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GREEN SANCTUARY MEETING, OCT. 14, 2012
Present: Ron Quinn, Barbara Ellis-Quinn, Marian Bedill, Karen Hamalainen, Rick Dudley We followed Deb’s Agenda for the meeting so I am not going to repeat what she put in there concerning things that have already been done. Green Fire plans Publicity Deb will work on getting the announcements into the Herald, the radio stations, and the BUF Online Community Calendar by Tuesday, Oct. 16th. We need someone to get the announcements into the midweek update, order of service insert and pulpit notes as well as onto the website. The posters (both 11x17 and 8.5x11) have been printed by Barbara E-Q. Karen H. took a bunch to distribute to various places. Ron is in charge of getting about 30 posters to Western for distribution there. The remaining posters are now located in the closet in the old social hall. If anyone needs more posters after Oct. 27th Barbara can easily produce some more. It was suggested that an additional poster recipient could be Flip Reskin of the Columbia Neighborhood Association. Facility Set Up The event is on the BUF facility calendar. Barbara E-Q submitted the facility request form to Cyd. The video will be presented with the help of a DVD player purchased by Ron and Barbara (which will then be donated to church for such future presentations). This has been tested with the projector and works fine. Barbara, with the help of Jeff, located the appropriate cable to connect the sound output of the DVD player to the sound system. That works just fine also. Ron is going to work on getting permission to hang the big new screen in the front of the sanctuary for this presentation. He has measured the screen and the ceiling box in the sanctuary and it should be easy to hang it on some hooks from the ceiling that will not be visible from the pews. Ron and Barbara will talk to Andy Marshall about the microphone setup before Nov. 13th. The decision was made to set up a table with the handouts and bookmarks that came in the box from the Aldo Leopold Center. We think that we should have a basket or jar with a sign stating that “Donations are Welcome”. Any money raised could be used for future GSP activities. Also, this is where the copies of Sand County Almanac can be sold. Ron is contacting Village books to see about having them sponsor this event and allowing us to sell the book. Karen H. asked if we could get the books ahead of time so that they could be sold to congregants during coffee hour in the weeks leading up to the movie presentation. The BUF book group is reading the book as their book of the month for October. Additionally, it would be good to have information available about the Nov. 18th Adult Forum on Lummi water rights on the table during the Green Fire event. *** We should put one of the large Green Fire event posters on the Green Sanctuary Table during the Find Your Place at BUF event on Oct. 21st. *** Volunteers for Presentation date: Everyone at the meeting agreed to be at BUF by 6 pm on the night of the presentation. Everyone who shows up will help with sanctuary organization and/or table setup and then as greeters as people arrive. Ron will act as the “presenter” by giving a brief introduction and then leading the follow-up discussion after the presentation. Food for Tots This seems to be going well this year. The selling of food during Grand Coffee Hour seems to be a hit. The food cart is also a good visual reminder to people to bring food. Since Kay was not at the meeting we don’t have a current count but the food cart was quite full of donations by the end of second service. GSP Leadership change: Those present discussed this at length but came up with no volunteers from the group. Ron, a likely candidate, is away too much of the year to be able to take on such a leadership role. Marian also has similar problems with assuming the leader role. It was suggested that we may need to fundamentally restructure how the GSP operates with the chair(s) being responsible for a more limited work load and that the work for specific activities be delegated to particular people or small groups. Also, if Deb and Linda could give members of the committee some “training” then others might be able to ease into a leadership position more readily. We are also hoping, maybe naively, that we can attract more members to the GSP during the Find Your Place at BUF event on Oct. 21st. Additional members could help to reduce