Day 1
A guide for navigating an election year in your faith community
A guide for navigating an election year in your faith community
Early in January 2024, our team at Vandersall Collective engaged in conversations around the upcoming presidential election. Initially, each of us noted our discomfort with talking about what might happen in November. Naming our feelings helped us to begin naming what we learned from previous election experiences and ways we could begin to prepare for what was ahead.
As we identified potential plans, our individual and collective values emerged. It became clear what we held in common and the ways we, in our work, want to show up for others. Through this experience, one of us noted the ways this was happening in her faith community. We collectively wondered how we could serve the people and ministries we love by creating a resource to help others have these important conversations.
This prompted us to create a curriculum that you can purchase and download here to adapt for Christian faith communities of many sizes and orientations. Our greatest hope is that this is helpful in organizing a structure to care for your communities and also for communities of people most significantly affected by an election–no matter the outcome.
In fact, this guide hasn’t been written in anticipation of one outcome or another. Regardless of the outcome of the election, the months leading up to it and the months following it will be a tense time that will affect all of our communities.
What now?
Download, read through it, and dive in.
To support your digital download purchase, you can also add on 1 hour or 8 weeks of coaching. Once you purchase, we’ll be in touch to set up time together.
If you’re interested in a process for your community to define Core Values, we’d love to help. Email us for a conversation about pricing.
This PDF is intended to serve a single faith community. If you’re purchasing for multiple communities, please adjust the quantity in your cart.
For orders of 20 or more, we offer the curriculum for a flat fee of $1250, you can buy it here.
For an individual companion journal, you can buy it here.
So… what’s in this thing?
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The why of Day 1 work
How to do this work in your community
By the end of the Day 1 process
Scriptural Grounding
Timeline
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Goal: uncovering concerns and opportunities related to the upcoming presidential election.
Scripture
Response time for noticing
Prayer
Recalibrating perspective on the election
Next steps
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Goal: Reflect back to community members what was heard in consolidated form and consider the implications.
Scripture
Prayer
Response time for noticing
Reiterate the “why”
Next steps
Close with prayer
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Goal: Work with leadership to determine 1-3 priorities and related groups impacted.
Scripture
Prayer
Response time for noticing
Thinking ahead to the election
Next steps
Close with prayer
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Goals: Identify what is needed by impacted groups. Investigate organizational capacity to determine what is possible.
Scripture
Prayer
Response time for noticing
Summary and conclusion
Next steps
Close with prayer
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Goal: identify resources needed for implementation
Scripture
Prayer
Response time for noticing
Next steps
Close with prayer
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Goal: create a communication plan
Scripture
Prayer
Response time for noticing
Next steps
Close in prayer
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Goal: develop timeline for implementation, beginning with preparation and continuing on Day 1 after the election.
Scripture
Prayer
Response time for noticing
Next steps
Close in prayer
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Goal: gather community to invite feedback on plans.
Scripture
Prayer
Response time for noticing
Guide reflection and engagement
Next steps
Close in prayer