1.
Establish a Green Sanctuary Committee
The Green Sanctuary Committee is an on-going
(not temporary) committee with a designated chair or contact person.
Members will represent all aspects of the congregational life, including RE,
worship, communications, buildings and grounds, finance, social justice, and
any others that are relevant in your congregation. The committee’s
charter will declare the congregation’s intention to seek recognition as a
Green Sanctuary church. The Green Sanctuary committee will coordinate
activities and document their completion. The role of this committee is
not to “carry the water” of the environmental commitment, letting the rest of
the congregation off the hook. Instead, the committee will
facilitate planning and provide logistical support to the congregation
so that the activities can be accomplished more effectively.
2.
Conduct an Environmental Audit
The first Green
Sanctuary action should be an environmental audit, providing a snapshot of
where the congregation stands with respect to their environmental
behaviors. The audit establishes the baseline or starting point for your
program. The audit will include at least:
1. Energy Usage patterns and current
conservation practices.
2. Compliance with
local recycling procedures.
3. Church policies
for use of non-disposable materials and non-toxic cleaning
supplies.
4. Church policies governing purchasing and investing.
5. Landscaping policies directing
use of native species, landscape chemicals, etc.
6. Religious
Education programs relating to the environment for both children and adults.
7. Worship practices integrating
the wisdom of the Earth.
8. Social Action projects or
activities relating to environmental justice.
9. The audit may
consist of a series of separate inquiries by different people who then create a
comprehensive analysis of the relevant environmental issues in your
congregational life.
3.
Create an Action Plan
The Green Sanctuary Program includes a
variety of environmental activities in four program focus areas:
- Worship and Celebration
- Religious Education
- Environmental Justice
- Sustainable Living
The congregation will complete at least
twelve activities or projects spread over the four focus areas. Some
projects will be one-time events, others will be ongoing over a period of
months:
- A minimum of two activities is
required in each of the first three elements.
- At least four must be carried out in the category of
Sustainable Living, including at least one energy conservation
activity.
- Two additional activities can be selected from any of the
four program elements.
- One social justice project will be a major on-going activity
in collaboration with another congregation or organization to address an
issue of environmental justice in your community or in the world.
The Action Plan is a road map to help
you think through your strategy and check the logistics of your program
elements. Develop an Action Plan to complete the dozen activities your
congregation has chosen, including a communications strategy for sharing
information about and inviting participation in the activities. Include
both time-line targets and names of lead coordinators for each of the twelve
actions. If circumstances change, plans are no longer appropriate, or
barriers for a particular project are insurmountable, the Plan may be adjusted.
4. Apply for Green Sanctuary Candidacy and complete
all activities.
Using the form in the Manual, submit your
Application for Candidacy, and your $100 application fee to the Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth (UUMFE) office.
Then carry out the activities in your Action Plan.
5.
Apply for Green Sanctuary Accreditation
After completing all twelve projects or
activities in your Action Plan, usually over a period of a year or two, the
congregation must vote affirmatively to apply for accreditation as a
Green Sanctuary. Using the Application for Accreditation, document all
the activities you have completed. Submit your final report to the UUMFE
office.
More
details are at www.uuministryforearth.org.
