CHAPTER 12: STRUCTURES FOR DEMOCRATIC DECISION MAKING ABOUT SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES

Our congregations are democratic religious communities. This means that every member has the right to participate in making the important decisions that affect the life of the congregation. For this reason we have congregational meetings and we involve people in democratic decision making through our boards and committees.

Democratic decision making is essential in the social justice program as well. When all the members of the congregation have the opportunity to be involved in picking the issues that will be worked on they have a deeper appreciation of the importance of social justice in the overall life of the religious community. As a result, members are more willing to become involved in carrying out projects.

Below are several models for involving congregations in democratic decision making about social justice issues. These examples come from The First Unitarian Church of Rochester NY; The Unitarian Universalist Church West in Brookfield WI; The Unitarian Society of Germantown in Philadelphia PA; All Souls Church in New York City NY; and the Unitarian Fellowship of Morristown NJ.

The First Unitarian Church of Rochester
Rochester NY

Two models for organizing social justice programs in congregations come to us from the First Unitarian Church of Rochester. The congregation in the late seventies and early eighties originally used the first model. This is a good design for a congregation that has no task force in place or wants to create some additional ones.

Each spring, the Social Responsibility Committee (SRS) polls the members of the congregation as to their interest and participation in social action issues. The issues listed for voting include General Resolutions to the UUA, program priorities of the UU Service Committee (UUSC), and important local issues suggested by members of the SRC or other members of the congregation.

The results of the poll are published and advocates of issues to be presented to the congregation are encouraged to develop the issue by completing A Strategic Planning Process Worksheet for Group Action. These advocates often work through the summer to analyze the issues and develop strategies.

In September an official meeting is called for the congregation to select social responsibility agenda for the year from the issues presented. The format of the congregational meeting follows.

1. Tables are set up in the meeting room for advocates of the various issues to present their material and talk with interested persons.
2. The meeting is called to order and the whole process explained.
3. Each issue is presented by an advocate who may speak for no longer than five minutes (the focus here is not so much an argumentation on the pros and cons of the issue as to why the congregation should adopt it for study and action).
4. There is a brief discussion for clarification.
5. The congregation votes on how many issues it feels it can support for the next church year.
6. The congregation votes (a variety of means are available) to rank order the issues. The leading choices are adopted up to the number of issues established (e.g. if the congregation says it can work on two issues and there are nine presented, the top two in the process of setting priorities are adopted).
7. The advocates of the issues selected or a member of the SRC have a brief organizational meeting to establish a time for the Task Force to meet and select leadership and program.

note: In the second year of the program, the previously selected issues may be lumped with all others or may be subject to an endorsement vote. Other issues may then be selected the same way.

The SRC monitors the Task Forces and provides logistic support. Task Forces are provided funding from the SRC budget, given access to the newsletter, Sunday service and other communication vehicles, and are priorities for the minister through sermons and study groups. They report regularly to the Board and congregation and can ask for Board and congregational action and additional support. The SRC considers and acts on other issues, but these are given lower priority than those selected by the congregation.

The method that began being used by the Rochester congregation in 1992 is a modification of the above model. The SRC no longer does a poll of the congregation. Instead, any individual or group may propose an issue for task force status by circulating a petition to get signatures from five church members willing to work on that task force, and five more additional people who support the issue but may not have time to act on it. These signatures are submitted to the SRC before the congregational meeting in the fall. Also included is an application form, which describes the goals and activities for the project. The group may publicize the issue in a flyer.

A task force is approved for only one year. If, after consultation with the SRC, the group wants to continue in the next year, it goes through the same petition and voting process again in September. Groups that are not selected for task force status may either operate as an ad hoc committee, with reduced status and privileges, or disband. They may try the next year to again become a task force. Task forces that have been in existence but are not re-approved deserve a public thank you for their work.

It should be noted that the reproductive choice task force dates back to 1978.
 

Unitarian Universalist Church West
Brookfield WI

Another method for involving the congregation in picking social justice issues to focus on comes to us from the Unitarian Universalist Church West in Brookfield WI. This is a congregation of 350 people. The Rev. Marni Harmony was serving as the minister of the congregation in 1983 when this model was first used.

