How will the realities of oppression in our community inform our Green Sanctuary 2030 activities?
Historical Context, Current Realities, and Aspirations
Rochester is the county seat of Olmsted county and the third-largest city in Minnesota, with a population of 122,692 in 2024. The city’s population is growing at a rate of 0.23% annually. The population of Rochester is 74.3% White, 9.4% Black, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, and 8.0% Asian.
Consider your congregation’s historical context. What are the recent highs or lows that might impact how you will approach transforming your congregation with the Green Sanctuary Process?
ANSWER: The church was founded in 1866 as the Rochester Universalist Church, and Reverend Silas Wakefield was called as our first minister. In that same year, the congregation dedicated a small church building on the current site of the Plummer Building in downtown Rochester. Through the years, we have built three other church buildings to serve a growing congregation.
In the fall of 2018 our church began a discernment process to imagine the future of our building and grounds, and in January 2023 the congregation voted to “GO”, meaning we proceed to explore options to build or buy in a different location. Subsequently we voted to build a new church (pending the sale of the Walden Lane building which completed February 2026) on a 30+ acre parcel of land. The Viola land, “at the intersection of public witness and preserved wilderness” was dedicated on Sept. 17, 2023 and a successful capital campaign concluded in 2024. Budgetary concerns are real, and we had been optimistic about utilizing federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds and rebates for implementation of green energy building practices. The Nov. 5th 2024 presidential election results now call into question whether we will be able to rely on future IRA funds to provide financial support for our green building efforts.
- Across our denomination, as part of the national reckoning around systemic racism, Green Sanctuary teams will explore the historical and current realities of oppression in your area. Consider: How has systemic oppression been locked in for people of color? Was yours a sundown town or county? Which neighborhoods were red-lined? What treaties were violated when your community was established? Whose land are you on? What treaties with Indigenous people were broken in your area? Whose votes have been suppressed? How have immigrant communities been treated? Go as far back as you can, then scan up to modern times. In the event of a climate disaster, which of your neighbors might lose their homes? When the grid fails, who is at risk of the deadly combination of power outages and extreme heat? Is this information new to your congregation or was it well already known? This kind of thoughtful reflection will further your understanding of systemic racism in your community, and it can also help you identify a climate justice project and potential partners for collaboration. Embrace an attitude of curiosity and humility as you approach this transformative work.
ANSWER:
We recognize that the land upon which we intend to build a new church is the ancestral land of the Dakota people and holds historical, spiritual, and political significance.For hundreds of years, the Sioux Wahpeton tribe lived on the land referred to now as Olmsted County. The Sioux signed two treaties in 1851, which established adjacent reservations on either side of a section of the Minnesota River. In 1858, these were reduced to an area on the southern bank of the river.
From Race and Housing in Olmsted County:
Olmsted was founded when white people took land from the Wahpeton tribe. In 1940, the federal government redlined Rochester based on racist ideology and created systemic change in neighborhoods. The segregation and devaluing of property caused inequalities we still see today. Renting, schooling, and homelessness disproportionately affected black communities and made it more difficult for them to accumulate wealth.The Northwestern Hotel was built in 1912 and served Jewish visitors. It was later purchased by a black businessman whose wife came to the Mayo Clinic for treatment and experienced the hospital’s segregation policy. The Avalon Hotel became a safe haven for black patients visiting the Mayo Clinic and was listed in the Green Book.
- How might this understanding of oppression in your area impact your Green Sanctuary 2030 activities?
ANSWER: Racism significantly impacts environmental justice by creating and perpetuating inequities in how communities experience environmental harm and access resources. Marginalized communities, particularly communities of color, are more likely to live near polluting industries, landfills, and toxic waste sites due to discriminatory zoning practices and lack of political power. This was explained in a forum from Phil Wheeler, a congregant and member of the NAACP, about housing covenants and their effect that ripples out and still affects Rochester today. These communities often face higher levels of health disparities, health problems such as asthma, cancer, and poor nutrition. At the same time, these communities frequently lack access to clean water, green spaces, and funding for sustainable infrastructure. Systemic racism also limits their inclusion in decision-making processes about environmental policies. Addressing racism is essential for achieving environmental justice because it ensures equitable protection and access to resources for all communities. Education, building awareness, and lobbying for change will be ways we can address some of the disparities for our Green Sanctuary activities.
- Reflect on why the congregation is interested in the Green Sanctuary process. What is motivating you to commit to meaningful, impactful, and ongoing action on climate justice?
ANSWER: Many of our church’s current and past activities are consistent with Green Sanctuary, and our mission, to practice justice, compels us to become engaged and to act. The devastating global and local consequences of imbalances in our activities that impact the environment are detrimental to living systems, including ecosystems and human body systems and communities. As the Building our Future Beyond Ourselves teams proceed with efforts to realize our dreams of a new church building, we commit to working towards a future of climate justice.