the burden on the leadership. It would also be useful if could somehow encourage the 39 people who are “interested” in GSP, in the sense that they are part of the GSP Online Community, to become more active. Maybe some type of “special” group activity could be planned to get more of these people together to encourage more involvement. IV. Find Your Place at BUF event (Oct. 21st): This will be run both during the Grand Coffee Hour and after the second service. Kay, Judith and Karen have volunteered during Grand Coffee Hour. Kay and Judith will be selling baby food and bags. Ro’s apples will be provided as a snack. We did not come up with any other volunteer snack person. It was decided that there should be a definite emphasis on getting people interested in joining GSP. Karen H. would like her role to be to get people to come to the table and discuss the good work that we do in hopes of increasing membership. She will actively engage people in discussion. We did not come up with any volunteers to main the table after the second service. GPT EIS Forums: Deb is on a roll coordinating Aquatic, Infrastructure and Health forums between late Oct. and Nov. Details will be provided as things are firmed up. GSP Adult Forums: There are three scheduled between now and the end of the calendar year: Oct. 21st: David will lead a GPT comment writing session. He will start by discussing proper technique to write a substantive comment. After a period of discussion attendees will start writing their own comments. Attendees will take home a draft of their comment, a list of “101 Reasons You Should be Concerned About Coal Export”, a comment writing guide, and an outline to help them write more comments in the future. The scoping period ends Jan. 21, 2013 so we need to start writing comments now. Nov. 18th: Victor Johnson and Jeremy Freimund, from the Lummi Natural Resources Department, will provide an introduction to the Lummi Nation, an overview of Lummi water rights, and a summary of efforts to resolve conflicts over water allocation on the Lummi Indian Reservation and in the Nooksack River. Marian and Karen will work on getting some more information from the Lummi Natural Resources Dept. that could be used for advertising this forum during the Green Fire event. Dec. 16th: Rodd Pemble of Sanitary Services will speak. Description will be provided later. NEXT MEETING OF GREEN SANCTUARY COMMITTEE: Sunday, Nov. 11th, 12:30 p.m.
"Green Fire" film event: Event set for Tuesday November 13 at 7 pm. Ron guided us through selecting tasks to
complete. We have several posters from the Aldo Leopold Foundation to put up around the county. We also divided
up other publicity tasks. Ron, Barbara and I will test the projector and sound system in early October. In late
October we will be asking for volunteers for the event (greeters, setup , cleanup, etc.). By the way, the BUF Book
Club is reading Sand County Almanac in October. Perfect timing!
Coal Terminal EIS Scoping: Comment period opens tomorrow Sept 24th for 120 days. Lots of opportunities for workshops on how best to comment coming up. Stay tuned!! Job Description for open Green Sanctuary chair position was available. Sustainable Connections membership: The Green Sanctuary Program has been involved with Sustainable Connections for 6 years. Our team has been paying for our membership for 3 years since joining the Community Energy Challenge. And we have greatly benefited from it with free energy audits, upgrades, free lights, and rebates. Our membership dues of $216 are due in late November and we do not have enough in our GSP fund (currently around $50). We discussed various options: hold a fundraiser, quit membership, ask BUF operating budget to pay it. The consensus was to ask the Social Justice Committee if they wanted to pay it for this year while we request that next year's operating budget take over the payment. The newest SC program is more social justice oriented than environmental - "Bank Local First!". Linda to make request to SJ Committee. Food Bank Team: Everything is set for our Food4Tots month in October. Our goal is 1,000 jars of baby food. Kay is hoping most of those will be organic. We will be borrowing a grocery cart from the Fairhaven Haggens as our collection basket. October 21 will be our Kids Feeding Kids Sunday. Kay is also working up the paperwork to make our food bank program an official ministry team. NEXT MEETING: Sunday Oct 14 after second service in conference room.
