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 Sustainable Sanctuaries Through its Sustainable Sanctuaries program, GreenFaith invites New Jersey houses of worship and institutions of all religious traditions to make a strong environmental commitment. The first program of its kind in the country, Sustainable Sanctuaries will help congregations, selected through a competitive application process (based on factors such as breadth of clergy and lay leader commitment), to model environmentally sustainable behavior to their members and communities and to become centers of religious-environmental activism. Sustainable Sanctuaries will provide these congregations with guidance and resources for integrating care for the environment into their worship and education, facility management and social outreach. Choosing from a Menu of Options, each participating institution will select five environmental initiatives to complete over two-years, with GreenFaith providing substantial resources and assistance. The choices will include eliminating the use of toxic cleaning and maintenance products, installing solar panels, a sermon series on the religious basis for environmental care, religious environmental education for all ages, an energy audit and energy conservation retrofits, an Environmental Health and Justice Tour of an environmentally blighted area, letter-writing campaigns, and clergy visits to legislators on environmental issues. Materials developed for Sustainable Sanctuaries will be available to houses of worship all over the state and will be posted on GreenFaith’s website as they are available. Representatives of religious institutions
applying for this program should understand that it requires
that care for the environment be a primary focus of the institution
for an 18-month period. There is a significant investment
of volunteer time required for successful completion of the
program, and GreenFaith invests substantial resources in
our Sustainable Sanctuaries partners.
The experience is challenging, but rewarding – and we
want to make sure ahead of time that the institutions we work
with are making a decision they’ll be pleased with. Applying for Sustainable Sanctuaries Houses of worship and religious institutions interested in taking part should fill in the Sustainable Sanctuaries application (pdf). Religious and lay leaders may also contact GreenFaith's executive director, Fletcher Harper for further information at revfharper@greenfaith.org. Profiles of House of Worship That Have Become Sustainable
Sanctuaries: Media Coverage of the Sustainable Sanctuaries Program: << Back to Putting It All Together
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