Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world
Earth Day Every Day
From the Earth Day Service reflection 4.23.23, by Judy DePue, Climate Team
Welcome on this day of April showers! Mother Earth gets a drink of water, enabling her to nurture us, in turn. And we, in turn, can help to nurture our Earth.
What does it mean to honor Earth Day every day? It means getting closer to the world view of our Native American brothers and sisters, who walked on the land where we’re sitting today. If you look on the cover of our Order of Service, now on the back cover, you will see that we recognize that “our church sits on the former hunting grounds of the Pokanoket people, leaders of what would become known as the Wampanoag Nation.” In the Chalice reading, we heard that we and the Earth are one. The Quaker meditation offered many ways to express this teaching. In the reading a few minutes ago, we heard that the Ancient ones taught us that the life of the Tree is the life of the People. And our UU values echo these teachings, as expressed in our 7th Principle: that we respect the interdependent web, of which we are all apart. All of these teachings will ground us, and inspire us, for the hard work needed to protect our Earth and our future together on it. read more…
We are a Green Sanctuary
Murray Unitarian Universalist Church is a Green Sanctuary accredited by the Unitarian Universalist Association.
The Green Sanctuary Program provides a path for congregational study, reflection, and action in response to environmental challenges. It provides a structure for congregations to examine their current environmental impacts and move towards more sustainable practices in ways grounded in Unitarian Universalism.
In May 2017, we submitted a proposal, with 12 projects in four focus areas: Worship and Celebration, Religious Education, Sustainable Living, and Environmental Justice. Once our projects were completed, we submitted our evaluation and were awarded accreditation in June 2020.
Recent Climate Actions by Our Team
Our team meets on the second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. via zoom. Anyone is welcome to join us. Use the contact form below if you have any questions or would like to be part of the team.
Find out how we are taking action
We have a page called Take Action where our members and friends share the actions that they take, large or small, that are intentionally done to help lessen their impact on the Earth.
Sustainability by Design
This was the title of the talk given by Mike Davis, chairman of the Attleboro Sustainability Commission, on April 1, 2024. This was sponsored by our Clara Barton Guild.
Green Heating and Cooling for Our Homes
A virtual event hosted by the Murray UU Church Climate Action Committee
An Introduction to Heat Pumps, Tuesday, May 31, 2022
An introduction to heat pumps, with Jim Nail, from HeatSmart Alliance, a volunteer organization dedicated to accelerating the adoption of energy-efficient heat pumps in Massachusetts’ homes and buildings. “Heat pumps” may sound like an exotic new technology, but they are already widely used in Europe, Asia, and increasingly the United States. And here in Massachusetts, they are the preferred form of heating and cooling to help the state fight climate change — and for homeowners burning oil, propane, or using electric resistance heaters to save money.
That said, replacing an existing heating/cooling system or water heater can be a time-consuming and confusing process, especially if you aren’t familiar with heat pumps. Jim will bring you up to speed on what heat pumps are, why they are the best choice, the incentives available through MassSave to lower their cost, and the steps to take to upgrade your home to them. In addition, he will describe the HeatSmart Alliance whose volunteer coaches can guide homeowners through this process.
Massachusetts Climate Solutions, a Virtual Legislative Climate Justice Forum
On January 25, 2022. Our Murray Climate Action Team co-hosted this event, in collaboration with Attleboro’s State Representative Jim Hawkins and our UU Mass Action advocacy program. Four state legislators were on the panel, including Representative Jim Hawkins, Senator Paul Feeney, Representative Adam Scanlon, and Representative Joan Meschino, who authored one of the bills that we reviewed. We educated the community about legislative solutions for climate change and environmental justice, via a platform of six bills that are supported by a large coalition of organizations: Mass Power Forward.
Murray Climate Change Café
This was via zoom on Nov. 8, 2021. Co-led by Robi Rose, Barbara Clark, and Judy DePue. Climate Cafés are safe spaces for people to get together to talk and act on climate change, to share our concerns and our hopes, along with options for action and sharing of actions others are already taking.
Field Trip
We went to the “Revive the Roots” farm in Smithfield, RI to learn about their use of regenerative agriculture practices on September 27, 2021.