Green Sanctuary

Mission Statement
The Green Sanctuary Committee seeks to put into practice the Seventh Principle of the UUA: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. Members work to make the church building more energy efficient and environmentally friendly and to educate the church community on issues of conservation and environmental impact.

We are guided by the UUA Seventh Principle Project and its Green Sanctuary Program, which offers resources and suggestions for creating a sustainable life style for church members as individuals and as a faith community.

We warmly welcome anyone who wants to participate in the activities of the committee. There is no official process for joining the committee: just come to the meetings and work with us!

We usually meet once a month after Sunday services. See the church calendar.

Send in your green planet recipes and tips!

The Green Sanctuary page seeks more meatless recipes from the congregation and tips of all kinds to help the planet. Download a countdown of the latest Tip to help the Planet list! Please send both recipes and tips to ethicaleating@acsboston.org. Thanks!

Ethical Eating

~ Click here for delicious meatless recipes from our congregation ~

 

Green Sanctuary Committee Resources
UU Ministry for Earth website
Massachusetts Interfaith Power and Light (MIP&L) website

 

40 YEARS of Earth Day / 40 DAYS of commitment
40 UUs in your congregation stand up for the Earth
April 18th–May 27th, 2010

Choose one or more of these 40+ actions for your 40-day pledge, or create your own adventurous 40-day lifestyle change, for the sake of the Earth and all who live here. To learn more about 40/40/40, see www.tr.im/404040.

Feel free to download this list in Word format or in PDF format. Any questions, or concerns? Would you like to work on this with a group of like-minded people involved with Arlington Street Church? Please email us at ethicaleating@ascboston.org.

 

40/40/40 Ideas for Children and Youth

• Help in the kitchen every day for 40 days
• Try chewing one bite 40 times and to see what you notice, every day for 40 days
• Eat at least one fruit or vegetable with every meal for 40 days
• Check labels, and don’t eat food if you can’t pronounce an ingredient, if it contains corn syrup or more than five ingredients, or if sugar is at the top of the list, for 40 days
• Drink water only from the tap or a water fountain for 40 days
• Don’t drink any soda for 40 days
• Try a new “whole food” (fruit, grain, vegetable, or fungus) every day for 40 days
• With kids, youth, and adults, write a skit about the impact our food choices have on our planet, and perform it at the conclusion of the 40 days
• Plant and water vegetable seeds (like lettuce or beans) and watch them grow for the 40 days
• Ask one new question about where food comes from, every day for 40 days

 

Sample Actions for Young and Old Adults

Worship and Spirituality

• Offer a spoken grace before meals for 40 day (download our Favorite UU Table Graces)
• Pick one food you eat per day; spend three minutes thinking about its production, distribution, and impact on the Earth, every day for 40 days
• With others, organize a congregational celebration of the successful completion of 40/40/40, over the 40 days

 

Wisdom, Awareness, Knowledge

• Eat normally but keep your food packaging and document the volume at the end of 40 days—send your pics to the 40-40-40 blog
• Meet with a study group six times to discuss the challenge of eating with your culture, relationships, budget, and UU values in mind, over the 40 days
• Read at least one page of a website, magazine, or book on an ethical eating topic of choice, every day for 40 days
• In 40 words or less, describe a factor you would have guide your food choices (consider price, taste, culture, tradition, values, ethics, and spirituality) every day for 40 days
• In 40 words or less, describe a factor you would have guide your food choices (consider price, taste, culture, tradition, values, ethics, and spirituality) every day for 40 days
• Read “Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice” Resource Guide for tips, then host a film series on food/agricultural topics over the 40 days
• Over 40 days, collect recipes from congregants, along with the stories about where the recipes come from and why they exemplify “ethical eating”; sell the recipe book as a fundraiser at the end of the 40 days
• Gather stories of 40/40/40 in your congregation and send the words, pictures, or videos to be published on the 40/40/40 blog at 40-40-40 blog
• Once a week for 40 days, talk with someone you eat with about how to make mealtime a consistent source of joy and delight, and an expression of your values
• Once a week, dedicate 40 minutes to learning about the real meaning of labels like organic, natural, cage-free, free-range, and organic, for 40 days
• Read Mason and Singer’s The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter or Participant Media and Weber’s Food Inc.: A Participant Guide over the 40 days
• Discuss environmental justice and food (see www.tinyurl.com/eth-eat with another person, every day for 40 days

 

Economic and Social Justice

• If you enjoy coffee, chocolate, or tea, buy from Fair Trade sources for 40 days
• Estimate how much you typically spend on your daily food; set aside that amount every day to donate to a food pantry at the end of your 40 days
• Get 40 in your congregation to volunteer in shifts to support food pantries, soup kitchens, homebound food delivery services for 40 days
• Spend 10 minutes daily as a “good food advocate.” Not sure where to start? Try www.takepart.com/categories/food

 

Planetary Wellbeing

• Eat lower on the food chain by replacing one or more animal products for 40 days
• Say no to water from plastic bottles for 40 days
• Reduce your meat intake by one or two days weekly. Explore vegetable and grain dishes and try new recipes. If you eat fish and other sea life, consult the sustainable seafood recommendations from the website of Monterey Bay Aquarium to guide your choices for 40 days
• Shop in a food cooperative, farmer’s market, small business, or locally owned grocery store instead of chain supermarkets throughout the 40 days
• Try to buy the foods with fewest steps between production and your plate for 40 days
• Try veganism for 40 days

 

Sustainable Practices

• Alone or with a congregational group, outside or in pots, start and care for a vegetable garden, and watch it come to life over the 40 days
• Use bulk ingredients to make your own cereal, and thereby cut costs and unnecessary packaging for 40 days
• Switch some or all types of produce to organic for 40 days
• Take a fruit or vegetable snack to school or work every day for 40 days
• Reduce packaging (and expense!) by trying to buy enough rice, oatmeal, nuts, whole grains, flours, and/or cereals in bulk to last your family 40 days
• Paper or plastic? Nope—use only reusable bags for groceries for 40 days
• Commit to obtaining an appropriate category of food locally for 40 days
• Place reusable containers someplace they’ll be handy (near a bag, car, or bike) when you’re at a restaurant; use your own container for any leftovers, for 40 days
• Try home composting for 40 days
• Make two batches of a healthy, humane, sustainable recipe; share the recipe and dish with a friend, or freeze the extra batch to keep your freezer full and energy efficient, once a week for 40 days
• Whenever you shop for food, compare food package volume and make decisions accordingly over the 40 days.

 

Humane Treatment of Food Animals

• Buy grass fed beef for 40 days
• Buy eggs from or supplied by local and backyard farms for 40 days.
• Learn about practices and conditions on factory farms.
• Locate local farms where animals live in comfortable conditions with access to the natural environment. Take your kids and buy for 40 days.
• Post local sources for buying humane meat, eggs and milk on your church website
• Make a list of food that doesn’t fit your sense of “good, humane, clean, and fair,” and say “no, thanks” for 40 days
• Read Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

 

Personal Health and Wellbeing

• Only eat meals in rooms without a t.v. or computer monitor on for 40 days
• Skip fast food for 40 days
• With your household, eat one more meals together than is your custom, daily for 40 days
• Take a pass on some or all processed foods for 40 days
• Try veganism for 40 days

 

Note: This list of tips, based on the UUA 40-40-40 campaign, has been modified for Arlington Street Church.

For additional sample actions for adults, youth, and kids, see the 40-40-40 blog