Do you think Lincoln is ready for a climate disaster? Would you like to hear what the Town is eager to do in the name of “preparedness”? Do you want St. Anne’s to have a role in that plan? And wouldn’t it be nice if the federal government and Commonwealth gave us some money to achieve that role?
This past February 25th, Jennie attended the Lincoln Municipal Preparedness Vulnerability (MVP) Workshop put on by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs (MEOEE). The meeting was attended by 40+ members of the Lincoln Community, including the Lincoln Town Administrator, Lincoln’s fire and police chiefs, teachers from the Birches and Carroll schools, members of the Lincoln Conservation Commission and its Green Energy Commission, and representatives from the Council on Aging, Mass Audubon, the Commons, and other NGOs. Attendees spent the day identifying areas—both physical and administrative—wherein Lincoln could be vulnerable to a climactic emergency. At the end of the workshop, the group gained consensus on about six initiatives for which it will seek grant monies from MEOEE, as dozens of other communities within the Commonwealth have done since the MVP program was begun in 2017.
The MEOEE will present an abbreviated workshop to the whole of the Lincoln community on Monday, April 1st at which it will seek input from citizens, business owners, etc. The goal of this “Listening Session” is to strengthen consensus around the objectives determined by the February MVP in order to have Lincoln certified as an MVP Community and be eligible for state grants to implement its initiatives.
If you are able to attend, please do! Not only will you learn a great deal about how Lincoln can attain peak preparedness, you will also have the chance to represent St. Anne’s in the conversation. Jennie Cook, our Parish Administrator, was the only representative from a house of worship at the February meeting, and she noticed this category was missing from almost all the distributed materials. Presently, Jennie is working with Vestry to determine how best St. Anne’s can participate in Lincoln’s grants. We already offer a program of climate change education through the Climate Justice Film Series; might we want to become an official emergency shelter, or would we consider leasing our steeple for a cell tower? These were all objectives discussed at the workshop, and we will need to advocate for St. Anne’s inclusion before the Town applies for the grant.
If you’d like further details on the April 1st Listening Session, please email Jennie (parishoffice@stanneslincoln.org). If a large enough group of parishioners plans on attending, Jennie will join you.