Several years ago, 2016 to be exact, CCC embarked to become a Green Chalice Congregation. For those who may be unfamiliar with the program I thought I would share not only about the program but also what CCC did then and what we can do going forward to continue caring for our environment.
The purpose of the Green Chalice program is to encourage and assist local Disciples of Christ congregation to live out their faith in caring for creation. There are two levels to the program. The first level is to become a recognized Green Chalice Congregation. And the second level is to become a CERTIFIED Green Chalice Congregation. CCC completed the first level in October of 2016 and is recognized as a Green Chalice Congregation. Our next step would be to pick up where we left off and work to complete level two of the program.
Level one was a fairly simple process. We formed a Green Team in which we met several times to examine and discuss the church’s practices around various topics such as energy, recycling, property use, etc. and how we may implement impactful and longstanding changes. The next step was to sign the Green Chalice Covenant. You can follow this link to read the covenant: https:// www.discipleshomemissions.org/missions-advocacy/green-chalice/green-chalice-covenant-2/. And the third step was to make three changes. The three changes that the Green Team implemented were to swap out all lighting to LED, we had an energy audit completed, and we significantly reduced plastic ware use. Several additional things were addressed based on our findings from the energy audit and have continued to positively impact our energy consumption as well as our energy expenses.
Level two of the program consists of a four-step process. Step one is to commit ourselves to being a Green Chalice congregation, which we have already done. Step two is to set goals around specific areas such as our building, grounds/property, worship and office practices, and education/outreach/justice. Step three is implementation of those goals in the various areas. And finally, step four is to submit an application to Green Chalice ministries with a narrative that describes our process and achievements.
For those interested, we began the certification process in early 2017 with many of the items still in place so now we just need a team to run us to the finish line. Are you interested in creation, ecology, caring for our environment and have a bit of time to spearhead a team to carry us to certification? Would you like to be part of the Green Team? Please reach out to either myself or Pastor Layne so that we may connect all those interested in this very worthy cause.
Peace be with you,
Pastor Heidi