Green Sanctuary July 2025 News

Social and Environmental Justice Sunday (SEJ) Sunday July 13

For the June 8 SEJ  activity, 21 people wrote 39 postcards to our US Senators Grassley and Ernst to protect Medicaid and to Governor Reynolds to sign the bill preventing use of eminent domain for the carbon pipeline. Thanks for all your support! That said, our work is not done. Reynolds vetoed the eminent domain restrictions, and the Senate is still seriously considering $800 billion in Medicaid cuts which will endanger rural health care and the lives and well-being of uninsured Iowans.

Let’s keep filling the cup of protest with our cards, calls, and letters. Even if we don’t know which drop will cause it to overflow with justice, we do know that all our drops are needed for that last drop to make a difference.

Sustainability Bingo July 20

Hey, we’re doing Sustainability Bingo again! We had a terrific response in April (47 people) and hope to repeat that success or do even better. Based on feedback, we’ll just do one sheet for grownups, add some new actions, and mix up the squares. You can find a summary of results in the May newsletter but most of us were using LEDs, recycling, and shopping local; at least half were composting, exercising, and protesting; and at least a quarter were eating vegetarian, using public transit, and getting energy audits.

Green Sanctuary Service July 27: Change for the Planet

This service explores our relationship to nature through the UU Value of Transformation. How are we changing as a congregation and as individuals for the good of the planet? How can we keep changing for good?

July Better Together  – PREPARE FOR THE WORST

Reduce vulnerability by being prepared to take care of yourself and others in natural, social, and economic disasters.

1. Make plans. Here are the tips from last July if you haven’t had a chance in this past year to get ready ;-). For severe weather visit www.weather.gov/ama/severesafetytips. For a major disaster visit www.ready.gov/plan. For death – Fill out an Advanced Medical Directive (ADM) to guide end of life choices. If you have young kids, designate a legal guardian so the court doesn’t choose one for you. Make a will so that what is left goes where you want it to go. Start by writing your wishes down and then use these resources to help formalize your plans.  ADM – www.caringinfo.org/planning/advance-directives/by-state/iowa/; Guardianship – www.nytimes.com/article/legal-guardian.html#link-3f98cc12; Will – www.iowalegalaid.org/resource/wills-and-probate-questions-answers.
2. Learn a new skill. Plumbing, wiring, cooking, sewing, gardening, a new language, or first aid. There is no knowing what impact a disaster will have on our stuff, but our skills and knowledge are portable and self -replenishing.
3. Make new friends and deepen your relationship with old ones. It’s everything from smiling at the person helping you at the store to inviting a friend to coffee to just catch up. Helping each other in emergencies is so much easier when we have some shared history.