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Minutes by Date March 2008 December 10, 2007 November 12, 2007 October 8, 2007 May 14, 2007 April 9, 2007 March 12 2007 February 12, 2007 January 8, 2007 December 11, 2006 November 13, 2006 October 9, 2006 September 18, 2006 April 10, 2006

Attending: Berry Broadbent, Audrey Madin, Ruth Duemler, Judy Sawyer, Lorna Baldwin, Eldon Haines, Carol Armstrong, Julie Rogers, ChuckWagar, Amy Raven, Barbara Davis and Erik Fisher.

The minutes from the last meeting were approved.
It is sad to note that Sylvia Shaw is moving out of state.

Update on Activities

Stream Team: 30 people helped at the Native Plant Nursery. 4 raised beds were built and lots of transplanting was accomplished.

That’s My Farmer: 300 people attended the event at United Methodist.
We will be selling Farmer’s Bucks at UUCE.

Social Justice/Green Sanctuary Committees Meeting with Steve Landale: Overall a very positive meeting. He seems very interested in being a presence in the interfaith community. Some concerns/perhaps confusion about “choosing one main issue”.

Step It Up: This march for awareness of Global Warming was on 4/14, and five from Green Sanctuary attended.

Table Staffing comments: We need to organize this opportunity to be more effective. The response from the congregation has been slow…

Action Items

Global Warming Task Force: This task force has met once. They are interested in the on-line challenge from Mayor Kitty Piercy. Is there a way we can bring this to the attention of the congregation? Is there an alternative to doing it on-line?
It is at www.sustaineugene.com.
We will set up a table during June and July to share using this tool. An article will go into the UUCE newsletter.

Summer Service: Many details still need to be worked out for the possible summer service with Bill Scarvie. It is currently scheduled for 7/22/07. Bill Scarvie wants to offer a workshop following his service, which we would sponsor. Carol reported that the Methodist Church has one activity each month dealing with global warming. Eldon passed around an article from Mother Jones, about which ones are the best carbon footprint calculators. Julie Rogers has a book called Low Carbon Diet, by David Gershon, which she would share and which she recommends. There are many good tips in it of how to reduce our impact.

Bike racks: Erik is trying to get one from BRING. He has volunteered to purchase this with his own $$ if necessary. (Note: Erik HAS gotten the new bike rack, and it has been installed.)

Ways to involve more of the congregation:

• Mayor’s Challenge
• Reintroduce carbon footprint
• Use of visual aids to help people make commitments to small changes
• Bus ride to 2nd hand stores
• Field trips
• Yearly Calendar of Events to include an area of challenge per month (transportation, food, clothing, etc.)

Green Sanctuary Accreditation: We will wait to apply in the fall. Erik will write a report and present it at the June 2 Board meeting, listing our accomplishments for the past year. We talked about coming up with a plan re: environmental justice, to work on in the first three months of the church year after Steve Lansdale arrives.

Our next meeting will be September 10, 2007.
Those present expressed a big thank you to Erik and Amy for co-chairing this committee, in Eldon’s absence, this year.
The meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,
Berry Broadbent, Acting Secretary

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Green Sanctuary Committee Meeting
April 9, 2007

In attendance:  Amy Raven, Margaret Keip, Audrey Maslin, Eve McConnaughey, Lorna Baldwin, Chuck Wagar, Berry Broadbent, Carol Armstrong, Julie Rogers, Judy Sawyer, Erik Fisher and Ruth Duemler
 
Opening Words  (Chuck Wagar)
 The motion to approval the minutes from last month was seconded, minutes approved.
 
What’s Happened since our last meeting:
•  Amy and Erik’s visited our Salem legislators on 2/26.  This was sponsored by the Ecumenical Ministry Interfaith Power and Light group, in honor of Stewardship Advocacy Day.  They met with Floyd Prozanski and a representative from Paul Holvey’s office.  Emphasis was made about the importance of contacting your representatives about upcoming bills and issues.  “Voice your opinion”.
•  Budget update:  Our expenses outweigh our income.  The estimated use of UUCE resources is not an actual expense that comes out of our pocket.  It is the way the church is keeping track of building use.  Our expenses are $500-$600.  We submitted our request; we may or may not receive what we requested.  The church budget has not been finalized yet.
•  Kitchen Committee update: Our recommendation is not an official policy, but is a set of suggested procedures.  Feedback is that it helps if people are reminded about bringing their own tableware, as well as seeing from others how easy this is to do.  Also, Gretchen Miller and Sarah Hendrickson bought three compost containers for the kitchen, and have been taking the compost home; others can as well.
•  NWEI class update: The class of Global Warming was a very enthusiastic group, great attendance, positive feedback.  Everyone had something to learn.  The April 7 Time Magazine has an article about “51 things you can do”.  ( See time.com)
•  Religious Education
•  Easter event:  Amy Samson organized the Easter Event and did a great job!  The bag of “goodies” included seeds and soil.
•  Snacks:  Amy, Erik and Lorna need to meet with Candee and see if she is willing to begin with organic apples.  Someone could see if Capella Market could give the church a discount, and Lorna could talk to some of the farmers.
 
Follow-up Discussion from last month’s meeting with Kevin Mathews and SPC:  Not much discussion, other than there needs to be a way to “quantify and compare” potential building sites using the Triple Bottom Line.  All is on hold until the vote on 5/20. If the 5/20 vote is approved, then the SPC will dissolve and other committees will form.  GSC representation is requested.

Upcoming Events:
•  Stream Team Event on 5/12.  We have this date reserved to work at the Native Plant Nursery.  Lorna will call Matt McRae to verify this date. Judy Sawyer will coordinate the event and put an article in the May newsletter, Order of Service, and have a sign-up sheet at our table in the Social Hall.
•  Meeting with ministerial candidate on 4/24 from  5:30-7:00.  The candidate is scheduled for a joint meeting with Social Justice and GSC.  Whoever can come is urged to.  This is also an opportunity for others in the congregation to join us in talking with the ministerial candidate.  BRING SNACKS THAT DON’T NEED PLATES OR SILVERWARE.   We’ll model the use of the cloth napkins from the church.
•  Step it up 2007: Amy read an email re: a  Day of National Action on  April 14th from 10-11, a rally  at W. Amazon and Snell, calling for action on Global Warming.  Audrey, Amy, Julie and Erik plan to go.
•  Empowerment Institute.Net for info on carbon footprints - check it out - where you live in the country effects your carbon footprint.
•  That’s my Farmer event is Tues. 4/17, starting at 6:30.  Elliot and Marina will be selling Farmer Bucks at UUCE starting after 4/17 and continuing through early summer.  Individuals can check with Elliot to see when help is needed to sell the Farmer Bucks.
•  UUMFE wants a report about our progress on global warming  (due 4/30).
•  High school class needs help with a project on 4/29.   Amy R and Madronna volunteered to help with this.
•  Alternative transportation: Coordinating carpooling with Care Committee neighborhood groups has not yet happened, but is being worked on.
•  The bike rack had 6 bikes in it on 4/8.  We would like to sponsor a bigger/better bike rack as a statement.  This will need to go through Facilities Council.  More research needs to be done on an affordable bike rack.  Erik found one on line, but it is $100 per hoop.  Each hoop would hold 2 bikes.  Contacting BRING Recycling, and the Center for Appropriate Transport, was suggested, to see what models or materials they might have. 

•  Tabling after services:  a schedule was set up, as follows:
April 15,  9 a.m. - Chuck, 11 a.m. - Judy
April 22, 9 - Erik; 11 - Eve
April 29, 9 - Julie; 11 - Ruth
May 6, 9 - Chuck; 11 - Lorna
We will have our brochures, the Stream Team sign-up sheet, “What’s a UU To Do?” sheets and any other material needed.

•  Summary of Achievements.  Erik would like to have a summary of “what’s been done”, given to him by April 30th, to review with the group on 5/14., as we need to make a report.
•  Decision about meeting over the summer - a task force was formed to work on both the report on our progress with Global Warming, and to meet over the summer.  Others are welcome to join - presently it consists of Erik, Amy, Audrey and Carol, with Eldon likely to be a member once he returns.  The committee as a whole will have our last meeting in May.
 
Other:  Audrey presented a proposal for “concerted action of our UUCE members to commit to taking ‘real action’ on global warming, with some form of accountability.  She feels this needs to go beyond “What’s a UU to do?”  She would like to know where there is specific information linking an action with a result. For example, if a person drives 55 mph, how much gas is saved?   She thinks people can be motivated to be willing and proud to sacrifice and mentioned WWII’s sacrifices as an example.  As she so eloquently said, “We have a moral obligation to inconvenience ourselves”.  It was decided that the above mentioned  Task Force will  work over the summer on ways to accomplish this goal.  

