Photo: 2025 cup decorated with keffiyeh pattern and QR code to actions list;
2024 Water Ceremony with Empty Cups for Gaza, Theodore Parker Church, Roxbury, MA
In summer of 2024, our national co-organizer India Wood initiated the Empty Cups for Gaza ritual of witness. This was intended for implementation during Ingathering and Water worship and ceremonies for Unitarian Universalist congregations that take place in August and September. The ritual was honored to be included in the UUA's Worship Web. At least 50 congregations participated, and many shared photos with us. View the Instagram reel for inspiration.
Originally named Water Communion, and now more commonly known as Water Ceremony, this worship service celebrates the interconnectedness of people and the planet. Often people bring a bit of water from their favorite waterway or from home, and the ceremony consists of people commingling the water in a communal vase or pitcher near the altar.
Because the Palestinians in Gaza have been systematically deprived of food and water, the Empty Cups for Gaza ritual bears witness to the deprivation. To participate in this national observance, bring an empty cup or glass decorated with paper bearing the words Empty Cup for Gaza, or simply for Gaza, and place it beside the communal water vessel. Provide a sign-up sheet to collect names and contact information of congregants who would like to gather to take action in community; you or your congregation can plan a Zoom meeting for this in the coming days and weeks. Contact us for more ideas at [email protected].
We are providing an updated printable for you to tape or glue to your empty cup. It includes a QR code to our Actions list so that people can scan, visit, and choose an action to take to stop the starvation and the bombing. Find the printables at this link.
Take a photo of your congregation's empty cups and share with us at [email protected] to be included in this year's Instagram reel. Post your photos on social media and use the tags #EmptyCupsforGaza, #uujme, #UUIngathering, #UUWaterCeremony, and #UnitarianUniversalist. You can include these words in your social media post:
UUs across the country are taking this prayerful action in sympathy with the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza who are denied potable water by Israel, a war crime that is enabled by the United States. These people are dying of starvation, thirst, preventable disease, and weapons of war.
The intention is to augment and expand the traditional water ceremony, not to replace the existing ritual. This is not to alienate us from our traditions but to start or continue a conversation about an additional ritual element.
This silent yet powerful symbolic ritual will be only the beginning of continued conversations within each congregation as the violence in Gaza continues with no sign of a ceasefire. UUJME provides materials to help you figure out what format of conversations or actions your congregation should take next based on the needs of your unique community.
If you would like to learn more about how to get started with Empty Cups for Gaza, please check out the recorded information session video at Empty Cup for Gaza Ingathering Ritual Q&A on Vimeo. Please discuss the idea with your local minister, other staff, and congregational leadership and bring your curiosity about how this ritual can be included. Invite them to view this ritual suggestion as bringing another seat to the table for an attitude of abundant space for ritual.
Read last year's blog post about the ritual.
Other actions you can take:
Connect with our organizer to find out more about how to gather local UUs to take action: [email protected]
Check back on our Calendar and the Side with Love Action center for our next national gathering of UUs on Zoom.