AUGUST 19 GSP MEETING MINUTES
Compiled by Deb Cruz and Linda Fels, co-chairs AGENDA: Coal Terminal Issue: Background: Last fall, BUF’s Green Sanctuary Team began working with RE Sources’ Baykeeper program to develop in-depth educational forums on the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal. These forums are being created in order to assist Whatcom County residents in formulating their comments for the public commenting period on what the scope the Environmental Impact Study/Statement should include. The idea is to conduct these forums once scoping has been announced so that the information stays fresh in people’s mind and that comments do not get waylaid while waiting for the official date that comments may be submitted. Once that date is set then we’ll be moving forward to get the forums up and running. Educational workshops - still in planning; delays due to staff changes at RE Sources and waiting for date when scoping sessions begin; BUF will host one; First Congregational will host another; as a result of the recent interfaith meeting, we may possibly have other faith communities willing to host as well. First interfaith gathering on coal terminal topic was held in early August. Goal: how the faith community can respond to this controversial issue. One great idea floated was focusing on economic justice. We want jobs but not this way. And as people of faith, we have a responsibility to the world's poor. A small task force to meet soon. One event from interfaith meeting is a prayer breakfast, sponsored by Earth Ministry and probably hosted by First Congregational just before the beginning of the scoping period. Karen brought up an article in Bellingham Herald about possibility of carbon credits for Lummi Nation for loss of wetlands and the implications of that to the whole process. Ron will do some initial research to see if it is something for us to pursue. What's On Your Plate?: Social Justice collection recipient for October: Common Threads Farm - includes forum on Oct 7 and collection on Oct 14. Common Threads Farm works to connect young people with healthy food through hands-on, seed-to-table educational experiences. They include food competency (knowing how to grow and prepare healthful, delicious food), food literacy (understanding how our daily food choices impact the health of our bodies, our communities, and our environment), food justice (making sure that there is enough healthful, culturally appropriate food accessible to all) and youth empowerment (we understand growing food as an effective way to develop confidence and self-esteem). They have a variety of programs that the offer and work with including a Farm Camp and Camp Pizza, day camps were kids of all ages learn about where their food comes from, caring for gardens and livestock and other activities. Camps are a week long and can accommodate 15-20 kids. They also work with several of the areas elementary and middle schools in establishing and maintaining community gardens. They partner with NW Youth Services for the Youth Grown Market Stand. Common Threads will use any donations we collect for them to either embellish their scholarship fund for low income kids to participate in the camps or to expand the school community gardens program to include summer programs. Community Night Dinner signs - Linda showed an example based on our design ideas from May; will use the following options for cooks to post on meals: Local, Organic, and GMO-Free as well as Vegetarian, Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free. Next step - show to cooks team. Food Bank Donations/Food4Tots Month - How to raise donation level?: Michael Cohen, Director of Bellingham Food Bank relayed this information for this year’s Food4Tots food drive in October. “The goal is still 1,000 units of baby food and/or dollars. We love it when folks exceed those goals. We are 13% busier than we were last year, our busiest year ever. We now average more than 10,000 visits a month and are Western Washington’s 4th busiest food bank. One in Six Bellingham households now visit our food bank on a regular basis. 3% of the recipients of our food are toddlers. The Food4Tots program is specifically for Bellingham Food Bank. We do not redistributed that food with other food banks in Whatcom County.” BUF food bank contributions are far below the need. The most food gathered in any one delivery has been 150 lbs. Several ideas: On Blessing Sunday, hand donations to kids to bring to front of sanctuary; or even better do it every week; make basket more visible - put on table or stand or use a shopping cart, on Sundays place cart/basket by ushers for more visibility; for Food4Tots month have a gauge or thermometer in front of sanctuary to show progress, buy cases of baby food so people can buy them during coffee hour and donate immediately; add Food Bank to EFT program. Kay will still hold a brainstorming meeting for more ideas. Eat Local Month volunteer opportunities: Sign up sheets available for both Whatcom County Farm Tour (Sept 8) and Whatcom Harvest Dinner (Sept 23). Will have them during coffee hour for the next couple of weeks. Or contact Linda Fels at gr8fels@msn.com or 647-8029 to volunteer. "Green Fire" film and building a land ethic: Ron Quinn proposed that Green Sanctuary sponsor a showing of the film with an idea sharing exercise to follow for this fall (with possible large community event next spring). See full proposal at end of these minutes. Team loved the idea. Deb and Linda to find date (early Nov preferred) at upcoming BUF calendaring meeting. Ron to check with BUF book group about reading Sand County Almanac this church year. Ron will be check with Village Books to see if they would be interested in co-sponsoring and/or selling books at the Spring Event. Our September meeting to focus on planning for this event. Fundraising for Sustainable Connections membership: discussion postponed until September Adult Forums: Green Sanctuary's slot is usually the 3rd Sunday of the month. Here is a list of those already scheduled: (Those in BOLD are of particular interest to GSP members) September 9: Ingathering – No forum September 16: Jill McIntyre, Gore Climate Change presentation September 23: Patricia Clark - No More Deaths Immigration Project September 30: Michael Johnson – Jeffersonian Bible October 7: Common Threads Farm (Tentative) October 