Community Corner

Church Powers Principles With Solar Panels

Letter to the Editor: Congregation installs panels on Mount Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church in Walnut Creek.

By Sue Polgar

The installation of solar panels this month atop the sanctuary of Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church (MDUUC) in Walnut Creek represents the culmination of a long-time dream for its environmentally conscious church members – taking the church’s whole campus solar.

As co-Minister Leslie Takahashi Morris says, “'being green’ is part of the church’s commitment to affirm and promote the seventh principle of Unitarian Universalism, ‘respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.’” 

When the church’s sanctuary was built in 2000 and the Bortin Fellowship Hall followed in 2009, construction budgets couldn’t stretch to include solar power generation. This year, with federal grants available, the growing congregation, now 440 members, voted to go ahead with the solar project.

Art Ungar, chair of the Solar Task Force, explains, “We really had to fast-track the project when we started last summer. It was approved by the Board and congregation in record time so that installation could start before the Federal grant expires at the end of the year.”

Ungar adds that the Unitarian Universalist Association has already recognized MDUUC as a “Green Sanctuary,” and the campus of the church has been certified as a Wildlife Habitat. 

According to co-Minister David Takahashi Morris, “The children and adults of our congregation are committed to promoting environmental awareness and to living responsibly. We try to minimize our environmental impact here, at home and in our communities.”

MDUUC, known as “A Liberal Light in the Diablo Valley,” draws members from all over Contra Costa County. Unitarian Universalism is a faith that incorporates religious inspiration from many sources, including Christianity, Judaism and Humanism, and welcomes people with many different beliefs.

Worship services and religious education for children and teens are Sundays at 9:30 and 11:30. Sunday meditation is at 9 a.m. and Vespers meditation is Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. MDUUC is located at 55 Eckley Lane in Walnut Creek.

Now that “liberal light” of MDUUC will be solar-powered!

Sue Polgar is a member of the congregation of Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church.


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