Green Committee

The Green Committee has been committed to exploring ways to better care for God's creation. We have put emphasis on helping the church and its members conserve energy, reduce toxic waste, support sustainable agriculture, and address global warming. The Green Committee has qualified as a Greening Congregation by Earth Ministry.

ONGOING PROJECTS

  • We serve organic, shade-grown, fair-trade coffee for all church uses. Members and staff have enjoyed excellent coffee while helping to reduce pesticide use, preserve migratory bird habitat, and provide a fair price to the coffee farmers. As a way to subsidize this program, we sell bags of this same high quality coffee after worship two times per month.
  • The Green Committee periodically displays earth-friendly products and offers educational materials after worship in Fellowship Hall.
  • Receptacles are provided for cell phone recycling.
  • We are converting all exit signs to energy efficient LED lights.

PAST PROJECTS

  • We have supported sustainable agriculture by arranging for a local farmer to deliver fresh produce to our church each Sunday during the growing season for the past three years. As part of a community supported agriculture (CSA) program, boxes of organic fruits and vegetables were distributed to people who purchased a CSA share.
  • Early in 2009, we celebrated "By the Waters" Sunday. On this day, we celebrated our sacred connection with water and explored ways to conserve it. We held a blind taste test of several bottled waters and tap water after worship. After no preference was found, the health and environmental concerns of bottled water were emphasized.
  • We offered an opportunity to make "green" gift bags at the 2008 Advent Festival. Tips for environmentally-friendly giving were also offered. Congregator articles were run that provided ways to reduce our carbon footprint during the holidays.
  • A "Care More, Car Less Sunday" drew 104 participants who changed the way they traveled to church that day. Many carpooled, walked, bussed, biked, and even scootered to our worship service. Collectively, we were able to reduce Co2 emissions into the atmosphere by 137 pounds that day.
  • As part of a "National Day of Climate Action," we organized church participation in a local march and rally in downtown Seattle. Twenty Fauntleroy folks enthusiastically marched behind a colorful banner created by Judy Pickens with about 3,500 other community members. Participants described it as an inspirational event.
  • We celebrated an "At the Table" Sunday. On this day, we focused on how our food choices can nourish our health and the health of our environment. We created a display that showed a map with the food miles traveled for a typical meal and offered recipes and suggestions for eating seasonal foods.
  • As part of an adult education night in the fall, we prepared a delicious and healthful supper with local, organic foods. Educational materials that highlighted reasons to support sustainable agriculture were shared.

RESOURCES

For recycling other electronic equipment, see the following web sites:

If you are thinking of getting a new appliance or remodeling your home, here are some places to start to look for ideas:

For a non-toxic cleaning, try The Dry Cleaning Station at 15830 1st Ave S., Burien, 98148. They use a silicon process that is presented as 100% biodegradable, nontoxic and odorless. (206-243-9400 or http://www.dcswa.com)

To contact us with ideas or suggestions, email "Green Committee" at info@fauntleroyucc.org.

Updated: 07/11/09: L. Sundquist: B. Ackers