Green Team Meeting Notes 2-21-2019

Green Team Meeting Notes 2/21/2019

Attendees: Bill Schroeder, Fran Fink, Steve Fink Mark Bohrer, Candy Dann (phone)

Away: Janet Clarke, Tim Smith, Susan Johnston

Need to re-add to the invite: Graham Long

Thank you was sent by Massachusetts Interfaith Power&Light to South Church sending a $1000 contribution

Board of World Service agreed to support “Be The Spark” program by MIPL

- $500 matching from BoWS to Green Team $500 contribution >> for $1000 contribution

News: We are now sharing green ideas in the weekly buzz  – Susan is doing this with Nora

- Our green bee is now showing the way!

News: Jim Antal is speaking Memorial Hall Library 3/16 (3/17? ) as part of a WECAN event

-        WECAN = Working to Educate for Climate Action Now

-        Mary Pritchard founded WECAN, inspired by Climate Retreat

-        We are discussing ways we can work together and support WECAN

News:  Electricity Generation from Solar Panels

-         Bill prepared a report & sent it to Trustees. It will also be included as a story in the next quarterly newletter.

-         Mark sent a Powerpoint version to Nora. It’s now posted on the church website and on church TV message board. Nora will rotate the slides, with a new slide each week.

1)      Climate Mitigation program in Andover – Steve reported on this

o   Town leadership is working on acquiring funding from this MA state program

2)      Columbia Gas updates - Merrimack Valley Gas Crisis Recover Green Initiative – Steve

o   Lots is going on! Steve will have more updates to report on soon.

3)      Renewable/Electric options for kitchen - Bill is the point person here

o   The Trustees (Iric) sent out an email in December that there was a decision to stay with gas appliances

o   The Trustees gave several justifications which we thought were answerable and could be overcome

o   This include addressing Columbia Gas compensation for appliances, electric service in condition

o   Things may have changed with what Columbia Gas will fund.

o   Iric could not make it in January and asked to reschedule - Mark proposed a new date to meet  to Iric

o   We are offering that Trustees use the GT as a resource. We want to support and help find solutions.

o   Mark will be the liaison to Trustees, and will be at the next Trustees meeting

o   February Trustees meeting was cancelled. Next meeting is March 18^th  (3^rd Monday)

ACTION: Mark will call Iric

4)      Long-term Plan to get the church off gas completely

5)      SC Green Team website

- There is now some basic information on the website, including

- Candy is working with Nora on where we appear – Candy has made some suggestions

- ACTION: Candy – get on the “Get to know us” menu

- ACTION: Steve – send photos from retreat, send to Susan, and she will select ones for the website

-        ACTION Mark – update Climate Reader and share with Green Team to review

6)      Divestment and Socially Responsible Investment – Bill

-        the Trustees of Trust Funds made an announcement of their plans to do this at annual meeting

Not discussed this meeting – things we want to do:

- Retreat 2.0 at Fellowship Hour - World Cafe tables return - Steve/Mark

- sharing Climate Cares and Concerns during church

Green Team Meeting Notes 1-17-2019

Green Team Meeting Notes 1/17/2019

Attendees: Bill Schroeder, Susan Johnston, Mark Bohrer, Candy Dann (phone)

Away: Steve Fink, Janet Clarke, Tim Smith, Fran Fink

Need to re-add to the invite: Graham Long

Here are our minutes from last month (link below).

Agenda for this month (schedule order may be adjusted):

1) Renewable/Electric options for kitchen - Iric/Trustees – Bill is the point person here

-        The Trustees had put forward a decision to stay with gas appliances

-        They gave several justifications which we thought were answerable and could be overcome

o   This include addressing Columbia Gas compensation for appliances, electric service in condition

-        Iric could not make it tonight and asked to reschedule

-        ACTION: Mark to respond to Iric, request a new date to meet

o   In an effort to keep communication lines open, this was kind of a glitch, from the Green Team’s perspective. Request that Trustees use the GT as a resource. We want to support and be involved.

o   Mark to propose being a liaison to the Trustees, and plans to attend the next Trustees meeting

-         

2) Columbia Gas updates - Merrimack Valley Gas Crisis Recover Green Initiative – Steve

-        Steve not here - Will get updates when he is present

3) Board of World Service agreed to support “Be The Spark” program by MIPL

- $500 matching from BoWS to Green Team $500 contribution >> for $1000 contribution

4) SC Green Team website

- There is now some basic information on the website:

- Candy is working with Nora on where we appear – Candy has made some suggestions

- ACTION: Candy – get on the “Get to know us” menu

- ACTION: Steve – send photos from retreat, send to Susan, and she will select ones for the website

-        ACTION Mark – update Climate Reader and share with Green Team to review

5) Sharing green ideas in the weekly buzz ... how to best do this? – Susan

- Idea for a little character (green bee?) in the weekly buzz to be a spokesperson for green ideas

- ACTION: Susan will talk to Nora to develop this

6) Electricity Generation from Solar Panels –

- Bill showed graph of last 6 years

- ideas on how to promote

- ACTION: Bill to summarize in a presentation to the Trustees and the church (quarterly newsleeter).

