Green Sanctuary
OCUUC Green Sanctuary’s mission is to have OCUUC become a certified Green Sanctuary, per the requirements outlined by the Unitarian Universalist Association. Green Sanctuary also does everything we can to inform the members and friends of the congregation about best environmental practices.
What Is the Urban Dweller’s Relationship With Nature Supposed to Be?
I came across a very intriguing article by one Stefany Anne Golberg that asked the question in the title. Golberg asks this question in light of the “delightful and alluring” results of urban gardening in her home city of Brooklyn, New York, but also around the world.
In asking the question, she claims that “nobody knows…. [b]ut it’s an old dilemma,” going back to Plato and answered in their own way by Henry David Thoreau and Frederick Law Olmstead. Golberg arrives at an answer in this way.
Certainly, many urban gardeners are interested in the environmental (i.e. moral) consequences of city growing. The eco-ethical dream of those like Folke Günther is that urban gardening could move beyond aesthetic concerns and really help feed the world’s urban poor. For now, though, the movement outside my window is not subsistence farming. No one in Brooklyn is going to starve without urban gardens. Even so, urban gardeners are earnest in their agricultural pursuits. I think most commercial farmers would be pretty surprised to see how much children in Prospect Park have learned about irrigation techniques. What’s surely exciting is that urban gardeners have us imagining cities as we’ve never seen them, that move beyond public parks and designated green zones: rooftop apple-picking, gardens in school cafeterias, skyscrapers that emerge out of forests. The modern city as the new Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Gardens — and still Babylon, too.
What are your thoughts? And if you wish to explore this idea further, perhaps the Green Theology course hosted by OCUUC starting this March may be of interest to you.
Green Theology Course
I have a quick update on the Green Theology course that we will host this spring.
The Classes (and potlucks!) will be held on March 16, 23, 30, and April 6, 13, 20. This course will also have a weekend seminar on April 29 and 30. Mark your calendars now! These dates are set!
Regarding the potlucks, all are invited that evening, whether you’re taking the course or not. Please bring a dish with enough servings to share. Drinks will be provided. The potluck will run from 5 PM to 6:45 PM and have no “formal” program, but we will discuss important social justice topics in UULM, UUSC, and throughout Orange County.
Registration details soon to come.
More News on the Green Theology Course
We have a tentative date set for the start of the Green Theology course. It is March 2, 2011. It will run for six weeks in March every Wednesday from 7 to 9 pm, one weekend day course to be determined, and end on April 6. Potlucks will be held two hours prior to this course and, as long as you bring something to share, all are welcome to the potluck!
There will be a service on April 24 (two days after Earth Day and Arbor Day) commemorating the work done in this course. If you are interested in taking it, contact Mike Harmanos (green
ocuuc
org) for more information. This course is available to OCUUC members, other UUs in and around Orange County, and to the greater public!
OCUUC is working to increase commitment to this faith tradition and to the congregation by creating a replicable adult education curriculum on the topic theology and ecology, “Green Theology.” Our goal will be to deepen theological understanding particularly as it relates to a current day issue for our society. This course will be more intensive than a “Building Your Own Theology” course, but not as rigorous as a class at a seminary.
The project will be under the direction of Dr. Michael Hogue, Professor at Meadville Lombard Theological School and the Reverend Doctor Karen Stoyanoff, minister at Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church, Costa Mesa, CA.
Here is what Professor Michael Hogue says about this course: “This adult education course in “green theology” will include weekly readings, discussions, and exercises to facilitate the lay theological learning crucial to sustaining “green congregations”. Readings in the first part of the course will include books and articles that survey the varieties of religious environmentalism and offer critical analyses of the cultural roots of the environmental crisis. The second part of the course will include writings that offer constructive theological responses to environmental challenges. Interreligious and multicultural voices will be included in the bibliography. Workshop sessions will include text analysis accompanied by questions and exercises that lead participants to apply their learning to local the eco-social challenges in their communities and congregations.”
Green Theology Course at OCUUC
Very exciting news! Rev. Harlan Limpert, Vice President for Ministries and Congregational Support of the UUA, informed us this past week that the Lay Theological Education taskforce granted OCUUC $5,050 to support our proposal to “create a replicable adult education curriculum on the topic theology and ecology, ‘Green Theology’.”