14: Sustainable Connections, Food to Bank On October 21: Dave Culver, Coal Train presenation October 28: Todd Jones - Socially Responsible Investing November 4: Lummi CEDAR Project November 11: Todd Jones – Whatcom Agriculture November 18: Lummi Dept of Natural Resources (Tentative) November 25: Thanksgiving Holdiay – No forum December 2: Maple Alley Inn December 9: St. Francis Foundation - Dec. 9, 2012 December 16: Rodd Pemble, Sanitary Services Company December 23: Christmas Holiday – No forum December 30: C2C (topic to be determined) Whatcom Investing Network: Judith Culver reported that members of the Whatcom Investing Network, a spin off of Transition Whatcom, have loaned over $500,000 to local businesses in their first year. Each member is responsible for their own due diligence and has an individual contract with the business (money is not pooled). Loans currently being considered are with a local food processing/commercial kitchen, a local manufacturer of pre-fabricated, architect-designed, Leed Gold homes, and renewable energy facilities. Information for prospective members and fund seekers is at whatcominvesting.org. *** NEXT MEETING: SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 23RD AT 12:30 *** GREEN FIRE PROPOSAL: Ethics and the Environment We propose that BUF plan and host a community workshop about environmental ethics in October 2012. If this event is successful, we could be one of several sponsors of a larger public event in Spring 2013. The centerpiece of the fall event would be a showing of the award wining 2011 film Green Fire, which is about the life and ideas of Aldo Leopold. His book Sand County Almanac describes the importance of informed stewardship of the land, doing so with poetic and compelling prose. Green Fire is being broadcast on Wisconsin Public Television this month. Fall Event The fall event, open to the public, would occur at BUF in October or November, probably on a Sunday afternoon. There would be two activities. The first would be a showing of Green Fire. This would be followed by a question and answer period plus an audience participation exercise in idea sharing. The event would last 2 to 2 ½ hours. I would like us to personally invite leaders of other community environmental organizations to this event. I would hope that we could have an audience of 50 people, half BUF and half community. Tasks I can think of to organize the event: facilities scheduling and preparation, publicity, and preparing the actual event activities. I already have materials that we could use for publicity, and I can obtain more as needed from the Aldo Leopold Foundation. I prefer to schedule the event in October rather than November, in order to put space between the event and the national election. I would not like the event to be construed as political advocacy. It is worth noting that Leopold’s land ethic is not partisan, or even political, in nature. It deals with a stable and productive relationship between people and the landscape, arising from familiarity, understanding and love. Spring Event The spring event could take place in April, some time around Earth Day, which falls on Monday in 2013. In general content it would resemble the Fall BUF event. It would take place in a larger public venue, such as the Pickford or Western. I imagine sponsorship shared with local environmental organizations, student environmental clubs, other religious groups, Village Books, etc. I want rep’s from some of these organizations present at the BUF sponsored event in fall, in order to build interest in a public spring event. I do not imagine this larger event would require any more effort from BUF than the fall event, since we would be one of several sponsors. The results of the BUF fall event should tell us if a larger community event is warranted. Ron Quinn 6-18-12
"Going Deeper" lecture series. This proposed series will consider inviting previous adult Sunday forum speakers
back to go further in depth on the issues they presented in the forums. We need to decide on who we'd like to bring
back and decide on a preferred time for the lecture series as June 12 PIG will be working with various organizations
to establish next year's calendar.
Adult Sunday Forums. We will be continuing with having one adult Sunday forum speaker per month. We will need to decide on the individuals and/or organizations that we will sponsor for next year. Social Justice Collection Recipients. Once again we have the months of October and April to decide on an organization to be the recipient of BUF's social justice collection. What's On Your Plate? We will continue discussing what we need to do to get this program off the ground and running.
April is scheduled to be a busy month and we need lots of volunteers.
Sunday evening April 15th: We are excited to host "The Climate Monologues" by Sharon Abreu at 7 pm in the BUF Sanctuary preceded by a Stop Coal fair featuring many organizations working on the coal terminal issue at 5:30 in our Social Hall. We need lots of volunteers to help with setup, greeting, taking donations, helping with parking, and cleanup starting at 4:30 pm. Please contact Deb Cruz at dwcruz@comcast.net or 392-8552 to volunteer. Sunday April 22nd - Earth Day: Help BUF celebrate Earth Day by providing organic or locally grown snacks for coffee hour. The day begins at 9 am with adult forum speaker Terry Meyer of Cascade WInd Company, followed by our 10:30 worship service with Dana Lyons with our social justice collection for RE Sources' work on the proposed coal terminal. Please let Deb Cruz (dwcruz@comcast.net 392-8552) or Linda Fels (gr8fels@msn.com 647-8029) know if you can bring coffee hour refreshments. Coal Terminal Educational Workshops are still planned to begin around mid-April and go through May. These are designed to prepare our community for the comment period on the scoping of the Environmental Impact Study. BUF will be one of the churches to host workshops. Once we know the dates, we will need volunteers to help on those evenings. Stay tuned. Food Justice Program: Still in planning stages but we have settled on a name for our project: "What's On YOUR Plate?". Kay Witter and Kyra Skaggs have agreed to create a rotating display publicizing simple steps we can take to clean up our dinner plates. Look for these on the Green Sanctuary kiosk in the Social Hall soon.
