Empowerment Program Information Guide
Congregational Social Justice Evaluation Form
Download Application (PDF Format  ) (Word Document  )
The information on this form will be used by the Social Justice
Facilitators to design the format for your congregation’s Social
Justice Empowerment Workshop. To ensure that the information
is as complete as possible, data can be gathered from a variety
of resources including the minister, the members of the social justice
committee, and the governing board of the congregation.
I. GENERAL INFORMATION
Name of Congregation:________________________________________ Minister(s):
________________________________________
Adult members this year:____________
Average Sunday service attendance:___________
Number of people involved in the congregation’s social justice programs:__________
Approximate age range of members (expressed in percentages): _____
Under 20 _____ 21-25 _______ 26-34 ______35-44 _____45-54 _____ 55-64
_____ 65+
Location of meeting place (check all that apply): _____ Rural _____
Small Town _____ Suburban Community _____ Urban Neighborhood _____
Large Downtown
What percentage of your congregation works in social service fields?
________________________________________
II. HISTORY
A. Who carries the institutional history of your congregation’s
involvement in social justice? How is that information transferred
to congregation members and newcomers? B. Is there a written history
of the congregation’s social justice ministry? If so, how
is this history used?
III. ROLE OF THE CONGREGATION
A. This congregation is:
Please circle the number beside the one that most closely applies.
1. Inwardly oriented: Invests a majority of its time, energy, and
resources in serving its members’ needs, but also invests some resources
in caring for others outside the congregation. 2. Outwardly oriented:
Invests a majority of its resources in caring for others, but also
invests some resources in meeting the needs of its members. 3. Balanced:
Strives toward a relatively equal allocation of resources among
members and non-members.
B. Do the members of your congregation, as a whole, have a role
in deciding which social justice issues to support in any given
year? If so, what is the method used?
C. In what ways does your congregation relate its public ministry
to UU values, identity, and history?
D. Has your congregation adopted a vision statement, a mission statement,
or a statement of purpose?
E. Who in your congregation holds responsibility for the congregation’s
identity within the larger community?
IV. ROLE OF THE GOVERNING BOARD
A. How does the Board work to make the congregation a "moral" institution
(e.g., by being conscious of its hiring policies, investment of
endowment funds, and impact on the environment)?
B. How does the Board provide leadership to ensure that the congregation
is anti-racist as well as inclusive of people of color; bisexual,
gay, lesbian, and/or transgender people; differently-abled people;
and others?
V. SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE OR COORDINATING GROUP What structure
manages the social justice efforts of your congregation? Do
you have a social justice committee, social justice coordinating
group, task groups? Describe in detail how someone becomes a part
of this structure.
VI. TASK (OR PROJECT) GROUPS
A. Provide a brief description of the role, number of members, and
types of current activities of these groups. Attachment
A is included for your use.
B. In the past three years, what major social justice or public
ministry programs has your congregation undertaken? If
you have any written materials which describe these programs, please
attach.
VII. TYPES OF INVOLVEMENT
A. In what kinds of service projects are the members of the congregation
involved?
B. What kinds of education programs, worship services, or forums
target public issues?
C. In what ways have members of the congregation given public witness
on issues that are important?
D. What kinds of advocacy work with local and national legislators?
E. Is the congregation involved in community organizing projects,
coalitions, or ecumenical groups in its community?
F. What denominational or interfaith societal justice programs is
the congregation involved with? (e.g. UU Service Committee, UU-UN
Office, etc.)
VIII. FUNDING
Please attach a copy of your social justice program budget.
A. What is the annual budget of the congregation?
B. What is the line item amount allocated in the congregation’s
budget for social justice programs?
C. Does your congregation have any additional ways of raising money
for social justice programs? If so, please describe:
IX. GETTING PEOPLE INVOLVED
How do you involve members of the congregation in your projects?
X. PUBLICITY
A. What type of image does your social justice program have in the
church? What type of image does it have in the community at
large?
B. How do social justice people communicate with the members of
the congregation? (e.g., regular articles in the newsletter;
announcements in the Sunday service; brochures and other written
materials, etc.)
C. How do social justice people communicate with the wider community?
(e.g., articles in local newspapers; radio or TV; interfaith networks;
etc.)
XI. PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP
A. How much of the professional minister’s time goes into the congregation’s
social justice program?
B. On what kinds of local projects, ecumenical groups, or community
boards are the ministers serving?
XII. BUILDING USE
In what way is the congregation’s building being used by groups
or organizations in the community? (Even when groups pay a
rental fee they seldom cover the whole costs of upkeep. So
the congregation is making a valuable contribution to the community
when groups make use of its facilities.)
XIII. DEALING WITH CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES
A. Are there major conflicts in the congregation about doing social
justice ministry?
B. Have there been "painful episodes" in the history of the congregation
in which members were deeply divided over controversial issues?
C. What methods does the congregation use to deal with controversial
social justice issues?
XIV. PROCESSES OF EVALUATION
A. Do you have a way of evaluating your social justice programs
on a regular basis?
B. What accomplishments have you made in your social justice program
during the past three years?
C. Where have you fallen short in your social justice program this
year? What would you like to improve in the future?
D. What needs to be done to strengthen and further develop your
social justice program?
E. Are there any particular issues about the structure of your program
that you want addressed?
F. What additional resources, information, training, or funding
information would you appreciate from the UUA's Office for Congregationl
Justice Making?
THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN THE COMPLETION OF THIS QUESTIONNAIRE:
Attachment A
LIST OF TASK/PROJECT GROUPS
Name and
Function of
Task/Project Group |
#
of Members |
Budget |
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PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM TO:
Susan Leslie
Director, Office for Congregational Advocacy & Witness
Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02108
617.742.0321 (fax)
Please feel free to provide any additional information which
may be helpful to the facilitators in developing the workshop for
your congregation.
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