04-09-15-GS-Accreditation-Application

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PROJECTS EJ-1 Project Title: Fresh Food for All Assessment Results we are responding to: Primarily this project addresses our desire to help local low-income fami

Application for Green Sanctuary Certification Congregation Information

Congregation First Parish Bedford (FPB) Unitarian Universalist

Address 75 The Great Road, Bedford MA, 01730

Green Sanctuary contact: Michael Akillian

extreme difficult seasons of heat and cold we were ready to say of the Sabbath, 'Behold, what a weariness is it.'" Thus, to waylay the weariness, the First Parish in Bedford was established The original meetinghouse, built as a spiritual home for the original

parishioners, suffered significant damage in the "Great Gale" of Sept 1815 Our current meetinghouse replaced the original in 1817, using many timbers from the destroyed predecessor

In 1830, theological differences between the Trinitarians and the Unitarians in the Parish led to a split into two separate churches The Trinitarians moved down the street to establish a new congregation Unitarians retained the meetinghouse, the communion

silver, and the name

The resulting congregation continued the traditions of seeking new answers to old

questions – social, theological, justice, and the human condition There were waves of relative prosperity and strong membership alternating with times of scarceness on both accounts The parish was served by a long array of ministers with limited tenure, with a core of members to carry on the name and mission of the congregation In a time of very low membership in the fifties, the congregation faced the possibility of disbandment Notwithstanding our situation, First Parish survived, and in the early sixties voted to join the new organizational body known as the Unitarian Universalist Association

Ultimately, the Parish recovered and grew after calling a series of committed and

inspired ministers: David Weisbard, Jack Mendelsohn, and, now, Senior Minister, John Gibbons

First Parish has maintained the Unitarian Universalist heritage of creativity and

innovation We have continually worked towards UUA goals such as Fair Share and Fair Compensation Several of our parishioners have worked for UUA headquarters in such fields as Religious Education, Ministerial Development, Fair Compensation, Partner Church, and UUA history Most recently the First Parish was awarded the UUA honor of

being a “Breakthrough Congregation” accompanied by a cover story in the UUA World.

Although not without some growing pains, we have transitioned from a fellowship congregation to a 383-member parish offering two Sunday services We are currently staffed with a full-time Senior Minister, a Parish Minister, Director of Religious

Education, a Parish Administrator, as well as several part-time staff members (intern minister, bookkeeper, choir director, music director, volunteer coordinator, and sexton) Lay leadership is a strong and vital tradition in the life of the church We pledge to be a good neighbor and an active participant in public life within and beyond Bedford Due toopportunities of our comparative privilege and homogeneity, we seek to learn from others

in face-to-face encounter We create opportunities for service, we initiate compassionate actions for social justice, and we join with others who are already engaged Inspired by our vision of community – local and global – we aspire to shape our culture and enlarge common ground

Some $6,000 remains in the congregation’s Green Sanctuary fund If big-ticket items are needed in order to complete First Parish’s application, the committee will come back to the parish for a vote

Two Green Sanctuary action plans are focused on kids – publishing Earth Circles is part

of the RE action plan, and additional project ideas are welcome.

VOTE: Unanimously Approved on a voice vote

UU Identity and Spirituality

Ours is a community that honors the worth and dignity of all living things and

interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part Our worship services,

community activism, and programs help us celebrate these connections, as well as those

to the wider worlds of nature and human society So our Green Sanctuary work has been built on a framework of purposefully contributing to helping sustain a vital and vibrant environment in which all things can flourish and coexist

The Green Sanctuary project has served as a coalescing catalyst through which, what might have been diffuse environmental activities and interests, have become a more unified way of working in community We have shared our time, talents and treasure to accomplish discrete projects through which we have explored and crafted stronger sharedspiritual bonds and galvanized them into productive engagement in environmental efforts that have taken on a more sustained life of their own even after the identified GS projects have been completed

The input we received from parishioners that helped shape the projects we have

undertaken as part of our candidacy can be found in the appendix to this document

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PROJECTS

EJ-1 Project Title: Fresh Food for All

Assessment Results we are responding to: Primarily this project addresses our desire

to help local low-income families gain access to fresh, organic food The project has been an intergenerational effort and environmental education for the kids Also, the project removed an area of native shrubs that were not thriving to create a productive and ecologically sustainable landscape

Project Description: Junior Youth Group (JYG) to Create a Vegetable Garden for the

Bedford Pantry

Project Action: The Junior Youth, with the help of several adult volunteers, created a

vegetable garden in our back and south facing churchyards with the aim of providing fresh produce to our local food pantry

The Junior Youth replaced foundation plants around the church with a vegetable garden

that yielded over 150 pounds of fresh food for the local food pantry.

