Green Sanctuary Process & Congregational Materials

The Green Sanctuary Process includes: 

  • Four Essentials of Climate Action 

  • Approaches to Support Your Congregation

  • One Requirement for Yearly Recognition

Four Essentials of Climate Action 

Approaches to Support Your Congregation

Image description: four overlapping blue, yellow, red, and green circles inside a light gray cross-hatched sphere. At the center of each circle is one of the four essentials: "Justice, Community Resilience, Mitigation, & Congregational Transformation
Image of the approaches concept, with the following in circles, connected by arrows: "Grounding in Context," "Reimagining our Community Thriving", "Exploring Opportunities"; "Mobilizing for Action"; "Nourishing Our Team"

Your team will engage in intersectional actions on each of the Four Essentials of Climate Action. The Four Essentials for Climate Action present unique but interconnected areas that are critical to advancing climate justice.  While each represents a particular area of climate action, they are deeply intertwined.  

  • Congregational Transformation (working together to improve the ways we organize and collaborate)

  • Community Resilience (preparing for and responding to climate disruption while cultivating community care)

  • Justice (honoring the inherent worthiness and right for all to flourish)

  • Mitigation (reducing the pollution that causes climate change)

The Approaches support your congregation to take action on the Four Essentials. 

  • Nourishing Our Team

  • Grounding in Our Context

  • Reimagining Our Community Thriving

  • Exploring the Possibilities (includes specific content for each of the Essentials)

  • Mobilizing for Action

One Requirement for Yearly Recognition

Sharing your progress is the only requirement for Recognition.  When your team has completed at least one action per Essential with plans for ongoing action, you can apply for Yearly Recognition.  You do not need to share your responses to all the questions and wait for feedback from the UUA.  The Action Report tracks your congregation’s actions; there is no need for a final report.

  • Complete at least one meaningful action per Essential WITH plans for ongoing actions  

  • Share your progress (Action and Team Reports)

How to use these materials

Green Sanctuary 2030 Materials are here to support your congregation.  The materials are designed to build congregational comfort, understanding, confidence, and effectiveness.  You do not need to complete each Approach to receive Green Sanctuary recognition.  You don’t have to get approval from the UUA at every step like in previous versions.  Do what works for your team! 

You can use the materials in two ways:

1) Use the prepared Team Meeting agendas and systems-based activities as designed. 

Each Approach, described below, has a corresponding agenda that you can use as is or adapt to your needs.  Exploring the Possibilities includes four parts, one for each Essential. The agendas are designed for 90-minute meetings. 

2) Work through the Questions for Exploration in whatever way works best for your team.  

Questions for Exploration pulls questions from each of the prepared agendas but does not include the systems-based activities, prompts, or timings.