Green Sanctuary

UUSL Is Working Towards Becoming A Green Sanctuary Congregation

Our Vision: A world that is sustainable; safe, healthy and just for all humanity and the whole of the interconnected web of life, including present and future generations.

Our Mission: In collaboration with other organizations and communities, to achieve Our Vision, by accomplishing activities to address Climate Change, Water Quality, and other Critical Environmental and Social Justice issues.

We have begun!
Our Laconia congregation has begun to organize efforts to earn Green Sanctuary Certification from the national Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). Currently, we’re sharing ideas and information to help define our initial activities for environmental and social justice advocacy, as well as worship, education and sustainable living. Follow our progress by joining our group on the UUSL Facebook page.

We URGENTLY need your help!
Global Warming, pollution and other critical environmental issues threaten lives and nature in every corner of the world. Our mission is URGENT and we need your help! To really make a difference, we’ll work to leverage all our collective experience, talents and interests. Everyone has a role to increase awareness of environmental and social justice issues, and their impact on our local communities.

Volunteer for a UUSL Green Sanctuary Activity Today!

Sign up to help with a UUSL Green Sanctuary activity by sending an Email to Roger & Inez A.
Tell us about the environmental and social justice issues that you or others are interested in.
Let us know about existing projects or organizations that might need our help.

Step up. Share your ideas & thoughts!
Every effort matters. We’re eager to learn, study and work to adapt to diverse environmental, social and economic challenges, while encouraging new and more sustainable practices.

For A Healthier, Safer & Greener Planet!
We’re really hopeful and optimistic about what we can achieve by working together for a healthier, safer and greener planet. As a congregation, we look forward to collaborating with diverse organizations and government to address our communities’ most urgent needs.

Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Green Sanctuary Certification Program

The UUA Green Sanctuary Certification Program provides requirements and a path for congregations to address climate change and environmental justice. Congregations that complete the program are accredited in recognition of their service and dedication to the earth and future generations.

With access to advice and guidance from UUA staff and volunteers representing hundreds of Green Sanctuary Accredited Churches, we can confidently move forward from learning, through to taking positive, meaningful action.

UUSL Green Sanctuary Certification Action Plan

As prescribed by the UUA Green Sanctuary Guidelines, our UUSL Green Sanctuary Certification Action Plan includes an in-depth environmental evaluation of our sanctuary and organization as well as activities related to four specific areas;

Environmental Justice: Activities in solidarity with Front Line (Vulnerable) Communities, which may be most affected by Climate Change
Worship and Celebration: Activities enabling us to stay connected to each other and to celebrate work accomplished
Religious Education: Activities to inform, while inspiring us to keep working toward our goal of just and sustainable practices
Sustainable Living: Activities to treat the world more gently by using fewer resources and being mindful of the choices we make

“As human beings, we have a moral and spiritual responsibility to be good stewards of our planet and to ensure a secure and meaningful life for all.”

November 17, 2019 Update On Our UUSL Green Sanctuary (GS) Certification

At our November 17th Green Sanctuary meeting, we reviewed the UUA Green Sanctuary Certification Program, shared ideas about activities and projects and discussed next steps. Although we’re just a few months along with defining and implementing our UUSL Green Sanctuary (GS) Program, we’ve made important strides towards our goal to help manage the impacts of environmental threats in our local community.

As a congregation, we’re becoming more aware about the climate change crisis, other critical environmental issues and the impact on our world. In addition, we’re learning about what we can all do to reduce our carbon footprint, live more sustainably and spread the word across our communities.

Most importantly, we’ve begun to lay the groundwork for our Green Sanctuary Certification. To date, our primary focus has included the professional environmental evaluation of our sanctuary, outreach to diverse organizations, and ongoing communications.

Highlights Of Our Environmental Evaluation

The environmental evaluation of our sanctuary and organization, included;

Submitting of our GS application for review.
Completion of gas and electric audits and installation of new programmable thermostats.
Solar audits with two companies accomplished and preliminary proposals received
Green Sanctuary Energy Committee being formed to evaluate proposals and recommend if solar panels would be possible and practical for our building.

Update On Outreach To Diverse Organizations

GS committee members initiated several outreach efforts to determine where we can help:

Talked about the UUSL Green Sanctuary program with the executive committee at Taylor Community.
Investigated mountain topping and fracking.
Sent an inquiry letter to the Laconia School to work with Student Groups.
Contacted US Senate and Congressional Representatives to support the Energy Innovation Act through the Citizens’ Climate Lobby app.
Attended UUAction NH meeting and Local Energy Solutions Conference.

Further Information

For more information about our UUSL Green Sanctuary (GS) Program:

Look for updates on our progress in the weekly “News You Can Use” email, on our Facebook page and our GS webpage.
See the Green Sanctuary inserts in your Sunday bulletins for more information on Global Warming and other environmental issues as well as tips on sustainable living strategies.
We’d love to hear your suggestions and ideas. Email your comments to Roger & Inez A, or see them any time before or after service during our coffee hour on Sunday.

Join us at our monthly UUSL Green Sanctuary Meetings. We urgently need your help. Remember, no effort is too small. We’re the “drop in the bucket” (reference to Rev Emily Burr’s sermon), one among many who are striving to make a difference. Together, we can create a tipping point to spur significant actions to address the climate change crisis and achieve a healthier, greener planet for all.