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The UUCR Green Sanctuary Committee seeks to put our 7th Principle (Respect for the interdependent web of existence of which we are all a part) into action by inspiring UUCR members and friends to do the same and by setting an example as a sustainable sanctuary for the Reading community.
Members:
Tracy Sopchak (Co-Chair) |
Gina Snyder |
Meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month, form 7:15 PM to 9 PM in Loring House, usually in Rm 205. All are welcome! Be sure to check the calendar on the front door as you enter Loring! Visit our blog!All of our meeting notes, as well as other information, is posted on our Blog - drop by and leave a comment! UUCR Annual Report 2007: Green Sanctuary Committee“Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” Our 7th UU principle has become a guide for many congregations in the face of modern environmental problems such as global climate change brought on by human activity. The UU Ministry for Earth has developed the Green Sanctuary program to give guidance and organization to those interested churches. As a candidate congregation, UUCR is working towards UUMFE Green Sanctuary certification. Like Welcoming Congregation, being a Green Sanctuary touches the whole congregation. As such, this committee is somewhat unique in both its purpose and obligation within the church. In general, we do not have specific responsibilities for worship, education, landscaping, building usage or social action. Yet, if we're doing our job, you will see small changes in almost all parts of church life, including your own way of thinking. Our goal is to raise awareness of the wonderful gift of the Earth that surrounds and sustains us, and explore what we can all do to celebrate and take care of it. We are here not as a standalone green team, but as a resource and a partner to other committees and the congregation at large. The Global Warming sub-committee formed during Building Our Future to keep a green eye on construction. Upon discovery of the Green Sanctuary program, that group disbanded and re-formed in the summer of 2006 under this new title. In the past year, we have hosted (with Reverend Tim and Worship Arts) four worship services, completed our first congregational survey, and begun developing our church's Action Plan. We will finalize that plan in the coming months, execute it in the following couple of years, and hopefully become a certified Green Sanctuary by 2009. Based largely on committee brainstorming sessions and information from our congregational survey, we have created a list of 15 candidate projects that will eventually comprise our 12-item action plan. The 15 candidates in 4 required areas are briefly summarized below. See the more detailed listing on our website: www.uureading.org/gs/gshome.htm. We welcome any and all feedback and involvement from our church community. There are many ways to participate and to find out more about our activities. Please join us for meetings on the first and third Monday of every month. Check us out online or visit our blog: uureading.org/cblog. Drop by our coffee hour table on Sunday morning or just say hello to one of our members. We look forward to taking this journey together. The Green Sanctuary Committee. Action PlanOur Action Plans includes the following objectives. See the entire plan as a pdf. Environmental Justice
Religious Education
Sustainability
Worship & Celebration
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SPRING GREENING
OK, it's April. It's getting warmer outside. Taxes are (hopefully) done. Some of you are probably starting to think about the next dreaded April activity: spring cleaning. But what about those chemical cleaners? Aren't they harmful to the environment, and do you really want your family breathing that stuff? So how does one get the job done without the name-brand chemicals? Come find out April 27! Eileen Barrett (sponsored by the Green Sanctuary Committee and Adult Enrichment) will share information on how you can use environmentally friendly and non-toxic materials and products in maintaining your home. This course was held for the liberal ladies in the autumn, and is now being offered to the wider church community, so please join us April 27 after church!
Night at the Movies
“Manufactured Landscapes”
If you are interested in any of the following: art, the future of our planet, photography, economics, film, China’s industrial revolution, the environment, beauty, recycling; in short, if you’re interested in our world, please join us to see the documentary “Manufactured Landscapes” on Friday April 11 here at the UUCR in Loring, Room 103.
An Extraordinary, Haunting, Beautiful, Insightful, Touching and Thought-Provoking Movie - Al Gore
An eloquent ecological warning that begs to be hung on the wall, studied, absorbed, and learned from. “Manufactured Landscapes” is a mesmerizing work of visual oncology, a witness to a cancer that's visible only at a distance but entwined with the DNA of everything we buy and everywhere we shop. - Boston Globe
Manufactured Landscapes, using China as a canvas, is a reflection on the future of the planet, on the course of action we humans decide to take, and whether we are strong enough to do what is necessary to alter the path of destruction that seems to be our preferred choice so far …. Eric Mahleb, Cinema Blogger
A landmark glimpse into China's modern-day industrial revolution becomes something more -- a profound, open-ended meditation on man's physical impact on his environment. - Variety
"… a highly unusual viewing experience that stimulates the senses and the conscience simultaneously." - Hollywood Reporter
Manufactured Landscapes bristles with profound images and ideas; its ability to provoke marks it as one of the most exciting films of the year. - Walter Chaw, FilmFreakCentral.net
Best Documentary – 2007 Genie Awards
Best Canadian Film – Toronto International Film Festival
Best Canadian Film & Best Documentary - Toronto Film Critics Association Awards
Nominated for Grand Jury Prize - 2007 Sundance Film Festival
Paper Recycling Campaign
Green Sanctuary is kicking off this new year back home in our beautiful campus with a Paper Recycling Campaign. We received frequent and passionate feedback about excessive paper usage and waste here at UUCR, so it made sense to implement this action from our Action Plan sooner rather than later. See our complete action plan on our program page. As every savvy recycler knows, a thorough recycling effort has 3 components: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Our plans for each component are listed below. We always welcome additional ideas and involvement.
Reduce:
Complete Junk Mail Reduction Kits for each of the church addresses and make available at our coffee hour table for congregants to take home, look for ways to reduce the size of the order of service and newsletter.
Reuse:
Collect the order-of-service covers for reuse each week; provide a magazine swap bin at coffee hour.
Recycle:
Recycle paper used on campus, involve every member of the congregation in recycling efforts, use paper made from 100% post-consumer content recycled paper.
Being a member of a Green Sanctuary means living in a way that is environmentally sustainable and just. Recycling paper fosters sustainability since it reduces the number of trees needed for paper production. Taking turns recycling paper will foster environmental justice within our church community since every person who contributes to the waste paper will assist with its disposal. Deposit your used paper in any of the green recycling bins in Loring or the Church building and sign up to be our weekly paper recycling person. As is currently done with ushering, we are starting a weekly sign-up sheet for paper recycling. Visit our coffee hour table to get a Junk Mail Reduction Kit for your home. Bring along a magazine that you’ve read and drop it off in our Magazine Swap bin for someone else to read and pick up a magazine to bring home yourself. We look forward to the year ahead and learning together what it means to be a Green Sanctuary.
Learn About Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
“Paper or Plastic?”
It’s a question we’re asked every time we visit the grocery store. So, what’s the right answer for an environmentally conscious friend or member of the soon-to-be-Green UUCR?
