We all breathe the same air, drink the same water, and eat food grown on the same earth. These fundamental facts transcend religions and beliefs, and can be used as a means to promote peace, love, and understanding in our congregants and in the world. Because the future of our congregation and all life on earth depends on finding sustainable solutions to environmental problems, we pledge to educate and involve the congregation and the larger community in environmental actions as an integral part of a spiritual practice. 

Our congregation became an accredited Green Sanctuary with the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) in April 2013. The process is designed to involve multiple facets of congregational life, including Worship and Celebration, Religious Education for adults and children, Environmental Justice, and Sustainable Living—which include grounds, parking lot, transportation, facilities, kitchen, food, recycling/reusables, office and cleaning supplies, energy use, investment policies, congregation policies, congregation committees, etc. To learn more about the UUA’s Climate & Environmental Justice programs visit their website.

Activities of the Green Sanctuary Team have included campus recycling, installing a rainwater catchment system, installing a bike rack on campus, and purchasing forty solar panels through Big Sun Community Solar. We have also felt the importance of reaching out to learn more about the original peoples of our area, which have included the Estok Gna / Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas in the Rio Grande Delta, and the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation in Bexar County. We strive to encourage more green building practices and provide workshops for the church community, raising awareness through concerts and films. Recently, our congregation has endorsed the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, which was introduced to Congress in April 2021. 

We also participate in San Antonio’s annual riverbank clean up – the Basura Bash. This intergenerational activity provides the opportunity to witness the San Antonio River ecosystem and the waterways that feed into the San Antonio River, while cleaning up debris from the riverbanks.

For more information about the Green Sanctuary Team, contact [email protected].