I.  Officers:  Amy Raven and Judy Sawyer will co-chair the committee for 2008-09, Audrey Maslin will serve as Treasurer, and Sharon Gaglia will be Secretary.  Chuck Wagar is our Ombudsman.

II.  Worship and Celebration:  12/6/07 was the Holiday Pageant, dramatizing the story of the formation of the cosmos, earth and life.  4/20/08, Earth Day, featured Rev. Landale with a sermon on the Great Story of creation and life as a miracle for reverence and stewardship.

III.  Religious Education:  Green Sanctuary made education a primary effort this year.  We had tabling in the fall, and in March-April, for awareness of projects and events; three "Green Tips" were in the weekly UUpdate and monthly newsletter.  Two workshops, one given by Michael Dowd on "Thank God for Evolution," and one led by Kate Gessert on "Reconnecting with Each Other and the Earth," were held.  Green Sanctuary and the R.E. program coordinated a No Electricity Day at the church on Earth Day, and a Skateboard and Bike Day on 6/8/08.  A monthly movie program featured the following films and discussion:
         1/07 Green is the New Red, White and Blue
         1/08  Who Killed the Electric Car
         2/08  The End of Suburbia;  The Story of Stuff
         3/08  The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
         4/08  What a Way to Go:  Life at the End of Empire
         5/08  Affluenza
         6/08  Thirst

IV.  Action Projects:  
         A)  Church Conservation: Successful continuation of kitchen principles introduced the previous year in which paper products are minimally used, if at all, in lieu of ceramics and regular utensils; continued recycling and composting in the kitchen area; reduction of the Sanctuary temperature by two degrees and other electricity-saving efforts, so that, despite membership increases by as much as a fifth over 2007, electricity usage between 1/15/07 - 1/14/08 rose by only 3.5% (from 54,560 to 56,480 KWH).  Water usage was reduced through purchase of a new toilet and continuation of other conservation efforts (from 1/15/06 - 1/14/07, compared to 1/15/07n -1/20/08, 79,000 gallons was reduced 19% to 64,000 gallons, the lowest usage since record comparisons began in 2002).
         B)  Green Landscaping:  On 4/19/08 we volunteered in our Fourth Annual Stream Team at the native plant garden at Alton Baker Park, as part of the Earth Day observations.  In snow, sleet and rain, approximately 18 folks turned out.  In May, 2008, an infestation of wasps was handled without the use of pesticides.
         C)  Food for Thought and Action:  Green Sanctuary helped sponsor the "That's My Farmer" program on 4/8/08, promoting local organic markets and CSAs for the entire community and its less privileged members.
         D)  Global Warming:  In fall 2007 we continued the effort of promoting the Eugene Mayor's Climate Challenge, in which folks inventory their energy use and carbon footprints, and commit to specific steps to reduce them.  In winter, we publicized and promoted members' receiving free Climate Consults from Climate Masters, individuals who received 30 hours of training from Eugene's Climate Leadership Initiative.
         E)  Sustainable Transportation:  We co-sponsored, with R.E., the "Skateboard and Bike Day" on 6/8, an awareness exercise of encouraging members to use alternative transportation to church, or carpool as much as possible.
         F)  Green Building:  This was another area of prominence for Green Sanctuary this past year.  Several members of the Green Sanctuary committee served on committees and working groups seeking a new site for our growing congregation, helping to ensure that environmental values were integrated into the weave of UU principles guiding the process.  It turned out that various occasions for congregational input demonstrated strong member support for a central location with minimized Vehicle Miles Traveled, as well as strong support for green construction, whether in a new building or renovating an existing one.
         G)  Environmental Justice:  The Endowment Fund's investments were directed into Socially and Environmentally Responsible investments in the previous fiscal year, and this continued.  The Microfinance project moved ahead with establishment of an alliance with Centro Latino for providing microloans to members of Huertas de las Familias for the development of gardens for domestic use.

V.  Looking Ahead
In April 2008, in anticipation of a flurry of Congregational meetings, Town Halls, etc., the Board deemed that there was not sufficient opportunity for a congregational meeting devoted to authorizing UUCE to request formal accreditation as a Green Sanctuary Church with the UU Ministry for Earth.  This will be carried over into the next church year.  In May, the committee met with Rev. Landale to anticipate the church theme for the 2008-09 year as a Seventh Principle year.  This will entail increased Green Sanctuary program activity, and a congregational vote for formal credentialing will fold naturally into this theme.  Also in May 2008, initial meetings began to form a "Cluster" with other service-focused Church groups to coordinate and integrate efforts.  This cluster decided to call itself the Social Action Cluster.  The Social Justice Committee had already gone in with Green Sanctuary in co-sponsoring the "That's My Farmer" program in April.  Possible future joint efforts might continue along the lines of Ethical Eating.

Submitted by Erik Fisher, co-coordinator of Green Sanctuary, 2007-08.