Announcements:
Deb updated our website (buf.org/gsp), especially check out the Worship page. Update on coal terminal workshop series, co-sponsored with RE Sources. The lineup has changed so that Sharon Abreu's performance of "The Climate Monologues (One Woman Show)" will now be the kickoff for the workshop series (instead of the finale). An organizational fair to include all organizations working on the coal terminal issue is also in the works for the kickoff. Sharon's performance is slated for Sunday evening April 15th at BUF. The plan is to have the educational workshops hosted by different local churches. Their purpose is to prepare the public for the public comment period for the scoping of the Environmental Impact Study (EIS). More details to come. Food Justice Project discussion: We are continuing to define, explore and brainstorm just how this project will develop. Draft Scope: Topics to include but not limited to strong environmental focus, sustainability, food as a right, hunger, animal welfare, control of food and seed supply, food shortages, local food sources, traditional foods, nutrition, farmland vs. urban sprawl, urban gardens, spiritual connection with food, rights of nature, food waste, farmers, farm workers, other food industry workers, food sovereignty, native foods, and freedom to make personal food choices. How, What, When, and Where: Our plan is to incorporate these topics into the everyday life of BUF, as a congregation and as individual families and members. We want our message to be fun instead of lecturing; a positive message so it will be heard. Possible methods can include edible lessons, personal success stories, use of games, displays, cartoons, challenges, and skits. We can use Sunday Coffee Hour, Wednesday Community Night Dinner, possible worship services, RE classes, and film nights. Karen will check with RE Sources about their film library and possible coordination. I will check with Community Night cooks about possible labeling of foods served. Name for Project: Possible names submitted so far - "Clean Plate", "Green Plate", "What's On Your Plate?". Please submit your best ideas. Homework for Next Meeting: Find or create possible examples like card games, cartoons, signage to use, a challenge, sound bites, etc. Let your imaginations run WILD! Next Meeting on April Fool's Day Sunday April 1st at 12:30 pm (after 2nd service) in BUF Conference Room. Bring your ideas and examples! Hope to see you there. Submitted March 11 by Linda Fels, GSP co-chair
One agenda item: Share our passions around the issue of food justice
We took turns sharing our top issues and passions around food and justice. We had our invited guest Rosalinda Guillen from Community to Community (C2C) speak first, followed by everyone who attended. Listed below is a summary of what was said - I hope I accurately summarize people's comments. Our next step (during upcoming March 4th meeting) will be to discuss how to put together a program to reach first our congregation and then the community on the importance of our food choices and their impacts on our health, our economy, on the farmers and farm workers, on our local land and the whole planet. We will explore how to educate effectively and reach beyond those who already "get it". Please plan to join us. Discussion Summary: Rosalinda: C2C works on justice issues within the whole food system through the farm workers' perspective. They track emerging food justice and food sovereignty movements and how farm workers can play a role in decision making within those movements. They are very involved in the Work Place Standards for Domestic Fair Trade certification through the National Domestic Fair Trade Association. Standards were finalized in December 2011 and C2C is beginning their role as small farm auditors for certification for the NW region. C2C's Erin Thompson is working with local farmers toward applying for this certification. BUF's role could be to promote the significance of buying domestic fair trade products and to educate the community. (I will also forward this on to the new Fair Trade Team). C2C is also watching state politics around issues dealing with farm workers and could use help in lobbying and supporting actions in the future. (This could fit in with the goals of our Living Democracy Team). Summary of other comments, interests and passions: Kay Witter: Kay organizes the BUF Food Bank collections, takes what we collect to the food bank and posts reminders. Besides our ongoing collections with 3rd Sunday food blessings, we take one month a year for the Food4Tots program to collect 1,000 jars of baby food (or equivalent) and every three months our collections go to the Lummi Food Bank. Her biggest frustration is helping people remember to bring in their donations. Karen Hamalainen: Karen believe food shortages is the big issue to hit us soon. There is a convergence of issues like peak oil, shortages of clean water, topsoil erosion, etc. that will bring a major food crisis. Our current system is unsustainable and unfair. Yoshe Revelle: His big issue is that food is a human right like the right to water and air. We all have a right to a health diet, one which produced using sustainable methods and distributed fairly to everyone. Katrina Poppe: New to BUF but is very interested in supporting a local food system. Rick Dudley: Rick is working on expanding the umbrella of inherent rights to include animals. Although this goes beyond animals raised for food, it certainly encompasses how animals are raised in this country through factory farms. He is actively recruiting BUF members to join him on a new Animal