Outcomes: We have completed two full seasons The first season we did not grow

enough of any single vegetable to donate to our pantry so we shared with the youth workers and FP employees (who greatly appreciated the fresh food) The second season

we expanded our growing area and focused on a few crops We delivered 5-20 lbs of produce a week to the food pantry for eight weeks Produce included kale, collards, greenbeans, zucchini, tomatoes and squash We also grew edible flowers and sunflowers to brighten the neighborhood and feed the birds

Project Timeline:

2012: First Parish RE program, Earth Circles, converted foundation plantings on the south side of the church to a vegetable garden (approx 640 sq ft.)

2013: JYG cultivated garden (640 sq ft.) to donate to Bedford Food Pantry, unfortunately

we did not produce enough to deliver

2014: JYG expanded garden (total 750 sq ft.) and modified plant list yield:

approximately 100-150 pounds of food to the pantry

Next Steps: We will continue with this garden indefinitely and are discussing plans for

further expansion and perhaps operating it as a free CSA to a few local families in need The pantry gets lots of fresh local produce from a large farm near by and so while our offerings were appreciated, they could perhaps have a larger impact if focused on a smaller population

Lead: Janet Powers

EJ-2 Project Title: Earth Justice Film and Book Series

Project Description: The Green Sanctuary Committee along with another FPB

committee and outside organization conducted several film screenings, common book readings, and group discussions on Environmental Justice to promote education, dialogueand motivation to get more people active and involved in related issues

Project Timeline: Completed during the FY13-14 church year.

Action: We chose The Economics of Happiness for our first film and screened it jointly

with our Peace and Justice Committee and with another group, Transition Town Bedford

We created posters for the event and distributed them around the community We

promoted the film to church attendees via the Parishioner (the church newsletter), and the electronic Anno List Other films screened included Inequality for All, Do the Math Tour, and a film about toxic chemicals

Our committee chose The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves in Our Capsized Culture for a

common read We purchased multiple copies and sold them during coffee hour,

encouraging parishioners to buy them as gifts for the holidays

Screening and discussion of Do The Math film.       Book discussion of The Green Boat.

Outcomes: About 30 people attended the screening of The Economics of Happiness.

The screening was followed by a lively discussion about the economies of localization and various lifestyles that may or may not lead to happiness The other films had smaller attendance, but still generated lively discussions

Two book discussions were held: The first, which was led by a local librarian, was held during the day with modest attendance The common read was also adopted by the FP Women’s Book Group and a parishioner held a book discussion in her home About 20 women attended the event, which generated a more personal discussion regarding each person’s history of personal/political involvement in environmental issues, what they were currently doing, what prevented them from becoming involved in global warming/ climate change issues, and how they might become more engaged in the issues The eventcreated a stimulating conversation that resulted in interest in choosing additional books related to the environment for the following year

All told, about 80 people participated in these programs, and a number of them have reported that they have become active in a range of local and national environmental issues

Lead: Carol Reynolds

EJ-3 Project Title: Sunday Bus Service for First Parish and Other Local Churches, and Addressing the Causes of Homelessness

(This project was added after the original candidacy application was submitted It began with a focus on providing transportation accessibility to people limited in their mobility around town [retired people living in a retirement community and recently homeless families living in a local motel under state support] and broadened to explore and

confront causes of homelessness through partnerships with those families and many otherorganizations around the state.)