Summer worship:  We discussed offering to do a worship service on global warming, but then it was mentioned that a fellow is offering to come, who does both a worship service and a workshop based on David Korten’s book The Great Turning.  According to Jake Walsh, the Worship Associates would pay the cost, which was small.  We were all in favor of that, rather than doing it ourselves, as we felt it would be more effective, and will ask Jake to contact him.
 
Closing words were given by Chuck.  The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Berry Broadbent, Secretary

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Green Sanctuary/Strategic Planning Committee
Joint Meeting on 3/12/07

In attendance: Amy Raven, Betty Hosokawa, Chuck Wagar, Amy Samson, Berry Broadbent, Madronna Holden, Julie Rogers, Eve McConnaughey, Mary Otten, Martha Osgood, Bonnie Phipps, Judy Sawyer, Gretchen Miller, Larry Cummings, Judy Newman, Erik Fisher, Linda Anson, Kevin Mathews (guest speaker).

Erik read opening words from “A Grateful Heart”.
It was moved by Judy Sawyer and seconded by Amy Raven to approve last month’s minutes, and they were voted approved.

Kevin Mathews was the guest speaker, invited to talk about “triple bottom line analysis”, which basically is an alternative to $$ as being the bottom line. Triple bottom line refers to environment, social/cultural, and economic impact of a decision. He also used the terms “Planet, People, and Purse”.

Vehicle Miles Traveled is important to consider for our new location. When we have new sites to consider, the VMT should be compared for each proposed site. Energy consumption includes both Building and Transportation. Green=vacant, undisturbed site. Brown=post industrial site.

The triple bottom line analysis development needs to start with a set of key issues to use as the matrix to evaluate potential sites. We need to look at the goals in each category (planet, people, purse) to develop our values framework.

We could look at the Eugene Mayor’s Sustainability report as an example. Kevin is willing to help work on a draft plan and envisions this taking several rounds of work, revisions, etc.
He can be reached at mathews@artifice.com

The SPC will be getting out of the building decision process after the UUCE vote on May 20th. At that point, there will be a new taskforce to carry out the decision that the church makes as far as staying at the present site or moving. If the vote is “to invest significant resources to find the best alternative”, the task force will need the matrix to help evaluate potential sites, compared to staying at the present location. We need to have a place that best meets the needs of the church. More work needs to be done to study the values of the congregation. This includes delineating values, finding a balance, document analysis of alternatives. The suggestion was to start this process with our current building.

Green Sanctuary meeting

Amy Raven, Erik Fisher, and Candee Cole met last week. Candee would like our help in developing an RE project for Easter Sunday. RE will be studying the 7th principle. Easter is on April 8th. Some ideas included studying the flora of the site, planting flowers, birds, BRING education coordinator, some kind of nature scavenger hunt. The high school group would like help with a project on April 29th. Amy Raven and Madronna volunteered.

Kids’ snacks continues to be an issue. The current budget is $100 a month. Kids love goldfish and graham crackers. How can we make a switch to local organic? Amy Samson will be our liaison with RE.

Stream Team event is on May 12th, the Saturday before Mother’s Day. Margaret is planning on doing the Sunday Service, but would like GSC help. We’re not sure exactly what she has planned. We need to find out if there will be baby dedication’s that morning.

Adult RE: Joanna Macy will be in Portland on June 25th to present a workshop on “Wakening the Earth”. Cost is $85 if you are a member, or $120 to join and attend.

The Global Warming course has 9 people signed up for the daytime slot, which is on Thursday from 10:30-12:00. Only 2 people could come to the evening class, so the evening class was cancelled, though one may be offered in the future.

Recycling: Julie Rogers reported the following:
• “Recycle Me” is now printed in the Order of Service
• There are signs in the recycle baskets in the lobby.
• There is a recycle container in the social hall, although someone emptied it and the inside container is missing.
• Better signs have been made for all recycle bins.

Kitchen issues: Judy Sawyer reported that the Board has approved the kitchen procedures that the GSC recommended. It is not a formal policy, more and advisory.

The question was asked if new members receive a tour of the building, orientation to kitchen procedures, recycling, etc.

The Worship Associates will start planning Summer Services. Do we want to do a service?

Closing words were also read from “A Grateful Heart”. The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Berry Broadbent
Next meeting April 9, 2007

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Green Sanctuary Committee Minutes
February 12, 2007

Present: Rev. Margaret Keip, Pat Christgau, Judy Sawyer, Amy Raven, Eric Fisher, Berry Broadbent, Lorna Baldwin, Bonnie Richman, Chuck Wagar, Sylvia Shaw, Eve McConnaughy, Ruth Duemler.

The meeting was called to order by Amy. Berry read opening words. Minutes from 1/8/07 were approved.

Review of Recent Activities
• Committee Fair: Overall, a positive engaging experience for the church community. Lots going on for people to see. Good for us to be visible. Some discussion, people asking questions. Lots of people took our great flyer.

• Lane Co Energy Roundup - Judy, Lorna and Pat attended, and reported that there was wonderful information, but rather overwhelming in scope. There were about 12 speakers. Forum II is on 2/27, 7-9 pm, Fellowship Hall, First United Methodist Church. It will include small focus groups which will suggest policy recommendations. The meeting stressed that there is “Extreme urgency to act now” re: global warming.

Upcoming Events
• Microfinance meeting on 2/13. Someone from the loan dept of OUR credit union could come speak, possibly on 3/6. Lane Micro Business is in conjunction with LCC and the City of Eugene. We can see a video from Betty Morrow.

• Lobby Day on Global Warming in Salem. Amy and Erik are carpooling and Lorna hopes to join them. It is on 2/26. There will be educational opportunities, then visits with legislators.

Action Plan Areas
• Earth Day Service. The ministerial candidate will be here on Earth Day, so we will need to plan our service for an alternate time. Those planning the service met with Rev. Margaret, and are in agreement that doing the service on Mother’s Day (think “Mother Earth”) will work well. We currently have 4/21 reserved for Stream Team volunteer work, but Lorna will see if we can change this to 5/12 so as to do it the day before the Earth Day/Mother’s Day service.

• Celebration Sunday on April 1. We discussed ideas to help get people to carpool. Erik will talk with Kim to see what it would take to get necessary information into the computer, in order to find who lives near one another. We will work with the Caring Committee on this as well.

• Changing Co2urse. There is room for more people to sign up. Help is needed with sign-up on February 18 and 25th. Eric will help sign up between services. Berry will help after the second service on the 18th. There is an all-congregation meeting after the 2nd service on the 25th, so we will not do sign-up that day.

• Children’s RE. Candee would like help planning and possibly running a “green” activity for the children to do during a Sunday morning class time. Erik will contact Jo Rogers, the BRING Education Coordinator, to see if she has ideas or could come. A worm bin was suggested. – Lorna has one she could donate. Erik, Amy, and Lorna will be meeting with Candee soon. Other RE ideas brought up included doing a program on soil. John Sundquist has set up a school program and perhaps could do something with the kids.

• Sustainability: Flyers were distributed about a Climate Master program. Participants receive 30 hours of classroom instruction and volunteer 30 hours of community service.

• Refrigerator energy use. The big issue seems to be whether or not all four refrigerators are necessary. The Kitchen Committee wants the one in the closet upstairs to be brought downstairs, as space is needed for storage. Candee does not want to lose any of the RE refrigerators (the two downstairs are small). The decision was that the GS does not want to take on this issue. We will work first on the snacks/disposables used in RE classes and help Candee with her request for a “green” project involving the children.

• Kitchen policy update. The proposed kitchen policy hit a raw nerve with the Board. There was a counterproposal, followed by a heated exchange with people not “wanting to be told what to do”. Following a lengthy discussion, Amy and Sarah will work to reword the policy. This will be resubmitted before 3/18. Rev. Margaret pointed out that UU’s have a history of not wanting to be told what to do. It was consensus that we need to “teach, persuade, and discuss.,” and lead by example. Amy asked for Green Sanctuary volunteers to be “Kitchen Angels,” to do occasional clean-up of church dishes after all-church events, and several signed up. She will put something in the March newsletter asking for volunteers.

