The Fourth Essential for Climate Action: Community Resilience

The Unitarian Universalist Association’s Green Sanctuary 2030 program provides structure, leadership, and support for UU faith communities to engage in ambitious environmental and climate justice action. Congregations are encouraged to submit Action Reports on their progress in the Four Essentials for Climate Action. To receive recognition, congregations must report progress in all four essentials within one calendar year. On February 11, David Horst submitted an Action Report describing progress in three of the four essentials: Congregational Transformation, Mitigation, and Justice. To earn Green Sanctuary recognition in 2026, our congregation needs to complete a meaningful action that strengthens community resilience.

The Green Earth Ministry (GEM) welcomes your input as the congregation chooses a project to strengthen community resilience in 2026. Please send suggestions to gem@muuf.org or speak with a member of GEM during the Volunteer Fair or Social Justice Fair this spring. More information about Green Sanctuary 2030 is at https://sidewithlove.org/green-sanctuary-2030.

The Green Sanctuary 2030 Handbook defines community resilience as “cultivating communities of care to prepare for and respond to climate disruption.” The Handbook lists the following steps toward strengthening community resilience:

• Understand how climate change harms your community—who, how, and where.

• Understand the strengths and challenges for the ecosystem in your area.

• Cultivate spiritual, relational, and infrastructural strength to prepare for and respond to climate disasters.

• Create spaces to nourish your spirits by connecting with nature, art, and each other.

• Collaborate with community partners to strengthen community resilience and care.

The Green Sanctuary 2030 Handbook defines five approaches to support congregations in their climate action.

UU congregations have reported more than 100 actions to strengthen community resilience, as listed in a searchable database. Among those actions are securing a ban on natural gas hookups to new buildings in a small town, co-sponsoring a climate teach-in, helping to organize a summer camp for teens, performing a neighborhood clean-up, organizing a book discussion series, providing homeowners in marginalized communities with information about subsidies to reduce their energy costs, funding home weatherization and appliance upgrades through a local Habitat for Humanity, establishing a native plant garden for pollinators, restoring a community garden and donating the produce to a food bank, setting up a composting station,  and promoting plant-based eating.  

The Green Earth Ministry requests your input as the congregation identifies a project that will strengthen community resilience in 2026.