7) Divestment and Socially Responsible Investment – Bill

- an announcement in this regard will be forthcoming at the annual meeting from the Trustees of Trust Funds

Not discussed this meeting – things we want to do:

- Retreat 2.0 at Fellowship Hour - World Cafe tables return - Steve/Mark

- sharing Climate Cares and Concerns during church

Green Team meeting notes 11-29-2018

Green Team Meeting Notes 11/29/2018

Attendees: Bill Schroeder, Susan Johnston, Steve Fink, Mark Bohrer, Candy Dann

Away: Janet Clarke, Tim Smith, Graham Long, Fran Fink

1)      Request from Mass Interfaith Power & Light for the church to support “Be The Spark” program

a.       Program that was developed by Minnesota IPL

b.       Mass Interfaith P&L wants to do a training program for people’s community organizing skills

c.       Proposal - Make the request to Board of World Service

ACTION: Bill – mail program info to Steve F who will take this to Board of World Service

2)      Communication Method to Church

ACTION: Susan – share short green Christmas ideas in Weekly Buzz

a.       Climate Reports sent by Tim Smith – specifically IPCC meeting in Poland

b.       Share with people in context of “The World Needs To Change to Fossil Fuel Free Dramatically and Rapidly”. How are each of us doing this? How are we changing our homes, vehicles, consumption to fossil fuel free?

                                                               i.      “What should I be doing now?” “How am I going to get to fossil-fuel free in 20 years?” For example – maybe I could switch to an electric stove, electric dryer or electric car when I make each of these next purposes.

                                                             ii.      Electric is good (renewable), gas is bad (not renewable, pipeline leaks, explosions, fracking water pollution, health impact/deaths from air and water pollution

ACTION: Mark – share with wider Green Team list

a.       new Green Team website –

ACTION: Candy – request Nora to do Step 1: add “Green Team” homepage, with basic info on who we are, how to contact us, what we have done recently, Step 2: will be to add content

b.       bulletin board – we need to talk to Nora/Dana about how we can contribute to new “theme” / “Action” / “Mission” oriented bulletin boards

3)      Suggestion: Plan a “POST COLUMBIA GAS” session

a.       to solicit input from the church “How has the Columbia Gas crisis changed your life?”

                                                               i.      From this “What should we all do now?”

Next Step: Work on a program involving church membership to solicit input on what should be done

Context: Gas is NOT safe, not good for our communities, and is NOT the future

ACTION: Green Team – followup meeting to work on this

4)      Merrimack Valley Gas Crisis Recovery – Green Initiative

a.       Context: Lupine Road goal to be very green, and promoted that way

b.       Jim Antal’s initiative on Green Social Activism

5)      Climate Change Witness to Congregation –

a.       Regular message needs to be brought to church service each week

ACTION: Mark – request Retreat attendees to signup for weekly “climate witness message” during Joys & Concerns – with Message of Concern Joy and Hope

b.       Climate Justice  - how do we add this to our actions?

Not discussed:

1)      Retreat Takeaways and Followups

                     i.      Very positive feedback – things worked well for families, adults, no concerns expressed, will be requesting more feedback with a survey

                   ii.      Steve will send out a retreat survey

                 iii.      Do followups at Fellowship Hour – ACTION: Mark – ask Dana

1.       Inspiration Fair and World Café – 2 events, 2 Fellowship hours, start after 15 minutes

2.       Heads up to Dana as a regular prayer time “Cares and Concerns” words on climate change

3.       With a variety of people from the retreat

Green Team Meeting Notes 9-6-2018

Green Team Meeting Notes 9/6/2018

Attendees: Bill Schroeder, Susan Johnston, Steve Fink, Mark Bohrer, Candy Dann (phone)

1)      Car Chargers Program – Ngrid and/or Eversource involvement to install them in public spaces

-          ACTION: Bill will find out more about this program to see if it makes sense at South Church

2)      Retreat

-          plans are coming together – 51 signed up, expect more including youth signups

-          Candy asked about Inspiration Fair

-          We have entire Shapleigh bunkhouse reserved – but we need 11 more to hold it

-          Jenn Murray working on youth invitations, but there likely will be space for more adults too.

