The Joint Stony Run - Homewood Unity with Nature Committee

The Unity with Nature Committee encourages Friends and others to educate themselves and to engage in actions concerning the care and restoration of the natural environment.

Minute in Support of Diversity of Life
Minute to Address Global Climate Change
An Article on Reducing Petroleum Use
Why Organic Food Is Better For the Environment
Why a Vegetarian Diet Is Better For the Environment
Book/Resource List
An Article About Cars
Green Tips

Purpose

The Joint Stony Run-Homewood Unity with Nature Committee originated as an Interest Group in January 1999 and gained Committee status in June 2002. We participate in the Quaker Earthcare Witness organization (formerly FCUN) to assist and support them in meeting their objectives. Quaker Earthcare Witness's vision and witness statement reads:

WE ARE CALLED to live in right relationship with all Creation, recognizing that the entire world is interconnected and is a manifestation of God.

WE WORK to integrate into the beliefs and practices of the Religious Society of Friends the Truth that God's Creation is to be respected, protected, and held in reverence in its own right, and the Truth that human aspirations for peace and justice depend upon restoring the Earth's ecological integrity.

WE PROMOTE these Truths by being patterns and examples, by communicating our message, and by providing spiritual and material support to those engaged in the compelling task of transforming our relationship with the Earth.

We carry FCUN's vision and witness to our local monthly meetings as follows:

Mission. To raise the level of concern for Unity with Nature throughout the life of Stony Run Friends Meeting and Homewood Friends Meeting and to witness this concern in our Meetings and our communities.

Spiritual Nurture. To provide spiritual nurture to each other and to grow in experience and understanding about our interconnectedness with nature, thereby strengthening us to work toward those concerns.

Education and Awareness. To inform ourselves and our Meetings about the health of the Earth, both locally and globally, in order to have a factually sound basis for action.

Witness/Activism. To support each other in our individual leadings and work, and to foster the creativity and loving energy needed to create a sustainable future so that we may honor and recognize that of God in all creation. To find ways to witness our concerns in our Meetings and in the larger community.

History

As a joint committee we draw participation from both Meetings. We believe this collaboration offers many positive benefits, extending the reach of the group through broader membership and strengthening the sense of community through Homewood and Stony Run Meetings. We meet on the second Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm at Stony Run Meeting. Our committee is open to all people interested in participating at whatever level they wish.

Highlights of our work during the first five years:

• We wrote a Minute in Support of Diversity of Life, and sought and obtained its approval by both Monthly Meetings.
• We obtained Monthly Meeting approval of a Minute on Global Climate Change.
• We presented several adult education forums on various environmental issues.
• We incorporated environmental themes into the First Day School curriculums.
• We sponsored a dinner and lecture by the general secretary of FCUN, "Earth Care for Friends: What are our Leadings?"
• We held several outdoor Meetings for Worship.
• We sponsored several hikes and bike rides in the greater Baltimore area.
• We started a monthly Vegetarian Cooking Club.
• We prepared several Simple Lunches with organic, vegetarian, and locally grown food.
• We dialogued with Johns Hopkins University encouraging them to incorporate Green Design features into their new building projects.

Works in progress:

• We are developing a web page for inclusion in our Meetings' websites.
• We are developing an online book and resource list.
• We are developing and implementing Meetinghouse environmental and energy audits.
• We are moving our Meetings toward regular organic, vegetarian and locally grown Simple Lunches.