Harvest Dinner - planning meeting notes 10-27-15

Vegetarian Pot Luck to celebrate our new Giving Garden's first growing year!

Nov 21   5:00PM-7:30PM

Vegetarian / Local / Sustainable / Low impact. Green team provides desert and drinks.

-          bring: list of ingredients / what makes it green?

o   At dinner: fill out a card with cook’s name / ingredients / what makes it green – Fran

Promotion

-          Publicity – Bill – church weekly newsletter “The Buzz” (join us for a night of good food and friendly fellowship)

-          Church announcements – (Mark – talk to Dana)

-          Fellowship hour – signup table (main/side) – Mark Nov 8^th, Candy Nov 15^th

-          Invite your friends! :)

-          Deserts and drinks – Green team – Candy, Fran, Mark

o   Cider, water

o   coffee, tea - Fran

Setup (4:30PM)

-          long tables for displays, serving, round tables for diners

-          use church plates and silverware, plastic table clothes

-          Coloring materials - Fran

Welcoming time (5:00 – 5:30PM)

Displays / Tables

-          Giving garden – Emily, Cindy (Fran)

-          Church Solar panels – Bill

-          Bees – Fran

-          Cover crop – Mark Aude (Fran)

-          MIPL and Faith based climate action – Mark

o   Pope, Jewish congregations, etc, carbon pricing, testifying on the carbon tax

o   Postcards for our state and national representatives

Greeting Prayer (5:30PM) – Mark – invite Alex to do this

Song before dinner

Garden Song (“Inch by Inch” ) – ask Steve Longo to play (Candy)

Dinner time (5:45- 6:30)

Speakers (6:30 – 7:15)

-          AHS intern – (Steve) will contact

-          ? Linda Z or Emily – to talk about farms supporting needy in Merrimack Valley  (Mark)

-          ? Mark Aude – (Fran will contact?)

Closing (7:20) – possibly Alex (Mark)

SC Green Team – meeting notes – 10/15/15

Who’s was there: Mark, Candy, Bill, Steve, Fran, Iric

We missed you: Janet, Terry

2nd Church Newton Session on Green Activism

Discussed Rev Antal's sermon and Q&A on climate change – focus of lunch audience questions was on fossil fuel divestment

ACTION – Bill – send copy of text of Jim’s sermon

Here is summary of event & link to our presentation:

South Church Green Team blog - Environmental Speaker Series - Presentation for 2nd Church in Newton UCC

Fossil Fuel Divestment 

Bill talked with Dave Floreen on Trustees of Trust Funds – Bill plans to attend their next meeting (which is not currently scheduled)

-       Trustees of Trust Funds are Dave Floreen, Mike Hawkins, Jane Ingram

ACTION: Bill (with assistance from Steve) – create a 2-3 page handout on divestment to share with church membership

-       this may encourage  church membership to consider fossil fuel divestment, and may also lead Trustees of Trust Funds to consider it, or to be ready to recommend it.

-    plan to share information and educate the church - and when ready, to lead to annual meeting item?

Green Messages in the Church Service

-       Sunday Nov 15^th

o    Children’s talk - Candy – ideas/theme for talk: doing a big difficult task is easier together (think of clapping – one kid first, then all kids, then congregation), a big difficult task is easier with God, doing it makes God smile

o    Green offering - Same Sunday - Have a card in the bulletin for "Your Green Offering" check-off items and/or fill in spots of what you do, and what you will do.

Harvest Dinner - Let's celebrate the giving garden!  Target for Saturday 11/21

-       invite the giving garden group and do in conjunction with them.

-       ACTION: Fran – contact garden group to see if they are interested - invite them to nexxt meeting on 10/27

-       Theme of local food, vegetarian & low impact cooking. Feeding the poor.

-       Cookoff event with recipe sharing – with voting by attendees (similar to Chili Cookoff)

-       ACTION: Steve – contact student intern Oceana and Anne Knowles – to ask if Oceana would like to give her talk on local food and feeding the poor

-       Garden group may have information to share that night too

-       ACTION: Candy - Invite Alex to talk more about social justice – he could take part in the dinner - social justice as seen through feeding the needy

Next meeting will be 10/27 – all about planning the Harvest Dinner

Parking Lot

-       Activities/Events

o   Show video "Merchants of Doubt", documentary on oil and gas company's misinformation campaign.  Options include movie night at South Church for youth or other churches.

-       LEDs (notes from August)

o    Bill and candy to follow up about LED lights.

o    Candy to find list, Bill to research NGrid deal, Steve to talk w Georgia Rex about helping us

Environmental Speaker Series - Presentation for 2nd Church in Newton UCC

On Sunday Oct 4th, we took part in an environmental program at 2nd Church in Newton. Candy, Bill Schroeder and I were there to represent the South Church Green Team, and to share what we have done at South Church.

Rev. Jim Antal preached that Sunday on Climate Change, and also conducted a question and answer session on divestment, after the service, before the speakers program. Both times he spoke it was very powerful. To put it simply, he was on fire.

Here is our slide presentation: SC Green Team Presentation to 2nd Church Newton

Pat Bonnet at 2nd Church was the event organizer. Pat and everyone at 2nd Church who assisted did a wonderful job with the event and lunch. It was so good to meet everyone at 2nd Church in Newton, and to talk about our common goals of taking action on climate change. It was very energizing! (I like that word!)

Here is the promotional blurb for the event from the church website:

Second Church Environmental Speakers Series
October 4, 20 & 25
 

Getting to Know Green Congregations and Green Newton

Local Opportunities and Action

Sunday, October 4, 2015 

            The first event in our environmental series is October 4 – World Communion Sunday.  The focus of this first event is to look at what is happening locally in the area of environmental awareness and action. In worship and leading into the series presentations, Jim Antal, our Conference Minister, will preach on environmental stewardship.  Following a luncheon our guest speakers from Green Newton and the Green Team from South Church in Andover will share with us their thoughts and experiences as “local green activists.”

            We have invited a number of other congregations to join us for this event and hope that many Second Church members are able to participate.  Please let us know if you are able to attend the luncheon so that we can properly plan.  Your RSVP should go to Lissa Gilbert lissaparrotfish@aol.com, Amanda Loftus ab.loftus@verizon.net, or Barbara Cancellieri office@2ndchurch.org. (Note: the lunch is for Second Church members and invited guests.  It is not open to the public.)

Sunday, October 4

10:00 am	Worship
	The Rev. Jim Antal, Conference Minister
	Preaching on Environmental Topic
11:45 am	Luncheon (free will offering)
1:00 pm -	“Green Activism in Newton”
2:30 pm	Marcia Cooper, President of Green Newton

                                    “Green Congregations”

                                    Green Team from South Church in Andover