|
|
 Did you know that we have four massive oak trees over 100 years old on our campus? And an American chestnut tree, a tree that once covered North America and rivaled the redwoods in size? The Green Sanctuary Task Force has created a special learning laboratory for our community, and Sunday will be our grand opening! You are cordially invited to attend the dedication of our Green Sanctuary Arboretum Sunday at 12:45 behind the Social Hall. Following a short ceremony, Al Reynolds will lead a tree tour, using our guide map and pamphlet he wrote, Sacred Trees and Green Sanctuary Arboretum. As members of our VERY “Green” TJMC community, we hope you will join this milestone celebration as we prepare to become a fully accredited Green Sanctuary.
Our congregation is close to finishing a process to change the culture of our church by becoming a certified Green Sanctuary, a distinction only 82 other UU congregations have achieved, and none in central Virginia to date. To learn more about the Green Sanctuary program, go to this UUA link: http://www.uua.org/leaders/environment/greensanctuary/index.shtml
To receive accreditation, a congregation must form a Task Force and complete 12 projects over a period of a year or two in four action areas:
Our TJMC Green Sanctuary Task Force was formed and we were recognized as a candidate in January 2010, and the Environmental Action group has been in existence for five years. (It will continue after the congregation achieves accreditation.) We are pleased to present a summary of our 14 Action Projects (two more than required) for your review. We will be seeking feedback from the congregation on these three questions:
- What do you believe has been the most important benefit our congregation has gained as result of our participation in the Green Sanctuary program?
- What has been the most difficult or challenging aspect of the program for our congregation to achieve?
- Have we been able to discern positive changes in our congregation’s culture as a result of the activities we accomplished? If so, what are they?
Action Plan Final Report Draft 2011
In addition, we hope you will look at the Board-approved Sustainability Covenant, below, and consider how it should affect decisions in your area of church life.
TJMC Sustainability Covenant
For more details on specific projects, go to the following links:
Ethical Eating: A Conversation — Learn how we plan to introduce this newly revised 2011 UUA Study Action Issue
2011 Annual Report — How close are we to accreditation?
Spring 2011 Green News — Latest issue -next one out in November
June 2011 Update — We’ve been busy!
Mother’s Day Altar and Worship Leader (photos)
Mother Earth Brunch Photos
Sacred Trees and Green Sanctuary Arboretum– Hot off the press! Take an online tour of TJMC’s arboretum and memorial trees
Join the Green Sanctuary E-List: mailto:green@uucharlottesville.org
Green Lending Library: Books & Videos – You will find these available to check out in the right bookcase in the church parlor
See our 2010 Green Sanctuary Action Plan and COMPLETE Green Sanctuary Application
General Resources/Links:
Recycling in Charlottesville & Albemarle County - a list of items you can recycle and contact organizations in Charlottesville and Albemarle county in central Virginia
Authored by: sbaiocco
 How many years??? Five!
After three years getting organized and two years as a candidate for Green Sanctuary accreditation, the Green Sanctuary Task Force believes that our congregation is ready to evaluate our achievements and apply for accreditation and join the 82 other UU congregations who have been certified by the UUA. The process will require a final report and assessment that they will present for approval from the congregation, perhaps as early as December. With a positive vote, they will submit our final accreditation application.
Green Sanctuary is a program of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) that has the following five goals: to
- Build awareness of the significance and complexity of environmental issues.
- Encourage personal lifestyle changes.
- Engage in community action on environmental issues.
- Strengthen the connection between spiritual practice and Earth consciousness.
- Work to heal environmental injustices.
To see a summary of the Action Plan achievements, go to this link on our web: Action Plan Final Report Draft 2011
One of the more important projects, a Sustainability Covenant approved by the Board in June 2010 will be a focus of discussion at council and committee meetings. On behalf of the congregation, the Board agreed to “Reduce/Reuse,” “Recycle,” and “Rethink Purchasing,” with the support of the Green Sanctuary Task Force. To see the full covenant, click here: TJMC Sustainability Covenant
Sharon Baiocco, Task Force Chair, and Steering Committee members Katie Corish, Glenn Short, Deborah Judson-Ebbets, and Ruth Douglas will be gathering evaluations in various ways — meetings, surveys, and their very own Green Sanctuary Wikispace. Look for more in a Green News in November.
