📍 Project Overview
I facilitated a frame creation workshop at All Peoples Unitarian Universalist Church in Louisville, KY—a faith-based community with a deep legacy of social justice work. The goal was to help the congregation surface internal contradictions, reflect on racial equity, and co-create more inclusive, value-aligned pathways forward.
- Role: Workshop Designer & Facilitator
- Duration: 2 weeks (design, facilitation, analysis)
- Tools Used: Frame Creation, Group Facilitation, Thematic Analysis
- Focus: Social Innovation, Systems Reflection, Community Engagement
❓ The Challenge
The church was actively engaged in justice efforts, but many members felt their activism had become performative, fragmented, or disconnected from the communities they aimed to support—especially around racial justice. With internal energy but external uncertainty, they needed a structured space to examine who they are, what they stand for, and how they act.
“What is our activism—just a bunch of white people doing it?”
🧠 Workshop Design
Using frame creation methodology, I guided the congregation through a structured inquiry divided into five phases:
- What Is? – Surfacing current practices, structures, and collective habits.
- Paradox – Identifying tensions, contradictions, and unspoken discomfort.
- Context & Field – Exploring external influences like media, politics, and public narratives.
- Thematic Reflection – Mapping values, principles, and emotional drivers.
- Framing Futures – Ideating paths forward that are inclusive, relational, and actionable.
🔍 Key Insights
🧭 1. Tension Between Values and Impact
- The community champions Love and JET PIG (Justice, Equality, Transforming Self, Pluralism, Interdependence, Generosity), but their actions often lacked clarity or alignment.
- Activism was seen as reactive—motivated by crises or headlines, not long-term strategy.
🔁 2. Struggles with Racial Justice
- Members acknowledged racial equity as a “sore spot,” especially given the church’s predominantly white makeup in a highly segregated city.
- They expressed discomfort with “white saviorism,” a lack of direct engagement with Black communities, and their own role in perpetuating isolation.
“We haven’t fully addressed what we’re up against… we need to understand everyone’s needs, not just assume them.”
🧠 3. Emotional Complexity Around Participation
- Members felt torn between wanting to act and not knowing how to engage others in a meaningful, non-performative way.
- Many expressed frustration at the lack of participation from other congregants and a desire for more emotional intelligence training and relational education.
💡 Strategic Futures (Co-Created)
From our final session, the group generated a set of actionable frames to build toward:
- Multiple Points of Entry into Justice Work
Not everyone enters justice work the same way. Some need stories. Others need conversations. Some need to start small.
→ Create diverse on-ramps that meet people where they are. - Normalize Exposure Through Storytelling
Make storytelling from marginalized communities a regular part of programming—not a special event.
→ Think: recurring speaker series (e.g., a trans woman’s coming-of-age story) to build familiarity and empathy. - Internal Education as a Bridge
Use the knowledge of trained members to educate others about privilege, allyship, and lived experience.
→ Shift from symbolic support (e.g., signs) to embodied understanding. - Create a Culture of Emotional Literacy
Equip members with tools to navigate discomfort, bias, and difficult conversations.
→ Introduce emotional intelligence practices as part of community life.
✨ Outcomes
- Surface-level frustrations transformed into shared language, clarity, and next steps.
- Community members left with renewed ownership of their role in creating lasting justice.
- The church began planning ongoing education and engagement using the ideas co-created during the session.
🔁 Reflections
This project reinforced the importance of slowness, humility, and emotional safety in community change work. Frame creation helped this group hold contradiction without judgment—not rushing to solve, but making space to listen, align, and act with intention.
“You can’t build justice by skipping the hard conversations—especially the ones with yourself.”
