Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church - Unitarian Universalist

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:

Congratulations to Laura Wallace, member of the Green Sanctuary Task Force, who was invited to give a sermon April 10 on “Healing the Gulf” to Williamsburg UUs.  Members of that congregation heard her present at the Congregation of the Peninsula in Newport News last year, and invited her to the first open slot in their pulpit.  Laura’s presentation is part of our “Go Tell it on the Mountain” action project for eco-justice that should be completed January 2012 so that TJMC can be an  accredited Green Sanctuary.

To hear Laura’s updated sermon, click on this link:

Healing the Gulf.

Go green by viewing our latest Green News online.  You have told us you are proud of our progress, and we are too.  View pictures and stories about our upcoming Green Sanctuary Mother’s Day service and Mother Earth Brunch, as well as news about our advocates for environmental justice.   Find out how to join us in the all-church Carpooling Challenge May 15 .  Prizes for carpoolers donated by Savvy Sleeper of Ivy and Blue Ridge Mountain Sports.  Thank you for your support and encouragement.

View the newsletter by clicking on this link:

Spring 2011 Green News

The TJMC-UU Green Sanctuary program is featured in the UUA Green Sanctuary blog. The blog lists goals set by our program.

TJMC UUs Demonstrate on 10/10/10

To mark the International Day for Climate Action Oct. 10, TJMC members and friends posed outside our sanctuary door with a sign indicating that we know the significance of 350 Parts Per Million — the highest limits of CO2 in our atmosphere for life as we know it. Currently, CO2 exceeds that limit, at 394 PPM.