Your Green Sanctuary Task Force invites you to the following fall events:
- Oct. 18 (T) , 7 pm, “The Last Mountain,” documentary film about mountaintop removal coal mining supported by RFK Jr. will be hosted by Transition Staunton/Augusta at the Mockingbird Theater. We are invited for a by-reservation dinner at Roots Music Hall, and famous MTR advocate Kathy Selvage will be speaking afterward. We will carpool from the church parking lot at 4:30 p.m. for dinner group. Others leaving 6:15 p.m. For more information, contact Sharon Baiocco, green@uucharlottesville.org
- Oct. 22 (Sat.), 9:30 a.m. Bellair Farm Tour — Helping-Hands, and Free Lunch at Bellair Co-operative Farm! Join the Green Sanctuary in support of the UUA’s Ethical Eating goals. Farmer Jamie will give us a short tour of the farm, followed by a little gardening, and then we will be treated to a Bellair organic lunch. All ages and car pools encouraged! Look for our table in the Social Hall after services. Reservations for lunch required. Questions? Contact Charlotte Balkenbush: dcmbbush@comcast.net.
- Nov. 16 (W), noon, EPA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. Virginia Rising Rally – I Love Mountains is teaming up with the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition and others to bring hundreds of people to the doorstep of the U.S. EPA. The EPA’s authority is all that stands in the way of blasting on Ison Rock Ridge, but the agency has indicated that it is considering allowing the permit to move forward! We will join community members from Wise County, Virginia, where Ison Rock Ridge is located. Charlottesville gets its power from an old coal-fired power plant in Fluvanna, County, owned by Dominion and burning coal from mountaintops “removed” in WV and KY. We will plan to carpool with other Charlottesvillians. For more information, contact green@uucharlottesville.org.
- And stay tuned for our dedication of our Green Sanctuary Arboretum! Who knew our church campus was the home to so many diverse, wonderful trees! Tree tour planned for early November. Check out our online pamphlet at this link: Sacred Trees and Green Sanctuary Arboretum
TJMC Green Sanctuary Eco-justice Work Receives National Recognition
TJMC’s work toward environmental justice appears in UUA President Morales’ “Going Green Beyond Belief” report to GA and also in the UU World Online story about mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR). Click here: http://uuworld.org/news/articles/184664.shtml to read the article about what UUs are doing about MTR. Sharon Baiocco, Green Sanctuary Chair, was interviewed for this story, and she was also a guest presenter at the Green Sanctuary workshop at GA in Charlotte.
In the UUA President’s Report, “Going Green Beyond Belief,” which was mandated by our General Assembly last year, we are mentioned around p. 21, and a link to our YouTube video “Witnesses to MTR” is also included. Take your time to read this, as it is full of interesting news. We can be proud of our UU commitment to minister to earth and all living things, but our work is challenging and will require courage and persistence in the face of denial and fear. Click on the link below, and let me know what you think. How can we get this message front and center for our congregation?
Going Green Beyond Belief Report to the UUA General Assembly
Also, to see our latest photographs, reports, and Green News, Click Here:
|
|
Did you know that we have four massive oak trees over 100 years old on our campus? And an American chestnut tree, a tree that once covered North America and rivaled the redwoods in size? The Green Sanctuary Task Force has created a special learning laboratory for our community, and Sunday will be our grand opening! You are cordially invited to attend the dedication of our Green Sanctuary Arboretum Sunday at 12:45 behind the Social Hall. Following a short ceremony, Al Reynolds will lead a tree tour, using our guide map and pamphlet he wrote, Sacred Trees and Green Sanctuary Arboretum. As members of our VERY “Green” TJMC community, we hope you will join this milestone celebration as we prepare to become a fully accredited Green Sanctuary.
