Green Action Group

Minutes of January 29, 2009

Present: Sarah Ellsworth, Barbara Merrill, Dick Merrill, Ed Saxby, Jim Van Hoeven

Ed opened our meeting with a discussion of our group accepting John McCall’s invitation to work with him or with Elsa to plan the worship service for April 19, 2009, Green Sunday, and to host a conversation in Davidson Lounge after the 10 a.m. service. We decided we would like to do that and Ed Saxby and Sarah Ellsworth will help plan the day. Ed will contact John. Ideas shared included a celebration of Earth Day with Food, Fun, and Fellowship; inclusion of thoughts around food, i.e. Community Supported Agriculture, families growing their own food; and possibly for a later time sharing information about environmental bills before the legislature and how individuals could become involved.

There was discussion around offering a book group this spring. Ed is interested in offering one. Sarah and Jim will work on initiating a group where people could meet for a period of time in each other’s homes during April/May to enjoy fellowship while discussing a selected book.

Jim presented each of us with copies of “Our Defining Moment: A Call to Create the Future We Truly Want” by Jacqueline McMakin, published in January, 2009. Jim may write a Beacon article relative to this article.

As a follow-up to our December meeting, Jim contacted Roger Addor to learn if the Eskimos might be interested in working with us on a project to offer to help people make their homes more energy efficient. Roger was supportive of this effort and thought others would be as well. Jim will check back with Roger to help this move forward.

Ed shared a thank you note from Ray Sirois regarding the honorarium and thank you card our group sent him in appreciation for the program he presented on Climate Change in October. Ray was moved by our response, returned the check with a note asking that we “apply $50 to your church’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and educate your community on how important it is to live more sustain-ably. Let me know if I can help you in 2009. There is so much public education that is needed. “Pray with your feet moving!” (African proverb). The voided check has been returned to our church. When we decide how we want to use the $50, we can request the money from the Social Witness Ministries budget. We plan to advise Ray of how we used his gift.

We plan to invite Guy Gledhill of the House Committee to speak to our group regarding the work being done at our church to help the environment.

There is considerable interest in our group in doing something with our congregation regarding community supported food efforts such as buying shares in agriculture of in fisheries. A Master Gardener could explain that program and encourage people to consume healthier foods grown locally and cut back on the transportation of foods.

Ed reported that on February 8 from 1-4 pm and the First Parish Church on Congress Street there will be a program on Community Supported Food. Information will be shared and there will be opportunity to buy shares from farmers and fishermen.

On February 15 from 1-4 at First Parish there is a program on The Irreplaceable Wild—Climate Change effect on species becoming extinct.

Ed recommended the book “Blessed Unrest” by Paul Hawkins.

Sarah attended the workshop at Woodfords on January 10 titled “Saving Money, Energy and the Environment”. She shared information and materials from the conference which focused on what congregations can do in churches to conserve energy.

Sarah has joined the U.S. Green Build Chapter and is committed to green action.

Sarah is developing a time and talent survey for us based on one used in Farmington. We could use the information to learn who in our church might have time and talents to contribute to environmental programs and efforts. Some church members might be interested in helping people make their homes more energy efficient, for example. This could be helpful in getting the program with the Eskimos underway. Workshops could be offered to help people develop particular skills—for example, raised bed gardening.

Members will share responsibility for writing articles for The Green Spot in the Beacon. Ed will write an article for the next Beacon. He may also write about the Environmental Coalition and current legislative bills for the second March Beacon. The First April article will relate to the April 19 service of worship. Janis offered to write an article about planting for wildlife in your backyard and another article about the work she is doing to establish environmental resources in our library. The first Beacon in March and the second one in April are possible dates for those articles.

Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Merrill