• That’s My Farmer: John Pitney will be at UUCE on 3/18 for our kick-off. That coincides with our 3rd Sunday Community Offering. April 17 will be the “That’s My Farmer” event, at 1sstUnited Methodist Church starting at 6 p.m. Last year, UUCE sold $1,200 worth of Farmer Bucks. $3,500 was left over from unused Farmer Bucks and was donated back to the low-income fund. Green Sanctuary members have been asked to help sell the Bucks. Can we have an RE connection? How about a tour of a farm or two?

• Parking Parking Parking….Lorna has a contact with a planner for the city. Pat has a list of questions to ask him, which include 1) Can we get a parking variance at our current location, 2)What is the history of churches receiving parking variances and 3) what is typical zoning for church use? A subcommittee made up of Lorna, Pat and Sylvia will meet this week with the planner and report back.

• Stream Team Event coordinators for the church will be Judy Sawyer and Lorna Baldwin.

• Green Building - The SPC will be asking for a congregational vote in May on proceeding with the new building. There will be an official Building Committee. Green Sanctuary would like representation on this very important committee. We had a discussion about the “3 bottom lines” articulated so nicely by Kevin Mathews: financial, social, and environmental. There is a workshop on Ethical Building, sponsored by LEEDS, on Feb. 21, 6-8 pm in the Atrium, that Lorna and Pat intend to go to.

• There is an E-Law conference March 1-3 at the U of O. Ruth Duemler had flyers which she distributed.

Our next meeting will be March 12, from 7-9.
Closing words were read by Berry.

Respectfully submitted, Berry Broadbent, Secretary

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Minutes, Green Sanctuary Committee Meeting
January 8, 2007

Present: Amy Raven, Chuck Wagar, Bonnie Richman, Judy Sawyer, Patricia Christgau, Lorna Baldwin, Berry Broadbent, Erik Fisher, Julie Rogers, Evelyn McConnaughey, Judy Newman

Opening and Closing Words were read by Amy Raven from The Art of Being a Healing Presence, A Guide for Those in Caring Relationships, by James E. Miller and Susan C. Cutshall.

Minutes of the last meeting were approved as amended and sent by email.

REVIEW OF RECENT ACTIVITIES:

Budget - Chuck attended the Budget Training Meeting. We have $579 in our Fund. This money stays in our fund from year to year, until spent. In addition, we can ask for line-item budget expenses from the general fund of the church. A line-item does not have carryover if not spent in that fiscal year. We want to ask for $500 as a line item to be spent on:
$100 annual cost for Ministry for Earth
$100 initial application fee
$100 for NWEI scholarships
$100 Tokens for LTD
$100 for special event underwriting
We would like to have some money for unknown needs, perhaps to help with RE snacks, bike rack, etc.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Microfinance SubCommittee: Sylvia will reschedule the meeting originally scheduled for 1/18, since she can’t be there on that date.

The “Kitchen Use” policy has been approved by both the Kitchen Committee and the Green Sanctuary Committee. It was submitted to the Board, but Judy Sawyer felt it needed to go to the Coordinating Council, which meets on 1/27. Amy will attend this meeting; Erik will be out of town. We would like this policy to come from the Board, not just from our committee, as it needs that stamp of authority. It was suggested we have an “Honor Roll” posted, on which we put names of people who bring their own plates to events!

Committee Fair has been moved to 2/11. Sylvia is making styrofoam hats and a banner. Berry will send flyer information to Amy, who will format. Lorna has photos of UU’s from the Streat Cleanup that could be used. We will keep the flyer in black and white. We could call it ‘UU’s Walk Our Talk”. On the back of the flyer, we would like to have the suggestions from BRING, edited to fit space and circumstances.
We will have a logo contest at the Committee Fair. Berry will bring paper. We’d like to get kids involved. We need someone to bring a “green” prize! We will also have a sign-up for the NWEI class “Changing CO2urse” (see description below). Sylvia is making a banner, on poles, to be above our table.

Interfaith Power and Light Legislative Lobby Day is in Salem on Monday 2/26, on Global Warming. So far Amy and Erik are going. If you are interested, contact them about carpooling.

Earth Day Service - we know it will be sometime in April, but do not yet have a specific date. Can we coordinate the topic of alternative transportation or could this be a different service? Do we want to coordinate an upcoming service with CUUPS?

Adult R.E.: Judy Newman reported on the Northwest Earth Institute class, “Changing CO2urse,” that will be available by Feb. 1. We need about 10 people to sign up in order to form the critical mass needed for success of the class. This is a 4 week study group.

Children’s Religious Education: Judy Shaw will let Amy know the costs for snacks for the children’s program. They also need teachers in April and May, for seven or eight Sunday’s. Two are needed for the 9 a.m. service, three for 11 a.m. Call Candee if you can help.

Recycling: Libby Masarie will make signs to place near the baskets for recycling the Order of Service each Sunday. Julie Rogers will ask Kim to print “please recycle me” at the bottom of the Order of Service.

Energy Use: Chuck reported that in 2006, we used 54,560 kwh (kilowatt hours), and in 2005, we used 60,359, a savings of 6,000 kwh, 10% less. The thermostat has been reduced 2 degrees. The Sanctuary is now set at 67 degrees. When full, the Sanctuary temperature goes up to 69 degrees. Candee has asked that the classrooms be kept warmer.

Food for Thought and Action. Lorna, Elliot McIntyre, and John Pitney are planning a “That’s My Farmer” service on 3/18. The special collection that month will be taken then, and will be for the That’s My Farmer Low Income Assistance program. Volunteers are needed to help sell Farmer’s Bucks during April, May, and June. Last year UU’s sold over $1000 of Farmers’ Bucks, more than any other church except First United Methodist! John Pitney, who started the program through First United Methodist, is concerned about the program’s continuation once he leaves Eugene in a few years. UUCE building will not hold everyone. but is there a way we can help insure the continuation of this wonderful program? Lorna and Eliot McIntyre are two of three people on the Ad Hoc Steering Committee to prepare for John’s leaving. Lorna is writing two articles, one for the Register Guard, on buying and eating locally-grown food.

Sustainable Transportation: There was lengthy discussion about the issue of a new building, parking lot, possibility of seeking a parking waiver from the city. Erik had emailed Rudy Berg about who we might talk to, and he replied we should contact Patricia Thomas, City Planner. Amy said she would follow up on that, in Erik’s absence. Nico Larco was interested in this, as is Lorna. There will be an Open Forum with the Strategic Planning Committee on January 21. Pat Christgau suggested we ask ourselves what we really WANT, not what we don’t want, and bring that to the meeting. There will be a final vote sometime in May, so NOW is the time to be working on this! It was mentioned that Seattle has just changed their zoning so that churches are not required to have a large number of parking spaces. We need to be solid in our research. Could a Task Force be set up to explore the parking lot waiver?

Socially and Environmentally Responsible Investing: Pat reported that the Endowment Fund has been moved into the UUA pool, which has a screen for socially and environmentally responsible investment choices, mostly socially responsible. Next thing is to work on the Schwab fund. She said Martin Sage was largely responsible for this decision.

Other Business: Lorna has been appointed Solid Waste and Recycling Analyst for Eugene, a temporary position, and is working with other recycling leaders in the
community to refine action strategies for the 2008 Olympic Track and Field Event that will be held here. They need to plan for waste from 170,000 people! Representatives include EWEB, Sanipac, Oregon Country Fair, Lane County Fair, Sarah Grimm, Karyn Kaplan from U of O. There will be many chances to be involved, during these Olympics, in various ways. They take place the end of June - early July 2008.

Tree Planting - Stream Team is planting trees along the river now.

Carbon Offset - as the city engages in, this will mean more tree planting, everywhere.

Upcoming newletter articles: These will include the BRING article, something from Sylvia on Microfinance, and the NWEI course. Amy will consolidate them, so please,send your article to her as soon as possible.

Erik will be gone from Jan. 10 - Feb. 9.
Our next meeting is scheduled for February 12th 7-9 pm.

Respectfully submitted, Berry Broadbent, Acting Secretary

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Minutes, Green Sanctuary Committee
December 11, 2006

Present: Berry Broadbent, Erik Fisher, Nico Larco, Eve McConnaughey, Amy Raven, Julie Rogers, Judy Sawyer, Sylvia Shaw.

Opening Words: Erik read from David Suzuki’s “Declraration of Interdependence.” Minutes were approved by consensus, as corrected and posted on the Green Sanctuary web site.

