Green Sanctuary Action Plan

SOUTH CHURCH GREEN SANCTUARY ACTION PLAN

2/20/2008, revised for status 2/15/2009

Worship and Celebration

(at least 2 activities required)

ACTIVITY	DESCRIPTION/COMMENT	LEAD	WHEN
W1-Include Honoring the Earth in more services	Revise Mission Covenant Statement which is part of each Sunday service to include the Earth. Add something like: “we honor Earth and the interdependent web of all existence;” Revisions to the South Church’s mission and mission covenant statement will be organized by Strategic Planning in the spring and need to be approved by the Congregation.	GS - Judy Miller, Strategic Planning – Amy Criswell, Eric Lipsitt, Congregation	Spring 2008, Nov. 2008
	PETITION TO CHANGE MISSION COVENANT STATEMENT IS BEING CONSIDERED FOR A VOTE AT ANNUAL MEETING IN NOV. 2009
W2-Arbor Day/Earth Day service	GS will take the lead on the Sunday morning service which will have an Arbor Day theme. Flo Reed, President of Sustainable Harvest(SHI), the benefactor of our major Environmental Justice project, will be the featured speaker.	GS team, WA – Jennifer Whitten, Musician – Jon Prichard, SHI – Flo Reed	April 20, 2008
	SERVICE CONDUCTED AS SCHEDULED
Blessing of the Animals	Rev. Roberta will take the lead on a Blessing of the Animals service in late August/early fall.	Rev. Roberta, Sandra Greenfield, Director Lifespan Faith Development	August or Sept. 2008
	PLANNED FOR SPRING 2009
W3-Interfaith Sustainability Service	Judy Miller and Jon Pritchard, as South Church members of the Interfaith Sustainability Team(IST), will be working on planning the Piscataqua Region Interfaith Sustainability Conference, to be held from Oct.17 – Oct.19, 2008. As the final part of the Conference, South Church will do the Sunday morning service with a theme of Sustainability and featuring the Jewish Harvest Festival Sukkot.	GS and IST - Judy Miller, IST - Jon Prichard, Rev. Roberta	Oct. 19, 2008
	SERVICE CONDUCTED AS SCHEDULED

Religious Education

(at least 2 activities required including 1 for children)

ACTIVITY	DESRIPTION/COMMENT	LEAD	DATE
RE1 - Sustainability Adult Spiritual Enrichment classes	John Carroll, Professor of Natural Resources at the University of New Hampshire(UNH) speaking on Oil Before Food, the Relationship of Food and Oil	GS - Diane Woods, ASE - Bret Newbury, UNH – John Carroll	Jan. 20, 2008
	COMPLETED AS SCHEDULED
	Home Energy Audit Workshop by Laurel McEwen of Stepping Up Green. The workshop will explain how to do a home energy audit of electrical, heating and hot water systems and develop a plan to reduce home energy carbon emissions and energy costs.	GS - Judy Miller, ASE – Bret Newbury, Laurel McEwen – Stepping Up Green	Feb. 20, 2008
	COMPLETED AS SCHEDULED
RE2 – Green Web Workshop	This workshop, run by Promise the Children (www.promisethechildrenuu.org) teaches social justice through climate change and gives youth the skills to advocate for change. The Sr. Youth started to develop an action plan to make energy efficiency improvements to Karnan House.	GS – Wes Tator, RE Sr. Youth – Dan Beausoleil, Promise the Children – Meryl Baier	Feb. 3 2008
	COMPLETED AS SCHEDULED
RE3 – Minds Alive! book reading and signing	As part of South Church’s Minds Alive! Lyceum lecture series and in collaboration with RiverRun, an independent Portsmouth local bookstore, and Slow Food Seacoast, South Church will host a book reading and signing by Frances Moore Lappe, the author of “Diet for a Small Planet” and “Hope’s Edge”. Her current book is “Getting a Grip, Clarity, Creativity and Courage in a World Gone Mad.”	GS - Skye Maher, Judy Miller, River Run – Michele Filgate, Seacoast Slow Food – Michelle Moon	March 18, 2008
	COMPLETED AS SCHEDULED
RE4 -Intergenerational Activities	An intergenerational evening program will be held in April. The film “Arctic Tale” will be shown.	GS –Wes Tator, RE Intergenerational Activities – Jeanne Daniels	April 19 , 2008
	COMPLETED AS SCHEDULED
	An educational intergenerational picnic and walk at Creek Farm, a Portsmouth preserve maintained by the Society for the Protection of NH Forests(SPNHF), is planned for May. The walk will be led by a naturalist from SPNHF and there may also be a speaker from the Shoals Marine Laboratory.	GS – Skye Maher, RE Intergenerational Activities – Jeanne Daniels, SPHNF Creek Farm Naturalist	May 18, 2008
	COMPLETED AS SCHEDULED
RE5 - Pocket Garden Tour educational offerings	In expanded efforts to educate gardeners on ways to live gently on our planet, we will be offering professional advice on organic gardening, soil amending, composting, native vs. invasive species and water use.	GS and Pocket Garden Committee – Roddy Cole	June 20 – 21, 2008
	MASTER GARDENERS PARTICIPATED
RE6-Minds Alive! Environmental speaker	As part of South Church’s Lyceum, Minds Alive!, one of the speakers will be an environmental speaker.	GS - Skye Maher, Rev. Roberta	Fall 2008
	DAVID KORTEN SPOKE IN JUNE 2008 ON HIS BOOK “FROM EMPIRE TO EARTH COMMUNITY”

