SC Green Team - meeting notes – 11/10/2016

Green Team - meeting notes – 11/10/2016

SC Green Team

Attendees: Candy Dann, Mark Bohrer, Fran Fink, Janet Clarke, Steve Fink

-          ACTIONS: Mark – talk to Dana

o   review proposed plans and possible dates for internal 1-day retreat Fall 2017

o   All-Generation big retreat Fall 2018

o   Green Movie Night – Possible Dates - Jan 29

-          ACTIONS: Steve – talk to Highland

-          Next meeting – December 15^th – move meeting to 3^rd Thursdays!

o   ACTION                : Mark – tell Linda Hacker

1)      Agenda/Minutes

o   Green Retreat for the Future 2.0

§  Plan for Fall 2018!

·         Market as Family Christmas gift December 2017

§  Similar format & structure

§  Guest speaker

o   In House Multi-generational event – September 2017

§  Afternoon internal retreat – science fair

§  Lead in to Harvest Dinner

§  Speaker is a readout on the projects?

§  Speaker is UCS, John Rogers

§  Can have kids activities

o   Need long term green church investment plan

§  Present to Trustees

§  Start with 3 renovations below

o   Christmas Table 2017

§  Sell LED lights

§  Re-usable

o   Workshop on energy efficiency

§  LED Lighting

§  Sealing & Insulation

2)      Green Movie Night – do together with North Parish, West Parish

a.       Possible Dates -

                                                               i.      Jan 29 Sunday

                                                             ii.      Feb 12 & Feb 19

                                                            iii.      Mar 11^th Saturday

3)      Church energy efficiency

3 energy conservation renovations projects  - Iric

Here are some steps to improve energy performance at SC:

Determined 3 fairly easy renovations to help with energy use.

Talked with Tom Ozirsky about the  budget for each, as he was putting together this year’s budget.

Talked with Betsy Davis about the 3 things, but still want to get her comments/ opinions.

Talked with Wally about the 3 things.

I think one or more of them, if Betsy approves, would make good DOS activities.

The three renovations:

1.       Airseal and insulating panel at men’s bathroom exhaust fan (near stairs at front of church). There is significant heat loss (and an uncomfortably cold, drafty bathroom) at this location. Budget $100 for materials.

2. Airseal and insulate at large inter-wall space at front of Sanctuary (both sides). There appears to be a large volume of heated air that travels through this space from the boiler room/ lower floor area up through the attic. Budget $700 for materials.

3.       Apply rigid insulation to the bare concrete wall on the back side of the church, basement level, Rompers area. Refinish with GWB. The wall is presently uninsulated, and is an area of great heat loss. The insulation will cut heat loss and also improve comfort in the room. Budget $1,800 for materials. Will also require some time from a plumber (to move hydronic convectors away from the wall) and electrician (to move wall-mounted electrical). Budget $2,500 for trades? Total guess.

- Possible use of Black Dog basement insulation system?

All budget costs are rough estimates. I assume all labor would be donated, except for plumbing and electrical.

 4)      Divestment

Hello Green Team:

Here is a summary of the meeting that Candy and I had with Kate Jagger yesterday regarding fossil fuel divestment.  It's my notes.  Candy has not had time to offer her edits.  But I wanted to get this in your hands before tonight's Green Team meeting, so you all would have something to think about.

See you tonight,

Bill

SC Green Team – meeting notes – 8/18/2016

SC Green Team – meeting notes – 8/18/2016

Attendees: Bill Schroeder, Candy Dann, Terry Ebner, Steve Fink, Fran Fink, Mark Bohrer, (Dave Welbourn – phone)

1.       Giving Garden / Harvest Dinner celebration Sunday Oct 2^nd

o   Starting point: Alex’s idea to have a service and dinner at the Giving Garden

§  Questions about workability of dinner there – suggest to move dinner to church?

o   Idea for a two part event on Sunday October 2^nd

§  Part 1) ecumenical service at Garden, for all volunteers and families

§  Part 2) pot-luck dinner at the church

o   Green education program element to evening

§  provide material at each table?

§  ideas for how to mix table seating – a concierge? 2 youth doing this?

§  Displays on Giving Garden’s output & other green topics like last year?

o   Invite North Parish Sustainability Team

§  Part of making the connection to other church green teams, a goal of Dana’s too

o   Other invites:

§  Anil Navkal

§  Karuthika (connection to Chinmara Center)

o   Next step: planning meeting on Tues 9/6

2.       Divestment – phone call with Dave Welbourn

o   want to start the discussion

§  want a discussion with Trustees of Trust Funds

§  want a discussion with church membership

o   Dave’s thoughts – broached idea that church should/might want to act on our principles, and do investments the same as we act in the community

§  Dave asked the question - in addition to divestment from fossil fuels, should we frame the question larger, should church make investments in alignment with social justice?

