Green Sanctuary

40 Days of Commitment, 40 UUs in Your Congregation Stand Up for Environmental Justice

Check out the UUMFE’s Earth Day Resources

Unitarian Universalists (UUs) all over are thinking about water justice, from the UU Legislative Ministry of California‘s campaign to pass legislation on the Human Right to Water to congregations in New York examining the impacts of natural gas hydraulic fracturing on watersheds.  As UUs, we are called to respect the interdependent web of all existence and water is a common thread. For Earth Day 2011, UU Ministry for Earth (UUMFE) is asking congregations to celebrate the sacred waters that sustain us all and to commit to 40 days of actions that will make our world more just.

An individual’s commitment for 40 days makes a real difference, and it is only amplified by doing this in community. More than 150 congregations registered participation in Earth Day in 2010 – let’s make it even greater this year!

This year’s Call to Action for sacred waters includes extensive resources and suggested actions for participating in the 40/40 for Earth Challenge and bringing your water justice ministry beyond church walls.

Be sure to register your events – your ideas may inspire others! read more »

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Binghamton (UUCB) in NY has had an ongoing commitment with the Sarah Jane Johnson United Methodist Church to help them provide weekly hot meals to about 125 people in need.

UUCB provides salad once every month in order to keep the meals more nutritious.  They use locally grown produce when practical during the growing season.  Starting in 2010, they also rented a plot at a nearby community garden and have used it to grow lettuce and other vegetables for the salads.

UUCB reports that this has been their most rewarding project.  “It is a great way for us to form connections with each other, another church in our area, people in need, and people involved with our local community gardens.”

UUCB was accredited as a Green Sanctuary on September 1, 2010.  Check out the full list of accredited Green Sanctuaries at the UUA website

The First Unitarian Church of Omaha in Nebraska decided that one of their main environmental justice projects would be lobbying for better recycling in their town and state.

They actively lobbied the Mayor of Omaha and City Council members to permit recycling of all types of plastics. The result was that on April 18, 2008 Mayor Fahey announced that several additional types of plastics would now be recycled in Omaha, thanks in large part to citizen input.

They also joined their lobbying efforts with those of other concerned citizens and environmental groups to lobby members of the Nebraska unicameral legislature to support statewide recycling of electronics waste, specifically LB 986 sponsored by Senator Priester. This second effort was a tremendous success, at least with their state’s legislature, if not with their governor.  The legislature passed Senator Preister’s electronic waste recycling bill by a vote of 42-4 on the last day of the 2008 legislative session.  Unfortunately, Governor Heineman vetoed it.  On April 23, the Lincoln, NE Star Journal published an article concerning the Governor’s veto and the groups represented in the lobbying effort, including specific mention of the Green Sanctuary of First Unitarian Church of Omaha.

First Unitarian Church of Omaha was accredited as a Green Sanctuary on September 1, 2010.  Check out the full list of accredited Green Sanctuaries at the UUA website

When congregations are looking for good Religious Education materials for adults around environmental issues I often send them to the NorthWest Earth Institute (NWEI) to check out their discussion courses.  Many UU congregations have found these helpful and use multiple courses or repeat courses because participants enjoyed the experience. 

More recently, I’ve been encouraging congregations to consider using the “Menu for the Future” discussion course because it would not only fulfill a Green Sanctuary Program requirement but it would also get congregations involved in the Congregational Study Action Issue – Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice for 2008-2012.

On January 6, 2011, the NWEI announced the introduction of Just Below the Surface: The Gulf Coast Oil Spill, a study guide addressing the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and exploring opportunities for change, available in February. This one session guide includes articles and discussion questions to facilitate a deeper investigation into the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which spewed over 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, making it the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history. The $5 guide explores how the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is connected to our daily lives and how we can make meaningful and lasting changes. This guide is free with any order of NWEI’s climate change guide:  “Global Warming:Changing CO2urse.” read more »

Guest Author, Ron Boyd, UU Congregation of Greater Canton

This sermon was given by Ron Boyd on Green Sanctuary Sunday, plus quotes that he handed out to congregational members to read when he called out the numbers of the quotes.

(1) Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, and then names the streets after them.  ~Bill Vaughn

(2) We say we love flowers, yet we pluck them.  We say we love trees, yet we cut them down.  And people still wonder why some are afraid when told they are loved.  ~Author Unknown

(3) The packaging for a microwavable “microwave” dinner is programmed for a shelf life of maybe six months, a cook time of two minutes and a landfill dead-time of centuries.  ~David Wann, Buzzworm, November 1990

When you sit down to eat your meals, do you ever consider the cycle of where it comes from, how it gets to you, and where it and its packaging goes to once you are done with it? Does it not seem extremely wasteful to dispense of billions of containers into landfills simply for the convenience of a meal that lasts only a matter of minutes. How many of you have actually ever visited a landfill to see where the countless tons of consumer waste end up? How did this experience affect you? Is it not troubling to consider the seemingly ever-increasing and irreversible nature of such wasteful activities, and the potential harm to current and future generations? read more »

When Spirit of Life Unitarian Universalists in Odessa, FL started as candidates in the Green Sanctuary Program, one of their projects was Sustainable church improvements.  Specifically “In the course of considering growth and facilities improvements plans, we will take into consideration how to grow in an environmentally and economically sustainable fashion.”

So how did they do?

In the end they decided that rather than adding on to their building or creating new construction, they would repair and better maintain their existing structure.  This included properly sealing and painting their existing concrete tile roof and remodeling an interior room to use for sanctuary space as opposed to adding onto their structure or constructing a new building. Additionally, CFLs were installed throughout the building and air conditioning use is more rigorously controlled and maintained within more sustainable limits.  And they worship outdoors in the milder seasons.

Spirit of Life Unitarian Universalist outdoor worship service

Spirit of Life Unitarian Universalists was accredited as a Green Sanctuary on July 28, 2010.  Check out the full list of accredited Green Sanctuaries at the UUA website.