by Rachel Mislivy, Climate Justice Organizer,
UUA Side with Love Organizing Strategy Team

We can imagine collapse – can we imagine renewal? 

For more than three decades, Unitarian Universalist congregations have been imagining renewal through their engagement with the Green Sanctuary Program—originally conceived by the Seventh Principle Project and later developed by the UU Ministry for Earth before moving to the UUA.

This prophetic program, developed in 1989, signaled our denomination’s commitment to combating climate change. Starting with a handful of congregations in the early 1990s to participation from nearly 340 congregations currently, Green Sanctuary 2030 is one way that Unitarian Universalists demonstrate our faithful commitment to our Shared Values, community resilience, compassionate care, and a future with love at the center. 

This year, the Green Sanctuary 2030 process and congregational materials have been revitalized to reflect our faithful ability to continuously reimagine renewal, rejuvenation, and resistance. All congregations are invited to recommit to their climate justice commitments by engaging with the newly reimagined Green Sanctuary 2030 process, which includes only one requirement for annual recognition. The goal is no longer accreditation; the goal is creating climate justice in our communities.

Continuing the joy-filled, faith-rooted, and future-visioning practices from our UU Climate Justice Revival, the Green Sanctuary 2030 process offers our UU congregations a flexible and impactful way to transform our congregations through climate justice. 

I hope you’ll join me in celebrating 35 years of the Green Sanctuary Program on Wednesday, April 16 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT with our Green Sanctuary 35th Anniversary Call for Renewal with President Sofía Betancourt.

This event will celebrate and honor the work of the many organizations, individuals, and congregations that have shaped our denomination’s response to climate. It will also include a healthy dose of hope, optimism, and faith, which we can all use now.

Spending time with the Green Sanctuary 2030 Community is a constant source of inspiration and rejuvenation for me. The revitalized GS2030 materials are here to support every congregation, regardless of size, capacity, or resources, to center justice and love in our climate work. Join us in the shared joy and transformational work of reimagining a world where all communities thrive by tapping into the support and community that our Green Sanctuary 2030 process provides.