Countryside Church Unitarian Universalist – Palatine, IL

Worship on Sundays at 10 am. Join us in person or online

Countryside Unitarian Universalist

Green Sanctuary Committee

Envisioning a world in which we all value and protect the environment on which our lives and communities depend.

The Green Sanctuary Committee encourages awareness, appreciation and action in support of the environment on which we all depend. We promote worship that deepens our connection to the natural world, educational programs for all ages, and service projects that benefit our local area and beyond.

We meet the 2nd Sunday of each month following the worship service. Please join us! To contact the committee co-chairs, send an email.

Countryside Church Unitarian Universalist achieved accreditation as a Green Sanctuary in 2012. This program of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) encourages our congregation to grow in appreciation and care for the natural world and all who depend upon it.

Accreditation was the first step in our work to create a sustainable and environmentally sound society.  The Committee continues to champion and guide the process by creating and supporting programs and activities in four areas:

  • Worship and Celebration
  • Religious Education
  • Sustainable Living
  • Environmental Justice

Green Sanctuary activities and programs are designed to support environmental action, foster a spiritual connection to the earth, and promote community engagement as a congregation and in our members’ lives. We have a variety of ongoing activities and programs and welcome new ideas. Green Sanctuary accreditation is for the whole congregation, and we support other groups in their environmental programming.

  • Annual Earth Month Event: Since 2014, the Green Sanctuary Committee has organized an event in April focusing on various topics such as climate change, sustainable living, local organizations promoting climate work, films on environmental topics, and Q&A sessions with local elected representatives.
  • Green News articles: We publish monthly articles on environmental topics.
  • Wheel of the Year essays: The Wheel of the Year is a sequence of eight festivals marking the seasonal cycle of plant and animal life. These essays promote an awareness of the life cycle and encourage a spiritual connection to the earth.
  • Worship services: We co-sponsor, with the Worship Council, a Winter Solstice and Summer Solstice service to promote and support a spiritual connection to the cycles of the seasons. We have led several summer worship services on spiritual foundations for environmental action.
  • Bicycle Rack: We installed a bike rack to the north of the building.
  • Native Plant Landscaping: We support the landscape coordinators in replacing the current landscaping with native plant species.
  • Organic Vegetable Garden: We manage an organic vegetable garden to provide our members with an opportunity to grow their food to keep or to donate to the Palatine Food Pantry. We are always looking for new gardeners!
  • Partnerships: 
    • We partner with Faith in Place through hosing the summer Eco-Ambassador Program for high school students and hosting watch parties for the annual Environment and Spirituality Summit. 
    • We participated in the Palatine Cool Cities Sustainability Fair.
    • We partner with a local church to collect empty pill bottles for reuse.
  • Prairie Restoration: We have approximate 1 acre of land, aka “The Ditch,” along the east side of our property, which we have been restoring to its native prairie ecosystem. In 2025, we conducted a burn, a process that removes dead plant matter and provides light and nutrients for new plants.
  • Recycling & Composting: We have established containers int he kitchen for recycling paper, plastic, and glass. We contracted with Collective Resources to collect food and other waste from members for composting at a commercial facility.
  • Solar Panels: We led the effort to install solar panels on a portion of the roof. We anticipate expanding the number of panels when we replace the roof on another part of the building. Real-time indicators of both the solar generation and consumption of electrical power at the church can be seen here.
  • Tableware, flatware, etc.: We convinced the congregation to use china plates and mugs, metal flatware, cloth napkins and tablecloths for congregational events.

Wheel of the Year: Mabon

September 22 (1:19:49 PM) marks the Autumn Equinox, the second of three harvest festivals in the Wheel of the Year. The festival was named Mabon

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September 17, 2025