Green Sanctuary

Our church has long been committed to energy conservation and environmental stewardship. We are a certified Green Sanctuary, accredited by the UU Ministry for Earth in Dec. 2005. Our 7th Principle, “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part,” motivates us to strive for harmony with the earth in all aspects of our church life.

In 2011 we renewed our Green Sanctuary accreditation with projects including:

• Designed, built and installed inside-mounted storm windows in the four large windows in our 1827 sanctuary;

• Expanded religious education to embrace touring and volunteering at the Saco River Salmon Hatchery;
• Partnered with United Way of York County and built inside-mounted storm windows for low income York County families who qualified for State of Maine heating assistance. We continued to make our inside-mounted poly-film storm window inserts for church members. Altogether — for the church, for the United Way families, and for church members — we’ve made more than 200 windows.

Some of our past activities have included:

• Hosted adult Religious Exploration programs that focused on Global Warming, Resource Sustainability, and Simple Living;
• Encouraged the purchase of local food and the support of CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture);
• Joined Saco’s recycling program and  supported the principles of “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle;”

• In 2008, Maine Interfaith Power and Light (MeIPL) awarded us a $500 “Carbon Challenge” grant which paid for materials to construct an enclosure with double doors at the base of a staircase, blocking heat from escaping upstairs into little-used second floor rooms
• Increased the energy efficiency of our church by adding insulation in the attic and to all hot water pipes;

• Crafted a Sustainability Policy that was adopted by our congregation in June 2005;
• Hosted an Energy Fair, promoting household energy audits, and encouraging use of public transportation,
• Celebrated our first service every June as “Drive-Less Sunday,”
• Conducted at least one worship service annually to honor our connection to the natural world.