Sustainable Living

(at least 4 activities including at least 1 for energy conservation or efficiency)

ACTIVITY	DESCRIPTION/COMMENT	LEAD	WHEN
S1- Tree Challenge	Field trip to harvest and ball up tree seedlings and plant them in other locations. The trees will be planted a location that needs trees in Portsmouth or possibly at the Interfaith Hospitality Network Habitat for Humanity houses.	GS - Skye Maher, Roddy Cole	10/21/ 2007 and spring 2008
	PLANTS AND TREES PLANTED AT AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMPLEX ON JUNE 1, 2009
S2-E1-Calculate Carbon Footprint for church and Karnan House	Using the method learned in the Energy Efficiency Workshop held in the spring of 2007, lay the groundwork for measuring future energy enhancements by establishing a baseline of carbon emissions at South Church using our utility bills.	GS - Peter Somssich	Jan. 2008
	COMPLETED
S3-E2- Implement several recommendations from the Oil and Electric Energy Audits conducted during the Environmental Audit	Several of the recommendations made in the energy audits have been implemented since the Environmental Audit and others are in process. These will be documented in our Application for Accreditation. Major changes will be contingent on completing the Building Assessment and a Capital Fund Campaign.	GS - Wes Tator, Skye Maher, Church Administrator – Julie Frank, Building Committee – Jeanne Daniels, Board of Trustees	Ongoing
	PARTIALLY COMPLETED – DETAILS WILL BE IN THE CERTIFICATION REPORT
S4-E3- Conduct a PSNH lighting Audit and implement recommendations	A recommendation from the Environmental Audit was to have a lighting audit done by PSNH. This has been completed and a report produced with recommendations. This has been reviewed by Peter Somssich of the GS Team and Julie Frank, Office Administrator. A partial implementation has been contracted out.	GS - Peter Somssich, Church Administrator – Julie Frank	11/26/ 2007, Winter/ 2008
	DEFERRED DUE TO A SPACE UTILIZATION STUDY AND IMPLEMENATION OF OTHER BUILDING ENHANCEMENTS
S5-Require that green options be considered when making building improvements	Propose a policy to the Board to require that when building improvements are done that environmentally sustainable options are considered.	GS - Skye Maher, Wes Tator, Board of Trustees	Spring 2008
	POLICY BEING DEFINED

Environmental Justice

(at least 2 activities with 1 being a major year long activity involving organization(s) outside of South Church)

ACTIVITY	DESCRIPTION/COMMENT	LEAD	DATE
EJ1 Holiday Alternative Gifts Bazaar	Sell fair trade products including environmentally friendly products and other alternative gifts at church bazaar open to the public. This was done for the first time in Dec. 2007 and will become an annual event.	GS - Diane Woods, OA’s – Mary Burke	First Sunday in Dec.
	FAIR HELD AS SCHEDULED
EJ2- Selling and promoting Equal Exchange products and promoting and fundraising for Sustainable Harvest International(SHI)	As our major year long environmental justice project, we will sell Equal Exchange fair trade coffee, cocoa and chocolate at Coffee Hour once a month for 1 year and donate proceeds to SHI to plant trees in developing countries in Central America. During the year there will be other fundraisers for SHI and promotions of Equal Exchange and SHI as listed below.	GS Team, SHI – Flo Reed, Equal Exchange	2008
	Sell a donation by Transfair of bouquets of roses to promote fair trade flowers on Valentines Day to raise money for SHI.	GS – Diane Woods, Judy Miller, Transfair	Feb. 14, 2008
	Serve Equal Exchange fair trade coffee at the South Church Kitchen Auction which will be open to the public. Have educational displays of Equal Exchange fair trade coffee, tea and chocolate and Sustainable Harvest International.	GS – Roddy Cole, Judy Miller, Auction Food Committee. – Kari Pritchard	Mar.29 2008
	There will be a second offering at the Earth/Arbor Day service for SHI.	GS – Diane Woods	April 20, 2008
	We hope to have the junior and senior youth and/or other groups participate in fundraisers for SHI to be defined during the year.	Others to be determined
	$2300 COLLECTED FOR SHI OVER THE YEAR – ENOUGH TO BE THE MAJORITY OF THE SUPPORT FOR 11 FAMILIES IN BOOM CREEK, BELIZE

Abbreviations for committees used in the LEAD column: WA’s – Worship Associates, ASE – Adult Spiritual Enrichment, GS – Green Sanctuary Team, OA’s – Outreach Associates, PGT – Pocket Garden Tour, IST – Interfaith Sustainability Team, UNH – University of New Hampshire.

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