Review of Recent Activities:
Green Landscaping - twelve people came to the work party last month, pulling vinca to make room for camas and other native plants. They filled the dumpster and one pickup truck bed, working about two hours.
David Korten dinner and talk - both were well-attended, many from the church were at the talk. There are no plans for a followup as of this time.

Microfinance - Sylvia reported that a group met in November at Turtle’s Restaurant, and Eldon talked for ten minutes about the Grameen Bank and its principles. Jean-Marie Moore told the group about LCC having a microbusiness program with Saturday Market, and OUR Credit Union. Apparently OUR Credit Union had an 11% default rate, so are suspending loans currently. Beth Little, chair of the board of the nonprofit and director of Saturday Market, talked with Sylvia. The Tulsa All-Souls Church has a woman, Betty Morrow, who has begun about 26 micro banks, in developing countries. Betty Morrow will be attending General Assembly in Portland in June; perhaps she would come here to do a workshop.
We discussed how a program like this might work in our community. Working with the CSA’s is something the committee is interested in. Eldon had said he would talk with John Pitney, who is speaking at the church on March 18, about having a microcredit workshop following his talk. (Eldon will be gone then, however, so will not be involved.)

A second meeting took place at Eldon’s house, with Rev. Jean Mills, Sylvia and Joyce Thomas. Joyce was interested in getting assistance for the Latino women in Woodburn who make the wreaths she sells at church. Nico Larco, at this meeting for the first time, is very interested in the area of microfinance, and would like to be on this sub-committee. Sylvia said that the broader term is “micro enterprise.” The sub-committee will meet again on Thur. Jan. 18, place to be announced. Sylvia will write an article for the next church newsletter.

Coordinating Council Budget Training - Chuck Wagar attended, and he is out of town, so he will report back on this at our next meeting.

Upcoming Events:
Committee Fair Jan. 7, 2007 - Julie Rogers saved materials from the Global Warming service, for our booth, and gave them to Erik. Sylvia stated she felt we should have a table once a month, in the Social Hall, to make our presence known. She would like to involve other Master Recyclers (Dave Franzen, Sylvia and Julie Rogers are the three M.R.’s in the church). Judy Sawyer has a green table cloth we can use for the Committee Fair. We talked about various ideas - a hat with the world on it; styrofoam hats; poles at each end of the table and a sign between them. We decided everyone should make their own hat, if possible out of styrofoam or other materials they think are “Green”, and wear it. Amy Raven was asked to play her lap harp, playing “Greensleeves” or other songs about the earth. We will each be there.

Membership/Leadership: Lorna got her new job, so will be unable to be co-chair with Erik in Eldon’s absence. Amy agreed to do it, and Berry said she would take notes at meetings, to free Amy (who will type them up and send them out as at present). Lorna has agreed to be chair-elect. Eldon has said he will continue to be co-chair next fall, after he returns, so we don’t yet know when this transition will take place. Erik will be gone all of January, so Amy will facilitate that month. Our next regular committee meeting will be Mon. Jan. 8.

Other Action Areas:
Worship: The Earth Day service has tentatively been scheduled for April 22, but Ken Ross has said that the candidate week for a new minister may be during that time, and the committee won’t know until early April. We can definitely do the service in April, but it might not be the 22nd. We should be prepared for it to be the week before or after.

Adult R.E.: Northwest Earth Institute (NWEI) will be releasing it’s new Global Warming course at the end of January, and it will be a 4-week course that sounds very interesting. We could do a sign-up in January and perhaps even offer the course a couple of times, depending on interest.

Children’s R.E. : Amy reported that she talked with Judy Shaw by phone, as Judy could not make the meeting. Judy said that the person now preparing snacks in R.E. said they would look into the cost of getting organic snacks. Judy thought it would be useful to get the total cost of snacks for a year, then get “green” information, in order to compare the two.

Sustainability : Julie Rogers brought up a number of issues of concern. The first was concerning a need for signage for recycling, at the church. She suggested that the Order of Service (OOS) say somewhere in it, that OOS’s can be recycled in the lobby; that a basket be marked for paper recycling and placed in the lobby; that there be a recycling container in the Social Hall near the trash can, and in the kitchen near the trash can, clearly marked as to what should go in them; and that in the pantry, a container marked for GLASS to be recycled separately. Ushers perhaps could assist in getting OOS to the recycle basket. It was suggested that Libby Masarie be asked to make caligraphy signs. Others commented that pictures help, on signage, so people know clearly what can be recycled.

She was concerned that the OOS is becoming another newsletter, and suggested that items be kept short, rather than repeat what is in the newsletter already. It was suggested that people be asked to sign up to receive the newsletter electronically INSTEAD of having paper mailed to them, as a way to save resources. She expressed thanks to Chuck Wagar for adjusting the hot water temperature on the sink water heater. Finally, she raised the issue of asking the Board for a policy regarding use of paper plates. After some discussion, the following was agreed upon, to be sent to the Board as a recommendation and request for policy decision:

“The Green Sanctuary Committee proposes the following:

1) The Board ask all users of the kitchen facilities, whether church or non-church users, to first promote the use of diners’ own service, taken home to be cleaner; secondly, to use the dishes and silverware already invested in by the church; and that paper plates are NOT to be used for church or non-church events. Even compostable paper plates pose difficulties. (They must be non-coated, must be washed clean of all food, and will not readily break down in home compost. Rexius takes them, but only in their own bags, and after being carefully cleaned of all food particles. Few stores sell these type of paper plates.).

2) All users of the kitchen, for church or non-church events, be asked to contact Julie Rogers as representative of both Green Sanctuary and the Kitchen Committee, with the following information:
a) Date, time, and type of event
b) Intended use of kitchen plates, pans, and utensils
c) The name of a contact person who will be given instructions on the church’s needs in regard to our kitchen use, including placement of recyclables
d) Plans for clean-up after the event.

It should be noted that individuals who make coffee for church at 9 and 11 a.m are NOT to be expected to make coffee for after-church meetings, nor to clean up after such events. Non-church users of the kitchen need to supply their own coffee and other beverages.”

We decided to first send this draft proposal to members of both Green Sanctuary Committee and to the Kitchen Committee, then once it has been finalized, send it to the Board as a proposal for action. Julie said she would contact other UU churches that are Green Sanctuary ones, to see how they handle these kitchen issues, to give us more information.

Addition items of concern Julie raised, related to sustainable transportation - she felt that bus schedules should be posted in the church lobby, so that anyone coming to church and needing to take a bus home, would know when and how to do so.

Socially and Environmentally Responsible Investing: Amy reported that Pat Christgau talked to her and asked her to say that the Endowment Committee has approved that a proposal go to the Board, recommending SERI as one place the Endowment Fund puts its investments. She said this is step one of moving things along. " Pat Christgau and Martin Sage met to discuss SERI for the Church. Emphasized was the importance of diversification. The UUA fund is a possible vehicle for UUCE monies as it incorporates many of the criteria that we are looking at.

Green Landscaping: The San Antonio UU Church has made a “Ten Tree Challenge,” to all UU churches, that the congregation plant ten trees yearly, not necessarily on the church grounds. They could be a part of Eugene’s “Street Tree Program,” where the city provides trees for median strips. We could do something similar to that, perhaps, and get kids involved.

In final discussion, Nico Larco said he would like to be a part of this committee, and is very intersted in microfinancing issues.

In closing, Berry read from the “Declaration of Interdependence,”
“This we resolve: All this that we know and believe must now become the foundation of the way we live. At this turning point in our relationship with Earth, we work for an evolution: from dominance to partnership; from fragmentation to connection; from insecurity, to interdependence.”

The meeting adjourned at 9 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Amy Raven, Secretary

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Green Sanctuary Committee Minutes
November 13, 2006

Present: Lorna Baldwin, Berry Broadbent, Patricia Christgau, Erik Fisher, Eldon Haines, Amy Raven, Judy Sawyer, Sylvia Shaw, Chuck Wagar

Opening words from Earth Bound: Daily Meditations, by Brian Nelson, were read by Berry. Minutes from 10/9 were approved by consensus, as posted on the Green Sanctuary web site.

Review of recent activities:
The Global Warming service went well, from the presenters’ viewpoint, and got a good response from the congregation. Some couldn’t hear all the words as the music being played or sung, overwhelmed the speaker. In future Eldon said he would have no piano, fewer voices, and ask that it be softer. All agreed that it was a very moving service. Including music has the effect of opening the heart and increasing receptivity. This was the third program done in this way at church; the first was “Thinking Like a Mountain,” with Peter Wotton, in 1989, the second, on global warming, done 3 years ago. Eldon reported that he gave a talk on Global Warming at Campbell Sr. Center for the Oregon Birding Group on Thur. Nov. 30.