Assessment Result we are responding to: Some members of the congregation were

either unable to attend Sunday services due to transportation challenges or simply

preferred a less energy-intensive option than bringing their own cars to church In

addition there was a real need to reduce parking demands around the church and to encourage alternative methods of getting to church besides just biking and walking, which were already actively encouraged (First Parish installed additional bike racks in 2014)

Project Timeline: Initial bus service started in 2010 and has expanded each year since

then The homelessness initiative began in 2014 Both are ongoing projects

Project Description and Action: First Parish has implemented a bus service using a

local bus company as a contracted operator to provide Sunday scheduled bus service from several locations in Bedford to First Parish as well as St Michaels Roman Catholic and St Paul’s Episcopalian churches Initially, we partnered with a local retirement community – Carleton-Willard Village, home to hundreds of retirees – to offer bus

service to First Parish Then we added pick-up/drop-off stops at other churches

Subsequently, we added stops at a local hotel that is currently housing homeless families

as part of a state emergency response to a severe housing shortage in the Boston area This enables people at the retirement community and hotel to attend the church of their choice at no cost to them, and cuts down on traffic Most recently, we have provided the option of having the bus pick other people up at their residences Printed schedules and the bus driver’s cell phone are posted at various locations for more ad-hoc, on-demand service when needed

FPB worked with other area churches and a retirement village to launch a bus service

so people who otherwise might not have been able to can attend religious services.

As more parishioners engaged with recently homeless families who had moved into the community and were living in the motel under state subsidy, we came to learn that there have never been more homeless families in Massachusetts than now (Each night, nearly 3,100 families are in shelters and 1,850 more families are in motels with great risk to their children’s health and development.)

One of those motels, which is in Bedford, houses families whom we initially reached out

to to provide local transportation We came to see that many factors contribute to the manner in which people can become marginalized Through networking and outreach, weconnected with Advocacy Network to End Family Homelessness & Cooperative

Metropolitan Ministries, Episcopal City Mission, Citizens Housing & Planning

Association (CHAPA), Mass Coalition for the Homeless, UU Mass Action Network Together, we sponsored the Eleventh Annual Forum on Family Homelessness on March

1st, 2015 and hosted the event at First Parish

The program included sessions on:

 Homelessness Comes To Bedford: How A Community Responds : Ann Guay and

Sue Baldauf, Bedford Housing Task Force (Sue is a member of FPB and heads

Bedford’s Youth and Family Services).

 Secure Jobs Partnership: Providing families with resources to obtain and maintain

employment: Sher Omerovic, Jewish Vocational Services, Greater Boston

 Eliminating Barriers To Employment : Jessica Cohen and Connie Martin, Secure

Jobs Program, Community Teamwork, Inc., Greater Lowell

 Challenges of Mass Homelessness Programs and Key Advocacy Issues for 2015:

Exa Mendez, Community Organizer/Legislative Advocate, Mass Coalition for the Homeless

 How State Government Can Help : Comments from area lawmakers

The forum, which was very well attended, was also supported by the following

organizations from around the state:

C T Douglas Elementary School, Acton; Citizens Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA); Domestic Violence Services Network; Habitat for Humanity Lowell; Homes for Families; Household Goods Recycling of Massachusetts; Jewish Vocational Services; League of Women Voters of Concord Carlisle; League of Women Voters of Sudbury; Mass Coalition for the Homeless; Open Table Inc.; South Middlesex Opportunity

Council; and local faith communities including: Episcopal City Mission; Homelessness Task Team of the Mass Conference UCC; Metropolitan Boston Association of the UnitedChurch of Christ: Unitarian Universalist Massachusetts Action Network;

Concord/Carlisle: First Parish in Concord, Social Action Community; Holy Family Parish; St Irene's Catholic Church; Trinitarian Congregational Church; Trinity Episcopal Church;

Acton: Church of the Good Shepherd; First Parish Church of Stow and Acton Social

Justice Council; So Acton Congregational Church; St Matthew's Methodist Church;

Boxborough: Boxborough UCC Community Church;

Maynard: St Bridget Parish; Sudbury: St John Evangelical Lutheran Church; Sudbury United Methodist Church; First Parish of Sudbury;

Lincoln: First Parish Church; Bedford: First Church of Christ UCC, First Parish UU in Bedford, St Paul’s Episcopal Church;

Wayland: First Parish in Wayland Social Action Council;

Lexington: First Baptist Church; Pilgrim Congregational Church UCC; Unitarian

Universalist; Hancock United Church of Christ; Lexington United Methodist Church; Winchester: First Church Congregational;

Arlington: Calvary United Methodist Church:

Cambridge: University Lutheran Church;

Framingham: Edwards Church UCC;

