Defending Democracy

An open invitation to members of faith communities

A while back, I promised that I’d be sharing resources for ways to get involved in protecting our democracy in the days ahead. For several months, various efforts have been underway—some of which I’ve been directly involved in, others I’ve only been aware of—and now those efforts and projects are beginning to launch. I wanted to share the first of these with you today.

This opportunity is especially for those of you who are pastors, faith leaders, or members of faith communities. But even if you don’t fit these categories, you may want to share it with someone you know who does.

As you know, there have been ongoing efforts to challenge free and fair elections of late. As we look ahead to November 5 and what comes after, there are things we can do to prepare, individually and collectively.

Protecting democracy is a non-partisan cause, and communities of faith can play critical roles in building trust, ensuring integrity, and de-escalating in the case of propaganda and even violence. But to do this, we need to prepare.

Photo by Harry Miller on Unsplash

If you are a faith leader or an active member of a faith community, consider joining the Election Sabotage Response Network and their efforts to integrate faith communities into efforts to prevent a crisis in our elections.

The Election Sabotage Response Network (ESRN) is a coordination network designed to prevent election sabotage and effectively respond to an election crisis if it occurs. Building on the 2020 and 2022 cycles, the ESRN is developing state and national infrastructure to serve our pro-democracy ecosystem. Their goal is to defend the integrity of the democratic process and build important relationships with other pro-democracy organizations—relationships that will have lasting impact well beyond the election itself.

They will be offering a series of introductory trainings as well as a bi-weekly strategy meetings including:

• Democracy Needs Faithful People: The Moral Response to Preventing Election Sabotage

• Scenario Planning Part 1 

• Scenario Planning Part 2

• De-escalation Trainings 

• Communication and message training

• In-person convenings in Pennsylvania and possibly Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin

• Bi-Weekly Strategy Meetings

Longer descriptions (as well as the dates and registration links) for each training and meeting are included below so you can decide how you would like to plug in. The trainings and meetings are both virtual and in-person. There is no cost for participation.

I’ll include the details below, and please feel free to share with friends, family, and neighbors:

Democracy Needs Faithful People

In August, we held a series of introductory trainings on the work faith communities can do to protect democracy. If you weren’t able to attend and would like to see a recording of our training with Rev. Traci Blackmon, please email us at info@faithesrn.org!

Scenario Planning

In September, we will host a two-part training for faith leaders focused on possible election sabotage scenarios. Specifically, we will explore what kinds of election sabotage might occur and discuss how our communities can respond quickly and effectively to these threats. This training is designed for decision-makers and/or senior staff within your relevant institution (i.e. a senior pastor, director, board member, etc.). Ideally, representatives from your institution can attend both trainings. However if that isn’t possible please contact us at the email below to see if it makes sense for you to join for just one session. Please see the dates below and register here.

Tuesday, September 10, 1:00-3:00pm EST Scenario Planning, Part 1

Tuesday, September 24, 1:00pm-3:00pm EST Scenario Planning, Part 2

De-escalation Training

We are very excited to be able to connect faith leaders to de-escalation trainings organized through Vision Change Win’s GIFT series. These trainings will help equip you with new skills to de-escalate tense and potentially dangerous scenarios related to the elections. We have dedicated funding available to cover those who are interested. Please email us if you’re interested so we can help you register with the appropriate code. Our email is: info@faithesrn.org.

Additionally, the Bridging Divides Initiative is hosting de-escalation trainings in our priority states.If you’d like more information about their offerings, email us about those as well.

Communications and Media Training

Our pro-democracy movement must tell its story far and wide to invite others in. Faith leaders and people of faith have a particularly powerful role to play in shaping and shifting public narrative to support a thriving democracy. Join this training with an experienced communications professional for general messaging tailored for people of faith on issues around election sabotage, certification, and other threats. Additionally, you’ll learn tips and tricks for dealing with the media.

Please register here for our call on
Wednesday, October 23, 2:00-3:00pm EST

Democracy Needs Faithful People

We are delighted to announce an in-person “Pennsylvania Faith Leaders for Democracy” convening in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on Thursday, September 19th. Faith leaders from across the state will gather to strategize about our role in protecting and strengthening democracy this election season. Please email us for more information: info@faithesrn.org. And keep an eye out for similar in-person trainings in Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin (dates TBD).

If you want us to contact you directly once we have those dates set for AZ, MI, and WI please email us at info@faithesrn.org.

Strategy Calls

Beginning on Tuesday, September 17, and continuing every two weeks until Election Day, we will hold strategy calls for faith leaders to discuss emerging threats of election sabotage and our role in responding. These calls will run for 60 minutes, with the second half dedicated to state-based breakout sessions for Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin (if you’re not from any of these states, please join for the first 30 minutes!). It’s possible these bi-weekly calls will become weekly calls closer to the election but for now, please see the dates below and email info@faithesrn.org to be added to the calendar invite.

• Tuesday, September 17, 1:00-2:00pm EST

• Tuesday, October 1, 1:00-2:00pm EST

• Tuesday, October 15, 1:00-2:00pm EST

• Tuesday, October 29, 1:00-2:00pm EST

Stay tuned here at Du Mez CONNECTIONS. I’ll be sharing more opportunities in the coming weeks.

On a personal note, I just returned home from my first couple of days at Notre Dame, where I’ll be on sabbatical for the year as a fellow at the Center for the Philosophy of Religion. It’s wonderful to be back at Notre Dame and there’s nothing like a beautiful fall day on Notre Dame’s campus. (I left as families were gathering around the stadium for tomorrow’s game.)

I’ve been given Al Plantinga’s former office, so I’m confident that I’ll be thinking very deep thoughts during my sabbatical year. Here’s the view from my window.