The FUSS Green Sanctuary Program
Updates:
How Green is our Sanctuary? (May 23, 2007)
Outings sponsored by the Green Sanctuary Committee
(updated May 24, 2007)
The FUSS Recycling Program (May 2007)
The Green Sanctuary Committee has developed an ambitious Action Plan for 2006-2007.
About the Green Sanctuary Program:
A Green Sanctuary is a congregation that lives out its commitment to the Earth by creating a sustainable life style for its members as individuals and as a faith community. Sustainable living is not about our material comfort (though these choices are an important part of the overall life style); it is about choosing to live in a way that nurtures life, builds relationships, and rejects material consumption as the sole determinant of happiness.
The Green Sanctuary Program includes a total of twelve activities in four program areas:
- Worship and Celebration
- Religious Education
- Environmental Justice
- Sustainable Living
With the support of the FUSS Board of Trustees and the FUSS Social Action Council, members of the Society convened a Green Sanctuary Committee in 2006. An energetic group of volunteers is working regularly and effectively to promote the Green Sanctuary program at FUSS.
Among the many activities are:
* Cleanup programs in public areas near the church: volunteers (among them many youngsters in our RE program) performed an intensive spring cleaning in nearby Steinmetz Park this year (see accompanying photos)
* Public information: the film "An Inconvenient Truth" was shown at FUSS on October 10 to an enthusiastic audience, with discussion following.
* FUSS, along with ECOS (the Environmental Clearinghouse of Schenectady) co-sponsored this year's annual Rachel Carson Program, on October 19, 2006.
The Rachel Carson Program is held each year to commemorate the achievements of Rachel Carson, the first person who documented the environmentally harmful effects of pesticides used to control “unwanted pests.” Through her 1962 publication, Silent Spring, she created a tide of ecological consciousness that has continued unabated. Each year the Rachel Carson program features a prominent environmental speaker and an award ceremony honoring a local person who has contributed significantly to the environmental welfare of our community.
* The committee provides extensive information at a table every Sunday before and after services, including in-depth content in several Topic Folders
* Members of the committee are organizing a Green Lending Library, gathering books on loan from FUSS members and offering them on loan to other members interested in learning more about environmental issues.
* Green Sanctuary activists participate in many other local activities (such as those planned by ECOS) supporting awareness and care for the environment.
Here is the latest Green Sanctuary bulletin:
Clean Green Power Tower: Add Your Name!
How many FUSS members subscribe to renewable energy through the National Grid power bill? Stop by our table and add your name to the Clean Green Power Tower. If you aren’t a subscriber to renewable energy, you can get information at our table.
In the spirit of “recycle and reuse”, the Green Sanctuary committee is starting a Lending Library of environmental books in the Emerson Room this November. All we need is books! Won’t you loan us some? We’ll begin collecting on Sunday, November 5th. We’re looking for resources on green architecture, green energy tech, children’s books on nature, sustainability planning, gardening with native plants, organic gardening, composting, general environmental books, nature and spirituality, etc. Be sure to put your name and phone number in your books so we can return them at the end of the project. Then don’t forget to visit the library and borrow something that catches your interest!
Vicki Michela and her Sunday School class are preparing a box for our members to recycle the Sunday order of service. It will be located at the membership table, a convenient spot near the door as you exit. Please do not deposit garbage in this container.
Green Sanctuary now has a collection box for computer printer ink cartridges. We will be recycling these through ECOS. Save those cartridges! Support Green Sanctuary, ECOS, and Mother Earth!
We are looking into selling energy efficient light bulbs at the Green Sanctuary table. If you’re thinking of purchasing these, look for our order forms in the near future. We are hoping to use proceeds from this to help cover the cost of getting FUSS to subscribe to renewable energy.
Our showing of “An Inconvenient Truth” on Tuesday, October 11 was a great success. We felt optimistic when we ordered participation packets for 25 people. Sixty people came! We hope to see active involvement in our energy conservation activities. |
