READING: Pete’s Q&A with Judy Moores, Davis CA UUs

All, I had a very inspiring and instructive Q&A dialogue with Judy Moores, the coordinator of the Green Sanctuary program at the UU Church of Davis, CA. I’m sharing it here because the work at this congregation is exemplary, and Judy’s responses provide good answers to some key questions we’ll have as we flesh out our own program framework.

 

If you have time, check out the site of the UU Legislative Ministry, a resource Judy mentioned. This is in California only, but conceptually it offers plenty of food for thought re: how to engage on issues at the policy/legislative level.

 

Without further ado, here’s the Q&A.

 

Thanks,

Pete

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Q1 – Have you found that the framework of the Green Sanctuary program as sponsored/administered by the UU Ministry for Earth gives you the flexibility to tailor the program to your congregation’s unique needs and interests?

 

A1 – Definitely. The point of the audit is to figure out where the holes are and what are the needs of your congregation. For example, you may not do any recycling, but your R.E. program is full of nature and environmental issues. So you start a recycling program and seek ways to enrich your RE program with ecojustice projects. The idea is to start where you are. We have a varied congregation with lots of different interests. So we made sure to include music, art, lectures, fieldtrips, discussion groups, etc. on a wide range of topics (bioregion, nature, sustainability, ecojustice, etc.)

 

We found that including a number of subsidiary projects was a great boon. For example, under Project 12 we said that we would two or more of six possible projects. We actually completed 3 of the projects (1,5,6), turned one project (4) into a major project when we could not do one of the other planned projects, and did most of the remaining two projects (2 and 6). This flexibility also gave us projects to continue to work on after we completed enough work to file for accreditation. So we never felt much of a let down.

 

Q2 – Did you encounter any “resistance” within your congregation to the idea of becoming a Green Sanctuary? If so, what form did it take? (We’re trying to anticipate potential objections and obstacles and wonder what your experience has been.)

 

A2 – We started gently – asking for consensus at the annual congregational meeting to form a committee and start the basic work. We did tell the congregation that they would need to vote on whether or not they wanted to be a Green Sanctuary before we could apply for accreditation. The Peace and Justice group was worried that we would be competing with them, but we reassured them that we were happy to work with then and many eco-justice issues were also peace and social justice issues. Members of the GS committee also attended p + J meetings and worked on P and J issues. We were careful to write some articles for our church newsletters emphasizing the need for both and how complementary they were. We also did a lot of personal outreach – meeting one on one with the minister, office staff, some key church leaders. We visited other committees to ask for their input and tell them what we were doing. I gave a talk for the women’s fellowship and got them on board. In the end we had an unanimous vote in favor of becoming a GS. If you have read out accreditation application, you will note that our work really build a good feeling and a sense of pride in our work by the congregation.

 

Q3 – Are there ongoing requirements to maintain Green Sanctuary certification after it’s earned? What reviews, audits, documentation, reports, etc., if any, are in place to help ensure that the congregational commitment is ongoing and doesn’t end with the certification itself? Something analogous to “continuing education” at the institutional level, administered or monitored by the UUMFE?

 

A2 – Yes to the first question. Becoming accredited is just the beginning of the work we need to do if we are to get global warming under control and deal with many other environmental and eco-justice issues. In some cases, on-going church policies were changed. Our audit is being used as we work with an architect on a 50 year plan for our property and what buildings we may add in the next few years. We continue to offer green Adult RE classes and the Earth and environment and eco-justice are incorporated into many of our worship services and children’s RE program.

 

As I mentioned, our plan had sufficient projects to continue well pass the actual completion of sufficient work to earn accreditation. We also continued to brainstorm projects and to work fairly hard – even if not at quite the earlier intensity. Last fall, we had Richard Heinberg give a talk and put out a vegetarian cookbook. We are now working on introducing the David Gershon book Low Carb(on) Diet: How to lose 5000# in 30 days (that is reduce our carbon emissions) in March and April and are challenging our congregation to lose 50000#. You can find out more about this on the UU Legislative Ministry website (http://www.uulmca.org/about/about.html). I believe that a church needs to be reaccredited or renew its accreditation after 5 years, but my manual is not handy to check the exact #. Meanwhile, we do keep active and we do keep records of all our work. Do keep records – pictures, copies of posters, news releases, newspaper articles, etc., – great for church records and for documenting what you have done when you get ready to apply for candidacy and accreditation. We made binders of our work, which we keep in the church lib as a reference for all.

 

Q4 – To what extent, if any, has financial cost been an issue in deciding on or implementing specific Green Sanctuary-related work? For example, some sustainable living projects could entail investment in more energy efficient technology or upgrading church facilities.

 

A4 – We were not able to justify the economics of putting up solar panels as an independent project and replaced that project with a major food project. However, as a church we have decided that we will try to meet LEEDS criteria for any future buildings that we build and fully expect to incorporate solar panels when we build. As a committee, we have given concerts and fieldtrips and our cookbook project for small fees and those amounts have offset our budget each year so that we are actually end the year with a surplus for the church.

 

Q5 – One year following your official certification, do you feel that excitement and commitment to the Green Sanctuary program within the congregation has been sustained? Have you made additional plans for further integrating the Green Sanctuary commitment into various aspects of congregational life? This could include expanding efforts outward to the larger community and perhaps even to the local, regional or state policy-making level. For example, UC-Davis has an Environmental Justice Project — http://ej.ucdavis.edu/about.html — do you envision your church forming partnerships or alliances that allow you to work with other organizations toward similar goals?

 

A5 – We have become part of a growing network of UU Churches and other faith groups that look to us as a model for their own efforts on behalf of earth. Our UU CD Green Sanctuary committee has some new members and some have moved on to other activities, but we still have a sense of deep commitment and pride in all that we have accomplished. We are part of Care for God’s Creation – a local interfaith group that puts on conferences every two years to educate the faith communities on their responsibilities to take care of Earth. As a church we also support and keep close contact with the UU Legislative Ministry and the UU Ministry for Earth. We have good relations with the NWEI as well. I personally have begun to work with others in the City of Davis to deal with environmental issues. I helped write a resolution to ban the purchase (and sale) of bottle water by the city, which the council passed and is now being implemented. (You can read about this on the UU Legislative ministry website.) I hope these answers help you. Blessings on your work on behalf of Earth.

 

Judy

 

PS I will attach a copy of some of my favorite readings for your use. I put them together for Care for God’s Creation’s next conference to be held May 3 on the Breathe of Life. cfgc-and-b-of-life-quotes.doc Enjoy!