Ministry action team. There is a national organization UUAM that already has information on ways to educate and take action so we don't have to reinvent the wheel. If interested, please contact Rick and check out the uuam.org web site. Sue Krueger: Sue's passions run toward how people make personal food choices, how to educate the public and is interested in the UUAM project too. Abe Lloyd: New to BUF. Has a background in ethnobotany and is passionate about stopping the destruction of the ecosystem through monocultures, loss of biodiversity and use of nonnative plants. He is interested in looking at how indigenous people live within the Earth's systems and how we can learn from them. Native diets were integrated into their local land area. How is that relevant to us here in Whatcom County? Richard Kruger: Wants to see local farm community succeed. Marian Beddill: Marian is interested in long term sustainability and with her background in water, that is of particular interest. She is concerned about the tension between urban sprawl and farmland and the level of corporate power in our food systems. Marian is also organizer of the BUF Living Democracy Team working on curbing corporate power though our laws. Kathy Anderson: Kathy was inspired by Erin Holt-Giminez's adult forum on food sovereignty issues. She has always wanted to be a farmer and is still trying to follow that dream. She also believes education of our youth is the key to solving many of our food issues. Growth of organic food and solving distribution issues are also important. Linda Fels: My passion is for the return to traditional diets for their nutritional density and low impact on our land, economy and people. And that includes traditional diets of European Americans too. I want to help educate our community on the benefits of moving away from the industrial food system. What's Next Discussion:
Our Fruits: BUF OUTREACH TO COMMUNITY
Our Roots: HOW WE LIVE HERE AT BUF
Sunday Coffee Hour (Kiosk, UUSC bags sales) – We sold enough UUSC bags to now have funds to pay for the Sustainable Connections membership; sale is suspended for now – we have about ten bags left which means we sold 90!! We could use some volunteers to staff our information kiosk during Sunday coffee hours.Our Supporting Structure: ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION Upcoming environmental adult forumsOur Fruits: BUF OUTREACH TO COMMUNITY Food Bank Donations: Looking for ways to improve our level of support – Kay, Tom and Mary to tackle this oneIDEAS FOR FUTURE EVENTS/ACTIVITIES Water event in connection with World Water Day in MarchNEXT MEETING: January 22, 2012 at 12:30 pm (after 2nd service) – room TBA
Updates
Gateway Pacific Terminal Update. Unfortunately, we've not yet gotten a response from ReSources about conducting educational forums so Deb and Richard will meet next week to draw up a tentative list of possible forums topics and speakers. Conor also said that Occupy Bellingham also has a contingent that is working on the coal issue as well. The comment was made to engage other community organizations. It's been our intention to engage other community groups and that was one of the things what we were hoping that ReSources could help us with. There was mention of an upcoming event sponsored by the Sierra Club, but no one had the particulars. (This event information has since been located and posted on the online site.) UUSC Shopping Bags Update (Winterfest). Kay, Sue and Ro sold 2 bags during the Winterfest which should bring us to about 32 bags left unless some got sold that I don't know about. There was a deadline on when the remaining bags had to be returned to UUSC, but at the last meeting we decided to purchase the remaining bags from the GSP account and sell them at our leisure. Adult Forum update. December 4th, Aaron Sanger and/or Adam Gaya will be presenting a forum on the Canadian Tar Sands. January's forum will be the Community Food Co-op Farm Fund (date not set yet). Tom Anderson has agreed to do a forum on energy issues in Whatcom County, but whether that will be in January or February has not been determined yet. Food4Tots food drive update The congregation almost didn't make its target of 1000 units this year. We were short about 168 units, but a BUF couple graciously wrote a check to cover the difference. There was a brief discussion as to whether or not this was an effort BUF should be continued and it was decided that the effort was an important one to continue on with. For next year, work will need to be done to help the congregation meet and exceed the 1000 units. The effort will need significantly more visibility then was provided this year. The subject of baby food processors was brought up again, but it was suggested that this be separate from the actual Food4Tots drive since there are several issues that need to be address when talking about offering up the processors. Some of these issues included providing education on using the food processors and if families have access to the appropriate types of food to be used with the processors. Deb's Comments At this point Deb reviewed, in general terms, those things required to conduct events and activities at BUF. While many of us know these things, some of us don't. For those of us who do, it doesn't hurt to have a gentle reminder. This discussion was conducted prior to discussing any ongoing or future projects so that we when we attempt discuss these projects, we have a better understanding of what will be expected of us and what we need to prepare for. BUF is undergoing a transformation from being a small congregation to a mid-sized