7th Principle/Green Sanctuary Projects

The Purpose of The 7th Principle/Green Sanctuary Projects of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Stony Brook is to encourage the commitment to live in harmony with all the Earth by practicing environmental-social justice and sustainable lifestyles, and to celebrate the respect we have for the web of life through religious education and worship.

The Mission of the 7th Principle/Green Sanctuary Projects is to support the 7th Principles of the UUA by focusing on the theological, spiritual and ethical aspects of human values and activities that affect the health and sustainability of our planet, the living Earth.

The Vision of the UUFSB 7th Principle/Green Sanctuary Projects is to recognize and embrace our moral imperative to live in covenant with the web of life by:

• Building awareness of environmental issues
• Encouraging personal and congregational lifestyle changes
• Motivating community action on environmental changes
• Building a connection between spiritual practice and environmental consciousness
• Working to heal environmental and social injustices
• And being a “centering” mechanism that will help involve all members in the web of the UUFSB community.

The Environmental Audit and Action Plan were completed in July 2006 and Application for Candidacy accepted by UUA Earth Ministry in August 2006.  UUFSB voted to become a Green Sanctuary at the June 2007 Annual Meeting and received accreditation in 2007-2008.

Our main Eco-Social Justice project is Hobbs Community Farm (hobbsfarm.info/) which grows vegetables for Long Island’s Food pantry and soup kitchens. Hobbs also operates an educational garden, Hobbs Neighborhood Roots Community Gardens and a CSA for low income families. There are many volunteer opportunities at Hobbs, and not all involve fieldwork.

The 7th Principle/Green Sanctuary Projects scrapbook details some of the different projects we have completed in the last 10 years. In 2009 we joined the UUFSB Social Justice Committee in hopes of interweaving goals and visions. We welcome new allies in this work in the context of worship, lifespan religious education, and community education and action. Please join us (contact  the office, office@uufsb.org).

For more information on the Green Sanctuary program of the Unitarian Universalist Association, click here.