Civic Saturday Fellowship
Learning how to convene purposeful gatherings that rebuild faith in one another and our democracy.
The Civic Saturday Fellowship prepares motivated Americans to inspire a renewed sense of shared civic purpose and moral courage in their community.
Fellows learn how to create — and then host — Civic Saturday gatherings, which we think of as a civic analogue to faith gatherings. They’re a ritual designed for reflection, reckoning, and recommitment. From Miami to Wichita to San Diego, Fellows are building communal spaces for people to rededicate themselves to the practice of being powerful, responsible citizens.
About the Fellowship experience
In the summer and fall, we kick off several new cohorts of Civic Saturday Fellows that support one another over the next six months.
Host Your Own Gatherings.
The heart of the Fellowship is hosting at least three Civic Saturday gatherings. Each Fellows’ gatherings look a little different: from picnics in the park to Zoom calls to library programs. You can adapt Civic Saturday to meet the need and match the spirit of your community.
Start with Civic Seminary.
Your Fellowship begins with our immersive four-day training called Civic Seminary. From reflecting on the unique challenges facing your community to learning how to write a civic sermon, you’ll gain everything you need to know to design your own Civic Saturday gatherings.
Join a Cohort of Collaborators.
One of the most profound parts of this experience is the relationships you’ll form. The dozen or so Fellows in your cohort are your partners for learning, problem-solving, and supporting each other. You’ll find friends and colleagues that will empower and energize you from around the nation.
I will continue to hold and share the teachings of Civic Seminary throughout my professional and personal life. I am truly better off because of what I learned throughout the last nine months.
What you’ll find as a Fellow
Right now, many Americans feel isolated, disheartened, and frustrated. We doubt whether we can make a difference in our community. We lack common gathering spaces to reckon with, and nurture our faith in, democracy. But we can embrace —create! — opportunities to unite rather than isolate through Civic Saturday gatherings.
As a Fellow, you’ll find the ideas, tools, and relationships you need to bring people together in a fresh, transformational way. To reflect on the hopes and fears that are undercurrents in your community. And it starts with exploring your worries, your hopes, your joy.
The Fellowship is the kind of place where you can let your guard down and get honest about how things are going in your hometown. Fellows support one another, recharge together, and spur a sense of imagination for what’s possible.
Gathering across geography
The beauty of Civic Saturday gatherings is that they are meant to be adapted and shaped to fit the needs of your community. And with more than 140 Fellows in 30 states across the nation, there is a lot of creativity flowing! Here are a few ways that Fellows are bringing this social technology to life.
Reflecting with friends old and new.
Community members like Martha have organized Civic Saturdays on the local, grassroots level. Leaning on friends, existing connections, and a desire to better live like a citizen, these folks are creating new civic rituals together.
Developing a program to gather again and again.
Organizations like Civic Nebraska have adopted Civic Saturdays as a program of their own. They host regular gatherings that those in and out of their network can come to and find new spaces to reflect and connect.
Embedding civic rituals into community.
Libraries have upped the Civic Saturday game. As a natural community and civic gathering space, libraries across the country are adopting Civic Saturday programs to serve their communities.
Convening Civic Saturdays gave me tremendous hope for my community… an intentional gathering to hold the space for reflection, storytelling, inspiration that can rejuvenate and challenge the ways we have been doing civic engagement.
Power + character
Civic power is how we can be a force for good and civic character is what you do when everybody’s looking.
A civic sermon delivered by Eric Liu on August 7, 2021 at Town Hall Seattle.
Why democracy?
Those of us who believe in democracy and believe it is still possible, we have the burden of proving it.