Wellesley: Wellesley Congregational (Village) Church

Outcomes:

Bus Service: Ridership has grown at a steady clip (as many as a dozen riders on any

given Sunday), and this service is now relied on as a given by many – a real sign of success It has brought new people to our worship and RE services and enabled some parishioners living at Carleton-Willard to continue participating in our church community

in a way that was not previously possible Next steps are to seek ways to expand the service further and also to investigate the possibility of securing a more passenger-

friendly, low-floor vehicle to make it easier for passengers to board and disembark

Homelessness: A number of First Parishioners have continued to expand working

relationships with some of the above-named organizations and have worked to help the new Bedford families become oriented to and integrated in life in Bedford First Parish is also actively engaged with lobbying and advocacy for state and federal legislation to address income inequality, unemployment, the absence of a living wage for low-income employees, and other causes of poverty and homelessness Also, people working on the Fresh Food for All Project have been talking with organizers of these families and others who maybe interested in growing vegetables for their own use We hope to have some of them participate in this year’s growing season

Lead: John Gibbons

2 WORSHIP AND CELEBRATION PROJECTS

WC-1 Project Description: Sunday Services focused on the Environment

Assessment we are responding to: Provide more connection with nature, commit to

more environmental sermons, promote earth-centered practices, and perhaps develop more ways to show our connection to nature within the Meeting House walls

Project Description and Action: Our plan called for four services dedicated to our

connection and the improvement of the environment We actually accomplished more:

 Hospitality (Laura 10/6/13)

 Blessings of the Animals (Lisa/Megan 10/13/13)

 Earth Based Spirituality (Ken Langer 11/3/13)

 Eco-friendly Technology in Underprivileged Societies (Amy Smith 11/10/13)

 Honoring the Earth (Laura 3/30/14)

 Hope (Bill Schulz 4/13/14)

 Always Rachel (John 4/27/14)

 Music Sunday/Nature (Brad 5/4/14)

Intern minister Laura Fell Scholten leading an Honor the Earth service.

Project Timeline: began 2013-14 church year, but it is our intention to commit to at least

four environmentally based services per year indefinitely

Outcomes: Although the staff agreed to the four services, these services were not created

merely to fulfill our plan; they were created to fulfill the passions of the ministers and congregation about the environment and our connection to nature These services came from the heart—a true reflection of FPB becoming a “Green Sanctuary” and were well attended and well received by parishioners

Lead: John Gibbons

WC-2 Project Title: The congregation will have at least six outdoor/earth-based services, activities or special events that celebrate our “Connection to Nature.” Assessment we are responding to: In our survey, many parishioners identified

connecting with nature as something they would like to do more of as part of our church services We did already hold some outdoor services: “Singing up the Sun,”

“Ingathering” (yearly outdoor opening service), and town-wide interdenominational gatherings for Easter and Earth Day Celebrations But more were desired

Project Description and Action:

For each of the past 14 years we have celebrated our return to FPB in September with an

outdoor service on the lawn called “Ingathering” We sing up the Sun on the Winter Solstice at Fawn Lake each December We participate in an interdenominational Easter Sunrise service at Fawn Lake We held a celebratory “Almost Spring” woodland walk straight into the woods behind our Meeting House In 2013-14, we held four Earth-BasedSpirituality classes and two rituals celebrating the Winter Solstice and Embolic.

Singing up the sun Rest stop on a Sunday nature walk.

Project Timeline: 2013-14 church year, we continue to commit to at least four outdoor

activities/services per year

Outcome: Ingathering is a community-wide celebration (typically of about 200 people),

but most of these events are smaller, more intimate groups of a dozen or so people who connect deeply with nature and each other during these services Both types of events are key elements of FP

Lead: This is a community wide effort, and many different parishioners and staff have

led these programs

WC-3 Project Title: Celebrating the Universe Story (creation based on science)

Based on The Universe Tells Our Story Series by Jennifer Morgan: Born with a Bang, From Lava to Life, and Mammals Who Morph

(This project was added after the original candidacy application was submitted.)