This blog will be the main source of information about the upcoming course. Contact us (greenocuucorg?subject=Green%20Theology%20Course) if you have any questions. We will keep you posted!
UU Community Church of Santa Monica Receives Awards for Environmental Stewardship
From the UUA’s Green Sanctuary blog…
The Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica (UUCCSM) won the Excellence Award for Social Responsibility and Stewardship of the Natural Environment. Here are some (but not all) of the reasons the church was honored by the City of Santa Monica, Sustainable Works and the Chamber of Commerce for these Sustainable Quality Awards:
Happy 40th Anniversary, Clean Air Act
Wanted to share a recent article I read in Grist Magazine about the anniversary of the Clean Air Act. Have you ever wondered what kind of progress we have made? Take a look at these statistics:
- In 1970, US sulfur oxides pollution was over 31 million tons per year. Now it is less than 11.5 million tons.
- US hydrocarbon pollution was over 34 million tons per year. More than half of that from cars and trucks. Now it is less than 16 million tons.
- Nitrogen oxides pollution was nearly 28 million tons per year. Now it is about 16 million tons.
- Carbon monoxide pollution was over 200 million tons per year; nearly all from cars and trucks. Now it is less than 78 million tons.
- These large cuts in pollution are all the more significant considering the fact that our economy grew so much from 1970 until now.
- In 1970, US GDP was $3.8 trillion (2000 $). It is now $13.2 trillion, a 3.5 fold increase.
- In 1970 there were 108 million vehicles on the road, driving about 1.2 trillion miles a year. In 2008 there were nearly 250 million vehicles on the road, driving 3 trillion miles a year.
- In 1970, tailpipe controls were in their infancy. So much so that one car company met the government limit on pollutant concentration by adding an air pump to dilute its exhaust.
Change is often difficult, but slow, steady progress is underrated.
Certification Update
Wanted to provide an update to all regarding certification as a Green Sanctuary. Because of the inability to raise funds, we will not go forward with any proposals with converting the power to solar.
According to President Mary, we will be deciding a third major social justice project for OCUUC. There will be a larger, more comprehensive conversation throughout the church on this in the next few months.
In the mean time, this blog will continue to provide information and resources on green options.
Upcoming Event: Master Gardeners of Orange County Seminar – Saturday, September 25
The Master Gardeners of Orange County will host their 8th annual Gardening Seminar on Saturday, September 25, 2010 from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm. It will be held at:
Huntington Beach Central Library
7111 Talbert Ave | Huntington Beach, CA
I know that, in the past, a number of Members have wanted to learn more about zero water landscaping and composting. This is an excellent opportunity to learn from the best!
Online registration can be found here. The cost is $37 for the day. I may attend and then, from what I’ve learned, have a follow up session back at OCUUC later in the year.
UU Church of Fresno “Building a Theology of Ecology”
From the UUA Green Sanctuary blog…
UU Church of Fresno invites members on a Spiritual Quest “Building a Theology of Ecology”
Posted by Robin Nelson
The UU Church of Fresno offers year-round Spiritual Quest Groups, small lay-led weekly discussion meetings participants delve deeply into Unitarian Universalist principles or covenant. They work together to learn right relationships, deep listening and communication skills as they grow together on their spiritual journey.
As a part of their Green Sanctuary process, Linda Mack, a member of the church, prepared a new Spiritual Quest curriculum called “Building a Theology of Ecology.” The curriculum was designed to foster the development of a theology of ecology, helping people to articulate their emotional and spiritual connection to the earth, the meaning they find in life that sustains their hope, and the moral responsibility that impels them to action. Linda put together eight sessions, beginning with an introductory session, explaining the process, deep listening, and a covenant of right relationship, with the question to be considered based on the 7th Principle. The topics she developed were “Awe and Wonder”, “Sense of Place”, “Simplicity”, “Wild Nature/Human Nature”, “Environmental Justice”, “Technology/Ecology” and the concept of “Evo/Devo”. Each sessions’ curriculum included a chalice lighting, topic introduction, readings, questions, and closings. This curriculum was then offered to three Spiritual Quest Groups at the church.
Plug-in Hybrid Prius at OCUUC
We were greeted in the parking lot this morning by a plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius, thanks to new OCUUC member Bethie Lear-VanderYacht. This vehicle made its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show back in December 2009. Frequently asked questions about it can be found here. Thanks for sharing, Bethie!