Carbon Footprint – eighteen responses were entered in the computer. The average footprint of this group was 41% of the national average, less than half. Eldon will write an article about this for the next newsletter. He recommended we put something in each month’s newsletter about what people can do. Judy Sawyer said she went to 100% wind power, with EWEB, recently, and that’s something others can do – the rates are pretty stable, so it doesn’t cost much more than the regular rates.

Light bulbs – Berry looked into getting reduced rates for compact fluorescent bulbs but the program is through PG&E, so not available here.

Plan B 2.0 – all 41 of the books have been sold. There will be an insert in next Sunday’s Order of Service about how people can buy these books in quantity for less, sometimes as low as $10 a book.

Upcoming Events:
Microfinance – there will be a meeting this Thur. Nov. 16, at 7 pm at Turtle’s, with Eldon and about seven others, to talk about the Grameen Bank. There are some good books he recommends, the best being Banker for the Poor by Mohamad Unus. There was an article in the New Yorker on Oct. 30 about microfinance. Eldon leads an ongoing microfinance program in Yap.

Green landscaping – there will be an event this Sat., Nov. 18, from 1:30-3:30, at the church, to get a start at removing invasive plants such as blackberries and vinca. No rain is predicted. Lorna has some trowels and asked others to bring what they have. We have no idea how many people will come. Plants that are removed will be put in the Sanipac yard waste container. Lorna and Pat went into the next classroom and invited the UU Young Adults who were meeting there.

David Korten – a dinner with him will take place before he speaks, this Sat. evening, at 5 pm. Eight or so church members wanted to come. Our involvement with his talk has been publicizing it and being listed as co-sponsors, with Elaw and other churches. All are urged to attend his talk at 7 pm at First Christian Church.

Membership and leadership – all church committees are being asked to have 1-2 year terms for chairs, have a chair-elect, and that the chair emeritus stay involved, to give increased continuity. Eldon will have a major absence. He leaves Dec. 22, and will not return until early May. We need a temporary co-chair. Erik is willing to be co-chair until Jan. 2008, but he really wants a “co”! The accreditation application will probably go in sometime next year. Lorna said she may be interested in being a temporary co-chair, but she may be getting a new job, so it would depend on that. Amy said she could, if Lorna can’t do it, as long as someone else is willing to be secretary. No one present spoke up.

Committee Fair – there will be one, Jan. 7, and we need a flyer for it. Our goal will be to recruit more committee members and increase interest in Green Sanctuary. We should have copies of the Carbon Footprint on our table, as well as “What’s a UU To Do,” and our flyer.

Sylvia went to a Sustainable Business workshop and reported that Good Company, at 4th and Lincoln, is doing some good things. They contract their services to larger organizations to help them become sustainable, and are paid as consultants.

Erik read a position description for UUMFE, the UU Ministry for the Earth, those who sponsor the Green Sanctuary Program. The position is a volunteer one. No one expressed interest.

Updates:
Earth Day service – this may be at a time when our ministerial candidate is here. Earth Day is April 22, 2007. We would need to start planning this service in February. Pat, Lorna, Sylvia and Judy Sawyer will work together on it.

Stream Team event – the date we would like is Sat. April 21, the day before Earth Day, as it was last year. Doing it on this day builds good momentum for the service.

R.E. – attendance at the two NWEI classes has been very small, about 4-6 people in each. There is a new class coming out next year called “Changing CO-2urse”
(course with a small 2), which will be a good one to plug.
Judy Shaw has said she will be the liaison with children’s R.E. but couldn’t come to this meeting. Erik will meet with her before our next meeting. Judy is the chair of the R.E. Support Committee. Chris Phillips was suggested as another good person to try to involve, as she’s quite active in R.E. and is very interested in sustainability.

Sustainability – Chuck reported that the temperature in the building is set at 67 degrees now. He asked us to notice any complaints, what people who do complain are wearing and where they are sitting. The library doesn’t have heat. When the hall is full, it warms the area; each person puts out 300 watts of energy sitting still, he said. So far this year, we are using fewer kilowatt hours than in 2005 at this time. Eldon will get more information from EWEB for the last few years, to correlate our energy usage with the outside temperature. The toilet tanks now have either stones or bottles of water in them, to decrease water use; Chuck asked that we let him know if there are problems with flushing. Julie Rogers had reported to Amy that the kitchen sink water temperature was very hot, over 130 degrees. Chuck has set the water heater for the sink to 125 degrees now. This heater only feeds the sink. Amy said she would call Julie and let her know of this change. Amy reported on the Kitchen Committee and the issue of the pantry refrigerator, used by R.E. The Facilities Council gave the Kitchen Committee the authority to make a decision about refrigerators, and proposed exchanging the one in the pantry, which is larger, for a smaller one in one of the classrooms, and disposing of that one. Candee is strongly opposed to giving up this refrigerator. The Kitchen Committee will propose to her that she try, for two months, leaving this refrigerator unplugged and the door open, until such time as she is going to need it; then plugging it in 24 hours in advance, and that she keep track of how often she really needs it. Green Sanctuary supports using less electricity, if we can.

Food for Thought and Action – Lorna, with Marina and Eliot McIntyre, has started attending meetings for the “That’s My Farmer” event. Rev. John Pitney, of 1st United Methodist Church, who started the event, will be leaving in a couple of years. Lorna would like to invite him to do a service about food, in late March, for one of the lay-led services, and is going to ask Jeanne Mills about that. It would be good if it was just before the event. This will be the seventh year for it. Fifteen congregations are currently involved, and eleven farmers. Sylvia asked how we could tie this in to R.E. – perhaps with concrete suggestions for how organic food can be used for the kids’ snacks.

There was discussion about groups using plastic, buying from Costco, not getting organic food, for church events. One idea was for churches to pressure Costco to use less packaging. The Kitchen Committee could recommend buying locally, and using organic whenever possible. Perhaps we could find a store that would give the church a discount, one locally owned – we could pursue this. Lorna will write a brief and pithy article about food, for the January newsletter.

Sustainable Transportation – Erik will ask Martha Osgood to put information about Sequential Biofuels, and ride sharing, on the web site. One idea was an article about fostering sustainable behavior; another was an insert in the OOS asking how people got to church, including the question, are you willing to share a ride? A book, Fostering Sustainable Behavior, is quite good – Lorna has two copies she can lend. It examines the disincentives for people in looking at social change, and how to eliminate those.

Green Building – Pat mentioned that the Executive Committee met with two members of the Strategic Planning Committee, Gretchen Miller and herself, just prior to the meeting tonight, and discussed progress of the SPC. Parking remains a big issue. Rob Breeden, owner of the Safeway parking lot, was contacted regarding the church renting space in the lot. He has not yet come up with a cost. We probably could not get a long-term lease there; if it was only for ten years, it’s not certain that would satisfy the city. We need about three times the parking space we currently have, to build or remodel our current site. Eldon suggested the SPC look into long-term effects of using different building materials that can substantially save on energy costs. Pat urged everyone to come hear the architects’ report on Dec. 10, saying it will be about the options we have – staying on our site and adding on to our current building, tearing it down and building a new structure, or finding a different location or building elsewhere. The committee is a long way from considering green building specifics, but may soon branch into a separate building/site group, or other subcommittees. Pat spoke of our having a representative of Green Sanctuary as a member of that committee, or at least a liaison (the person needs to be a church member). Judy Sawyer reported that St. Vincent de Paul is using geothermal energy to heat one of its buildings – shafts were put down into the earth. This is apparently a very inexpensive energy.

SEERI – Pat continues to pursue redirection of church investments in the direction of ones that are socially and environmentally responsible. She will meet with the Finance, Audit and Budget Committee (FAB) on several issues, this being one. Patti Hansen, chair of FAB, will be giving a talk on budgeting for all committee representatives at the Coordinating Council meeting on Saturday November 18th. She has a lot of experience with financial management. Meanwhile, inroads have been made – we have “planted the seed,” according to one Endowment Fund member. Others on both above-mentioned Boards are sympathetic. Amy added information about another fund to Pat’s growing file.

We decided to meet on December 11, as scheduled. Our goal for January will be to prepare for the Committee Fair, have articles for the newsletter on carbon footprint and food. Susan Verner is the new newsletter editor. Articles need to be kept short.

