Session 6: Conclusion

The form of law which I propose would be as follows: In a state which is desirous of being saved from the greatest of all plagues—not faction, but rather distraction—there should exist among the citizens neither extreme poverty nor, again, excessive wealth, for both are productive of great evil . . . Now the legislator should determine what is to be the limit of poverty or of wealth.

Plato

Brainstorm actions or things that the group, or subgroups, might want to do. Make a point to include topics that drew interest in previous sessions. Having available printed notes from those sessions would be helpful. Record the suggested actions on flip chart paper for all to see, but do not discuss them until later. Next go through the suggested actions, starting with those with the strongest response or most support (by an informal poll if necessary), to clarify what might be involved in each action and the level of interest in the group. If the list of possible actions is too long, omit any that have the support of only 1 or 2 people.

Here are some questions to consider:  How effectively does the action strike at the root of our dysfunctional system? Is the action short term or long term? Would it involve different stages of development?  Is it something primarily within the congregation, the local community, the local region, the state, the country, or international? What kind of allies or collaborations would be needed or helpful? What resources would be needed? What overall level of effort and commitment is involved? Might we have both sufficient leadership and active participants to pull it off? Which mode of Gilbert’s 5 modes social action are involved (social education, social service, public witness, community organizing, advocacy for systemic change)? Record notes on answers to these questions.

After going through all the suggestions, prioritize the suggested actions. A recommended way to do this is to ask each person to pick their top 3 actions and label them as 1^st choice, 2^nd choice, and 3^rd choice (use red, white, & blue stars, or the number 1, 2, 3, or some other such scheme). Give each 1^st choice ranked action 3 tallies, 2^nd choice 2 tallies, and 3^rd choice 1 tally. Then add up all the tallies for each action, recording the sum. This will give a ranking of the actions according to these sums, a procedure that is designed to elicit group consensus.

Use the results to decide on which action or actions to undertake.  A lower-priority action might take precedence if there is stronger leadership. A larger group might want to consider a primary action for the whole group, plus one or more secondary actions for enthusiastic subgroups, etc. Designate the leadership, especially the initial convener, for each chosen action, and circulate a sign-up sheet with contact information for those willing to participate, giving copies to the session organizer and the action leadership. At your initial meeting, discuss using Gilbert’s 6-step strategic planning process (the problem, assumptions, goals, strategies, tactics, evaluation).

For each chosen action discuss what UU principles it most embodies. Have a list of the 7 principles available. Next, consider Richard Gilbert’s 4 Propositions of Equity: Economic Equality implies

Designate someone to write out how your action will support each of these broad goals of moral and religious life. Use these descriptions in your promotional materials to help recruit supporters and allies.

To further flesh this out, discuss how your action aligns with Gilbert’s 6 guidelines, or “canons”, for achieving distributive justice:

Where there is good alignment, also use this in your promotional materials.

First discuss potential allies within your congregation – the minister or other staff, lay leadership, other members or friends of the congregation. Might there be opposition? In other words, figure out your congregational politics and your strategy for building support while attempting to understand and respect any opposition or skepticism. Get conversations going, prepare handouts, organize educational discussions or events as needed. Become aware of your options, getting formal approval if required by church policy.

Next identify necessary or possible allies in the community, region, etc., depending on the nature of your action. For example, if it is a local minimum or living wage campaign, there may already be other faith or interfaith groups, labor, advocacy, non-profit, or political groups or leaders involved. Brainstorm a list and contact them to find out and to expand your list. Social media might help, in addition to attending meetings of these potential allies. Where a group or person is already involved, offer to become part of a collaborative effort. If not, offer to help bring them into a collaborative effort. How all this develops will depend very much on your local circumstances, so frequent re-evaluation of strategies, tactics, and timelines may be necessary. Unless you are joining a strong and well organized effort, staying power and adaptability will be required.

Consider how you can make some of your events both joyous and collaborative, especially to engage and honor leadership toward a more equitable and sharing society. Think especially about the allies of your action. Strong allies need to bond together in solidarity on the issues at hand. Learn to “accept our differences” on other issues.