Assessment Results we are responding to: this projects touched on several goals we

have been working towards – connecting the congregation with nature, intergenerational projects, environmental education for adults and children and perhaps, not articulated in our initial application but nonetheless important, is cultivating a sense of awe and wonder

in how our universe has evolved from the original Big Bang to the present day

Project Description and Action: About six years ago, we used Jennifer Morgan’s Born

with a Bang children’s book to celebrate the winter solstice We created a giant beaded

timeline, little beaded timelines for the parishioners and our minister read portions of the book out loud as a sermon

To honor Darwin’s birthday last year, we created an intergenerational musical celebration

based on the second book, From Lava to Life, as a full Sunday service, replete with

dancing dinosaurs, eukaryotes, trilobites, worms, jellyfish and more The production

brought to life the creation of the planet Earth up through the extinction of dinosaurs, about 65 million years ago.

Currently, our entire RE spring semester (11 weeks) is devoted to the telling of all three books to our RE kids (preschool-5th grade) We are developing a timeline from the Big Bang to present day, and each child will be creating a beaded timeline The culmination

of this program will be a full Sunday Service presented as a musical play based on the

final book Mammals Who Morph.

Sample beaded necklace depicting the evolutionary timeline of

the universe.

Project Timeline:

2008: Born with a Bang

2014: Lava to Life

2015: Mammals who Morph (planned)

Outcomes: Members of the congregation of all ages are excited about our universe

story Children, wide-eyed, listen to and act out the story of how they are made up of stardust and evolved from bacteria We have our own creation story to share, one which

we understand is not set in stone (as we discover more, the story changes), and that is increasingly affected by the actions of us humans Perhaps most thrilling is the delight our parishioners expressed after experiencing these services – our Universe Story is truly remarkable Understanding, even at a most basic level, of how our universe came about illustrates the immense and awe-inspiring complexity of our natural world

After the spring session, we will evaluate the program, and we are considering making our curriculum and play available to other congregations if we can obtain the approval of author Jennifer Morgan

Lead: Janet Powers

3 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROJECTS

RE-1 Project Title: Hungry for Change: Food, Ethics and Sustainability

Assessment Result we are responding to: Of the 66 participants in the survey, only 15

felt that vegetarianism was important, and there were only seven practitioners We chose

to educate how meat production contributes large amounts of carbon and nitrous oxides into our environment and how reducing consumption would benefit the environment

Project Description and Action: Using the Northwest Earth Institute’s course, Hungry

for Change: Food, Ethics and Sustainability, we explored the impact of our food choices

on our earth and our health, and considered the ethical and political implications of our choices Six adults participated in a six-session discussion course

Weeks I-III “Why are we motivated to care about food?” After discussing our food

heritage, we moved on to the nutritional quality of foods we eat, and which less

nutritional food would we be willing eliminate from our diet to help the environment We discussed whether depending on local, organic food would work to feed the nation and should we continue farm subsidies for mono-crops that put huge amounts of nitrogen in the soil and use huge amounts of our dwindling water supplies Since many people in First Parish and the broader community are on a fixed income, the big question was should we spend more money for healthier food or choose less nutritious food that will affect our health?

Weeks IV-VI We discussed whether we should consider how animals are fed, how they are raised and processed or whether agricultural workers are treated fairly regarding wages and working conditions We considered buying fair trade items, cutting down on meat and including more vegan or vegetarian recipes Again we discussed the benefit of buying seasonally and locally organic, even planting our own We discussed the food of the future and how we might influence businesses to ensure that they provide us with food that serves the environment and us

Week VII-Celebration We met to wrap up and to plan how we would spread the

information We contacted Sonia DeMarta of Lexington, who holds a Masters Degree from Boston University in Environmental Management with a focus on Food Production

We set a date for Dec 07, 2014 at the Bedford Lyceum She gave her PowerPoint

presentation, What Does a Hamburger Have to Do with Climate Change to a group of

First Parishioners and town folks Her references were quoted and expressed in graphs and a written handout We have been putting excerpts of this information in the

Parishioner newsletter, email messages, and posters during the church year.

Sonia DeMarta helps attendees explore the impact of our food choices via

“What Does a Hamburger Have to Do with Climate Change” workshop.

