and aquifers from which they come, and
- our lack of concern for the other living communities that depend upon rivers and the river environment.
At the same time, the speakers brought to mind way we might change our relationship with rivers:
- looking at / treating rivers as living needs and rights, and
- as beings that give generously of themselves to our benefit, and further,
- that maybe we should treat rivers as sacred –
- and not just rivers, but all water. In the past wells were often considered as holy places so why not also taps and reservoirs today?
And from this came thoughts about what we might do as local communities and as churches.
- Create a map that shows local rivers, streams and wells.
- Arrange pilgrimages to walk along or between these
- To spend time in prayer and celebration in these places, to wonder and to rejoice.
- Work out – maybe add to the map – where our drinking water comes from, and where it goes when we have used it
- Find about local riverine habitats and whether they are in good or declining health.
- To engage with – or establish – means of safeguarding and caring for wellbeing of your local river/ stream etc – and allowing yourselves to benefit from its contribution to your wellbeing.
- Identify our local water sources as sacred.
- Arrange water blessings for local rivers, streams and wells and wells
- Provide blessings for taps, drains and water butts
- Encourage people to value water – to treat it as sacred and not as something to be consumed rashly or without consideration
- Encourage people to think about being less wasteful in the use of water. At current levels of consumption, we are likely by 2055 to see a shortage of 5 billion litres per day (6)
- Encourage people to be aware of water cycles – seasonal changes, periods of rainfall and periods of droughts, of tidal cycles where appropriate.
- Encourage people to do even small scale gardening (cress seeds grown on blotting paper) to appreciate the importance of water in keeping plants – and therefore us too – alive.
- https://www.thamesriverstrust.org.uk/thames-catchment-community-eels-project/life-cycle-of-an-eel/
- https://londontraveller.org/2013/07/16/the-fountains-of-trafalgar-square/
- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/05/river-roding-barrister-paul-powlesland-london-polluters-footpaths?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
- https://www.bigissue.com/news/environment/river-sewage-east-london-pollution/
- https://www.planetaryhealthcheck.org/boundary/freshwater-change/
- https://www.gov.uk/government/news/england-faces-5-billion-litre-public-water-shortage-by-2055-without-urgent-action
The Green Tau 