Three members of the congregation who are active in social justice projects in the community prepare a proposal for the members of the congregation to vote on. The following criteria are used:

The project:

1. should be an expression of Unitarian Universalist values
2. should be focused on a local issue (or if there were a national group involved, that there be a local project)
3. must be one in which people commit not more than twenty hours a year
4. must be something that people can do as a group experience

Each of the three people presents their proposals at the congregation's annual meeting. The members of the congregation vote for one issue. That issue becomes the congregation's project for the year.

In 1983, the one issue they picked involved working with a shelter for homeless people. Church members committed themselves to going to the homeless shelter as a group, once a month. That meant it was a group experience with a limited time commitment.

The process was repeated at the congregation's next annual meeting. In the second year, the members voted to repeat the homelessness project.
 

The Unitarian Society of Germantown
Philadelphia PA

The Unitarian Society of Germantown is a congregation of 320 located in Philadelphia, PA. The social justice committee wanted to increase participation in the church's social justice program and create some new task groups. They therefore developed the following model. The minister, two members of the social justice committee, two long-time members of the church, and two recent new-comers met to identify those individuals in the congregation who showed a commitment to social justice issues in their church and community-wide activities.

Using the church directory, they reviewed each congregant's areas of professional and avocational social justice involvement. They tried to think as broadly as possible about the ways people are active. They identified people whom: taught in an inner city school, served on the Board of Planned Parenthood, contributed generously to the Sierra Club, taught adult seminars on women's issues, participated in the nuclear freeze rally, had special knowledge about black studies, etc. The activities were written down beside the name of each person. Eighty of the 350 members of the church were identified as being active in social justice in some way.

A potluck supper meeting was arranged for this group of people. A letter was sent to each of the 80 people inviting them to the meeting. The purpose of the meeting – an opportunity to think about possible social justice programming – was stated in the letter. A phone chain was set up and people received a personal phone call inviting them to the meeting. Fifty people came to the meeting.

A group process method was used to help the group establish priorities following the potluck supper. The method used was the voting method described in this packet. The group selected three major areas: education for children, pro-choice action, and peace action.

Task groups were set up at the meeting, consisting of those people who were interested in developing these ideas. The other members of the congregation were informed through the newsletter about the existence of these new groups.
 

All Souls Church
New York NY

The All Souls Church in New York City has a membership of close to 1,300. The social justice committee decided to focus on the critical needs of children in their part of the city. Committee members then surveyed the community and gathered information on the needs of people, the programs that already existed to meet those needs, ideas for new program possibilities, and ways that people could become involved.

The social justice committee invited the congregation to a Saturday meeting. Representatives from various groups and organizations in the community came to the meeting to describe their programs as well as ideas for possible church-based projects. Each explained how volunteers from the church could help.

Members of the congregation were then invited to visit exhibit tables which had been set up by the presenters. After reviewing the exhibits, attendees then volunteered to work with whichever program interested them. Other members of the congregation were informed about the existence of these programs through the church newsletter.
 

Unitarian Fellowship of Morristown
Morristown NJ

The Unitarian Fellowship of Morristown is a congregation if 285. Members of its social justice committee wanted to develop projects in one area of action. They identified environmental issues as an area for organizing and then used the following method to get people involved in developing some projects.

A small group of people with some interest and expertise in this area was brought together by members of the social justice committee for the purpose of brainstorming the ways this broad area of concern could be focused. The purpose was to identify ways that people could be involved in concrete doable projects. This group identified five focus areas.

A meeting of congregational members interested in environmental issues was called. Thirty-five people attended. Each of the leaders from the five focus groups made a brief presentation about their area.

Five easels with newsprint were set up in different parts of the room. Each participant chose three of these five focus areas and then moved to the easel representing one of those areas for a brainstorming exercise focusing on possible actions to be taken in that area. After fifteen minutes each participant moved to another easel representing one of the remaining two focus areas they had chosen. After this second brainstorming session, participants moved to the easel representing their third choice. The leaders who made presentations about the five focus areas facilitated the brainstorming sessions and then summarized the results.

Task groups were formed around those areas in which people had expressed active interest. Taking ideas from the brainstorming sessions, they set priorities for achievable projects. The general population of the congregation was informed about the task forces through the newsletter.

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