The Unitarian Universalist Association has adopted a variety of principles to guide our congregations in their search for spiritual enlightenment and peace, hope, and justice in the world.  The seventh of these principles is “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”
    As the devastating effects of climate change are becoming wildly apparent all over our country and the world as well as in our own lives, it is increasingly clear that we can no longer ignore the warnings of science that predict continuing and even more severe weather events and species extinctions in the next decade if we do not take bold steps now to reduce the destructive influence of burning fossil fuels and freely spraying pesticides in our environment.
    The Social Responsibility Committee is asking this congregation to join with us in reducing the carbon footprint of our church and ourselves by half by 2030.  We are working on writing our mission statement and setting reasonable and reachable goals in the next seven years.  We will be seeking grants and sources of funding to make our goals financially attainable. We will begin with an energy audit that will highlight what we can do to green our church and will then establish a timeline to meet those goals.  
    We welcome your questions and suggestions and offers of help with ways to increase the energy efficiency of our church, reduce our use of fossil fuels, provide healthy pollinator habitat, and begin this journey to be a responsible member of the interdependent web of all existence on this beautiful, blue planet we call home,
    At a Town Hall Meeting on April 23, we will be discussing our ideas and plans and asking for your input about whether we, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Manchester, want to put forth the effort and the human and financial resources to attain Green Sanctuary Certification from the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). The question is: Are there enough people willing to step up to make this happen?  Is this something the congregation is willing to support?
    Watch this column for more information about how we hope to help our members green themselves and their homes and help to green our neighborhood.