Closing words were read by Berry, and Erik adjourned the meeting.
Respectfully submitted, Amy Raven, Secretary

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Green Sanctuary Committee Minutes
October 9, 2006

Present: Lorna Baldwin, Rudy Berg, Berry Broadbent, Pat Christgau, Erik Fisher, Eldon Haines, Eve McConnaughey, Amy Raven, Sylvia Shaw, Chuck Wagar.

Opening words: Erik read from “Wild Mercies,” by Terry Tempest Williams.

Minutes of previous meeting: Corrections were made as follows. P.3, “Green Building,” Pat corrected the last sentence to read “The report will be completed in October, and presented to the congregation in January.” P. 1, under “Issue of renewal of pesticide spraying contract,” Lorna stated the final sentence should read, “Lorna said boric acid can be an effective treatment for carpenter ants.” The minutes were approved as corrected.

Review of Recent Activities
NWEI kick-off: The class “Healthy Children, Healthy Planet” started Mon. Oct. 2. There is no report on it yet. “Voluntary Simplicity” began on Thur. Oct. 5; only half as many showed up as had registered, the first meeting. Lorna is taking the class; Erik will attend next meeting.

“An Inconvenient Truth” film showing: There was an amazing turnout, somewhere between 100-150 people! About a third stayed for discussion, which lasted about an hour. Sixteen copies of the book Plan B 2.0 were sold after church and at the film, netting $160 for the Green Sanctuary Committee. $202 was donated at the film showing, which will go to Green Sanctuary. (Eldon had talked with Kim about how to handle money received by our group, and she said anything we bring in will be tracked as funds earmarked for Green Sanctuary Committee use.) Chuck suggested that if we do something like this in the future, we advertise it as “donations accepted,” rather than as “free.”

“What’s a UU To Do”: Amy distributed copies of a revised document of “What’s a UU To Do,” compiled by Julie Rogers from the Earth Day service last spring; Amy broke this revised copy down into categories. After discussion, it was decided this should be included in the Order of Service for the Global Warming Service on Oct. 15. In the future, Items too long for inclusion could be submitted as newsletter articles.

Budget Proposal: The Executive Committee met and developed a proposed budget, which was submitted to Marta Powers, to be taken to the Budget Committee. We included line items, which are projected expenses of Green Sanctuary as a committee of the church; and permanent fund items, which could involve bringing in funds. The proposed Green Sanctuary budget is as follows:
Line Items
1) Scholarships, NWEI classes $90
2) Bus token scholarships (transportation to church) 100
3) Bicycle racks 300
4) Membership, NMFE 100
5) Final application fee, NMFE 100
6) Treats for volunteers, special work events 50
7) Church resources - paper 10
TOTAL: $750

Permanent Fund Items (no idea of cost)
1) Workshops
2) Summer camp, CSA’s
3) Green library - books, VCR’s, DVD’s, CD’s

Income:
1) Donation, 40 books, Plan B 2.0 by Lester Brown $400
2) Future fund raiser - to be determined

Pat said the Board meets next Thursday. We are in the Budget Committee’s revised budget as a line item, for the amount of $200. We will also have a permanent fund. Eldon paid $30 to rent the projector from NCAP for the film, and will give his receipt to Kim. He will make up a spreadsheet for our use as well.

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES:
Global Warming service 10/15 - There will be three readers, in diffferent parts of the room, and background music, both vocal and instrumental. The service will consist of three parts: How dire the state of the environment is now; where the hope lies; and what each of us can do to conserve resources and combat global warming. A form to complete one’s own carbon footprint will be in the Order of Service. The intention is to collect data from a wide sampling of the congregation and compare our results with the average U.S. family. It was suggested that we have a newsletter article explaining carbon footprints and the idea of sequestration. Lorna suggested a short glossary of terms, as an insert. Other ideas included having a salon, getting a video and showing it. Amy mentioned “Terra Pass,” a web site that allows you to put in data such as your car make and model and how many miles you drive in a year, and purchase a “pass” to offset those miles. Funds go to organizations that fight for the earth.

Green Landscaping restoration project - Lorna talked with Ginny Alprind regarding the removal of vinca on the church property. Her comments were not encouraging. She said vinca can’t be dug up easily. The soil has to be moist enough, and one must use flat landscaping knives slowly and carefully, because if the roots are broken, the vinca spreads even further. For our work project we should focus on taking down blackberries and clearing ivy off of trees. Shade cloths could kill the vinca but they would also kill camas and lilies, which we want to save. Eve suggested buying camas bulbs to plant, but they are expensive, but it takes 4-5 years for camas seeds to grow bulbs big enough to bloom. Camas bulbs would be 6”-8” deep on our site. Someone described the example of two elderly sisters who cleared a little each day on their walk, and as they did so, the native plants came back.
We need to create teams of 5 people each, with leaders who know where to go and what to do. We could look for narrow, thin, flat spatulas at Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul’s or the Salvation Army to do the work properly. We will also need a weather plan.
Our next meeting is 11/13, the Monday before the scheduled Saturday workday. Lorna will talk to Judy Sawyer about planning the event. Five GS Committee members—Sylvia, Amy, Chuck, Lorna and Judy—have agreed to be team leaders. Lorna said she will recruit others as well.
Erik suggested the inter-service table be used to get sign-ups for this. Sue Archbald will sell books again next Sunday. If we staff a table regularly we can do all sorts of things. Erik said he would make a sign for the table by next Sunday. We need to have something in the newsletter about this event. The deadline for the November newsletter is Friday, October 20.
Chuck reported that three kids have been stung by bees; the nest has not yet been located.

The Great Turning - David Korten will be coming to town the evening of Nov. 18, brought here by the Environmental Law Institute at the U of O. He will be promoting his new book of this title. Churches are being asked to be involved. Judy Sawyer took this to the Board’s Executive Committee, who endorsed UUCE participation and suggested that Green Sanctuary find some way to raise money to help, as well as publicize the event on the bulletin board, in the newsletter, and announce it in services. The EC asked that someone from Green Sanctuary spearhead this effort. Our church building is not big enough to host the event, as they expect to draw over 250 people. It is estimated that the cost to bring Korten to Eugene will be about $1,000.
Erik moved and Pat seconded a motion that we endorse his visit as well, and the committee unanimously voted to do so. Erik will do bulletin board and web site publicity, and write something for the newsletter. We discussed whether or not to do a fundraiser, and what we might do. A luncheon was raised as a possibility. Another idea was to offer to sell Korten’s book. Eldon will ask Lori at ELaw if there are other things besides contributing money that we might do to assist, such as providing a home-stay, handling airport pickups, and the like. Erik will let us know Lori’s response.

UPDATES:

Children’s R.E.: Eldon called Judy Shaw and asked her to be the R.E. liaison to Green Sanctuary. She is thinking about it and will get back to us. She is very supportive of the idea of organic food for R.E. Lorna said she would also talk to her. (Post-meeting update: Judy Shaw has accepted this position!)

Energy Conservation and Recycling: Chuck reported that the Facilities will put plastic bottles filled with water in each toilet tank, to save water usage. We still don’t know why the church used more electricity in 2005 than in 2004. Eldon said he would call EWEB to get the average temperature for those years.
Eldon and Berry reported that they attended a seminar called “Care for Creation.” Eldon also passed out a job description for the position of “energy warden” at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Berry distributed a handout titled, “Thanks-Living: Practicing and Sharing Resource Conservation in Any Gathering,” written by Karen Keady for the Westminster Presbyterian Church. This sheet contains many thoughtful ideas that would make a good basis for newsletter articles for our church!

Food for Thought and Action: Lorna will talk to Judy Sawyer about this and report next meeting.

Sustainable Transport: Based on an experience at another church, where someone giving rides turned out to have a criminal record, Martha Osgood said we should be careful about setting up rides for people. Instead, we can get information to people and let them arrange their own carpools. Erik will ask the city if we can get a breakdown of our membership by neighborhood.
Lorna met with Jeanne Mills about the new Caring Committee that is being formed. The idea there was to facilitate care-giving as well as ride-sharing by neigborhood, so it was suggested that Erik wait to see what this group comes up with so we don’t duplicate efforts.
Chuck reported that the Facilities Council will put up a bike rack at such time as key decisions have been made about the building and grounds, and when funds are available. Erik reported that a church in SE Portland set goals to reduce the number of single drivers coming to church and to get more than 40 percent of members to walk, ride their bikes, or use mass transit to get to church.