§  (Mark had to leave at this point….)

§  Conclusions? Next step? Meetings to start congregational discussion?

3.       Idea for monthly environmental movie, together with north parish and maybe other area churches?  I mentioned it to Karen Martin of North parish, and she liked the idea.

NEXT MEETING – Giving Garden Service/Potluck Planning  meeting on Tuesday 9/6

SC Green Team – meeting notes – 03/23/2016

SC Green Team – meeting notes – 03/23/2016

Attendees: Mark, Candy, Bill, Linda Z

Green Service – scheduled for April 24

-       Theme: Climate Change is a container issue (this doesn't sound so spiritual - we'll do this in a spiritual way!)

o   Churches care about poverty, hunger, homelessness, clean water, justice, war, etc

o   Climate change affects all of these – Climate change is now the “container” of all of these

o    Climate change is not "another issue" - it effectively supercedes them all by making them all more likely if we let things get worse

-       Bill will give a personal witness / mission moment

o   Dana is also giving a message

o   Church green service is registered on both the UCC site and the Interfaith Power & Light site.

o   Does someone from the giving garden also want to contribute?

§  We could work this in if someone is interested.

-       Music

o   Pentecostal Pickers are on for April 24 – they know it’s a green service

§  They are planning on doing 3 songs

-       Children’s talk

o   Idea: a large white bucket with a map of the earth filled with all the things we care about

§  could use a 5 gal paint bucket

§  or a wheelbarrow instead to tie it to the giving garden – it’s large and dramatic too.

o   Need youth voice or voices

§  Candy talked to Jenn Murray – Jenn agreed to ask two kids to do this.

·         Mark will provide the initial script

·         Steve could coach when back?

§  Possible youth:  Anna McGrath, Katherine Gatewood, Carolyn Parker?

§  Other middle school kids?

§  Christina Nardini ? (graduate student attending Merrimack College)

-       ACTION: Bill - Get EDF “I’m a Climate Voter” bumper stickers to handout at fellowship hour

-       Steve Fink’s suggestion of a theme - Local connection – we work this in with the Giving Garden

-       Green Sunday - Bulletin idea

o   a photo of the Giving Garden with the new shed in the background would make a nice program for the bulletin.

Divestment Discussion

-       We will take up how to spur the divestment discussion at church (both with the Trustees of the Trust Funds and with general church membership) at our next meeting

-       Bill has a 4 page handout that goes into divestment reasons/justification – he will send this out to the core group again.

SC Green Team – meeting notes – 01/21/2016

SC Green Team – meeting notes – 01/21/2016

Present: Mark, Candy, Bill, Steve, Fran, Iric         We missed you: Janet, Terry

Paris Pledge 

            parispledge.org (sponsored by interfaithpowerandlight.org)

             – congregation and individuals commit to go carbon neutral by 2030 
             - can we do it??  How can we talk about it?

-       Could South Church go carbon neutral by 2030? Could we do it by 2025? Sooner than that?

-       Practically speaking, what are the areas to go after?  

-   Insulation in the sanctuary

§  Insulation… there are challenges with this - makes humidity changes,

§  organ/steeple opening – need to create an insulated, airtight box around organ pipes

-  (#1) Air sealing in the sanctuary, fellowship hall, office, library, parlor might be the best, first step

§  Ian Rex (Iric’s brother) has an energy efficiency business

§  ACTION: Iric – invite Ian to evaluate air sealing

-  (#2) Church Office is cold now, needs to be heated, requiring main boiler to run to heat it

§  Look at mini-split heat pump – can provide heating and cooling efficiently

§  Insulation improvements in office?

§  ACTION: Candy to send previous energy stewardship report from Thomas Nutt-Powell

-   Heating system efficiency – long term replacement for boiler

§  what is the separate gas usage of boiler in old church vs addition (forced hot air heated powered by natural gas furnaces in addition)?

§  do we need to get a separate gas meter to find out?

Earth Day Service – propose Sunday May 1 - talk to Dana 

(on May 1 because mission trip returns on Sunday Apr 24th - want youth there & involved)

-       Tie in to Giving Garden fundraiser – already planned by Giving Garden committee for Saturday Apr 30

-       Church involvement – start the deep discussion on the Paris pledge in advance?

-       Youth involvement

-       Music involvement

Green Retreat for Families

-   Let's do it, it's time!

-       Shoot for early fall – late September, early October?

Topics we did not talk about

-       Divestment

-       LED lighting in the church

-       green thing of the month 

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