At Foothills Unitarian, we believe in constantly evaluating how we can best serve our community and advance the causes of justice that matter most to us. Today, we’re excited to announce significant changes to our justice organizing structure that will help us become more effective advocates and change-makers.
Why Change Is Necessary
For several years, our Intersectional Action and Organizing Team (IAOT) has served as the primary hub for much of our justice work. This dedicated group has accomplished remarkable things, from organizing rapid responses to community crises to advocating for legislative change across multiple justice spheres.
However, as our congregation’s justice work has evolved, we’ve observed that different types of engagement require different structures. Some members are passionate about direct action and quick response, while others prefer the deeper, relationship-based organizing that creates systemic change. Our current structure sometimes blurs these distinct approaches, potentially diluting our effectiveness in both areas.
Our New Pathway Forward
After careful discernment with team leaders and members, we’ve decided to transform our IAOT into two specialized groups that better reflect these different approaches to justice work:
The Action Alert Squad
This new team will focus on mobilizing our congregation for timely advocacy and activism. When urgent situations arise—whether related to climate justice, immigration, housing rights, racial equity, or other pressing concerns—the Action Alert Squad will receive calls to action with clear, specific steps they can take.
This structure allows members who may have limited time but strong commitment to engage meaningfully in justice work through targeted actions like contacting legislators, attending rallies, or participating in community support initiatives. The Action Alert Squad creates a streamlined pathway for those who want to stay informed and active across multiple justice areas without needing to attend regular organizing meetings.
The Organizing for Power Team
This second team will focus on the vital work of relational community organizing in partnership with Together Colorado, a powerful multi-faith coalition working for legislative change across our state.
The Organizing for Power approach dives deeper into specific issues through relationship building, leadership development, and strategic campaigns built on shared values. This team will meet regularly, develop organizing skills, build connections with community partners, and work on longer-term campaigns focused on structural change.
By partnering with other UU congregations and diverse faith communities across Colorado, this team multiplies our impact far beyond what we could achieve alone.
What This Means for Our Community
These changes reflect our commitment to becoming more intentional and effective in our justice work. Rather than trying to fit all forms of engagement into one structure, we’re creating distinct pathways that honor different approaches to change-making.
For current IAOT members, this means choosing which of these approaches (or both!) best fits your interests, skills, and capacity. For those who haven’t previously engaged in our justice teams, these clearer pathways may make it easier to find your place in this essential work.
Join Us on This Journey
The IAOT group will officially transition to these new structures by March 31st. We invite everyone in our community to consider joining one or both of these teams:
To join the Action Alert Squad:
https://foothillsuu.churchcenter.com/groups/social-change-teams/action-alerts-squad
To join the Organizing for Power Team:
https://foothillsuu.churchcenter.com/groups/social-change-teams/organizing-for-power
These changes represent not an ending but a new beginning—a thoughtful evolution in how we live our UU values through justice work. By creating structures that better match different forms of engagement, we hope to deepen our impact and create more meaningful opportunities for everyone to participate in building the beloved community we all envision.
If you have questions about these changes or want to learn more about either team, please reach out to our justice ministry leaders. We look forward to embarking on this next chapter of justice work together.
Rev. Sean is Foothills Acting Senior Minister while Rev. Gretchen is on Sabbatical.
Responsible for Worship, Justice Ministries, Faith Formation Strategies and sits on Foothills Executive Leadership Team with Director of Finances and Operations Katie Watkins.
Sean was born on Treaty 7 land in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and comes to Foothills after four years in New England where he completed seminary at Harvard Divinity School where he studied alongside future imams, rabbis, justice activists, and other Unitarian Universalists. Sean is a self-proclaimed nerd — particularly about history, current politics, science, and Star Wars. Outside of ministry you will find Sean hiking or cooking up a storm with his partner Charles, watching his son’s basketball games, all under the watchful eye of their dog Dollie.
