Ideas from the values conference: organizing the organizers
Kaliya Hamlin insists: before the next big conference, when we have thousands and a big press reception, we need a smaller conference, where we get all of the heads or progressive Christianity together.
We need the social justice heads from every denomination in America, the leaders of grassroots and political groups like CrossWalk, CrossLeft, and the Christian Alliance; communications directos for each denomination and all of the dioceses.
We need to put them in one room and bring in the networking experts, like Kaliya, MoveOn and Meetup, who can explain to them how to work together and how to integrate new individuals. We need to bring in press people who can explain how you write a press release and what issues to privilege in order to get more attention.
The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few; not only few, but the laborers aren’t even working together. We need the laborers to get together: I’ll drive the wagon if you’ll load the hay!
In fact, conference calls are on the way...
Kety Esquivel, our beloved general-in-arms, hasn't been posting so much this week, perhaps because she's running around raising money, organizing a speaker's bureau of smart articulate progressive Christians, and putting together a weekly conference call!
So you're very right. Kevin, do you want to be on it? And who are your ideas for who should be there? If you take a quick look at our "friends from the conference" forum topic, you'll get an overview of who our friends already are... but doubtless there are others who should be invited, both to the conference call and to the leadership conference in the winter. We're particularly meager at this point in the older contingent (Methodist Relief) and the younger contingent (Young Dems).
Personally, I keep wanting to emphasize that the great utility of an *online* forum over a conference call is that it allows a lot of thick exchange -- people can come in, comment on strategies, think things over, call over people who weren't available for their input, and tune in later in the week.
But it's totally agreed that conference calls help to raise enthusiasm and focus concentration in a way that an online forum simply doesn't. So we're thinking that the next six months or so should have weekly/biweekly conference calls going on.
CrossLeft preparing to launch: Speakers' Bureau & Conf. Calls
That's right, friends. CrossLeft is preparing to launch a Speakers' Bureau & regular conference calls. Stay tuned to CrossLeft for more... Details should be up in the coming days.
Conference Calls?
What about having weekly or bi-weekly conference calls for leaders of the religious-left? It keeps up momentum in between the conferences.
Even thought we don't want to be the opposite of the religious right - there are some tactics that we could use - like communicating more effectively amongst the leaders of the movement.