How to Help The Greening Of the Church
by Mardys Leeper
Justice and Outreach Ministry Team Leader
Since January, the congregation has been able to sponsor energy-efficient LED light bulbs for the church. Once purchased, they were installed throughout the upper lobby. Congratulations to everyone who helped make our lighting more Earth-friendly.
While we witnessed the installation of the light bulbs, most people didn’t see the behind-the- scenes efforts to make “greener” the project to build out the lower level. Carol Getty, Dave Demarest and Paul Schlenker worked together to see that walls in the new Religious Education classrooms downstairs will have extra insulation to conserve energy. Again, kudos to people helping this church show respect for the environment.
Have we done enough to show reverence for Mother Earth? Hardly.
As we learn more about how to decrease our carbon footprint and increase eco-friendliness, we will need everyone’s cooperation. Stay tuned to see how you can help. We are embarking on a path to become a Green Sanctuary in accordance with the congregational vote several years ago. At that time, momentum was lost due to lack of leadership. However, this year Carol agreed to lead the project, so we are again on the move, as part of the Justice and Community Outreach Ministry Team. Other Green Sanctuary members include Gail Freedman, Chris Hagendorf, Nancy Williams, Mardys Leeper, Dave Demarest, Susan Gibbons and Paul Schlenker. To succeed in this effort we will need help from everyone.
The next step involves looking at all church operations. In the next six months, we will ask: Where are we lacking in respect for the environment? Where are we doing well? With the answers to those questions, we will create projects to improve UUCDC’s eco-profile.
We may find that some current projects can be folded into the project. For example, the Garden for the Community may meet Green Sanctuary criteria because participants are turning grass into gardens that provide food for people who have poor access to fresh vegetables. Similarly, the Memorial Trees allow us to remember loved ones while adding environmentally beneficial plants to the property.
As we learn more about how to decrease our carbon footprint and increase eco-friendliness, we will need everyone’s cooperation. Stay tuned to see how you can help.