one, which means that we can no longer expect to do things in simple ways anymore. With a larger congregation come defined processes/procedures expected to be followed, different levels of approval, etc. This transformation is new to many members and the church's leadership is still trying to work out what these procedures and processes are and what they will be and many of us are trying to learn them. So it can be very confusing at times to try and get things accomplished, but the processes and procedures are necessary. While it used to be that many issues were brought before the Board, this is no longer case. There are usually going to be several steps before anything is brought to the board, if it ever does and this will depend on what the issue is. For the most part, most of our activities and events should not be things that require the Board's attention. In addition to this transformation, we now have the added situation with Doug leaving the congregation. When the interim minister comes on board, part of his/her responsibility is to challenge every aspect of congregation life and how we do business. This could have significant impacts on how people and groups get things accomplished. The point being, there will be an ongoing change in how and who we deal with over the next couple of years. We are not the only group that wants to get things accomplished or wants attention and sometimes we forget this. This congregation is a very active congregation with a lot of people trying to do a lot of things and vying for limited set of resources. Different activities and projects will require dealing with different individuals, committees and processes. Generally speaking, anything having to do with the physical needs of the building will be handled by the Building and Grounds committee (namely Carol) and our administrator (Erin) who oversees pretty much everything having to do with the building. Other activities/events may need to involved Crystal (Director of Lifelong Learning) or Doug (Worship). Publicity, depending on the type needed could involve at least 3 different groups/people. In taking on a project/event/activity, it's important to address each of the below items:
Lighting Upgrade project update The lighting upgrade quest was a real learning experience that encompassed much more than what we thought it would. First off, the Board was not the proper approach for this particular project. When dealing with the physical conditions of the building, being "green" is not the only priority that needs to be considered. Through the process we discovered that there are several safety issues to be considered and take a higher precedence, some "green" aspects may not have a significant impact and the congregation's budget is a huge consideration. For all practical purposes, for the time being, there is no extra money in the budget, so all changes to the lightning, while they need to be done, have to be ranked in priority. In order to begin evaluating the lighting, 3 bids are being sought. One is already in, we are waiting on the results of another and the third has yet to be conducted. When addressing the lighting, "green" is only one consideration. One of the biggest issues is the maintenance and the safety issues involved with that maintenance. Right now, just changing the light bulbs in the sanctuary is a dangerous proposition due to the height of the existing fixtures. There is also the feedback from prospective renters that the lighting (or lack thereof) is a factor in their decisions. Also other general electrical issues in the sanctuary particularly come into play as a result of a recent fire inspection. So, there are aesthetic, environmental, safety and budgetary factors that have to be considered. For the time being, we will wait for the receipt of the 3 bids, then we can work with Carol (Building and Grounds) and Erin on where we go from here considering all the other needs, available funding, etc. Cleaning Supplies recommendations update It was decided that we need to hurry up and put this topic to rest. What was discussed that would be needed is a specific set of product recommendations that will name the product, it's specific use, and any environmental certifications the product may have. Karen, Conor and another person (I'm sorry I don't remember your name!) will work together and with Carol to determine what types of cleaning need products and determine if there are any specific requirements related to the kitchen (due to a recent inspection). Once that information is gathered, we can draft a proposal of our recommendations. It was also discussed that products should not only be addressed, but the how of what get's cleaned as well. There was some discussion on a possible relationship with Shaklee, but that will be have to be checked into further at another time. Possible Sharon Abreu Climate Monologues performance for spring It was decided that GSP would like to co-sponsor finally bringing this event to BUF in the spring. Deb to get more details on Sharon and space's availability, cost and contact the people outside of GSP who were interested in this project also. A spring performance seemed to be preferred. Food Handling Training Karen will be getting basic information on setting up possible food handling training (cost, length of time, etc.). Once that information is gathered then we can begin approaching the various groups and individuals (inside and rentals) who do food preparation in the church to participate in the training. GSP Presence During Coffee Hour For the Coffee Hour several things have been suggested
Great attendance - 14 people!
