Resolution on Racial Justice As individuals, we commit to a new level of engagement, to continually seek ways to use our voices, our privilege, our standing in the community to effect change. As a congregation, we commit to turning a new page. We declare the obvious—that Black lives matter to our beloved community. We affirm the need for powerful words and collective action, both to call out injustice and to call in love.
RRUUC Land and Labor Acknowledgment We acknowledge that the land on which we worship is the traditional land of the Nacotchtank and Piscataway people and the land through which other Indigenous Peoples traveled. We acknowledge that enslaved African people and their descendants likely labored and lived on this land. We recognize these and other people displaced, enslaved, or harmed by past injustices.
We pledge that we will follow our faith in love and work to make our congregation and our larger community more accessible, inclusive, and equitable. We pledge that we will be good stewards of the land by encouraging healthy ecosystems. We pledge to remember the past while building a more just and welcoming future for all.
Click here to email RRUUCEarthMinistry@gmail.com. Find Earth Ministry’s Calendar of Events here. Our meetings are held on the 3rd Sunday of the month at 11:30; watch for announcements in the eWeekly for details. Each meeting begins with a 10-15 minute informative presentation from a River Roader with expertise in some area of clean, green living. Business of the committee follows.
Our next meeting will be on SUNDAY, APR. 21st, ON ZOOM AND IN ROOM 23 at 11:30. Minutes of our meetings are always available for comment in this Google Folder.
EVENTS: RRUUC Retreat and UUA Climate Revival
Earth Ministry is sponsoring THREE programs at the RRUUC Retreat at Seneca Creek State Park. All are on Saturday, April 28.
11:00 Green Investing & Banking with Will Bruno – How to make sure your money is doing its best for both you AND the planet! 2:00 Weed Warriors with Nancy Koran – A Park Ranger will guide this hands-on Earth Ministry program. We’ll be cutting invasive Autumn Olive using long-handled pruning shears. This activity is limited to 20 and requires pre-registration. 3:00 What Time Is It? Past, Present and Future in Climate Poetry with Heidi Mordhorst – Take a deep dive into 3 short poems by climate poets to see how each uses their past and present experiences to imagine the future of humanity. We’ll let one personal experience generate a hopeful poem.
Mark your calendar for a UU climate event taking place across the nation next September. Read more here! RRUUC’s Earth Ministry and the UU Midatlantic Network for the Environment will play a role in the planning and execution of this event.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVOCACY:Thank your representatives for their efforts, if they helped!
Thanks to OUR efforts, there were some great outcomes for Maryland’s slice of the planet during this legislative season. UULM recommended action on 5 bills, of which 4 passed!
Climate Change – 5 measures – 4 passed
✅ Working for Accessible Renewable Maryland Thermal Heat (WARMTH) Act – HB 397 and SB 570 both passed and are going to the Governor.
✅ Clean Water Justice Act – HB 1101 and SB 653 both passed and are going to the Governor.
✅ Energy Efficiency and Conservation Plans [EmPOWER Reform] – HB 864 passed and is going to the Governor.
✅ Renewable Energy – Net Energy Metering Aggregation, Certified SRECs and Compliance Fees, Labor Requirements, and Taxes on Solar Energy Generating Systems (Brighter Tomorrow Act) – SB 783 passed and is going to the Governor. Companion HB 1435 never came out of committee.
LEARN MORE: RESOURCE LIBRARY
Take a peek at this webinar featuring Holly Elwood, who has been leading at EPA on a new Labelling Program for Greener Construction Materials! Holly presented at our March Earth Ministry meeting about “low-embodied carbon” construction materials and how the EPA’s Procurement Team is using $100m to find and label suppliers of greener building materials. This will function like Energy Star ratings for concrete, steel, glass & asphalt, making a big impact on the emissions of DOD, Highways, GSA, the White House, NIST & FEMA.