3)      Divestment

-          Panel on Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is planned

-    Sunday Sept 30^th 11:45AM, with lunch provided, expected to take ~90 minutes

-    to give all church members the chance to learn and discuss socially responsible investing

-    Name is “ESG” Environmental Social Governance

-          Tim Smith to moderate

-    Experts that Tim knows will be invited

-          Hope is to move the discussion along for the church to vote on a resolution at January meeting

-          This panel is the 3^rd event open to the church to find out more about SRI

-    There were 2 open discussion times this past spring

4)      Homecoming Table on 9/16 – Green Team table: Retreat,  Divestment

-          We can promote both events

-          We can invite more church members since we have space in Shapleigh bunkhouse

5)      Climate Justice
       - Let's do more in this area!

6)      Joint Plans with North Parish

       - Let's do more with them!

7)      Saturday Rally Plans

Green Team Meeting Notes 3-01-2018

Green Team Meeting Notes 3/01/2018

Fall Retreat...Divestment...Earth Day

Present: Mark Bohrer, Bill Schroeder, Candy Dann

Away: Fran Fink, Steve Fink, Iric Rex, Janet Clarke, Susan Johnston, Terry Ebner

All-Member Retreat For The Environment - AMC Center at Crawford Notch

Columbus Day Weekend 2018

Retreat for the Environment – South Church in Andover – on church website:

http://southchurch.com/green-retreat-for-the-future-2-0/

(flyer doc attached to email)

Promotion of the retreat at Fellowship Hour

ACTION: Bill, Mark – staff tables in Fellowship Hall for promoting retreat

-       2/18: Steve, Mark, 2/25: Bill, 3/4: Mark, 3/11: Bill, 3/18: Anna

-       Feb 25 - Bill promoted the retreat

o   Bill spoke to several people today at fellowship hour about attending the environmental retreat. 

o   Ones who expressed interest included:  Nathan Combs, Peter and Deb White, Tom Appleton and Eric Stubenhaus. 

-       Mar 4 – Mark promoted the retreat

o   Good interest from David and Ellen Van Arsdale

§  Their son Mark Van Arsdale is a HS science teacher in Alaska. He was selected for a NOAA expedition to the Gulf of Alaska this summer as part of the US Fisheries research program. He wrote a marine biology environmental curriculum for high school. Possible Skype call during retreat? Talked about this with Ellen Van Arsdale.

o   Lindsay King, with 13 month old daughter

o   Talked to several other people and gave out flyers, but didn’t get names

-       Signed up - From February meeting:

o   There were roughly 11 families, ~25 people – Steve has a list of names – this is about half of a good  turnout (more is better)

o   need more younger families with kids

-       So far (adults+kids)

o   Dana Walsh & family (2+2),

o   Johnston (2+0),

o   Dann’s (2+0),

o   Schroeder (2?),

o   Fink (2),

o   Bohrer (1+1, and 2 partial? depends on band schedule)

o   Steve’s list – Mason’s?, Nardini’s?, others…

Retreat Planning Committee

ACTION: Mark to schedule committee meeting

-       Steve Fink, Nick Bohrer, Mark Bohrer, Susan Johnston, Graham Long, Anna McGrath, Kristie Nardini

-       Invite: Emily Appleton

Highland Center Room Availability

Steve checked with AMC Highland Center –we don’t have a block reserved for us, if I’m remembering correctly – However there are still a good number of rooms available, but they are being reserved, so people do need to make their reservations, and encourage anyone planning to go to reservations.

Plan for next few months – personal invites - ACTIONS

-       Steve >> handoff to Mark, Bill and Candy

o   Marc & Suzy Henderson, John and Lois Roberts, (English teacher…), Chris & Lenore Price

-       Candy:

o   Mulu Kedebe & Jacob Urban, Buffy Pritchard

-       Bill:

o   Wayne and Robin Gendron

-       Mark:

o   Tom Appleton, Betsy Hopkins, Emily Appleton (invite to the committee), Polly & Duncan Pyle, Steve Longo

-       Send responses to Mark, who will compile list

Push for reservation at AMC Crawford Center by Earth Day...

Fall / Family / Foliage / Fun / Future!   (Logo: maple leaf? )

Celebrating Nature / Celebrating Family / Celebrating the Future

Earth Day

-       Mark sent an email to Dana asking about Earth Day plans. Earth Day is Sunday April 22

Divestment

                - Bill - can you fill us in on the next steps?