Worship and Forums In addition to our annual worship in honor of Earth Day, environmental awareness is an ongoing theme in our Sunday reflection. Yearly earth-friendly services include Flower Communion in May, Water Communion in August, and Thanksgiving in November.
Church consciousness of living green has been raised through numerous lay-led service and forum topics such as How Green is your Chocolate, The High Cost of Healthy Eating, Buying Local, Organic Produce, The Economics of Environmental Concerns, Walking and Hiking in West Texas, Reflections from the Garden, and Watering Issues to name a few. UU children’s classes include environmental subjects such as composting, plant life cycles, recycling and more.
Composting and Recycling A church compost pile containing leaves, grass clippings, wood chips, and kitchen waste in various stages of decomposition provide mulch and nourishment for our landscape as well as Habitat for Humanity service projects.
Containers for aluminum cans and recycling weekly church bulletins and other paper are inside the Church. Volunteers and staff frequently use both sides of paper before it is recycled. Collected ink cartridges and cell phones are turned in at local office supply stores in exchange for recycled paper.
Sustainability and Responsible Consumption The coffee we drink is fair-trade and shade grown. It is purchased from cooperatives helping global farmers build a better future for their families. See www.equalexchange.com.
Kitchen volunteers use washable dishes for most events and take recyclable kitchen waste to the compost pile. Through green housekeeping supplies, soy candles, a new church sign made from local rock, an in-house Green Library, thermostats at an energy efficient temperature and more, the UUCOM is an example of ongoing green practice in everyday practical ways.
Community Involvement Many of our recycling/conservation efforts reach out to other neighbors in our community. Our annual garage sale helps recycle gently used goods. Our church children create valentines asking for environmentally friendly products to benefit our local women’s shelter plus the children participate in Keep Midland Beautiful trash pick ups.
