Green Sanctuary

Green Sanctuary Task Force Mission

Promote environmental issues and sustainable living within and outside Westminster by taking steps to obtain and maintain UUA Green Sanctuary Accreditation.

2010 Earth Day Service

Recently, a group of enthusiastic Westminsterites met in six sessions to discuss The Northwest Earth Institute's course on "Menu for the Future." This resulted in changes in how we view the source of our food, whether we grow it ourselves, buy it from local farm markets, or in local stores.

Join us as we reflect on how this study course changed our lives.

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Spring 2010 Yard Sale

Date: Friday afternoon, May 7, 2010, and Saturday morning, May 8, 2010. With Westminster Unitarian Church building a new parish house, the Green Sanctuary Task Force decided to hold a yard sale to benefit the church's general fund and the Green Sanctuary pass-through account (50/50 split between the two). Items are being set aside for the yard sale by various Westminster committees.

During the week before the yard sale, Westminster members and friends can bring in items for the yard sale. All items must be in good condition. We will not accept any electronic equipment for the sale since most can be recycled at RIRRC or local transfer stations. 

Green Sanctuary Accreditation Candidacy Approval

During the past year we surveyed Westminster?s property and practices, wrote an accreditation candidacy plan and submitted it to the UUA on March 2, 2009. On March 20, 2009, the UUA Congregational Stewardship Services approved our plan.

Here is the plan we submitted to the UUA: Westminster GS Candidacy Application [pdf]

For a summary of the tasks we proposed, please see Plan Summary (below)

Here are the UUA comments on our plan: UUA Response to Candidacy [pdf]

What?s next?

The next step is a congregational vote, at Westminster?s annual meeting, to accept the plan and start our journey for accreditation.

Plan Summary

Achieving accreditation can take any where from two to five years. The tasks included in the plan we submitted to the UUA are:

Worship and Celebration (2 required)

Candles and lamps
When the current sealed lamps are used, replace them with reusable lamps and environmentally friendly lamp oil.

Find a way to replace as many candles as possible, possibly use another method such as pebbles in a water bowl for joys and sorrows

Worship Services
Rev. Barbara will preach one or two services a year based on Green Sanctuary activities and general environmental issues

For annual Earth Day service, select theme for year and build up to it through bulletins, web site and Chimes; involve more people in Earth Day service

Religious Education (2 required)

Spring RE sessions: develop site-specific curriculum that includes audits and studies

Energy Audits: develop plan where families, with participation of children, perform audits following RIIPL Cool Congregations plan to improve the family?s carbon footprint

Other earth-based curriculums: Since we?re already using some of the UU Ministry for Earth lesson plans, survey other religions for curricula appropriate for Westminster

Environmental Justice (2 required)

Earth Justice Program: Work with other local churches, town offices and environmental organizations to establish annual event

Either obtain a garden plot currently available for East Greenwich residents to grow organic vegetables for a food bank or volunteer with Community Supported Agriculture farms to help grow vegetables for a food bank

With input from local towns, adopt a spot that needs upkeep and maintain it throughout the year, involving families, RE and the youth group

Sustainable Living (4 required)

Water Conservation
New parish house: Use dual-flush toilets; develop instructions on how to use these features; install dishwasher that uses minimal amount of water

Existing church house: Make sure any new leaks are repaired quickly

Sanctuary: Monitor usage to see if dual-flush toilet is cost effective

Grounds
New parish house: When heavy equipment is available during construction, remove alien invasive plant species from grounds; ensure that all new plants are native to this area and that they provide appropriate shelter and food for native animals

Existing church house: Make sure alien invasive plants are kept trimmed until they can be removed

Energy Conservation
New parish house: Ensure new parish house meets LEED standards; use all Energy Star appliances in new parish house; install on-demand tank less hot water heaters in new parish house

Existing church house: Cover water heater with insulating blanket

Sanctuary: Weatherproof windows

Paper Products
Ensure that all office paper is made from recycled material and identify this on all our printed materials

Continue using paper products of recycled content as we currently do for the kitchen and bathrooms

For safety reasons we use paper cups for children; locate a source for paper cups made of recycled paper

For soup sales and lobster roll, find a source for insulating containers that is made of earth friendly material

Cleaning Supplies
Find source for earth-friendly cleaning products and set up system whereby they can be easily obtained

Additional (2 required)

100% alternative energy sources: Westminster currently uses an alternative energy source for 50% of its energy. Using grant from Utah Interfaith Power & Light, increase this to 100%

Native Wildflower Garden: Work with Youth Group, Property Committee, RE and others to establish a native wildflower garden at Westminster, with emphasis on native plants that attract butterflies and birds.

Small Group Ministry: Work with SGM to incorporate environmental issues into discussions

How Will the Next Year Affect this Plan?

We expect to be in temporary quarters for the next 15-18 months while the old parish house is demolished and the new one built. We will continue to work with the Westminster Building Committee on green issues regarding demolishing the old and building the new. We will also conduct a survey of our temporary quarters to determine what we can do to lessen our carbon footprint while we are there.

Photo of myrtle & grape hyacinths taken by Peggy Sharpe.