Clean and Affordable Energy: Small Group Discussion Guides

Public dialogue and action are urgently needed for our society to confront the intertwined challenges of energy use, economic well-being, public health, and climate change. In partnership with the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 program and Everyday Democracy, the Environmental Ministry Program of the UCC has created a small group discussion guide for meeting these vital needs.

Within your faith community or in collaboration with ecumenical groups, interfaith networks, or local organizations, bring together 10 to 12 people over the course of four weeks to have guided conversations that lead to actions generated by participants. Two facilitators lead the group with the help of the facilitator guide. There is additionally a participant guide that can be printed off and distributed to participants in a folder.

It is also possible to use these guides as part of a broader community-wide effort in which multiple small groups meet separately over four weeks before all of the groups meet together in one large Action Forum. To such a forum, each small group brings its best action ideas for broader discernment, discussion, and action. The results can be transformative for participants and the entire community. For a step-by-step plan for this larger undertaking, consult Everyday Democracy’s guide entitled “Organizing Community-Wide Dialogue for Action and Change.”