“Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.’” (John 4:10 NIV)
The General Conference Women’s Society of Christian Service (GCWSCS) of The Methodist Church in Singapore celebrated World Federation Day on 6 Nov 2021 with our sisters around the world in the World Federation of Methodist and United Church Women in East Asia Area. GCWSCS renewed their commitment towards the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG-6), “Clean Water and Sanitation”, as part of the integration of 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015.
The 17 SDGs, also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that by 2030, all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The SDGs are integrated so that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.
GC WSCS Vice Presidents, Ms Teo Suet Erh and Ms Deviki James, introduced SDG-6 to the participants. The Chinese Annual Conference (CAC) WSCS presented ways on how to domestically conserve clean water with illustrations on to refresh, recycle and restore used water. Six young ladies from the Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference (ETAC) WSCS presented a skit, “Save Water Save Lives”, that portrayed a group of women at the well, reminding the participants that water is inseparable from life and that part of creation emerged from water. Water-saving practices start at home and we each have a part to play in conserving this precious resource.
The spiritual theme that flowed was “Living Water, Divine Grace”, taken from John chapter 14, when Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well. In one of C. H. Spurgeon’s sermons on New Testament women, he described eight attributes of water and grace. Just as we need water to quench thirst, grace quenches our thirst for Jesus. As water preserves life, grace preserves our soul from pain and cleanses us from sin. Fresh springs refreshes a weary traveller; grace will refresh us for life’s journey. As water softens dried fruits, so grace softens hardened hearts. We need rain to bear plum juicy fruits; likewise, we need God’s grace to rain on us to bear good fruits. Grace is a river of life from a heavenly source that “flows down to earth by way of the cross”, and will draw us nearer to Jesus to experience happiness, holiness and humility.
“The message expressed God’s divine grace in the life-giving and life-changing water,” said Mrs Doris Wong (Paya Lebar Methodist Church WSCS), one of the members who attended the session.
Water is precious to sustain life, and grace to preserve the soul. The session was concluded with a prayer by all: “Lord, give us Your grace.”
Further reading
“The 17 Goals”, https://sdgs.un.org/goals
Spurgeon. C. H. Morning and Evening. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2003.
—. Spurgeon’s Sermons on New Testament Women, Book 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1994.
Teo Suet Eh and Deviki James are Vice Presidents of GC WSCS.