Ohio Meadville District News

A 'Greener' Ohio-Meadville District

"In a world that is getting hot, flat and crowded, the task of creating the tools, systems, energy sources, and ethics that will allow the planet to grow in cleaner, more sustainable ways is going to be the biggest challenge of our lifetime." (Thomas Friedman, Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America.)

Many of us believe that Thomas Friedman is correct and we are thinking of new and creative ways to meet this challenge. Your Ohio-Meadville District staff and committees are also looking for ways to live out our ethics of sustainability and shrink our carbon foot-print where possible. In the coming months we will try various methods, from holding online webinar conferences to video conferencing for committee meetings to utilizing our electronic and internet-based communications systems to their fullest potential.

One immediate change coming in February will be to start a monthly electronic congregational packet. This means that District monthly communications will be more timely and efficient, reach more people, eliminate wasted paper and postage, and become more economical - all in one single move.

Congregations will be able to forward items electronically via their own email networks as well as print out hard copies of items they want to post on their bulletin boards or print out items that their committees or congregants request. There will be a full text version of items on the OMD website for those who want to cut and paste particular items to use in congregational newsletters or announcements or quote in letters or sermons. And we plan to increase the extent of our OMD email network as well.

More timely, relevant, accessible, efficient, effective, greener and broadly distributed -- these are our goals.

Of course, some of our smaller congregations may still need paper copies and we won't forget these needs. Just let the OMD Office know if your situation is such that a paper packet is needed and we will accommodate your request. (Please be aware that the formatting will be plain text for hard copy versions.)

Please give us your feedback as we move forward in finding new ways to live our ethics of sustainability.

That's how we will all learn to new ways to change effectively and ethically.

OMD Highlights

OMD-Summer Institute July 11-17, 2010 Our Stories, Ourselves, Seeking....Registration is open.

May 14-16 Youth-Adult Committee Spring Conference at First Unitarian Church, in Columbus, OH.

Registration for all events is now available on line.

UNIVERSALIST CONVOCATION 2010, May 14-16, 2010, First Universalist Society of Rochester, NY.

Keynote: The Rev. Mark Morrison-Reed, “Dragged Kicking and Screaming to Heaven”.

For more information please go to nmuc.org/Convo