ODOT interviewed 1,300-1,400 people to find out what they use transportation for. The results are as follows: work, 27 percent; shopping and services, 32 percent; leisure, 28 percent; church, 3 1/2 percent. Thus, if people were to take seven trips to church using a form of transportation other than a car, their car use would decrease by 14 percent.

Green Building: Linda Anson and Betty Hosakawa of the Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) told Rudy how the architectural firm of William Wilson Architects was chosen. Betty and Pat Christgau are both on the SPC program subcommittee. Rudy told them he’s available if they want to consult with him. Pat said there will be a “town hall meeting” with the architect in January, and all their recommendations will have to do with our current site. The city code regarding parking remains a big problem.

Socially and Environmentally Responsible Investing (SERI): Pat reported that Erik and she are on this task force, led by Patti Hansen, who has had 20 years in the banking industry. They will be looking at all areas. Pat has talked to the Endowment Committee about this as well. If we utilize the UUA’s General Investment Fund, we can make investments that we could not handle on our own.

Microfinance: Eldon said that once the Global Warming service is over, he will meet with two or three people who are interested in this concept, so that a microfinance program can be started next spring.

EDUCATION/OUTREACH
Having a Green Sanctuary table in the Social Hall where we can sell books and hold sign-ups for events such as the grounds clean-up day is one way of reaching the congregation. Erik said that Oregon Interfaith Power and Light has a program through which we can buy compact fluorescent lights and sell them at a discount. Someone else suggested that Jerry’s might also sell the church these bulbs at a discount. Amy suggested we ask kids in R.E. to draw pictures for a sign for us to use. It was mentioned that there may be a space problem regarding the number of tables in the Social Hall. It was suggested we put something interactive on a tablecloth to attract attention. Sylvia, Berry and Lorna will work on creative ideas.
We also agreed that we should put together a flyer to help promote our Green Sanctuary action plan and include a short description of a carbon footprint. Someone suggested we could have a contest to create a Green Sanctuary logo—and keep it simple! (Who is to do this?)

NEW BUSINESS:

Amy announced she would be attending the Bioneers Conference on Oct. 20-22. Rev. Mills is helping to re-do the organizational chart for the church, and the Leadership Council has been renamed the Coordinating Council. As its purpose is to establish communication among all the committees in the church, each committee is required to have a representative attend their meetings. The next meeting of the CC is October 14. Erik and Chuck will both attend.
Berry said she would bring opening and closing words for our next meeting, which will be Monday, November 13 at 7 p.m. in Room 5.

Closing – Paraphrasing an excerpt from the Talmud, Eldon said, “Don’t be daunted by the horror you see in the world. .... You are not required to finish the work, but you must not abandon it.”

Respectfully submitted,
Amy Raven, Secretary

ADDENDUM:

Things to be done, and who will do them

1) Make up spreadsheet for Green Sanctuary - Eldon
2) Newsletter article about carbon footprints and sequestration - ?? Eldon??
(deadline Fri. Oct. 20, a.m.)
3) Newsletter article on Green Landscaping Restoration Project - Lorna? (see above deadline)
4) Sign for our table in Social Hall - Erik
5) David Korten follow-up - Erik/ Eldon
6) Newsletter article from “Care for Creation” handout - maybe for December newsletter? Berry?
7) Food for Thought and Action - Lorna talking to Judy Sawyer
8) Microfinance - Eldon will meet with people about
9) Selling compact fluorescent bulbs - who will look into?
10) Creative ideas for a table cover - Berry, Lorna and Sylvia
11) Opening and closing words for next meeting – Berry
12) Work on a flyer - ?????

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Green Sanctuary Committee Minutes (revised)
September 18, 2006

Present: Lorna Baldwin, Rudy Berg, Patricia Christgau, Erik Fisher, Eldon Haines, Jonathan Jost, Eve McConnaughey, Rev. Jeanne Mills, Judy Newman, Judy Sawyer, Sylvia Shaw, and Chuck Wagar

Lorna Baldwin read opening words from “Damage,” by Wendell Berry, from his book, What Are People FOR. The minutes of the May 8 meeting were approved.

Membership changes and recruitment. Molly Meyers has resigned as co-leader of the Green Landscaping section of the Action Plan, and Julie Campbell-Kaswell will no longer be able to be the GSC’s liaison to the R.E. program. We need to seek new people for those two parts of the plan.

Issue of Renewal of Pesticide Spraying Contract at church. Chuck Wagar reported that, following input from several unbiased sources, including the OSU Extension Office, a contractor contacted by Ann Fuller, and research done by Lorna Baldwin, the Facilities Council voted to not renew the church’s contract with Nature Line. The consensus was that the contract was a waste of money and that preventive measures such as inspection, caulking, repairing damaged wood and spraying only specific areas of infestation were effective—or necessary. Lorna talked to Carolyn Cox, head of NCAP [what is this or what does it stand for?], who suggested that rather than spending money on professional inspectors, members of the congregation and church staff be trained to monitor our site, learning what to look for, such as carpenter ants, termites, and hobo spiders. Lorna said boric acid is the standard treatment for carpenter ants.

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
Showing of “An Inconvenient Truth”—On Sunday, October 8, at 6:30 pm, GSC will show Al Gore’s recent documentary at the church. We have sent invitations to seven area churches, and several other churches will be showing it as well. National Interfaith Power and Light has made these advance videotapes of the film available to 150 churches in Oregon and 4,000 churches nationally. On Thursday, Sept. 28 a press conference about the showing will be held in Eugene. Eldon has been invited to represent the UUCE and, along with other church representatives, he will be given one minute to make a statement.

Service on Global Warming. On Sunday Oct. 15, Eldon, Linda Rose, Kristin King and Paul Schultz will be the main presenters of this service. They are looking for high school youth with experience in speech or drama to assist them. It was suggested that the group ask Candee Cole for recommendations. Jen Sorenson and Leah Wright were mentioned as good possibilities. Linda Rose will interview and choose the youth readers. It was noted that a congregational meeting will be held that day, between services.

NWEI Courses – Two courses, “Voluntary Simplicity,” and “Healthy Children, Healthy Planet,” will be offered at our church this fall by the Northwest Earth Institute. Judy Newman reported that so far seven people have signed up for each course. She hopes to start the courses during the first week in October. Cindy Pitcairn has offered her house for the Voluntary Simplicity class. Those who sign up will decide when and where they will meet.

NWEI is Re-doing the Book on Deep Ecology. Judy Newman said there was interest in having the group that took the deep ecology class last year get together for two or three sessions to discuss the revised book. We discussed offering it again, perhaps after January. 1. It was suggested that we open the classes to young adults and youth as well. The cost is $15 for the course, which pays for the book. Someone had asked Judy if a scholarship was available; that’s something our committee will need to determine.

ITEMS FOR FUTURE ACTION

Timetables for our Action Plan.

We need to recruit two new leaders, one for Children’s R.E. liaison and one for Green Landscaping, to replace Molly Meyers and work with Lorna Baldwin.

April 22, 2007, Earth Day Service. Jeanne mentioned that we may have a ministerial candidate here that week who would need to conduct the service. Lorna will ask the Worship Associate group who might want to do this service, in the event that doesn’t happen (Amy is no longer a Worship Associate, and doesn’t wish to do it again next year).

Children’s R.E. It was suggested that we contact Judy Shaw for help. Eldon will talk to her.

Energy Conservation. This part of the Action Plan is not very specific. We discussed the energy audit, and the revelation that we had an increase in electrical use in 2005, but we don’t know the cause. (The new data for 2006 should be available soon.) Eldon asked Chuck Wagar to compare our monthly electrical use and see if he can pinpoint any particular events as cause. Meanwhile, someone pointed out that the office got new computers in 2006, and they are left on all the time. Also that Kim uses a space heater in the office, and that uses a lot of electricity. Lorna mentioned that EWEB sells heating pads that go under the feet. She uses one and finds it very effective in keeping her warm. The Facilities Council is against spending money on new water-saving toilets or on ceiling fans, as they would only be used Sunday mornings. It was mentioned that bricks or bottles of water can be put inside the tanks, to save on water in flushing. Erik asked Chuck to go through the items in our present Action Plan and note which ones specifically were rejected or approved by the Facilities Council, so they can be put into the minutes.

