Six Questions Congregations Need to Answer About Community Safety in this Moment
Unitarian Universalist congregations have a critical role in resisting violence and protecting our communities, and UUs have a long history of showing up to resist authoritarianism, xenophobia, racism, transphobia, and other attacks on communities.
Meaningful, effective response requires us to engage in faithful, values-based risk assessment and discernment that recognizes our unique landscape and community.
This worksheet is an invitation for your congregational leadership and members to have a resourced, grounded, and accountable analysis of your congregation’s capacity to nimbly and resourcefully respond to any crisis. Expand this practice by going through this worksheet with key members of your community as an ongoing spiritual practice of discernment, renewing our commitment to mutuality and our collective thriving.
Guiding Questions
1) WHAT is the opportunity/threat?
What opportunity, request, or threat is the congregation encountering? Include any specifics about what participation will entail (how long, who with, expected outcomes).
Resources to Support:
“Assessing Risk” Mini Toolkit from Vision Change Win
2) WHO makes and/or is impacted by any decisions?
Who has the authority and responsibility to make decisions about whether or not to engage in a particular action/activity? Who are the people who are impacted by the decision to act/not act?
Resources to Support:
Threats from Without, Care from Within: Congregational Safety in Troubled Times
“Decision Making Within the Congregation” from Congregational Governance at UUA.org
Climate Resilience through Disaster Response and Community Care Toolkit
3) WHERE is our capacity?
What resources do you need to provide/have access to in order to ensure accountable, sustainable, and impactful participation? What are the specific financial, infrastructural, reputational, physical, human, etc. resources that you need to and/or can provide?
Resources to Support:
Skill Up Webinar: Asset Mapping: Leveraging Congregational Resources for the Movement
Slides: Congregational Safety for UUs - Values-Based Risk Discernment
Sacred Circles Exercise from UU Climate Justice Revival
4) HOW is our community affected?
What are the actual and perceived risks of action/inaction? Whose experiences are we centering in our risk assessment (and this risk discernment)? Who are the experts we can turn to for accurate threat assessments? If conflict arises, how will it be addressed?
Resources to Support:
Safer and More Powerful Together: Power and Relationship Mapping in your Community
Risk, Courage, & Justice: Facilitating Congregational Risk Discernment Conversations
Skill Up Webinar: What Do Impacted Communities Need? How Would I Know!?
"Grounding in Our Context" module from the Green Sanctuary 2030 Materials
5) WHEN will decisions [need to] be made?
What is the timeline for any initial commitments? What process(es) are in place to/do we have in place to evaluate/re-evaluate our activities? How nimble and sustained can our commitment be?
Resources to Support:
6) WHY is our faith calling us to this discernment?
What are the values calling us to engage in this risk assessment and discernment? Who are we called to be in this moment, and are we meeting that call? What are we learning about the gaps and opportunities in our community’s practice of collective “safety?”
Resources to Support:
Faith Out Loud: Naming and Claiming Faith-Rooted Organizing as UUs
The Gathering & Now What: The Gathering for Congregational Leaders
Webinar: Responding to Far Right/White Christian Nationalist Threats
Climate at the Intersections: Theological Grounding for Intersectional Justice
See the theological conversations offered each week of 30 Days of Love 2026
