We’re Greening the Church
- The Seventh Principle
- The Seventh Principle Project and Green Sanctuaries
- The Green Sanctuary Program
- Program Goals
- Gardening: One Way We Live Our Seventh Principle
The Seventh Principle
We affirm and promote the Seven Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association, including the seventh, “respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” We do this by focusing on the theological, spiritual, and ethical aspects of human values and activities that affect the health and sustainability of the living earth.
The Seventh Principle Project and Green Sanctuarie
The Seventh Principle Project (SPP) was established in 1991 by a group of Unitarian Universalists committed to finding ways to live their faith in a more ecologically sustainable way. With EcoSpirit New England, SPP founders published the Green Sanctuary Handbook as a resource for members to accomplish this goal. In 1999, SPP determined to place greater emphasis on implementing the Green Sanctuary Program within congregations. A formal process for accreditation was instituted to recognize congregations that complete a series of activities that accomplish the Program goals. References and resources for the Program were updated in 2000, and again in 2003, and an electronic list-serve has been added for members to share their experiences and ideas concerning the various program components.
The Green Sanctuary Program
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Las Cruces is “going green.” Our congregation has begun a one- to two-year program, designed by the Seventh Principle Project and adopted by by the Unitarian Universalist Association, that will turn us green. By embarking on this program, we are committing to reduce the church’s carbon footprint and raise awareness of fundamental ecological issues among all of our congregants. It won’t be easy. It will require us to rethink the way we live, assess the impact we have on our immediate and global environments, and make life-long changes in how we buy and use resources.
A Green Sanctuary is a congregation that lives out its commitment to the Earth by creating a sustainable life style for its members as individuals and as a faith community. Sustainable living is not about our material comfort (though these choices are an important part of the overall life style); it is about choosing to live in a way that nurtures life, builds relationships, and rejects material consumption as the sole determinant of happiness.
Program Goals
- To build awareness of societal environmental issues among Unitarian Universalists.
- To generate commitment for personal lifestyle changes.
- To motivate UUs to community action on environmental issues.
- To build a connection between spiritual practice and environmental consciousness.
- To build awareness of and rectify environmental injustices.
Learn more about the Unitarian Universalist Green Sanctuary Program.
Gardening: One Way We Live Our Seventh Principle
One of the ways we live our Seventh Principle is to cherish the land. We may do this in a variety of ways, one of which is in our own gardens. Many of us love our gardens and this is the place where we share that love. We will publish their articles, stories, poems and songs over time, we hope on a monthly basis.
| Title | Summary |
| Desert Gardening – Challenges and New “Friends” | How desert soil and small critters changed our style of gardening |
| Gardens Remembered | Gardens remembered and yet to come: past, present, future |
| It’s Not Easy Being Green | Four simple steps to improve our world |
| Rabbit Redux | They’re baaaak |
