Water for the thirsty

The biblical symbolism of lifegiving water is not lost on members of Good Shepherd Lutheran congregation in Traralgon in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley as they look at the new water fountain out the front of their church.

The installation of a public drinking fountain in front of the church as a community service was proposed at a congregational church council meeting in 2020 and late last year that idea became a reality. A new walking and cycling path had been extended linking Traralgon with the nearby town of Morwell, so the Good Shepherd leadership thought that their church would be an ideal location for a drink stop.

Congregation elder David Mirtschin says the next step was to apply for a grant through Gippsland Water’s community support program to fund a fountain. The application was successful and, after negotiations with Gippsland Water and the Latrobe City Council, the council also arranged the installation of the fountain, connecting it up with Traralgon Lutheran Church’s water meter. This means the congregation only has to pay for any water used, which David says was an extra blessing to come from the congregation’s initiative. ‘God blessed us with extra help and now all that we need to do is pay for the water usage’, he says. ‘The idea was to provide a community service and, at the same time, let people know there’s a church here.’ The fountain is complete with a dog bowl and a park bench has also been installed.

David says the congregation is keen to allow path users to use the church carpark path and hopes to gain approval for signage advertising this. He says they would ultimately love to have a sign near the fountain evoking Jesus’ promises, with wording such as: ‘Come and drink the Water of Life’.