AGENDA ITEMS: (Assigned tasks are underlined) "Deep Green" movie: It was suggested that this important movie needed a wider showing. Karen will check into the possibility of teaming up with RE Sources and/or Pickford Theater for another showing. We are also looking for other movie titles for upcoming months. And as always, 1st Wed Movie Nights leaves out the choir. GMO Presentation: good reviews, wished more BUFsters had attended. There are Non-GMO shopping guides at the GSP kiosk in the Social Hall. Find Your Place At BUF: Circular pattern was good; hard to hear conversations for some; a map was suggested; food at each table pulled people in. Linda will forward reviews to Heidi. GSP Forums/Farm Fund Collection: The forums have gone well; attendance could be enhanced by not scheduling on dates with major conflicts like the BUF Retreat and the Choir singing at another church. Amount collected for Farm Fund will be checked and posted by Linda. UUSC Shopping Bags: Sold 66 so far; have 34 left. Team decided to buy any not sold after Winter Festival and we can continue selling them. Kay and Sue will sell bags during Winter Festival. They will be at the table next to Sarah selling other UUSC items. No sale on Oct 30th because of Halloween carnival. Food4Tots Month: We have donated around 550 units of baby food so far. We need 1,000 by Oct 31st! Cash donations also accepted - just make check out to BUF and mark "Food4Tots" in memo line. Issue of buying jars of baby food vs. food grinders and breast feeding vs. formula have been raised. GSP will discuss at a future date. Right now we have committed to 1,000 jars for month of October. Upcoming GSP Adult Forums: Living Democracy in November; perhaps Forest Ethics in December and Jean Rogers from Farm Fund in January. Energy Audit: Karen handed out copies; Linda will try to obtain an electronic copy; major time constrained item is upgrading lighting in sanctuary, cry room and loft. Team consensus was that this is a must-do item. Karen will continue to work with Erin to get 3 bids and cost estimate. Conor and Karen will research the amount we can save with rebates if work is done BEFORE end of December. Linda to relay our commitment on this to Board, Admin and Buildings and Grounds Committee. Ron to contact Erin about a fundraising call during a November service. Green Cleaning Products: Karen and Conor to work on draft list for team to vote on at next meeting. Karen suggested BUF sponsor a Food Handlers class (Min 10) on use of kitchen. Coal Terminal Workshops: Richard and Deb trying to work with Mat at RE Sources on possible education series. Community to Community (C2C) Meeting: Immigration Team has formed a BUF team to investigate the possibility of a formal partnership with C2C. Deb and Linda met with C2C to learn of any environmental related projects that could be part of this potential partnership. C2C works on Domestic Fair Trade; Farm Workers and Food Sovereignty issues. If this process continues, we can bring C2C representatives to a Green Sanctuary meeting to further explore possibilities. GSP Kiosk: During coffee hour our kiosk can be moved next to the Social Justice coffee table if someone is willing to staff our kiosk. There are more copies of our current handouts in the Green Sanctuary closet in a UUSC bag. NW UU Justice Summit: Linda attended the summit on Saturday along with Beth. This newly forming network includes a website where we can post our social and environmental justice projects and teams.
Review September Events
Marian introduced a new BUF action team she is pulling together to support the new Living Democracy non-profit in town; she needs 2 more people to create the team. There will be a Living Democracy class Oct 21 – 22. Date for October meeting: Sunday October 23 at 10:30 am in Old Social Hall/New BUF Library. Grab a cup of coffee and join us! REVIEW OF VOLUNTEER ASSIGNMENTS and OPENINGS
TENTATIVE calendar of Green Sanctuary events: (need to confirm several items)
Month of September:
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