Timeline for Completion: 2014

Outcomes: Participants have actively shifted some of their behaviors to be more

environmentally friendly and conscious around the various aspects of food production and consumption Also, many people within FP have been learning about these matters Our work is not completed yet, but we will continue to influence people to make changes

in their lives and to be active on these issues

Lead: Sandra Ferreira

RE-2 Project Title: Eat Your Values

Assessment Result we are responding to: Parishioners are interested in understanding

how they can make a difference in their own lives We also want our children to

understand our environment and how their choices affect it The aim of the curriculum was to inform the children about how what they eat can affect them, their communities, and the environment as a whole Primarily this addressed our desire to continue

providing environmental education covering topics such as: land use, comparing

monocultures with chemical inputs to sustainable farming practices, and food justice

Project Description and Action: Eat Your Values is a FPB homegrown-created RE

curriculum for children inspired by the Hungry for Change film and discussion series We

developed and delivered four original curricula focused on food, social action and our environment These included:

 You are What You Eat,

 How Our Food Shapes Our World,

 Cesar Chavez, and

 UUSC in Haiti

This RE program was held on four “Connection Sundays,” which are the weeks we have only a single service and all of the children are together Each class included stories, discussion, projects and games In some cases, we separated the younger from the older children to delve more deeply into the topics in age-specific ways

Project Timeline: This project was started and completed over the 2013-2014 church

calendar year

Outcomes: The kids were very engaged throughout the program, and continued to

reinforce key program elements by enjoying snacks of local produce throughout the church year

Lead: Janet Powers

RE-3 Project Title: Earth Circles Curriculum Published

Assessment Result we are responding to: We believe strongly that the more our

children understand our environment, the better stewards they will be, and this is so essential to the future of our planet

Project Description and Action: A prototype of Earth Circles, a 4th and 5th-grade RE Curriculum based on Science was developed by Maureen Oates, one of our parishioners, and tested in the classroom several years ago Over the past two years she has been revising, updating the written material and creating short video clips to demonstrate various project and experiments for the kids to undertake There have been several units developed (with up to 11 classes in each unit):

 Water Water Everywhere,

 Visits with Nature,

 Soil and Seeds, and

 The Fruitful Garden.

Maureen Oates, member of First Parish and creator of the Earth Circles

curriculum, discusses the program with other First Parishioners.

As part of the Earth Circles curriculum, kids learn about worm composting.

Kids participating in the Earth Circles program litter-pick-up day

Outcomes: Water Water Everywhere, Visits with Nature, and Soil and Seeds are

completed and are ready to distribute to the wider UU RE population The Fruitful Garden is written and awaiting video production A fifth unit, Acquiring Energy, has

been started, but is not fully developed as yet

Lead: Maureen Oates with the help of Janet Powers

SUSTAINABLE LIVING

SL-1 Project Title: Promote Home Energy Audits

Assessment Result we are responding to: Helping parishioners save energy and money,and reduce their carbon footprint at home

Project Description and Action: First Parish launched an initiative working

collaboratively with Boston-based Next Step Living (NSL) and other Bedford churches

to promote and conduct home energy audits The goal has been to help Bedford residents become more knowledgeable and proactive in saving energy and money, reducing their carbon footprint, and living more comfortably

Our first step in promoting home energy audits was sponsoring a Sunday church Lyceum

on the topic, which was open to the public We invited Anna Fadden from Next Step Living to host a Mass Save 101 presentation to show how an energy audit could have a material impact for a family and for the environment

We invited Anna Fadden (right) from Next Step Living to conduct a Mass Save 101 Seminar at a First Parish Lyceum to explain and build interest in home energy audits.

We then promoted Home Energy Audits in both the Parishioner newsletter and on the First Parish electronic announcement list (Anno) Green Sanctuary Committee members

staffed a display table during Sunday coffee hours, displaying posters, educational

materials, free CFL energy-saving light bulbs, and contact forms Committee members encouraged parishioners to learn about winterizing their home for maximum efficiency Itwas most helpful when a committee member had had the audit done on his/her own homeand could describe and show photos of the process and benefits

We also had Next-Step-Living audit our parsonage and insulate its attic and basement sills, replace basement windows, and change all light bulbs to energy efficient CFL’s and LED’s

Project Timeline: November 2013 through February 2014.

A Next-Step-Living energy auditor goes over audit results with a First Parishioner.

Outcomes: Nineteen parishioners signed-up for the home energy audits Nine families

completed the Next-Step-Living audit as part of a contribution plan in which First Parish