The chalice icon identifies events planned and sponsored by First Unitarian’s Environmental Ministry
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Saving Great Salt Lake
“Scientists are sounding the alarm that the Great Salt Lake ecosystem is on the verge of ecological collapse. … Without urgent and longer-term actions to provide water to the lake, the ecosystem may pass a tipping point, beyond which recovery could be out of reach.” (Center for Biological Diversity)
Get Started on Your 2024 New Year's Resolution to Save Great Salt Lake: Here are 8 actions you can take NOW to help you meet your goal of getting water to Great Salt Lake in 2024: http://tinyurl.com/SaveGSL-Jan2024
Environmental Ministry's focus this year is on taking action to get water to the Great Salt Lake to solve the immediate salinity crisis and supporting longer term action to assure the viability of the lake going forward. Our goals are to build understanding of the issues facing the Great Salt Lake, raise the overall awareness of the issue and solutions, bear witness to this catastrophe to remind the public and decision-makers of what is at stake, and to engage in the 2023 Legislative Session to support and advocate for water management changes that will result in more water getting to the Great Salt Lake. We are working with local nonprofits and other congregations to raise awareness and build the groundswell of public opinion required to move Utah to take the actions required to revive our GSL ecosystem. From education to witnessing, from rallying to speaking up at the Utah Legislature, we will be advocating for the survival of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem!
We invite you to join us in this endeavor. Listed below are actions you can take. The chalice icon identifies events planned and sponsored by First Unitarian’s Environmental Ministry. We are also sharing information about events sponsored by local nonprofits focused on the Great Salt Lake. If you have questions, please contact:
So … NOW it is TIME to … MARK YOUR CALENDAR … SAVE THESE DATES …. REGISTER TO ATTEND … LEARN MORE ... and GET INVOLVED!
First Unitarian's Saving The Great Salt Lake Project Planning Meeting - 2nd Fridays of the month @ 10-11:30 AM (Zoom), 4th Thursdays of the month @ 7:30 PM (Zoom) - Members and friends are invited to get involved in planning Environmental Ministry's Saving The Great Salt Lake efforts. There is much to do and we could use your help. Contact: for the schedule, Zoom link and/or to ask questions. Sponsored by: Environmental Ministry, First Unitarian Church of SLC.
LEARN
SERVICE, WITNESS, ACTION
Prayers for the Great Salt Lake - Intergenerational Service focused on the Great Salt Lake with Rev. Monica Dobbins, Sunday January 29, 2023 – 
THE SWAP
How the SWAP works:
- Bring clothing or household items you don't need, take what you do. All is free, and remaining items will be donated. No TV's, and you need to be able to carry items; no large furniture. If interested in volunteering, let us know here.
- Items should be in good condition..
- Bring what you don't need, take what you need. Try out something new that you would never purchase, but since it is FREE … why not experiment!
- What is not taken will be donated to others in need.
- The church does not have space to store donations before the swap, so if you are not able to bring items on the day of the swap, consider asking a member, friend, or neighbor to drop items off.
- Bring items at the beginning of the SWAP so they will be available all day.
- ALL are welcome.
PBS Utah - Utah Insight | Future of Great Salt Lake segment aired on Friday, July 7, 2023. Recording: https://video.pbsutah.org/video/future-of-the-great-salt-lake-yjr1jw/ -
This segment of Utah Insight features our First Unitarian Church of SLC's High School Youth and our congregant, former Utah State Representative Elizabeth Weight, talking about doing what is required of us to save Great Salt Lake We are very proud of our First Unitarian High School Youth and grateful for the support of their guides, mentors, and teachers!!
Utah Insight, a weekly series from PBS Utah, examines the most pressing issues facing the state, as hosts Liz Adeola and RaeAnn Christensen join leading authorities and newsmakers to shed light on the issues that matter to Utahns most-from air quality to affordable housing. Each episode features a panel of experts, interviews with people on the front lines, and a segment illustrating the human impact these issues have on our friends and neighbors.
Environmental Ministry Reading/Video Discussion Group
Recycling
As part of caring for the earth, the recycling team collects hard-to-recycle items such as oral care and personal care items, batteries (not corroded), cereal box liners (crinkly bags inside cereal boxes) and spent writing utensils. They will even take your old, worn out (clean) socks. The team also can provide information about other recycling opportunities in the community. Please keep trash out of the landfill and help raise money for the church by participating.
About Environmental Ministry
The purpose of Environmental Ministry is to affirm, promote, and act in congruence with our 7th UU principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. The Earth and her people are in peril from the devastating impacts of what Joanna Macy calls: The Great Climate Disruption, what Job One for Humanity describes as: our runaway global climate heating emergency. It is up to us to get educated and stay educated, catalyze change, and advocate for and take effective action. In our own community, we challenge environmental and climate injustice. At our church, we take action to reduce our carbon footprint. We work together to develop new skills, to grasp the immensity of our role at this time, and to act for current and future generations of all species.
Environmental Ministry is coordinated by Joan Gregory. Environmental Ministry’s Saving Great Salt Lake Project is co-coordinated by Joan Gregory, Cathy Chambless, and Steve Glaser. The SWAP is coordinated by Sandy Harty and Anna Fonnesbeck. Green Sanctuary is a joint effort of Environmental Ministry and the Facilities Management & IT Team.
Join our Environmental Ministry mailing list. Send an email to to be added to the list, to receive notifications of meetings, events, and actions. Some are planned by Environmental Ministry; some are sponsored by other environmental and climate justice organizations.
Join our Environmental Ministry Facebook group.
Join us in the Environmental Ministry thread in Heartbeat by emailing us at . Available for church members and for friends who are active members of the Environmental Ministry Team.