It's Official! Green Sanctuary Update!

The Green Sanctuary Accreditation requires completion of an application, 12 projects, and report of program. Although we had completed 3 projects and were in the middle of others, we had not completed the official application. That was submitted in January, and below is our acceptance letter! Now, on with the projects...

February 17, 2012

Unitarian Universalist Church of Spartanburg
Green Sanctuary Team
210 Henry Place
Spartanburg, SC 29306


Dear Committee,

With this letter, the Unitarian Universalist Association, Office of Congregation Stewardship Services is very pleased to formally welcome the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spartanburg as a candidate to the Green Sanctuary Program. A Green Sanctuary Review Team has examined your application and is impressed with your plans for meeting the program goals.
Your environmental assessment format is adequate. We are excited to see that you have included an audit of households in addition to your audit of the church facilities. And we encourage you to re-do your congregational behavior survey after you complete or make significant progress on your Green Sanctuary projects as this will help you see what changes people have made in their lives. Additionally, we would love to see your congregation use Energy Star for Congregations (a free, on-line tool that helps you track/manage your energy usage) and find out what your base score is and then what your score is after implementing sustainable living projects
Your proposed projects for the Worship and Celebration focus area are appropriate for meeting the Green Sanctuary requirements. We hope to see the Earth Day service become an annual event in your congregational calendar. In addition, we encourage you to add more environmental themes to your worship on a regular basis – this might be by adding songs, readings, candles, reflections etc and might involve working more with the worship committee and minister.
We are excited to hear about your Religious Education projects. We encourage you find children’s films that you can show in conjunction with the adult environmental films..
We are excited to hear that you will be working on the issue of Mountain Top Removal, you may want to contact the Charlottesville, VA congregation for some additional ideas on how to engage in this effort. We encourage you to have those who participate in the trip to Nicaragua to lead a lay-led service about their experiences to share with the larger congregation.
Your sustainable living projects are well conceived and straight-forward. We encourage you to monitor results and share the results with your congregation and perhaps offer your Master Plan ideas to other area congregations. Additionally, you may want to consider using the program Energy Star for Congregations (available free, online) to continue to track your usage patterns and to get an Energy Star rating or to show your congregation how simple changes have improved your rating.
Overall, your program looks diverse, well balanced, and exciting. We look forward to your continuing progress as you work towards becoming a Green Sanctuary. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns as you move forward. Congratulations and welcome to the Green Sanctuary Program!

With Hope for the Earth,

Robin Nelson

Robin Nelson
Environmental Stewardship Manager, Congregational Stewardship Services
Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02108

Congregations and congregants working together to restore Earth and renew Spirit.

March 31st Annual Gathering in Asheville-- Open to All!

March 31st is the annual gathering of our area churches, the Western Carolinas Cluster of the Southeast District, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville. This is a special opportunity to share in a reunion of UU Civil Rights veterans of the 60’s! Interested? We are all invited-- register by March 15th.
Learn from our UU Civil Right Veterans and Prepare to lead your congregation forward in Immigrations Rights and Marriage Equality

Morning session with Civil Rights activist and dynamic speaker Dorothy Cotton who will involve UU ministers who served in southern congregations.
Afternoon: choose between two workshops for leading your congregation in social justice for Immigration Rights and Marriage Equality

Registration: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BVY7GX6
Cost of $25.00 includes lunch

Here’s just a little background on Dorothy Cotton (born 1930) from wikipeidia: She was a leader of the 1960s African-American Civil Rights Movement[1] and a member of the inner-circle of one of its main organizations, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). As the SCLC's Educational Director, she was arguably the highest ranked female member of the organization.

Cotton helped organize the students during the 1963 Birmingham Movement and its Children's Crusade, and conducted citizenship classes throughout the South during the era. She also accompanied Martin Luther King, Jr., the co-founder and first president of the SCLC, on his trip to Oslo, Norway to receive the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize.