Success Stories

Chapel of the Cross
304 E Franklin St  Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Contact: Graham Swift, grahamgswift@aol.com

Chapel of the Cross’s Environmental Stewardship Committee was formed in 2002 in response to the concerns of parishioners regarding threats to our environment, especially climate change, and the understanding that we as Christians believe that we are called to be good stewards of God’s creation.  The committee’s goals and activities are summarized in this statement:  “Believing all creation is interconnected and a gift of God to us, we commit to take an active and holistic approach to environmental stewardship through education, service, and sustainable practices.”

Educational activities have included monthly articles in the parish newsletter, environmental green tips for sustainable practices in the weekly bulletin, hosting Sunday morning lectures on environmental issues by university faculty, NCIPL speakers, and other authorities, day-long conferences at the church with group discussions, organized retreats at nearby centers, field trips to learn about good environmental practices such as using solar energy technologies and sustainable agriculture, and a unique “fast from carbon” for a Lenten season.  On the Sunday before the beginning of Lent and the first Sunday of Lent in 2007, the committee hosted computer stations where parishioners were invited to measure their “carbon footprints”, learn about ways to reduce those emissions of greenhouse gases (predominately carbon dioxide), and make pledges to take actions that would result in actual reductions.

Service activities have included partnership with the Social Ministry Committee to cut and deliver firewood to needy families who rely on wood to heat their homes, distributing low-flow shower heads and compact fluorescent bulbs to parishioners, participation in a local rally to focus attention on the need to take seriously the issue of climate change, encouraging the use of locally-grown food at the Fall Parish Barbeque, assisting in the annual Blessing of the Animals service, and working for improved energy usage and reduced waste for construction of the new church addition.  Although the LEED certification process was too costly, we anticipate the new addition would meet the criteria for LEED Silver status.

Sustainable practices have included leading the parish to recycle waste, working to bring shade-grown, organic, fair-trade coffee in liquid concentrate form for use in the church coffee machine, working for electronic distribution of our newsletter to save paper, and supported efforts to make the Pentecostal Picnic waste free one year.  We felt successful when our collective efforts resulted in 90% of the “trash” was either composted or recycled.

-Written by Chapel of the Cross’s Environmental Stewardship Committee

Unitarian Coastal Fellowship
1300 Evans St, Morehead City, NC
Contact: Penny Hooper, pjhooper@ec.rr.com

This small congregation in Morehead City is home to a large Green Sanctuary Committee which helps UCF to develop strategies to operate in accordance with the Seventh Principle of our Unitarian Universalist Faith:  “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part”.  This Seventh Principle calls us to be a “Green” congregation and to maintain a “Green” house of worship.

UCF received the National Wildlife Federation’s classification of a Green House of Worship in 2010 by following the NWF guidelines for planting and landscaping our lot to be user friendly for wildlife. Among other things, we planted native flowers and shrubs, put up bird feeders, composted our wastes, used xeroscaping to reduce water use, and our youth even planted small vegetable plots which they tend and then donate the fresh produce to a local soup kitchen!

Next we decided to move our greening efforts to the sanctuary and we had a professional Energy Audit in the winter of 2011, which revealed many ways we could reduce our energy footprint while saving money. We shared this information through a community-wide presentation titled “Energy Efficiency in your Homes and Congregations”.  Representatives from local power companies, NCIPL, and an Energy Audit Firm presented helpful information to the audience on how everyone could save energy and therefore, save money, while helping the planet.  For instance, UCF added insulation to the ceiling and caulked many leaky windows, and also replaced some windows with more energy efficient models. We still have a ways to go, but we have definitely seen our energy bills go down in this past year!

UCF also participated in the Interfaith Power and Light Cool Harvest program last December.  After sharing a potluck of local food, we showed the movie “Nourish” and then we discussed what is meant by the term “ethical eating” and how your food choices can help the planet. We ran this program in partnership with the Carteret Local Food Network which was a wonderful way to bring more people into our church.

Caring about creation is a basic tenet of all faiths and therefore, we all need to take responsibility for incorporating that creation care into our religious and personal lives on a daily basis. That is what we are doing at the Unitarian Coastal Fellowship! The next event we will participate in is “Hands Across the Sand” on August 4, at Fort Macon Beach, which is a protest against offshore oil drilling and supports alternative energy like offshore wind power. Come and join us at the Beach!

-Penny Hooper, Chair of UCF’s the Green Sanctuary Committee

United Church of Chapel Hill
1321 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd  Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Contact: Kathy Shea, tkmjshea@mindspring.com

To Believe is to Care, To Care is to Do” has long been the bumper sticker associated with United Church of Chapel Hill (UCCH).  The fruits of this strong commitment to bring faith to action are evident in the activities of the United Earth Ministry group at United Church and the strong support of Senior Co-Pastor, Rick Edens.   From Fasting from Carbon through Low-Carbon Cooking during Lent to beginning the process of going solar, UCCH is an outstanding community leader in the quest for a new, more gentle and sustainable way to live in community with each other and creation.

The past year has been an active one for UCCH.  Last September, United Church hosted the first workshop by Joanna Macy ever held in the Southeast US.  Hundreds of people flocked from across the state to hear Joanna speak about the Work that Reconnects, and learn from this master teacher.  In January, UCCH hosted the first ever workshop on Transition Congregations.  Jim Deming, UCC Environmental Justice Minister, and Tina Clarke, Transition Trainer, combined talents to bring the technologies and philosophy of the Transition Movement to the faith context in a one day workshop attended by lay and clergy from across the state.  In April, Matthew Fox spend a weekend at United Church giving a workshop on Creation Spirituality, and stirring hearts and minds.  In addition to these landmark events, this spring, UCCH also began hosting an NCIPL Earth Sabbath Celebration on the second Tuesday of each month, and has taken advantage of the networking provided by NCIPL’s Energy Clearinghouse, to begin serious planning for solar panels on the church trellis.

All of these activities recently attracted the attention of radioblog journalist, Diane Brandon, who interviewed both Rev. Edens and former NCIPL Co-Director, Kathy Shea on her hour long show in early May entitled “ A Faith Community’s Approach to Stewardship of the Earth.”  United Church of Chapel Hill is one of a growing number of faith communities across the state that are finding the call to care for creation irresistible, and applying that bumper sticker sensibility by taking belief to action in ever more creative and fun ways.

-Kathy Shea