Food for Thought and Action. Lorna has been taking photos and interviewing farmers involved with CSAs. She has really enjoyed it. One of her dreams is to have [our church sponsor?] a summer camp for kids at a working farm! Judy Sawyer mentioned that there are three Grassroots Gardens, supported by Food for Lane County, and the biggest, on Coburg Road, is fantastic. They work with a lot of volunteers who are developmentally disabled or have other disabilities. It would be neat for UUs to go out there. (Judy has worked there as part of her Master Gardener program.) They teach young parents how to make soup, on the spot, and how to cook vegetables, among other things. Eldon proposed that Lorna look into creating a salon for church members, to teach us about these farms and gardens, with the hopeful result that groups would get involved. The big “That’s My Farmer” event will be held around Earth Day again next year.

Promoting non-Costco food with R.E. It’s not in the current Action Plan, but it was a part of the audit. It would fall into the area of “food for thought and action.” Jeanne Mills recommended that Lorna talk to Judy Shaw about this. Lorna says she is willing to make a donation to R.E. to help pay the difference in cost, so they can have organic foods for snacks. Sylvia Shaw suggested we come up with ideas, like a mini recipe book,.about how to prepare them.

Sustainable Transport. Some things might be done this fall on this part of the plan. Julie Rogers had suggested putting chips in different bins, indicating how you got to church—by car, bus, bike, shared ride, walk—one Sunday. Sorting people by zip codes would be a way to connect people. Kim has a database for the Church Directory. Eldon will look into how this database might be set up.

Green Landscape. We discussed the invasive vinca on the church property, and Lorna reported that it had spread even further this summer, to the point that it is “pretty overwhelming.” She suggested that we organize an inter-generational project, taking the ivy off the trees, protecting the area where there are sword ferns and Oregon grape, as a way of getting started. There is a lot of camas near the parking lot. We could make a good dent in the problem if we had a lot of people, working at least a half day—with hot chocolate and goodies to keep people going. Judy Sawyer will help Lorna with this project. Berry Broadbent has a list of four or five people new to the church who are interested in gardening. It was suggested that we contact Bonnie Romaine about getting the youth involved. November 18, from 12:30-3:30, was best for most people. We can provide buckets, kneelers and gloves. Pat Christgau will help coordinate as well. Amy suggested that someone from our committee go to the New Members’ Orientation meetings and discuss some of our projects. Jeanne said that Tuesday Oct. 17, 7-9, was the best one, and Erik said he would go.

Green Building. Rudy reviewed the assessment of the existing building, done for the Audit. Pat reported that the Strategic Planning Committee had sent out an RFP to architectural firms, and has chosen one, William Wilson Architects, as the most green and having the most experience with churches. By the end of Oct. they will have reported to the committee and be ready to meet with the congregation.

Environmental investing/purchasing. Pat asked for several people to be part of a task force and meet several times, then go to the Finance Committee, then to the Board with some recommendations. Erik will do this. It was suggested that Laura Loescher has a lot of experience with SRI’s and could be helpful. We need a financial advisor to guide us. Judy Sawyer suggested we ask our Planned Giving and Endowment group if any of their members would be willing to be on this task force.

Budget. Judy Sawyer informed us that we need to develop a budget for the year, as soon as possible. We will have as expenses $100 for 2007, and $100 for our final application for accreditation. It was decided that Erik, Eldon, Amy and Chuck, as the Executive Committee, would be the task force to draw this up. They will meet Fri. Sept. 22.

Meeting Location. Erik reported that Rm. 5 is reserved for the 2nd Monday, throughout the fiscal year. Eldon will be gone again, Jan. – March 2007, to Micronesia.

Closing words were read, “Healing,” by Wendell Berry.
The meeting was adjourned at 9 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Amy Raven, Secretary

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Green Sanctuary Committee Minutes
April 10, 2006

Present: Lorna Baldwin, Rudy Berg, Berry Broadbent, Julie Campbell-Kaswell, Erik Fisher, Eldon Haines, Molly Myers, Amy Raven, Julie Rogers, Judy Sawyer

Opening: Erik read opening words about spring.

Approval of Minutes: There was a correction to the minutes of the last meeting. After discussion, it was decided to delete item 16, Action Plan, Environmental Justice, “Promote Latino gardeners for hire,” as it seemed to be racial stereotyping. The minutes were approved as corrected.

Progress Report on Audit: Erik reported that there is material coming from the UUA later this month, describing more about how they want the audit done. We should probably wait for that format before submitting ours. He circulated a completed audit done by another church, for our examination.

Energy: Chuck Wagar was unable to attend this meeting but had informed Erik that, regarding the issue of placing plastic over windows to increase their insulation, it is up to the Leadership Council to make that decision. Their next meeting will be in May. Jack Stevens’ daughter Lynn Stevens has a great deal of knowledge about what might be done for windows, and Chuck will talk to her. Eldon will contact Charlie Stevens at the Dept. of Energy, as his area of expertise is insulating and what can be done regarding glass.

Regarding Purchasing and Investing, Rudy Berg gave us the web site www.sustainablebusiness.com/progressiveinvestor/index.cfm as a good one to examine.

In the area of Justice and Social Action, Erik will contact Ruth Duemler and see if she has a report to include in the audit.

Landscape - Molly Myers and Lorna Baldwin have looked over the site, and reported that there is a great deal of natural beauty and native plants. They recommended that we leave the natural debris, and check the trees on a regular basis. We should maintain the grounds as an oak woodland; it is very special and unique in the area, with camas and lillies. There are hazards that need immediate attention, noteably blackberries, vinca and ivy coming in. It would be good if we could involve church youth, teaching them about plants and getting their help to remove invasive species, educating them about the Native American use of camas. One suggestion is that a few paving stones be put in where people cross the grounds, so that perhaps more native plants will come back.

One question raised was how much time and energy should we put into work on our grounds, when we don’t know what will happen to the building. Both Molly and Lorna said that we have a relatively rare as well as very lovely ecosystem. The vinca is coming up rapidly and endangering the natives. We should leave the leaf debris. We could bring more harmony and balance, create some kind of meditative space, perhaps a small path. The question was raised about poison oak, and it was felt there probably is some. Eldon suggested that we work with R.E. and the all-church clean-up that is done every year on Labor Day, to do some of this; Lorna said the vinca should be gotten after NOW, not wait , as it will grow greatly over the summer.

A handout was distributed entitled “Landscape Assessment and Care Plan,” which will be sent as an attachment to email. It summarized much of what we discussed.

Action Items:
1) That’s My Farmer event: 350 attended this year’s event; last year there were 300 present. Lorna sold $60 worth of coupons at church on 4/9, but no one signed up for boxes with the CSA’s yet.

2) Stream Team event: Next Sunday Pat Christgau and others, with some kids, will parade around the Sanctuary to drum up support. Last year a postcard was sent to all R.E. families. Candee has an email list for them, if anyone wants to get an email out. Help is needed to supervise areas of work, that day. Ed Zach will build a raised bed. George Koris and Pam Love will staff the registration booth. Lorna will have name tags and refreshments. So far there is not a need for child care. Last year Truman brought a large tent, so he will be asked again this year. Some of the jobs include transplanting native plants, making signs about them, building beds, doing wheel-barrowing and shoveling. There are 22 raised beds, 11’ tall, that need signs for the ends, so the plants within them can be identified. They could be made with a stencil, painted on wood. Someone is needed to take charge of snacks; Julie Rogers said she will make sure that happens. Erik said he will direct traffic.
3) Earth Day service: Amy reported that planning was going well, and that children and adults will be found to wear costumes borrowed from Mt. Pisgah Arboretum, to carry in a “web of life,” and beanie baby animals, at the start of the service. This service will be on Sun. April 23.

Action Planning: Erik opened the meeting to additional suggestions for the Action Plan. Julie Rogers had a sheet detailing suggestions. They included: 1) reducing the church’s garbage by 1/2 in a year’s time. This would involve measuring it over several weeks to get a baseline, then measuring quarterly in the same fashion. Reduction would be achieved through awareness-raising, pre-cycling, better signage and container availability for recycling; educating all building users to make better choices.
2) Pledge the church to use non-disposables for all food-related functions held at the church. Paper napkins would be acceptable. Find and stock recycled paper napkin products. Institute a rotating list of “kitchen angels” to be trained for kitchen clean-up, male and female, and to be scheduled. Use our own china. Processes for ommunication between church users and kitchen clean-up need to be put in place and followed.
3) Improve container visibility and signage for recycling, especially in the kitchen and dining room trash containers.
4) Increase % of church potluck attendees who bring their own plates and silverware by 50% in a year. Measure and count over a 3-month period as a baseline, then again at the end of 12 months.

In discussion, Judy Sawyer said that the Leadership Council is supposed to be the forum for making all building and grounds related decisions. The Board approves expenditures of $500 or more. One person commented