Let’s ‘Do Something’! Campaign at First Parish in Concord

Getting Started

We kicked off our First Parish Let’s ‘Do Something’! campaign on Wednesday, September 4th, 2024, with a gathering in the Parish Hall hosted by the Reclaim Our Democracy team, and led by our Lead Minister Rev. Jennifer Johnson, accompanied by Director of Music Ministry Beth Norton, Leader of the Reclaim Our Democracy team Fred Van Deusen, and Minister of Religious Education Amy Freedman. Videos of the event are included in the Resources section below.

You are encouraged to watch Rev. Jennifer’s 5 minute talk to introduce the event. She brings our hope and our faith into connection with our politics. “Our faith tradition was born out of the same liberating vision that gave rise to American democracy.” “We give shape to our desired world through our politics.” In Senator Rev. Rafael Warnock’s words, “A vote is kind of prayer for the world we desire.” We can make hope real in our world!

This is the most important election we have had in our lifetimes. To achieve our goals, we need as many members as possible to contribute as much as they can. Our democracy is teetering on the brink, and it is our job, together with millions of other Americans, to save it.

Please sign up to participate in the campaign at https://forms.gle/UAJSi1Q55Ak8pcLN6.

We will be tracking progress on our Good Trouble Congregation Goals, and ask that you report the number of postcards sent, texts sent, calls made, and so forth using our reporting form: https://forms.gle/EgG1J2oV3bQSZLhD6. Postcards, texts and calls you have already made this year, or were done with other organizations, all count in our totals. Be sure to add them on the reporting form.

Please note that we are also tracking contacts you have with friends, family members and others to encourage them to vote. These contacts are invaluable, and you are likely to have more influence in this way than in any of the other ways we will be contacting people.

Overall Campaign Goals

Do our part to support and build a multi-racial democracy
Get out as many people to vote as we can, particularly in swing states
Become a 2024 Good Trouble Congregation
Build community
Build relationships with our partners
Spread hope and joy

Our Good Trouble Congregation Goals

The UUA has a program that encourages congregations to set aggressive goals to help get out the vote. First Parish in Concord has set the following goals for this campaign. If we succeed, we will be one of a select group of UU congregations to be designated as a Good Trouble Congregation.

Based on our membership (556), our Organizing goals are (meet 2):

Turn out 28 members at a partner public action / witness (5%)
Turn out 56 members at a UUTV political education event (10%)
Reclaim Our Democracy table at 3+ public events
2+ people are poll workers or poll monitors
112 members volunteer in First Parish Let’s ‘Do Something’! campaign (20% volunteer engagement)

Based on our membership (556), our Voter Contact goals are (meet 2):

Send 11,120 postcards or letters (20 / member)
Send 111,200 text messages (200 / member)
Make 11,120 phone calls (20 / member)
Connect with 11,120 friends, relatives or family members and encourage them to vote (20 / member)

Activities and Events

The campaign is utilizing resources from the Reclaim Our Democracy team, the UU the Vote program, the UUSJ Democracy Action Team, Concord Indivisible, and many other national pro-democracy groups as shown in the Activities, Resources and Events List from UUSJ.

Postcard packets will be available on Sundays at coffee hour at the Reclaim Our Democracy table. They are also available during the week in the church office. Contact Sue St. Croix for more information. Concord Indivisible is also regularly writing postcards. For more information go to Concord Indivisible Action Springboard.

Letter writing – go directly to Vote Forward 7 active social campaigns for writing letters to get letters to write and send.

Text banking events will be announced on the First Parish Upcoming Events list, on FP Weekly, and via email if you sign up to text bank. Contact Fred Van Deusen for more information. Text banking events are often available from NextGen America if you want to work independently.

Phone banking events will be announced on the First Parish Upcoming Events list, on FP Weekly, and via email if you sign up to phone bank. Contact Ray Andrews for more information. If you want to work independently, phone banking events are available on Tuesday evenings from UU the Vote, at various times from Center for Common Ground and from NextGen America. Sign up directly with these organizations.

Canvassing in swing states – see the UU the Vote Get Involved Page and the Concord Indivisible Action Springboard for information.

Poll Worker – contact your local Town Clerk to sign up

Poll Monitor – go to Election Protection or Common Cause Election Protection to sign up

In addition to the First Parish events, you are encouraged to engage in voter activities with other organizations. See the Concord Indivisible Action Springboard, Activities, Resources, and Events from UUSJ and UU the Vote Get Involved Page for information.